Have I Repented?

Q: What does the Bible say about repentance?

The Bible teaches that repentance is essential for salvation, as emphasized in Luke 13:3-5. The Bible highlights repentance as a crucial element for entering the Kingdom of God. In Luke 13:3-5, Jesus states, "Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish," underscoring the necessity of a changed heart and mind towards God. True repentance involves more than just feeling regret; it is a fundamental change that leads to a transformed life, aligning with God’s holiness and acknowledging one’s own sinfulness. The Apostle Paul reinforces this in Acts 20:21, where he speaks of preaching 'repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ,' indicating that genuine faith and repentance are inseparable in the process of salvation.

Q: How do we know true repentance is genuine?

True repentance is marked by a broken heart and a sincere acknowledgment of God’s holiness. Genuine repentance is evidenced by a humble and contrite spirit that acknowledges God’s holiness and the sinfulness of one’s own nature. As seen in Psalm 51:17, David states, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." This type of repentance does not merely express sorrow for consequences or loss but recognizes God's sovereignty in every circumstance, as well as His right to judge sin. Through a true understanding of grace, also portrayed in Colossians 1:21-23, one continually seeks to align their life with God's will and recognizes their continual need for His mercy, demonstrating a persistent commitment to the process of repentance.

Q: Why is repentance important for Christians?

Repentance is vital because it leads to salvation and ongoing sanctification in a believer's life. Repentance is crucial for Christians as it initiates the process of salvation and continues throughout the believer's life. Without repentance, one cannot experience the grace of God or enter the Kingdom of Heaven, as Jesus stated in Luke 13:3. It signifies a change of heart and direction, acknowledging one’s sins and turning towards God’s mercy in Christ. Furthermore, true repentance cultivates a relationship that desires holiness, as illustrated in Colossians 1:22-23, emphasizing the importance of remaining steadfast in faith. Thus, it is not a one-time act but a continual attitude of the heart that keeps believers humbly reliant on God’s grace and mercy.

Q: What are the signs of false repentance?

False repentance can manifest as sorrow for consequences rather than true acknowledgment of sin. False repentance often arises from fear of punishment or emotional distress rather than a genuine recognition of one's sin against a holy God. For instance, Peter's encounter with Simon Magus in Acts 8 demonstrates superficial remorse over judgment without true repentance or faith. Furthermore, individuals may express sorrow when facing trials, like Pharaoh’s temporary compliance to Moses, yet revert back when difficulties cease. Authentic repentance transforms hearts and lives, producing lasting change and an ongoing relationship with Christ, while false repentance merely leads to temporary emotions and a return to sinful behaviors.

Q: How does true repentance affect a Christian's relationship with God?

True repentance deepens a Christian's relationship with God by aligning their heart with His will. True repentance profoundly impacts a Christian's relationship with God, as it reflects a sincere turning away from sin and a heartfelt submission to His will. This alignment brings about a deeper understanding of God's holiness and an acknowledgment of one's own depravity, as seen in Isaiah 6:5, where Isaiah proclaims, "Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips." Through repentance, believers enter into grace and support their sanctification process, allowing them to engage more meaningfully in communion with God. As Jesus indicated in Matthew 23:25-28, genuine repentance begins inwardly and must lead to outward actions that reflect a transformed heart.

