What Does Real Repentance Look Like? (Repentance) | Season 07, Episode 1 | Simple Truth Podcast

Have you ever said, "God, I am sorry." and then went ahead and did the same thing again? Maybe you were taught that since God forgives, it doesn't matter what you do as long as you ask for forgiveness. So, you sin with a light heart. Maybe you actually meant it. You felt guilty. You wanted to change. But before long, the same bad habit, the same attitude, the same nasty behavior, it just shows up again. And it could leave you wondering, "Did I really repent or did I just feel bad for a while?" And how can you tell the difference? This episode, we're going to answer three important questions about repentance. First, why does following Jesus start with repentance? Second, what does repentance actually mean? And third, when you repent, what are you leaving behind and what are you turning toward? [music] Welcome to The Simple Truth podcast. I'm Ted Ross and this is season 7, episode 1. What does real repentance look like? We're talking about repentance. Last season, it ended with a simple challenge for us. Jesus finished the work through his blood and his sacrifice. So, now go build your life on what he's done. So, it begs the question and this season we're asking, "What foundation do we build on the cross of Christ?" Well, Hebrews chapter 6, it points us to the basic teachings of Christ, the foundational truths that every Christian needs to understand if we're going to move from spiritual babies into mature and successful Christians. That's why we're calling this season Christian Basics. So, we're going to answer three questions, starting with question number one. Why does following Jesus start with repentance? God gives us the foundational teachings for Christian life in the book of Hebrews. Foundational, it refers to first teachings, right? The ones that get laid down before God builds the rest of your life on it. And it's worth noticing where he starts. He starts with repentance. But before we get into why repentance comes first, we need to understand why these basics matter in the first place. God doesn't want us to be spiritual babies. He wants us to grow up. Hebrews chapter 5 verses 12 through 14. As a reminder, all Bible verses in this episode are from the New King James Version, so feel free to follow along. Here we're going to see there's nothing wrong with starting as a spiritual baby. The problem is staying there when God wants you to grow up through the Christian basics. Hebrews 5:12, quote, "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God. And you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe." "But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." There's a lot in these few verses here. But it says in verse 12, "For though by this time you ought to be teachers." The writer is saying you should be instructors who could explain to others these concepts, right? You ought to be teachers, and yet the writer says in verse 12, "You need someone else to still teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God." These are the beginning truths, the foundational teachings. Notice what the writer is doing. The writer is setting us up because the writer is about to explain what the foundational teachings of Christianity are. He goes on to say, "You have come to need milk and not solid food. Remember, a child, a baby, drinks milk or formula and it can't handle solid food. And he says, you have come to need milk. You are acting like babies, spiritual babies, the writer's saying, and you can't even handle the solid food. You require the foundational teachings, the writer's saying, and you're not ready yet for more advanced Christian teachings. It says in verse 13,"For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe."Verse 14,"But solid food, it belongs to those who are of full age, right?"Those who are mature."That is who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."Writer here is saying,"For though you should be ready to be instructors who can explain God's teachings to others, he's going to have to reiterate the foundational teachings back to them again."So, ask yourself this question. Is my faith becoming more mature every day, or am I spiritually stuck? Growth, it really starts with learning the basics and putting them into practice. Then, once we've learned the Christian basics and put them into practice, we can move from milk to solid food, much as a spiritual baby moves into maturity, and we could become of full age, as the scripture is saying. So, what exactly are these Christian basics, right? What is this writer talking about? What are we supposed to learn and to build on? Hebrews chapter 6 tells us, and the very first one is repentance. Hebrews 6 verses 1 through 3. We're going to see here that God gives us basic teachings that every Christian should know. They're the foundation we need to grow from spiritual infancy into Christian maturity. Hebrews 6:1 says, "Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles. "What is elementary principles? It's beginning or foundational teachings. In other words, basic truths that we should start with. He said, "Let us leave them and go on to perfection. "Right? It's a maturity. It's completeness. God's plan in your life is to lay the foundation, to lay the elementary principles, the Christian basics in your heart, so then you could then move on to maturity, into completeness. And it says, "Not laying again the foundation." And the writer is now about to list the foundational the elementary principles, the elementary or basic teachings of Christianity right here in Hebrews 6:1-3. It says, "Not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works. "The very first that he lists. Remember, repentance is to think differently. It's to change your mind. It's to have another mind. And he says, "Not laying again that foundation. "That very first elementary principle, that very first teaching of repentance from dead works. And then he continues to list faith toward God, doctrine of baptisms. All of these we're going to teach throughout this season. So, do I understand the foundations of faith, or do I just hear of them in church? That's what this writer is saying. Do I understand them and internalize them and build upon it to I