Repentance

Manuel Gonzales, a Pastor in California, said the following in his sermon, "Repentance gives us access to God's heart”:

“Real repentance is a key element of salvation.  And that's why we have to study it more closely.  Repentance equals a godly sorrow for sin.  In other words, it's not a gnawing despair that destroys a man's life to one degree or another.  On the contrary, it's the passionate desire to get right with God and man.  So it makes a man start really living for the first time.  What's more, this passionate desire to get right with God and man makes a repentant man turn in the opposite direction that his life has been heading.  In other words, there's a change way down deep inside of him that changes him on the outside too.  And as such, this change makes him want to love God and serve every man...who is made in God's image.  In other words, there is a complete character change that results when real repentance comes to pass in a man's heart.  Repentance and faith are actually two sides to the same coin.  And we call that coin salvation.  On the one side of salvation, we turn from sin through repentance, and on the other we turn to God through faith in Jesus Christ.  And here's the most important feature of repentance, this turning from sin and to Christ is definitely, absolutely, certainly, and necessary to enter the Kingdom of God.  In other words, without repentance, a man cannot expect to enter heaven.  See how important this is?  That's why unless a man understands that "asking Jesus into his heart" means repenting, it's a waste of time.  When we ask Jesus into our heart, it must be with the understanding that we are turning our back on the old way, and we are asking God to give us a new heart so that we can walk in His new way.  There are three signs of real repentance.  Godly sorrow is the first sign of real repentance.  Paul says in Second Corinthians 7: 10, "For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death".  In other words, godly sorrow expresses itself in the attention to make amends, hatred for enslaving sin, and disgust for moral apathy.  But, worldly sorrow only expresses itself in feeling bad for getting caught, and or being to blame for sins' destructive results.  See the difference?  A transformed life is the second sign of real repentance.  Matthew 3: 8, " 'Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance' ".  In other words, real repentance results in the choice to live for Christ and to live like Christ.  And as such, this choice leaves no room for denial, hypocrisy, or apathy.  The effort to make restitution is the third sign of real repentance.  Numbers 5: 6-7, " “Speak to the sons of Israel, ‘When a man or woman commits any of the sins of mankind, acting unfaithfully against the LORD, and that person is guilty, then he shall confess his sins which he has committed, and he shall make restitution in full for his wrong and add to it one-fifth of it, and give it to him whom he has wronged' " ".  In other words, when a man sins against others, he sins against God, because all men are made in God's image.  And as such, he injures the peace and harmony of the religious and secular community.  Now the other way for a repentant man to correct the situation, is to do more than what is necessary to restore peace and harmony in these communities.  Saying, "I'm sorry, now forget it", isn't enough.  When we sin, it's important to make sure we do whatever we can to contain the sin.  You know, it's not enough to repent of gossiping where an individual's reputation may be damaged.  The gossiper needs to go to every person that they gossiped to and every person that the other gossiper's gossiped to and say, "I sinned.  This was not true, I slandered this individual.  I've asked them to forgive me, I've asked God to forgive me, I'm asking you to forgive me".  Can you imagine if every gossip did that, how gossip would stop?  Apply that to other sins as well.  Think about this, it's not enough for a minister to confess sexual sin to his church.  It's not enough.  He must also humbly submit to a restoration process that restores himself, his wife, his family, his lover's family, and possibly his denomination and the secular community.  Why's this?  This is because the effects of sin not only disgrace and dishonor Christ; they also scandalize people in larger and larger circles as the news spreads.  In other words, repentance can't be a process short of truth, humility, and care for others if it's to be real.  No discussion of repentance would be complete without describing some of its many benefits.  And there are so many benefits of repentance; I picked only three as examples.  First of all, repentance gives us access to greater love for God.  Luke 7: 47 (Jesus said this while He was commenting on the repentant prostitute who anointed Him), " 'For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little' ".  In other words, when we truly repent of our sins, we experience God's overwhelming love, and in return, we love Him more and more for what He has done.  Second, repentance gives access to the Holy Spirit's transforming power.  Acts 2: 38 (Peter says this to the pilgrims on the Day of Pentecost), "Peter said to them, 'Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit' ".  In other words, when we repent, trust in Christ, and publicly make Him our Lord, the Holy Spirit indwells us to transform us on the inside, and then He supplies us with the power to live like Christ on the outside.  See, that's the beauty of Christianity.  God doesn't just say, "Repent of your sins, now try and make it".  He gives you the Holy Spirit so you'll go to Heaven.  There is no sin that is so big that Jesus can't take it out of us.  But, we must repent.  We must turn from it.  And maybe we have to turn from it several times, cause sometimes, some sins are so powerful, they're so engrained in us, that it takes a while for us to cooperate with the grace of God to pull those roots out, other times, He can just do it instantly.  But the point is, that the Holy Spirit can do it once we repent.  Third, repentance gives us access to a victorious life.  The citation is, Romans 8: 12-13, "So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh--- for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live".  In other words, when we repent of our sins, the Holy Spirit gives us victory over them and replaces them with Christ's virtues.  Why?  So we can resist the future temptations of our flesh.  In other words, we are in a battle, and we have to get aligned with the orders of our Commanding General, and then we have to use the weapons that He gives us and the way that He tells us to use them, and guess what?  The enemy is totally defeated.  In fact, the enemy is defeated.  He was defeated on Calvary.  And that defeat was given God's stamp of approval on the day that Jesus rose from the dead.  The devil's on the run, not you and me.  And it's time for the church to really, really, realize that, and instead of not repenting when things happen, to repent.  So that Christ's victory can be stamped on us.  To sum up, repentance leads the way to devotion, sanctification, and fulfillment, now and forevermore.  ...In other words, when a man truly repents, and receives the life transforming input of the Holy Spirit and God's grace, he can change any sin that is weighing him down, but more than that, he can become like Jesus.  Think about that.  You and I can become like Jesus Christ.  Isn't that mind blowing?  And how does it all begin?  It begins with repentance.  It begins with the man or the woman that says to God, "I'm going to stop playing games today.  I'm going to stop making excuses today.  I'm really sick of myself and what I've been doing.  And now God, I want Your solution."  That's all God wants to hear from us.  That's not so hard is it?  What is so hot about evil?  Are you better off, am I better off, is the world better off, because it participates in evil?  Then, when we hear the grace of God offered to us, why don't we repent?  ...When we repent of our sins, the Holy Spirit gives us victory over them, and replaces them with Christ's virtues.  So that we can resist sin and gain God's approval. ..."