You can open your Bibles now
to Luke 13. Our Master set forth several
strong ultimatums. He said, except a man be born
again. Except a man is born of the water
and of the Spirit, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. except
a man be born again, regenerated, quickened by the Spirit of God,
given divine life, life restored which Adam lost in the Garden
of Eden, except by a supernatural miracle of God's grace whereby
we are regenerated, quickened from the dead, born again, we'll
never enter the Kingdom of God. Our Lord said again to His disciples
one day, He said, referring to the Pharisees, he said, except
your righteousness, your holiness exceed theirs. Our Lord picked
out the most religious, moral men of his day and said to his
disciples, unless your righteousness, your holiness, your standing
before God, unless it exceeds theirs, you shall not enter the
kingdom of God. And then on another occasion,
he said, the disciples were arguing about, Lord, when you come into
your kingdom, who's going to sit on your right hand, who's
going to sit on your left hand, and all this sort of thing. And
our Lord brought a little child and set that child in the midst
of them. And he said to these grown men,
to these men who were arguing about their ambitions and desires
and their desire to be recognized, he said,
except you be converted, changed, and become as a little child,
you shall not enter the kingdom of God. Except a man be converted
and become as a little child. Then in Luke 13, in Luke 13,
he said this, in Luke 13, verse 3, he said, I tell you, nay,
But except you repent, whatever that means, you shall all likewise
perish. And then he repeated it in verse
5, I tell you nay, but except you repent, whatever that means. That's what I'm dealing with
tonight. I'm asking the question, have I repented? What is repentance? Except a man be born again, he
shall not enter the kingdom of God. Now we're all religious,
most of us are affiliated with a church, most of us have made
professions of faith, but have we been born again? Except your
righteousness exceed the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not
enter the kingdom of God. Do we have a perfect righteousness?
Except you be converted and become as a little child, converted,
converted. you shall not enter the kingdom
of God. All of these credentials mean nothing unless we're converted.
And then our Lord said, except you repent, you perish. Now the Apostle Paul in Acts
20, I would have you turn over there a minute, the Apostle Paul
was addressing the elders of the church, bidding them farewell. They knew and he knew that They'd
never hear him preach again. He said, you'll never see my
face again. And he was summing up his ministry among them. He
said, I've served the Lord among you with humility. I've coveted
no man's silver or gold. I've kept back nothing profitable
unto you. I've not shunned to declare unto
you all the counsel of God. And then in verse 20, he said,
and you know how I kept back nothing profitable unto you,
but have showed you and taught you publicly. and from house
to house testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks.
Two things. Repentance toward God. Repentance
toward God. In summing up his ministry, he
brought it down to this. He said, everywhere I've gone
preaching, I preach repentance toward God and faith toward Jesus
Christ. Now Spurgeon said one time that
no man can have repentance who does not have faith. And no man
can have faith who does not have repentance. It's an impossibility. He said repentance and faith
is like a piece of paper. You've got to have two sides.
It's impossible to have a one-sided piece of paper. You've got this
side and this side. And even so, in conversion, a
man repents and believes. Which comes first, it doesn't
matter. It doesn't matter. You can't have repentance without
faith, and you can't have faith without repentance. Actually,
repentance and conversion are basically the same thing. A man
who's not repented has never been converted. And a man who
has been converted has genuinely repented. Turn to the book of
Psalms again. Let's go back to chapter 34.
In Psalm 34, I'm saying that repentance and conversion are
the same thing. A man cannot be converted who
has not repented, and a man cannot repent who has not been converted.
In Psalm 34, listen to this, verse 18, the Lord is nigh unto
them, the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and
saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Those are the people
God saves. Folks who have been broken-hearted
and folks who have a contrite spirit. Turn to Psalm 51. I read
that a moment ago, and maybe you remember when I came to that
verse, but verse 17. In Psalm 51, 17. The sacrifices
of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, O God,
thou wilt not despise. Now, my friends, there is a repentance. There is a repentance that does
not glorify God. There is a repentance that a
man can experience that is not true repentance. It's a false
repentance. It's a temporary repentance.
I'm going to give you four or five, and I don't want to stay
on this because this is negative. This is saying what repentance
is not. I'm going to talk tonight mainly about what repentance
is. Have I repented? And what is repentance? But there
is a repentance. There's a form of repentance
that is temporary. There's a form of repentance
that is not genuine. There's a form of repentance
that is religious and not a product of regeneration. Now, here are
five. If you want to write them down,
I'll slowly give them to you. First of all, there is a repentance.
And we have the scriptural examples. There is a repentance that's
born of a fear of punishment. of fear of punishment. First
of all, turn to Acts chapter 8. Here was a man called Simon
Magus who heard the disciples preach. He claimed to believe
the gospel. And he followed, well, he was
baptized. I won't say he followed the Lord
in baptism, but he was baptized in Acts chapter 8. Then he stood around and listened
to the disciples preach, and he saw Peter and the disciples,
the other apostles, lay hands on someone, and they were baptized
with the Holy Spirit. And he said in verse 18, And
when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the
Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, saying, Give me also
this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands he may receive the
