No. 3

We have been accused of teaching and practicing a "checklist" religion. What is meant by such an expression is, that we believe that certain things must be done in a particular order, and once they are done, we are finished. The notion is that very little concern is given to the process of change that goes on within the individual to bring about in him true devotion. You just do certain things, check them off, and you are okay.

As we have pointed out in a previous article, such is not the case with us. We know that conversion involves an inner change of the very character of the individual, and it is this change that produces a profound difference in the direction that individual’s life takes. Nevertheless, that change in direction involves going from being disobedient to being obedient – doing those things that God commands through his Son, and in the particular order that he has instructed they be done. If it takes making such a list and checking off items as they are accomplished, the one who is a new creature, fully devoted to the Lord will do those things and check them off. He wants to go to heaven, he will do what he must do.

"And hereby we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments" (1 John 2:3).

That brings us to the next step in the plan of salvation. That step is repentance. The very first command of the gospel dispensation was the command to repent. When the Jews asked the apostles what they had to do to be saved, what was Peter’s response? "And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). Too often we get so engrossed in the controversy over baptism and its need, and we get so involved in "getting them in the water," that we forget the very hub of our obedience is the intention to change our lives to fit God’s plan.

The meaning of the word "repent" deserves some attention. "Repent," as it is found in Acts 2:38 comes from the Greek word metanoeo, which Thayer defines as, "to change one's mind, i. e., to repent … to change one’s mind for the better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one’s past sins." Repentance is a process that involves the inner man, the spirit and mind of the man. When Jesus was talking to Nicodemus about being born again of the spirit, this is the change that he was talking about (John 3:3-10).

Such a change of the inner man is the basis for the change God demands in our behavior. John the Baptist warned the Jews to "Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of repentance" (Matt. 3:8). After all, what we do is a product of what we are inside. Jesus said, "For each tree is known by its own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth that which is evil: for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh" (Luke 6:44-45). What we do is a product of what we are inside. The man who tries to change his way of life without changing his way of thinking is doomed to frustration and failure. Living for Jesus is not something that we do casually. It takes all the effort of a determined heart. Unless that heart is tuned to the will of Jesus through appreciation, devotion, and love, it cannot sustain the obedience necessary to salvation. God wants our hearts first.

Exemplifying this principle were the churches of Macedonia. When Paul was taking up a collection for the needy saints of Jerusalem, he explained why these Christians were so willing and ready to participate in this great work beyond what might seem prudent for them. Paul said, "… and this, not as we had hoped, but first they gave their own selves to the Lord, and to us through the will of God" (2 Cor. 8:5). This follows on the heels of Paul’s statement in the 5^th chapter: "For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that one died for all, therefore all died; and he died for all, that they that live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto him who for their sakes died and rose again" (2 Cor. 5:14-15). Jesus’ death in our place serves as motivation for us to live in his place. His will reigns in us, not in the sense of possession, but in the sense of submission. "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me" (Gal. 2:20).

As we come to realize the greatness of Christ’s sacrifice, and as we become more devoted to Jesus, a change of affections occurs in us. Paul describes it in Romans: "Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good" (Rom. 12:9). Realizing the damage that evil sin does in our lives, how it destroys the fellowship we enjoy with God, and that Jesus was crucified because of them, it becomes difficult for the enlightened individual to enjoy the pleasures of sin. On the other hand, those things which enhance our fellowship with God we cling more tenaciously to, knowing the fear of God and the wiles of the devil. For us to stop sinning and stay stopped, our attitude toward sin must change.

So repentance is a change of the heart. But the heart cannot change without that change being manifest in our deeds. Paul said, "Lie not one to another; seeing that ye have put off the old man with his doings, and have put on the new man, that is being renewed unto knowledge after the image of him that created him" (Col. 3:9-10). It is not good enough to just abhor the sin that we have committed. We must stop committing it, we must put off the old man’s doings. The fornicator must stop. The thief must stop. The liar must stop. The negligent and disobedient must become otherwise. We must "Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of repentance." As Jesus told the woman of John 8, "Go thy way; from henceforth sin no more" (John 8:11). True repentance results in the sinner stops sinning.

Whatever it takes to right the wrongs that we have done, we must do, if at all possible. That may involve restitution. Zacchaeus told Jesus, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have wrongfully exacted aught of any man, I restore fourfold" (Luke 19:8). There are some sins in which restitution is impossible. But where it is, it must be made. If we tell a lie, we must correct it. If we steal, we must return what is stolen. If we enter a relationship that is not right, we must leave it. The spirit of Zacchaeus is the spirit of true repentance.

We cannot be pleasing to God without repenting. There is a cost to becoming a Christian. An change must be made in the inner man, we must be born again. Peter said, "And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). Paul said, "The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent" (Acts 17:30). Jesus said, "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:5).