Index To   The Heart of The Matter ...  Sin,  Repentance, Salvation, Born Again Etc.

Notes On Repentance
In actuality, neither penitence or penance are concepts that are emphasized in the Bible. So much for the dictionary. The concept of what it means to repent in the Old and New Testaments is difficult to put into clear English. This is the reason for this short set of notes. It merely introduces the complexities of the Biblical subject of repentance and hopefully calls the reader's attention to the importance of this subject. Our English Bibles have not done a good job of translating the several Hebrew and Greek words that are relevant to what repentance is and how it works.

God's Ageless Ultimatum
Just being sorry isn't repentance. True repentance is brought about through "godly sorrow." Some folks are very sorry for what they have done. The prisons are full of folks who would fall into this category I am sure. If released from prison, statistics show that the greater portion of them would repeat the deeds which put them behind bars to begin with. Their sorrow in most cases isn't a godly sorrow. They are simply sorry they got caught! Such sorrow will not lead to repentance

Repentance Is More Than A Sinner’s Prayer
Those who do not preach repentance or who make light of it or who claim it is the same as faith or who redefine it so that it has nothing to do with sin are not following the Bible pattern for evangelism. They are following a manmade program. The bottom line is that Bible preachers proclaimed repentance. If faith is the same as repentance, this would make no sense. Those who follow the Bible will preach repentance
and will require evidence thereof

Whatever Happened to Repentance?
You rarely hear the word mentioned in most churches today — even in Baptist, Pentecostal or evangelical circles. Pastors nowadays seldom call for their congregations to sorrow over sin — to mourn and grieve over wounding Christ by their wickedness. Instead, the message we hear from many pulpits today is, "Just believe. Accept Christ, and you'll be saved." The text used to justify this message is Acts 16:30-31.

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