Holy Ghost. And Peter said to him, your money
perish with you, because you have thought that the gift of
God may be punished with money. You have neither part nor lot
in this matter." Now remember, this man had made a profession.
This man had been baptized. This man had given credit to
what the apostles had said. This man was in the company of
the apostles. This man was identified with the church. But Peter says
to him, you've never repented. You have neither part nor lot
in this matter. Why? Your heart's not right with
God. That's where it is. Your heart's
not right. You've gone through the ceremony. You've gone through
the form. You've gone through the ritual. You've made the profession,
but your heart's not right. Now read on. Repent therefore
of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of
your heart may be forgiven you, For I perceive that you are in
the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity." Now, let's
see the response. Then answered Simon and said,
Peter, pray to the Lord for me. Pray for me that none of these
things which you have spoken come upon me. What was he worried
about? Punishment. What was he worried
about? The consequences. What was he
worried about? What was he concerned about?
These punishments coming upon him. He wasn't concerned about
the condition of his heart or his relationship with God. Same
thing's true of Cain. Turn back here to the book of
Genesis. Back here to the book of Genesis. And let me tell you
something. Punishment does not produce repentance. Fear does
not produce repentance. You can preach all of the law
and wrath and judgment you want to, and it will not produce repentance.
I'll show you that in a minute. But here in Genesis chapter 4,
Genesis chapter 4, down here in verse 11, God speaking to
Cain. Verse 9, let's start there. And
the Lord said, Cain, where is your brother? And he said, I
know not. Am I my brother's keeper? And
he said, what hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood
crieth out unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from
the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive your brother's
blood from your hand. When you tell the ground, it
will not henceforth yield unto you her strength. A fugitive,
a vagabond shall you be." And Cain said, Lord, forgive me. Lord, have mercy on me. Lord,
create in me a clean heart, renew within me a right spirit, forgive
me." No, sir. What did he say? My punishment,
more than I can bear. My punishment. The rich man in
hell, there's no repentance, genuine repentance even in hell.
The rich man in hell cried for water, not for forgiveness. He
cried for water. He cried for temporary relief.
He did not beg for forgiveness. He did not ask for mercy, he
did not ask for grace upon his soul. Turn to Revelation 16. Now this is so, Revelation chapter
16. Over in the 16th chapter of Revelation,
I want you to listen to this. This is so staggering. Now what
am I saying? I'm saying that there's a temporary
repentance that men go through because of fear of punishment. and fear of the wrath of God
and fear of condemnation. It drives them to religion. It's
just like when I was in the service. I was in World War II and got
in on some air raids and got in on a couple of invasions at
Iwo Jima and Iwo Shima and one at Okinawa, and I watched people
get religion. Just before they go into those
shores and all the shooting and killing and blood and so forth,
they all get religion, they all pray, they all promise God that
if they'll get out of this and they go home, they'll be good
boys, you know. It's theory. Theory. But now
listen to Revelation 16, verse 8. And the fourth angel poured
out his vial upon the sun, and power was given unto him to scorch
men with fire. And men were scorched with great
heat, thirst, great heat, the wrath of God, the judgment of
God, and they all said, Lord, forgive us, have mercy upon us,
we repent, we're sorry for our sins, let thy grace and thy mercy
be poured upon us. No, and they blasphemed the name
of God. They blasphemed the name of God,
which had power over these plagues, and they repented not to give
him the globes. There is a repentance. Sometimes
it is born of the fear of punishment. But it does not last. It's temporary.
All right? Secondly, and there is a repentance
which is born in time of trouble and time of affliction. Time
of trouble and time of affliction. Generally, it disappears when
the trial is over. Illustration, Pharaoh. Pharaoh,
he's sitting on his throne and Moses came to him and said, the
Lord said, let my people go. Let my people go." Well, he said,
who is the Lord? Who is the Lord that I should
obey his voice? Well, Moses said, I'll show you.
And so the plagues began to fall. And there was a plague of fogs,
and the plague of lice, and the plague of darkness, and the plague
of river turning to blood, and all these different plagues.
And every time Pharaoh hardened his heart, hardened his heart,
hardened his heart, would not let them go. And finally there
came the death of the firstborn. And God hit Pharaoh in that spot
so near his heart, his son, his heir, for Pharaoh to be. And God killed him. And Pharaoh
was smitten and broken, and he called Moses and he said, take
those people and get out of here. I never want to see you again.
I'll let you go and all that, you know. Looked like he was
repentant. Looked like he was sorry. He
was broken. He was sad. Brother, they hadn't
been gone very long when Pharaoh got over his hurt and became
angry. He got over his sorrow and became
angry and he went right after them. We see this in the life
of King Saul. When David, you know, when he
was lying down there and David was here in the cave and saw
him and David went down and somebody said, kill him, run him through,
you'll be the king. David said, the Lord said, touch
not mine anointing. and do my prophets no harm."
And so he took Saul's water jug and skirt or something and left
the spear, something like it, and went back to the mountain.
And he called and he said, Saul, wake up. And Saul woke up and
there was evidence that David had stood right beside him. And
he scared him. And he went through a little
repentance. Oh, son David, now you know,
I really meant you no harm. And why don't you come on back
home, David? Why don't you come on and sit
at the king's table, yeah? I know what you'll do when you
