Repentance Unto Grace

Repentance Unto Grace

Jason Bryant

4-29-13

　

"30 "Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! " Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31 " Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? " 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! And live! " Ezekiel 18:30-32 Yes, this is an Old Testament verse, none the less strategically placed in the Bible by God Himself. Here is a precursor to the message John the Baptist would preach a few hundred years later as He would prepare the way for the Lord Jesus Christ.


Let us ask the question of what is biblical repentance? What did God, John the Baptist, and Jesus mean when they used the word repentance? "Repentance
The most common term in the Old Testament for repentance is sub; the verbal forms appear well over 1, 050 times, although translated "repent" only 13 times, and the substantive "repentance" occurs only once in the New International Version. More commonly the translation is "turn" or "return." A related term is naham [j"n], which is translated three times as "repent" in the New International Version. In the New Testament, the most common verb is metanoeo [metanoevw] (33 times) and the noun metanoia [metavnoia] (20 times). A synonym metamelomai [metamevllomai] is once translated "repent" ( Matt 21:32 ).

Two requisites of repentance included in sub are "to turn from evil, and to turn to the good." Most critical theologically is the idea of returning to God, or turning away from evil. If one turns away from God, apostasy is indicated. Three times Ezekiel included God's call to the people of Israel: "Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!" ( 14:6 ); "Repent! Turn away from all your offenses" ( 18:30 ); "Turn! Turn from your evil ways" ( 33:11 ). Such a call was characteristic of the prophets (see, e.g., Isa 45:22 ; 55:7 ; Joel 2:12-13 ). The Septuagint underlines this idea by usually translating sub by epi (apo-)strepho [ajpostrevfw] (to turn about, or to turn away from). To be abandoned are both evil intentions and evil deeds, and both motive and conduct are to be radically changed. A striking example is found in Isaiah 1:16-17: "Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow."


One may detect two sides to this turning/converting. There is the free sovereign act of God's mercy, and a conscious decision to turn to God (a turning that goes beyond sorrow and contrition).
Confession of sins is both commanded and frequently illustrated (e.g., in the penitential prayers, as Pss. 25 and 51). When one is guilty of various sins, "he must confess in what way he has sinned" in order to receive atonement and forgiveness ( Lev 5:5 ; 26:40-42 ). Thus, confession belongs to repentance, and is needed for divine forgiveness (cf. 1 John 1:9 ). A great prophecy/ promise is given in the Book of Isaiah: "The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins" ( 59:20 ). This Redeemer foretold of in Isaiah is Yeshua or Jesus. See the fore told plan of salvation? "Those in Jacob (Israel) who repent (change their mind/heart/spirit/attitude/life/belief) about their spiritual condition of wicked sinful human being the Redeemer gave grace. This correlates tremendously with John 3:16 and its use in context with the conversation between Jesus Redeemer and a "religious" man of the day. The word believe- "Strong's Number: 4100

Original Word	Word Origin
pisteuvw	from (4102)
Transliterated Word	TDNT Entry
Pisteuo	6:174,849
Phonetic Spelling	Parts of Speech
pist-yoo'-o	Verb

Definition
to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in
of the thing believed
to credit, have confidence in a moral or religious reference
used in the NT of the conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of soul
to trust in Jesus or God as able to aid either in obtaining or in doing something: saving faith Okay now, what was Jesus' message, His sermon He preached to the masses? Matthew 4:17 immediately after the wilderness testing Jesus began His message "17 From that time Jesus began to preach , and to say , Repent : for the kingdom of heaven is at hand ." Now let us move to the Apostle and see the Lord's message through His servant Paul, "21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." Acts 20:21 The very same Paul who would explain the mechanism for lack of better of a word of the legal part of salvation before the bar of justice of Holy God. "2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires\l " of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved ;) 6 And hath raised us up together , and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast . 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained\l " that we should walk in them." Clearly, any true spirit filled Believer in Christ can see there is no "cheap grace fire insurance." Jesus said repent, and believe, and His work, and His finished atonement, His grace, through your faith (belief and repentance) The Redeemer gives grace just as He promised He would in Ezekiel 18:30. Grace changes the heart and the desires of the heart, you cannot have the world and grace too, it one or the other. Christian what will you choose? The wide or the narrow? One is death, the other is life. The choice is yours, but remember His yoke is light and He has already paid the price, what is your choice? Self? Or Christ?