Will you define "true repentance" for me, please?

Question

Sometimes I feel as if the church at large doesn't seem to understand it. We say we do, but in the big scheme of things. I don't think so. True Repentance is admitting your wrong, asking for forgiveness, and shutting it down from there, never meaning to do it again. True Repentance is saying God, I say I am yours and that I LOVE YOU with all my heart and if that is so, I must and WILL do all that pleases you. I will eliminate that which I am doing wrong for you.

I know I've answered my own question, but I want to see what you think the definition is.

Please don't think I'm portraying myself as a perfect Christian. I am not, by any means, doing that. I'm growing and learning everyday and yes I do wrong and yes sometimes whatever the wrong is can be hard to stop. However, when I remind myself what I feel the definition of repentance is, it makes me feel more accountable to myself. I'm sure your answers will help me as well.

Answer 1

You are close with your answer on true reptenance, what it is. True repentance is just that. Realizing you did wrong and disobeyed God and that is serious and that you know He will forgive you , and that you want only to please God, that you feel incredible sorrow for the wrong you did, and know you wont do it again. Obedience leads to blessing and by being obediant , we will overcome all sin. We must know that the Holy Spirit will give us the strengh to do this by obedience. Jesus doesnt say just mouth the words, and He knows our heart. To continually repent of the same thing over and over saying I am working on it, is a joke. A person may fall a few times as they are in the beginning of learning true obedience and repentenace, but when your heart is only for God, and you stay obedient, stay in prayer, and know God, you will stop doing that sin. Can you imagine God saying I am working on saving you.? WE are either obediant or we arent. And disobedience leads to curse, more issues, more sin, and more bondage to sin. Yes, we must say and believe and just KNOW we are Gods and that because of that love, we will only do what honors Him. No I have not reached perfection either, and even if we did, we would never know it, as we would always want to be doing more for the Lord. But, I do know I am living in obedience, and I am growing and learning, and that I will be victorious over all sin, because I am on the same path with God that He wants me to be on. The only reason things will be hard to stop is when we down deep dont want to give them up, and the devil uses that to entice us. He cant cause us to do something if it isnt something we want to do. LIke the man that says I am trying not to cheat on my wife, but he still cheats. HE wants to and devil pulls him that way > If that man had NO desire to cheat on his wife, he would not do so. Its like the devil call pull me towards ice cream, a weakness, but he cant pull me to liver and onions. hahaha, get the point tho, huh? If we dont desire something, we wont have a hard time giving it up. We are to pray to have only the things God desires for us, and it will be if we really want it, and ask for it, and believe for it. Faith still moves mountains today. But, this generation must really hear this truth. Grace will not cover continued,willful, deliberate sin. Its for unknown sins. We can only be saved by the grace of GOd by the blood of Jesus Christ. absolutely, that gift is free. But holding on to that gift is conditional. ALl the scripture it tells us sin leads to death. But ppl dont want to know that or hear it. Its easier to sin and say grace has it all covered. But, Jesus is coming soon and to go Home with HIm, we must be FULLY His, in obedience, or we arent His at all and will be lost. We are told to abide in Jesus to be like Jesus, all thru the Bible. Jesus did not sin. He is our example of how to think , act, live, etc. Abiding in Jesus gets us His total care and protection, thats Biblical too. Abiding means to follow Jesus and be like Him, think like HIm, love like Him, forgive like Him.. and we cant do that in continued sin. Jesus didnt come so we would be free to sin. He came that we would be free of sin, and have the blessings He so wants for each of us. It is not ourself we must end up being accountible to. We must be accountable fully to JEsus Christ who is coming soon. Press on with Jesus, you are on the right track.

Answer 2

Repentance does not mean turning from sin. Repentance means turning to God, or in the case of the Israelite, a returning to God.