get over this trial, when you get over this affliction. I said
this down in Texas, and I'm waiting for somebody to prove me wrong,
but I've been pastoring 31 years, I've been preaching 35 years,
and I won't say never, but I say rarely. Rarely. I won't say never
because there are exceptions. There was a thief on the cross
who was converted in his dying hour. A man who was converted
in the eleventh hour. But how many thieves on how many
crosses are in here? One. That's the only one. The
only thing wrong with deathbed repentance is it doesn't last.
And I'm saying that in my entire ministry, I've yet to see one
person Make a profession of faith over an open grave and remain
true to the Word of God. I've yet in my ministry to see
one person who made a profession of faith on a sick bed and remained
true to the Word of God. Now, I say there may be exceptions.
There may be somebody here tonight. I don't know. But I'll tell you
this, I want to wait and see how long you last. Wait about
20 more years. Don't raise your hand yet. Wait
until you're old and gray and then raise your hand just before
you leave here and say, I'm still trusting the Lord. I'm telling
you this. I'm telling you this. There's
a repentance in time of trial. There's a false repentance, a
temporary. You see, a man does not seek
the Lord in effectual grace because he's sick. He seeks the Lord
in effectual grace because he's a sinner. A man does not seek
the Lord in effectual grace because he's afraid he's going to die
and go to hell. He seeks the Lord in effectual grace because
he wants to know the mercy of God in Jesus Christ. Now, I can
give you so many examples. I can give you dozens and dozens
and dozens on this point. You get the point? Here's what
I'm saying. There is a temporary faith, that is, a temporary repentance
and so-called faith. that is born in time of trouble,
real trouble, a mother dies, or a brother dies, or a wife
dies, or a husband dies, or we get real sick, and the doctor
comes in and says, you've had a heart attack and you may not
make it. Send for the preacher. Send for the preacher. Well,
he's never had any use for a preacher before. Preacher comes in, preacher
pray for him. He's never before asked him to
pray for him. Never before. I've seen so many,
many, many, many get real religious in time of trouble. And then
when the trouble's over, and I don't want to offend you, I'm
telling you the truth. If the truth offends you, that's all
right. But I was preaching a funeral not too long ago. Some of you
were there. Yes, it's been four or five years
ago, maybe more. But anyway, I was in the funeral
home. I can visualize it like yesterday. This has happened
so much. And I was standing behind the pulpit in the funeral home,
and the pallbearers were on either side of me. Valor, this man's
a good friend of yours I'm fixing to talk about. I won't call his
name, you know. But he was sitting right here
on my right. I've known him for 30 years. He's never had any
use for the gospel. He's never been interested in
Christ Jesus. Oh, he's religious, but never known the gospel, never
loved the gospel, never rejoiced in Christ, never been faithful
to any church. He's sitting right here on my
right. The man whose funeral I was preaching was his best
friend. his best friend. They'd been best friends for
years. The man in the casket, and this man was the same age,
the man in the casket had died just like that, without warning
of a heart attack, just dropped dead. And as I was preaching
that funeral, and I preached it pretty strong, pretty straight,
that old boy sat there and cried through the whole service, cried. When I got through preaching,
I had a little liberty, a little power. It was the gospel I was
preaching. I closed my Bible and he took me with honor. And
he said, Henry, I've known him well, been in his home a lot
of times. He said, Henry, I'm going to be there Sunday. I'm
going to be there and hear you preach. I'm troubled. Sure he's
troubled. He's looking death right in the
face. Sure he's troubled. He's looking God in the face.
Sure he's troubled. He's looking eternity in the
face. Sure he's troubled. He's identified with that buddy
in that casket. But he ain't troubled over his
sins. And he ain't troubled over offending a holy God. And he's
not troubled about this thing of redemption. He's troubled
about death and judgment and hell. Well, he was here that
next Sunday. Sat right there. And I preached
again. And I stood back there at the
door and he came out, tears in his eyes. I'll be back. Well,
it didn't take him as long to get over it as it does some folks.
He got over it before the next Sunday. He ain't been back since. That's been five, six, seven
years. I'm telling you the truth. There is a repentance, and don't
you get all upset about it. And that's the reason when folks
get sick or folks die or folks have an accident, that I don't
run with my Bible and charge into the room and open the Bible
and talk them into a profession of faith. I know you're wasting
your time. Is that too hard? Well, if you wait 35 or 40 years
and then tell me it's too hard, it's the truth. It's the truth. The time for you to seek the
Lord is now, while you've got your faculties, while you've
got your thoughts and your understanding, while you can set your affections
on the right things, while you can consider the important things,
while you're not under the pressure of some emotional, sentimental
experience where you can't think straight. I'm telling you the
truth. I'm talking about repentance
now. If you want to hear bedside stories, go somewhere else. If
you want to hear folks As Tim James says, give you a snow job,
go somewhere else. This is true. Here's the third
false repentance. There's a repentance that's born
under strong emotional religious experience brought about by powerful
preachers. Powerful preachers. Powerful
preachers. Give me some examples, all right?
John the Baptist. He had a fellow, Jay, that went
out to hear him by the name of Herod, none other than Herod,
the king. The Scripture says that he admired
John. John, you see, was somebody.
Our Lord said, there never has been a man born of woman as great
as John the Baptist. And old Herod was enamored with
John. He was fascinated with John.
He was taken up with John. And he went out to hear John.
And the Scripture says he did many things. But he didn't believe
