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Repent means "to change mind" or "to regret." There are several steps to repenting, and unless all steps are taken, one has not truly repented. Repentance should be an attitude of living; consistently turning from evil to God. The first step to repentance is to recognize the fact that you have sinned against God. Just as when you received salvation; you realized that you needed it because you are a sinner. Once you are saved, you are accountable for the sins that are committed after being saved. When we were born-again our spirit was born-again, but our flesh remained. Therefore, there is a war between the flesh and the spirit (Rom. 8:7). Our spirit strives to practice righteousness, but our flesh desires to please itself, rather than God. Since the Spirit of God co-habitats with our spirit, we must walk in the ways of the spirit (Rom. 8;11, Gal. 5:16-18, 24-35). When we walk in the flesh, it is then that we need to repent. We overcome the flesh by feeding the spirit with the word of God. We are to die to the flesh and allow Jesus Christ to live through us (Rom. 8:13-14, and Ga. 2:20). God requires that we turn (repent ) from the works of the flesh and walk in the spirit so we will reap the things of the spirit, rather than the things of the flesh, which only lead to destruction (Gal. 5:19-26,6:6-10). Once we recognize that we have followed the flesh rather than the spirit, we should be sorrowful.
Second, we must be accountable to God for the sins committed. By being accountable we are sorrowful for what we have done. Saying we are sorry is not being sorrowful. We become accountable for our sins by asking for forgiveness, not only to God, but to the person you sinned against (I John 1:9, and James 5:16). We are accountable for our sins even if we are not aware of the fact we have sinned (Hosea 4:6, Matt. 25:31-46, IICor. 5:9-10, and Heb. 9:7). When we ask for forgiveness we also must forgive those who have sinned against us or we will not be forgiven (Matt. 6:14-15,18:21-35,and Mark 11:25-26). We are not to be as the world, who blames everyone else for their own actions; like blaming alcohol for a DWI charge, when the person who was driving while intoxicated is at fault, not the alcohol itself. We need to accept the responsibility of our actions and take whatever punishment comes with it. Even though Judas was sorry for betraying Jesus, he did not repent and seek forgiveness (Matt. 27:3-5). In other words, his sorrow produced death because he did not act upon what Jesus had spoken of about seeking forgiveness. "For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death" (Cor:7:10). Our repentance should be noticeable to those around us (Matt. 3:8-10). Our actions include believing what God says and acting upon it. God says that you, no one else..."You have to put off the old man with his deeds and have to put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him..." (Col. 3:9-10). This is accomplished by dying to your flesh and allowing the Spirit of God to work through you (Phil. 1:19-26, and Col. 3:5-17). God will always first provide a way of preventing you to be deceived into sin, and if you do fall into it, He will provide a way out, but like salvation we must accept it and act upon it (Matt. 6:13, II Tim. 4:17-18, and IIPet. 2:4-9-). |
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