The statement in Acts and Gentiles repenting should help impart this understanding. Repentance unto life was something granted to them by God. A Gentile could confess his/her sins, but to the Jewish understanding at the time within the church, a Gentile was seen as not being able to turn to God. The events surrounding Cornelius demonstrated that they now could turn to God; they now could "repent".

In the process of repenting, one naturally abandons the lifestyle of sin one had before. This then is an ancillary definition, but not the primary definition.

Answer 3

I think you are absoulutely right. True repentance means that you tell God that you are sorry for your sins, asking Him to forgive you and being true in your feelings. When you ask Him there should be not an ounce of doubt in your mind, or it is not true.

Remember, there is no such thing as a perfect human being. We have free will, which gets us into quite a number of fixes from time to time. We just simply have to repent and ask His forgiveness. And if we are having trouble forgiving others, ask for His help. He is an awesome God, and He understands.

Answer 4

What other Christians or your church members think or judge about you is much less important, the most important thing is your own relationship with god, isn't it?

We are sinners all the time, since we are wasting most of our time in no-god-related activities, and the world occupies 99% of our heart. If we are not close with god, we are sinners, if anything on this world prohibit us to get close to god (like, computer games are ones I found these days) that's sin.
I'm not saying we should do nothing except praying all day long, since I also know many many monks whose lips are praying, but their heart are in somewhere else.

Be... truely joyful, be honest to yourself, chat a lot with god, and appreciate many many things you received for granted... Don't be stressed over sins you already made, but try to stay awake at this moment so you'll be closer to god. That's repent I'm practicing.

Answer 5

I think that what you have said pretty much covers it. I think that we when we repent must say that these sins are of the past and I am now living for God. When we do backslide it is only by God's grace that we can find Him again. And this by the scriptures definition is very hard to do.

In Jesus Name

Answer 6

You have a convicted heart, which is precious in Jesus' sight.
Jesus lived on this earth with us. He was tempted. He knew the temptations that bombard people and that is one reason He was so quick to forgive the repentant heart.

Jesus does not expect us to be perfect, but to strive daily to be more like Him and that earnest, loving struggle to be better and do better and then instantly repent any slip is precious and pleasing to Jesus.

Answer 7

A true friend is one who would give company to help you search your happiness without any selfish motive. Most of the times what goes by the term "friend" means having some common interests ( Like birds flock together). But if you find someone who keeps company for the simple reason that you should be happy in a way that includes happiness of all the universe and exclude none, he is your true friend for he helps you in uncovering your "true" nature.

Answer 8

Great answer to your own question. What scares me is that so many teach faith only...as if you can continue in sin (without repentance) and still go to heaven. I'm not one to judge but I don't believe we can approach the throne with sin in our lives. I think we need to access the blood of Jesus to clean our lives and repent from sin in just the way you said it.

Answer 9

Doesn't true repentence extend not just to ourselves but to our perceptions of others? How can you forgive yourself and condemn others: the insularity will make you prideful and hollow out the goodness of your repentence.

You cannot forgive yourself and hold the world (or any institution within it) in contempt, for are you not also a part of the institution itself? A lawyer who calls himself just but calls his profession corrupt corrupts himself by his very judgement. If a lawyer cannot make his profession just by his own efforts, how 'just' is he?

If you become the light, how can your light not help but spread? If you cast no light, how can you expect others to see in the dark?

Answer 10

We focus on ourselves too much when it comes to repent. God already knows our thoughts and our deeds. Focus on his love for you, his amazing unconditional love. He makes the sacrement of repebting very easy for us, he gives us the chance to begin all over again, by letting go of all that burdens us, and keeps us in agonizing pain. 365 times Christ says in the gospels, Do not be afraid. This is his letter to us. So do not fear the blessed sacrement of telling God your wrongs, because he only wants to clean you up, and set you on a better path.

Answer 11

it comes from your heart......the word to repent means to about face and to turn away from. Therefore when you repent from something you try to turn away from and use the strength that the Lord has and will give you to keep from doing that again.