John. And it wasn't long until he and
John clashed, and it cost John his head. There was another man
by the name of Felix. He was fascinated with a preacher
named Paul. And he said Paul stood there
and preached to him, and can you imagine hearing Paul? Can
you imagine hearing John the Baptist, a man sent of God, filled
with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb, a man like Paul
the Apostle, known all over the world? Even King said to him,
much learning hath made thee mad. Here was a man with a gripping
personality, with a powerful delivery, with a very living
connection with glory itself. And Felix heard him and sat there,
the King did, sat there and trembled, shook like a leaf. under the
preaching of that powerful, persuasive personality. And he said to Paul,
I'm going to send for you again. I'm going to hear you again.
I'm impressed. But he never heard him again.
I've heard people talk about being converted under this great
preacher, that great preacher. Beware, my friends, beware of
being a follower of a preacher. That's not repentance. That's
not repentance. You see, he can't stand before
God for you. He can tell you the truth. He
can preach to you the gospel. But you're going to, as the old
spiritual says, you're going to walk that lonesome valley
by yourself. You're going to stand the judgment
trial by yourself. And there's a repentance that
is born of a strong emotional experience under powerful preaching. Men like Billy Sunday hit towns,
and men like Dwight L. Moody, and men like Billy Graham,
and men like Jimmy Swaggart, and men like all these Hollywood-type,
high-pressure evangelists hit town, and people get moved, they
get emotional, they have experiences, they join the church. And when
the preacher leaves town, their religion goes with him, their
repentance goes with him. That's true. And then in the
fourth place, there is a repentance that mourns the loss of benefits
and the loss of honors. There is a repentance that is
born sometimes when folks lose things that are very dear, things
that are very precious, and things that are very important. Esau
is a picture of that. Esau had no use for the birthright. Now, let me tell you something.
Esau didn't sell his riches. He got rich. Esau didn't sell
his inheritance. He got an inheritance. His daddy
didn't leave him broke by any means. In fact, when Jacob came
back and offered him all those cattle and oxen and sheep, he
said, I don't need that. Son, I got more than you got.
What was the birthright? The birthright, my friend, was
this. The firstborn son was the spiritual
leader of the tribe. Isn't that right, Jerry? The
firstborn son was really the priest of those tribes. He was a man who represented
God. He was the authority. He was
a man through whom God worked and dealt. That's the birthright. When the father blessed the sons,
he blessed the firstborn, and that firstborn was the spiritual
head of that family. And when he sold that birthright,
he sold his right to God. That's what he was selling. And
when he sought that repentance with tears, he did not find it. But he mourned the loss of the
blessing. He mourned the loss of the benefit.
He mourned the loss of the honor. Now, in the fifth place, there
is a repentance or a sorrow that's not true repentance, but it brings
people down to despair. Utter, absolute, complete despair. I'll give you an example. Judas
sold our Lord for $18, 30 pieces of silver at that time, and he
betrayed the Lord. And then when the Lord was crucified,
it said, or even before he was crucified, when he was mistreated
by the soldiers, Judas brought that money back into the temple,
a form of repentance, sorrow. He was sorrowful, he was depressed,
he was in despair. And he brought that money back
into the temple and he threw it on the floor. And he said,
I've betrayed innocent blood. And they said, what's that to
us? See thou to it, that's your fault, that's your sin. He was
so depressed and in such despair, he went out and killed himself.
Killed himself. True repentance doesn't lead
to self-destruction. True repentance leads to Christ.
One time I remember, years ago, we had a preacher here by the
name of L.R. Shelton. Did some good preaching.
He was a good preacher. Was great on the radio, just
exceptionally good on the radio. But Shelton, he could get people
lost. He could bring people into despair. He could bring folks under a
sense of great guilt and remorse. He could get them on condemned
row, but he couldn't get people to Christ. Did you know that?
I one time went down to preach to his congregation years ago
down in Louisiana, and I found everybody in the church was lost.
Some of them had been there for 20 years, but they were all on
condemned row. I'm telling you the truth. They
were all on condemned row. One man in the church had sold
his home and given the money for missions, and built another
home and sold that one and gave it to missions, and was living
in the third home, and he wasn't saved. He didn't have any assurance. I was out with L.R.' 's boy one
day. There was L.R. Jr., and there was Judson, and
then the daughter, and we were out one time at a picnic in Mississippi. And we were water skiing. I was
on the back of the boat, and L.R. Junior was riding on the
water ski, and he fell in the water. And I was helping him
in the boat. I said, L.R., I think I'll just
let you go and let the propeller chew you up. I was just joking,
you know, I think. And he said, well, Henry, don't
do that, because I'm not saved. I said, you're not saved. You
don't know Christ? He said, I love him, but I'm
not saved. I said, whoa, now, hang on. He's still in the water. We were doing this talking back
and forth. I said, didn't you write a tract on imputed righteousness
and particular redemption? He said, yes. I said, do you
believe that tract? Yes, but I'm not saved. And you could
multiply it over the whole congregation. Brother Barnard went there one
time and preached for two weeks, no, three weeks. There were 295
people professed faith in Christ. He went back six months and everyone
lost again. The man, this is true Paul, the
man could preach so that people despaired and that he preached
so that people were full of remorse and guilt and all of these things,
but he couldn't bring people to trust Christ. He preached
over here one time for two or three weeks and left town and
a lot of our folks got under this And you know there's a place
