Repentance Part II

REPENTANCE

 

 Repentance: Part II

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The Preaching of John the Baptist

Matthew 3:1-12

King James Version (KJV)

3 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,

² And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

³ For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

⁴ And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

⁵ Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,

⁶ And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

⁸ Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

⁹ And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

¹⁰ And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

¹¹ I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

¹² Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Definition:  Repent: (Gr. Metanoeo) means a change of mind that  results in a change of behavior, lifestyle, or conduct. 

Repentance is not just sorrow.  Repentance is complete change of attitude toward sin and complete reverence toward God and his holy character.  Repentance is accompanied by sorrow for one’s sins along with a change in conduct.   Both Jesus and John the Baptist came preaching: Repent.  (Matthew 3:2, 8; Matthew 4:17*)

Repentance comes as a result of God’s goodness and mercy as a result of the sacrificial price Christ paid for our sins. Repentance involves the process of true conversion whereby men are born again: not of the flesh, but of the Spirit. John the Baptist message (ministry) was the preaching of “Repentance” to prepare the people for Jesus ministry of the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. (In the books of Mark and Luke it is referred to the Kingdom of God) In the Book of Matthew, who was a Jew the emphasis was on “heaven” because many Jews considered it blasphemous to refer to God by name.  But the two phrases are interchangeably in the Gospels. 

In the Book of Isaiah 40: 1 – 11 gives us a prophesy of the coming of the Lord and John the Baptist.  Chapters 10:1- 48:22 is referred to the “Book of Consolation”.  Isaiah 40:1 begins with, “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.”  Comfort ye (nachamu) means both to “repent” and to “console”. True repentance must precede divine consolation.   My people (‘ami): the people of God who are in covenant relationship with him.  Just as the seed of Abraham was in covenant with God through blood circumcision and obedience to his commandments, we are in covenant relationship through the blood of Jesus Christ and the circumcision of our hearts ______ and obedience to the Lord God.

The prophesy from Isaiah 40:3 -11 foretells us of John’s ministry to “Prepare the way of the Lord” making the crooked places straight and the rough places smooth for the preparation of the coming of the Messiah.

Fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy:

• Matthew 3:1 - 6
• Mark 1:1 – 5  (John the Baptist as the messenger to prepare the way for Jesus)
• Luke 3:1-6
• John 1:19 -28

Special Note:

 John the Baptist was the first prophet in the New Testament. He broke the centuries prophetic silence.  The silence has been broken, where are the prophets of the Lord today?

Ephesians 2:18 -22

Ephesians 4:11-13

And those that are called prophets today, what are you prophesying?  Are you hearing from God as the Prophets of the Bible did?

John the Baptist message/ministry is of repentance for the remission of sins.  We must confess our sins before we are baptized.  (Baptist: baptizer, it’s not a denomination) We are not only to confess our sins; we are to repent of our sins.  (Matthew 3:1-2, 5-6) Repentance is not a one-time occurrence; it is a continual practice in a Christian’s life.  That does not mean we are to willfully sin.  No, God forbid this. 

Romans 6:1-3

King James Version (KJV)

6 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

² God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

³ Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Jesus testified that John the Baptist is the greatest prophet that ever lived. John called all Israel to repentance for the remission of sins and water baptism of repentance. (Mark 1:4) KJV

In the Greek it shows, it is not baptism but repentance that secures remission of sins.

(Most of The New Testament was written in Greek)

•Repentance:

•To change one's mind calls for a change in a person's attitude toward God that impacts one's actions and life choices: turn to God's ways.

•A heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, and a sincere commitment  to forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ.

•Water Baptism:

•To immerse, soak or dip in water; to cleanse or purify spiritually. Signifying washing sins away.

•To initiate or dedicate by purifying.

•Remission:

•Pardon; forgiveness of sins, iniquity, vanity, crime, offenses, or evil

•Relinquishment of payment, obligation to a debt or trespass.

•Sins:

•Any failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude, or nature.

•All disobedience to God's word, statutes, commandments and laws is sin.

Acts 19:1-6

King James Version (KJV)

19 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,

² He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.

³ And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.

⁴ Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.

⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

⁶ And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

 

In the definition of water baptism above it says, “To initiate or dedicate by purifying”. The water is symbolic of purifying /washing to make clean.  Baptism also means to initiate and or dedicate.  When you are baptized you are dedicated to Jesus Christ and initiate a new life.  Once you receive the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking with tongues, you receive power to become sons of God. (John 1:11-13)

We’ll go into more detail of the “Holy Ghost” and his power later in our study, because baptism is two parts: Water Baptism and Baptism of the Holy Ghost, there is also Baptism of Fire that is commonly misunderstood, but will be explained by scripture in this study.

• As we have heartfelt sorrow for sin and renounce of it.  At that time, we need to make a sincere commitment to forsake sin and begin to walk in obedience to Christ, this is true repentance.
• When we repent at the hearing of the preaching of the Word of God, just as John the Baptist preached, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  Then you proceed to Water Baptism unto repentance.  Signifying the washing away of sin of the old man/woman and rising from baptism into Christ the new man/woman, signifying the initiation of the new life that Christ paid the price (shedding of his blood) for the remission of our sins.  (More on this later in the study)
• We receive the remission of sins in two ways, never one without the other.  First, Jesus shed his blood for the remission of our sins. (Hebrews 9:22)  Secondly, you cannot receive forgiveness of your sins without forgiving those that have sinned against you.  (Matthew 6: 11-15)  (More on this later in the study)
• Remember any and all failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude, or nature is sin.  All disobedience to God's word, statutes, commandments and laws is sin.  Therefore, the remission of sins is vital, because without remission, we would have to pay the price for our sins.  The price of sin is blood and death.  Jesus paid this price when he shed his blood and died for us.  There are also many consequences for sin before death.  (Deuteronomy 28:15-68; Galatians 5:19-21) (More on this later in the study)
  
  
  Summary:
  John the Baptism’s ministry of Baptism unto Repentance is vital to salvation.  Without the remission of sins you cannot receive salvation.  Without salvation there is no new. Jesus is our Savior, in order to receive salvation, we there are requirements. Repentance and Water Baptism are the first of the requirements.  I realize it’s commonly taught that we don’t have to do anything, but according to scripture we must repent and there’s plenty more that we must do.  We’ll take a look at the scriptures and life of John the Baptist and Jesus as they both preached, “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Repentance is not a one-time occurrence; it is a continual way of life as we grow into the image of Christ.
   Questions:

1. Do you understand what repentance is?
2. Do you understand the remission of sins?
3. Have you repented?
4. What did you consider to be sin before this study?
5. As you examine yourself, are you able to identify any sins that you need to repent of?
6. Have you been baptized in Jesus name according to Acts 2:38 -39 and the scriptures in today’s study?

Assignment:

Take time to search your heart before God this week as you meditate upon the scriptures that we have covered.  Be honest with yourself and with God.  Is there anything that you need to repent of?  Have you forgiven those that have sinned, trespassed, wounded or offended you? If not, please do so. God will heal your heart, if you forgive others and if you ask him.

Announcement:

Please remember, if you do not receive an email about the Bible Study Blog, the new blog post is posted on each Tuesday during the Study.

In our next lesson, we’ll continue to study the “preaching of John the Baptist” in Matthew 3:1-12.  John's ministry was the preaching of “Repentance".   We’ll also take a look at confession of sins. (Jesus also began his ministry by preaching "Repent" for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.)  We'll also take a look at some interesting history in this Study on "Repentance".

 

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