for that kind of ministry. There's a place for a ministry
that shuts Pharisees up to Christ. There's a place for that. There's
a place for a stripping ministry and a ministry that knocks foundations
out for money. I try to do that. There's a place
for a ministry that shuts me in up and tears down their false
walls and their false faith and their false repentance. We've
got to do that. But not stop there. Barnard came
along the next Sunday. I was just a very young preacher
then. 1954, I was 28. It's hard to say 18, but I knew
somebody would straighten that out. I was 28. And Barnard came
the next Sunday, and he said to me, he said, Henry, son, let
me tell you something. He said, there's just one thing
wrong with L.R.' 's ministry. He said, the Bible doesn't say,
blessed are they that mourn and mourn and mourn and mourn. It said, blessed are they that
mourn, for they shall be comforted. Huh? Isn't that what it says? He said, Henry, the Bible doesn't
say, blessed are they that hunger and hunger and hunger and hunger
and hunger. Remember this? Some of you remember.
He said, blessed are they that hunger, they'll be filled. They'll
be filled. You see what I'm saying? Because
you are going through despair and remorse, and you say, I just
can't get to victory, I just can't do this, I'm so filled
with despair and remorse, you've got your false repentance on
your hands. Because true repentance doesn't
lead to despair, it leads to Christ. It doesn't lead to distress,
it leads to Christ. It doesn't lead to suicide, it
leads to Christ. True repentance. Blessed are
they that mourn, they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek,
they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they that hunger,
they shall be filled. That's what it says. All right, preacher, what is
true repentance? Let me see if I've repented.
Well, let me say this first. True repentance has to do with
attitude. more than action. I'm not saying
it doesn't have to do with action. It has to do with action. It
will result in action being straightened out. Let me show you that in
Matthew 23. Let me show you that in the words of the Master. Matthew
23. It says here in Matthew 23, verse
25, the Lord Jesus is speaking. And he's speaking to these religious
men. Matthew 23, verse 25. He's speaking to these very religious
leaders. They're strict, separated, moral,
self-righteous. He said, Woe unto you scribes
and Pharisees! You may clean the outside of
the cup and the platter, but within you're full of extortion
and excess. You blind Pharisee, cleanse first. This is what David prayed in
Psalm 51, Lord, create in me a clean heart. Renew within me
a right spirit. Cleanse first. That which is
within, attitude, motive, thoughts, these things, that the outside
of them may be clean also. In other words, I'm saying that
a man can quit all of his outstanding sins and still be a rebel in
his heart. But a man converted in his heart,
it's going to have results in his life. You see what I'm saying? In other words, true repentance
has more to do with attitude. If a man's attitude is straightened
out, his life gets straightened out. But he can straighten out
his life and appear beautiful before men. Read the next verse
down there, verse 27. Warn you scribes, Pharisees,
hypocrites, you're like whited sepulchers. You know what that
is, don't you? That's a grave. It appears beautiful outwardly,
but within it's full of dead men's bones. all uncleanness,
even so you appear, outwardly appear righteous unto men. But
within you're full of hypocrisy and iniquity. You see, repentance
has to do with a spirit, with an attitude. It's just like faith.
Faith is not in visual things. It's not in outward reformation.
It's not in ceremony or ritual. It's in the heart. It's in the
heart. And if the heart's straightened
out, the life will get straightened out. Another thing, true repentance
has to do with the mind and the motive more than the manners
otherwise. Listen to me. I'm saying that
true repentance, a broken heart, a contrite spirit, a humble spirit,
a right relationship with God, is an inward work. It's a heart
work. It's a work the Holy Ghost performs
on the spirit, on the heart. It results in a right attitude,
a right motive, a right spirit. Otherwise, you couldn't account
for men like David, whom the Scripture says was a man after
God's own heart. You couldn't account for Jacob.
Jacob. God loved Jacob. He said, he
saw a hate. Jacob I love." How could God
love Jacob? Because the Lord said this to
Samuel. He said, the Lord does not see as men see. Men look
on the outward appearance, God looks on the heart. God knew
Jacob's heart. Abraham, Peter. I guess if you
took all twelve of the apostles, the most impulsive, unpredictable,
the one that stayed in trouble more than any of the other eleven,
Peter. And yet, our Lord loved that
man. He had a relationship. In fact,
our Lord Jesus Christ, when he arose from the tomb, he turned
to the women and said, go and tell my disciples that I've risen,
and tell Peter. You remember? And tell Peter. All of them were gathered around
the lake after our Lord had risen. He singled one man out and took
him aside and said, Do you love me, Peter? This is what I'm saying,
and this is something we'd better get a hold of. Repentance, repentance,
true repentance, true brokenheartedness, true contrite spirit, the right
relationship with God is a hard work. Yes, it results in reformation. It results in godly living. It
results in clean conversation. It results in a godly walk. But
it starts in the heart. And if it's not in the heart,
it can be in the flesh and never touch the heart. Now, here are
six things, and believe me, I'm not going to do what I usually
do. I'm going to cut her short because I give you these six
things. True repentance glorifies God in six ways. First of all,
true repentance, a true heart relationship with God. A man
can say, my heart's right with God. My heart's right with God. I'll never get this flesh right
with God. In the flesh dwelleth no good
thing. In the flesh no man can please God. But he said, my son,
give me your heart. With a heart man believeth. Keep
thy heart out of any of the issues of life. Number one, true repentance
acknowledges God's sovereignty in all things. That's right. True repentance, a true broken
heart, a true humble spirit, a true relationship with God
in the heart acknowledges. Now, there are two ways to acknowledge
God's sovereignty. There are two ways. One's right
and the other's wrong. There are two ways. First, there
is the way of sullen submission. I'll show you that in Romans
9. You want to look at it in Romans 9? Here is an acknowledgment
of God's sovereignty. I'm talking about God's sovereignty
in creation, in providence, in salvation. Let me give you an
example. The Lord said to Samuel, tell
Eli, I'm going to kill both of his sons. They brought strange
fire and so forth, done something, and you didn't rebuke them or
kill them. Eli said, well, it's the Lord. Let him do what he
will. That's acknowledging God. That's true repentance. That's
true right relationship. Job, they came and told him all
these terrible things that happened to his family, to all of his
wealth, everything. Well, he said, the Lord gave, and the
Lord had taken it away. Praise the Lord. In all of this,
he didn't charge God with foolishness. That's what I'm talking about.
God is sovereign. A true heart acknowledges God's sovereignty.
But here's a sullen way. Listen to this. Romans 9, verse
18, "...therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, whom
he will he hardeneth." Well, I will say, well, why does he
yet find fault? Who hath resisted his will? I accept that, but
who's resisted? What's he upset about? You see,
that's sullen submission. Okay, God's sovereign, what's
he upset about? Who's resisted his will? Paul
rebuked him. He said, nay, old man, who are
you to reply against God? Who are you? Now, here's the
way to acknowledge God's sovereignty, with glad rejoicing. At that
hour, Jesus lifted his eyes to heaven, and he said, I thank
you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You've hid these things
from the wise and prudent, and you revealed it to Baal. I rejoice. See what I'm saying? A true heart
of repentance and submission acknowledges, not in sullen submission,
not in sullen rebellion, but acknowledges in glad rejoicing.
It's the Lord. Let him do what he will. The
Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Now I know when tragedy
hits our home and these things step in, we've had some of that
and you've had some of it. We sorrow, but not as those who
have no hope. And anger comes up in our hearts. I never will forget when those
soldiers came down to Florida and told us our son had been
killed in Vietnam. For a few minutes there, I wanted
to kill every Vietnamese on this earth. I didn't want anything
to do with the United States Army. I didn't want anything
to do with that flag. You see what I'm talking about? For a
moment, just like that, I was angry. But then I realized who's
on the throne. And that's what I'm talking about.
Then you realize who's on the throne. You realize these second
causes didn't have anything to do with it. That flag didn't
have anything to do with his death. The United States Army didn't
have anything to do with his death. The Vietnamese didn't
have anything to do with his death. That was God's ordination.
God's ordination. And I believe that I've repented
on that score. Secondly, true repentance admits,
frailly admits, in here, the holiness of God. the holiness
of God and the sinfulness of our flesh. Isaiah, Isaiah said,
I saw the Lord high and lifted up, his train filled the temple,
and the cherubims and seraphims cried, holy, holy, holy, Lord
God Almighty. Then Isaiah said, when I saw
the Lord in his holiness, woe is me. I'm a man of unclean lips."
Now that repentance, brethren, repentance does not justify ourselves. Job said, if I justify myself,
my own mouth would condemn me. If I justify myself, my own mouth
would prove me perverse. If I justify myself, I'd be lying. True repentance does not alibi,
it does not excuse itself, it does not alibi or excuse its
sin, it just faces the fact that God's holy and I'm unholy. God's
good and I'm bad. God's righteous and I'm evil.
God is high and holy and righteous and I'm low down and no count.
Now that's true repentance. Job said that. He said, when
I saw the Lord, he said, I abhorred myself. I hated myself. Hated myself. Thirdly, repentance
confesses the justice of God. The justice of God's judgments
in God's dealing with sin. True repentance says the Lord
must punish sin and He's just to do it. Even my sin. That's what David said. Turn
back to Psalm 51. Now, we know this man repented. We know this
man, David, was a repentant sinner. And he said in Psalm 51, verse
4, you see it, "...against thee, and thee only have I sinned,
and done this evil in thy sight, O Lord, that you may be justified,
justified when you speak, and clear when you judge. Whatever
you do, Lord, it's right. I'm going to ask you three questions. Will God punish sin? Yes, sir. Everybody says yes, sir. Is God
just to punish sin? Yes. Would God be just if he
punished your sins, my sins? No, that's different. A lady
said to some friend of mine one time, she said, I can't take
that election. Can't take it. Well, he said,
why? He said, I just don't think that
it'd be right if God passed my little girl by and didn't save
her. You see what we're bringing this down to? My little girl.
No. It'd be all right if it passed
yours by, and yours, and yours. And that's not repentance. Repentance
says it'd be alright if God not only passed her by, but me too. Now, I'm not going to like it.
You see what I'm saying? I'm not going to, I can't stand
up here and say I'd rejoice if God sent me to hell. I can't,
I'm just, there's not enough grace in my heart to do that.
I don't think anybody here can do that. I don't want to go to
hell. I don't want to, but I'll tell
you this, if I go, I'll deserve it. Is that all right? If I go,
I'll deserve it. And God will be right. God will
be right. All right? Fourthly, repentance. Now watch this. Repentance, true
repentance, owns in the heart, sincerely, that it lies with
God, with God's sovereign will, to either lead me in my sins
or save me by His grace. It's in his hands. Salvation
is not of the will of the flesh. It's not of the will of man.
It's of God. It's not of him that will it or of him that run
it. It's of God that showeth mercy. Listen to the leper who
came to Christ. Lord, if you will, you can make
me whole. You see what I'm saying? I'm
simply saying what David Brainerd said. David Brainerd faced four
things. David Brainerd, the great missionary of the Indian, one
of the greatest preachers who ever lived. He died when he was
29 years old. Jonathan Edwards said of David Brainerd, A gospel
that produces a man like David Brainerd is worthy to be considered.
And David Brainerd said, I faced four things. Number one, God's
law required perfect obedience, and I couldn't produce it. Number
two, God Almighty required perfect faith, and I couldn't produce
that. And number three, I saw in the
Scripture that faith was the gift of God, the gift of God,
and he could give it or withhold it. And he said, fourthly, I
saw this, that it was in the power of God to save me or pass
me by and leave me in my darkness. Do you believe that? Well, my
friends, it's so. Repentance submits. You say,
do you believe a man can be saved and not believe in election?
Oh yeah, I certainly do. I certainly do. Until he encounters
it. See what I'm saying, Charlie?
Until he encounters it. And when he encounters it, he's
going to believe it. He's God's child. The only thing
that will fight God's sovereignty is a rebellious heart. A repentant
heart won't fight God's sovereignty. A repentant heart won't fight
God's glory. A repentant heart says like Saul
of Tarsus, Lord, what will you have me do? I'm saying a man
can be saved and be a babe in Christ, be an infant, a child,
immature. But as he comes to see these
things, as he sees God's greatness, as he sees God's holiness, as
he sees God's power, as he sees God's elective grace, as he sees
God's perfected redemption, as he sees these things, if his
heart's broken, he'll receive them. If he's repentant, he'll bow
before them. But if his heart's still steeled
and arrogant when his will crosses God's will, God's will's got
to go. And that's so with a lot of church members. They're just
so gracious, kind, lovely people, love the preaching, love the
singing, love this, till you cross their wills. And suddenly,
something happens. They never repented. See, repentance
is a broken heart. Repentance says, Lord, teach
me and I'll be taught. Deal with me and I'll say amen.
Alright, in the fifth place, repentance. Willingly receives
the grace of God in Christ. Receives it. You can't say a
man has repented if he doesn't receive Christ. Christ says,
Christ says, come unto me. Repentance comes. Christ says,
believe in me. Repentance believes. Christ says,
receive me. Repentance receives Christ. Christ
says, confess me before men. Repentance confesses him. Lord,
speak, my servant, hear it. Repentance says, trust Christ.
Christ says, trust me. Repentance trusts him. That's
right. I'm saying that true repentance
obeys Christ. I do believe, I now believe that
Jesus died for me, and by his blood, his precious blood, I
am from sin set free. I do believe Christ Jesus. I
do receive him. I do confess him. I do own him. I do build on that one foundation. True repentance looks to Christ.
And last of all, true repentance keeps on repenting. It's not
an isolated act. A man can't say, well, I have
repented. No, sir. I have, I am, and by
God's grace, I shall. You never stop repenting. Your
heart never stops being broken and humbled. Listen to this.
Turn to Colossians, and I'll quit. Colossians chapter 1. It
says here in Colossians 1, I say repentance keeps on repenting.
Keeps on repenting. Never, it doesn't arrive. Not
on this earth. David said, I'll be satisfied
when I wake with his likeness. Repentance never arrives. Paul
says, I count not myself to have apprehended. I'm not perfect.
I haven't laid hold upon that which I have been laid hold of
by Christ. That thirst is satisfied, but
never completely satisfied. That hunger is filled, but it's
never completely filled. There's always a new need every
day. He says in Colossians 1, verse 21, and you that were sometime
alienated, enemies in your mind, in your mind. The natural mind
is enmity. It's not subject to the law of
God. The mind, when I say the mind, I mean the heart, the spirit,
the nature. by wicked work, yet hath he now
reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present
you holy, unblameable, unreprovable in his sight, if you continue
in the faith, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel,
which you have heard, and which was preached to every creature
which is under heaven, whereby of our Paul and made a minister. Our Father, bless Thy Word. We've
tried to be honest and straightforward and truthful and deal with these
things in a language that men can understand, where we live
and we trust for Your glory. We know this work of conversion,
this powerful, regenerating, supernatural work of regeneration
And this thing of repentance toward thee in faith in Christ
Jesus is a hard work. It's not mechanical. It's not
doctrinal. It's not theological. It's not
something that we profess or we reach out and lay hold of.
It's a supernatural work of thy grace. It's a work no man can
do for another and no man can do for himself. Breaking the
heart, breaking the spirit, bringing us down in the dust, is a work
of your spirit. I pray tonight, I pray for myself,
I pray for these people who are gathered here and these who will
hear this message on tape. Lord, do a work of grace in our
hearts. Bring us to saving repentance
and saving faith. Lord, crush us. Take the haughtiness
and arrogance and pride and rebellious spirit out of us. Let this mind
be in us which was also in our Lord, who thought it not robbery
to be equal with thee, but made himself of no reputation and
became obedient unto death. Lord, crush our proud spirits
and give us the willing, submissive, humble, broken spirit of a repentant
sinner. And may it continue as our days
unfold till we stand before Thee in the likeness of Thy dear Son.
For it is in His name we pray. Amen.

Have I Repented?

What does the Bible say about repentance?

How do we know true repentance is genuine?

Why is repentance important for Christians?

What are the signs of false repentance?

How does true repentance affect a Christian's relationship with God?

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Have I Repented?

What does the Bible say about repentance?

How do we know true repentance is genuine?

Why is repentance important for Christians?

What are the signs of false repentance?

How does true repentance affect a Christian's relationship with God?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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