go on to perfection because I've been established in the Christian basics, or do do I just hear about them in church and just kind of know them mentally? Let's learn the basics well enough, you and I. Let's learn the basics through this season to understand, to live, and to even explain them as the writer wrote in the last verses in Hebrews chapter 5. We ought to be teachers. We ought to be instructors. And yet he says we need to be taught them again. These Christian basics, they matter. And the goal isn't just to memorize this list of six teachings or six doctrines. God gives them to us for a reason. These basics have an important purpose in the way that we grow as Christians. So, let's see. Why do the Christian basics matter? Well, do you want a stronger Christian life? Get the basics right. Do you want to prosper? Do you want to be in good health? Do you want to reign and rule in this life? Do you want victory? Do you want to overcome? Do you want blessings for your family and for your city and for your nation? Right? Get the basics right. God gives us something solid to build our Christian life on. This is the Christian basics listed in Hebrews chapter 6. It moves us, as the writer said, from spiritual infancy, from being a spiritual baby, to maturity, where we could really walk and we could practice. And as the scripture said, we can move on to perfection, to maturity, to completion. It shows connections between these biblical truths. Quite often we go to church and we learn things and we don't know how these things interconnect with other things. And one of the strengths of these Christian basics is it gives us a foundational understanding of how core biblical truths interconnect with each other. And it helps us to understand, to live, and to explain what it is that we even believe. Right? These basics, they're not just a random list that the writer of Hebrews scrapped together. Hebrews put them together in a very intentional way. How do the Christian basics fit together? Well, Hebrews 6 groups these foundational teachings in pairs. Okay? What do we mean by that? Well, it groups grammatically repentance from dead works with faith towards God. So, the first grouping is repentance from dead works and faith towards God, which tells us that this is how we begin with God. We begin through repentance, which we'll describe in this episode, and faith. The next grouping is the doctrine of baptisms and laying on of hands. And that moves us from how we began with God to how we live now as members of God's church. So it describes the importance and the meaning of baptisms as well as the service and the operation of ministry through the laying on of hands, which we'll discuss more in a second. Then the third grouping is the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And if you look at this pair, it talks about where life is headed. So while repentance and faith describes how things began, baptisms and laying on of hands starts to kind of get into the operation of the church today. Then we see the resurrection and eternal judgment where we see where our lives are headed. The Christian basics are foundational blocks for our Christian life. And if I were to summarize them right now, although we're going to cover them in depth throughout the season, we would say that repentance is about turning towards God. Faith is about trusting God and having confidence in God. Baptisms is about identifying with the new life that he gives us. Laying on of hands is about participating in the life and the ministry of God's church. Resurrection of the dead is knowing where this life is headed. And then eternal judgment, and get that sixth finger in there. Eternal judgment is living knowing that life matters before God, knowing that we're all going to be standing before a great white throne of judgment. These all have a lot of relevance and a lot of importance, and these are the six Christian basics that we should all know. They're elementary principles of the doctrine or the teachings of Jesus Christ. And notice where the foundation begins. It begins with repentance and faith, turning toward God and trusting in God. And that combination, repentance and faith, is exactly how Jesus called people to respond when he preached the gospel. So, let's see this in Mark chapter 1. Remember what we said, these things interconnect. Mark 1 verses 14 and 15. We're going to see here that the gospel, it isn't just religious information for us to agree with. Jesus calls for a change in how we think, who we trust, and the direction that we are going. Mark 1 verse 14. Now, after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee preaching of the kingdom of God. Verse 15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel." So, it said Jesus came to Galilee preaching. To preach is to proclaim publicly, to declare, right? He was communicating this message and he was preaching the gospel. He was preaching the good news or the good message. As we know from 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 1 through 4, he was preaching the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul actually defines the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15. And it said, "The time is fulfilled." Right? The time is complete, the time has arrived. And he said, "The kingdom of God is at hand." That means the rule, the reign, the authority of God is right here, Jesus was saying. Then he says, "Repent. Think differently, change your mind, have another mind, and believe the gospel. Trust and rely on, adhere to, cling on to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. "So, ask yourself," Have I responded to the gospel or do I just agree that it's true?" Cuz Jesus said, "Repent, change your mind, think differently, and believe." Don't just agree with the gospel. Respond with repentance and faith. That's what Jesus, our Lord and Savior, called us to do. And then we saw in Hebrews chapter 6 verses 1 through 3 that the very first pairing of Christian basics was repentance and faith. Jesus makes the starting point really clear. Hear the good news. Repent by turning towards God and trust him in faith. That's where following him begins. Which brings us to simple truth number 121. Following Jesus begins with repentance. So, repentance matters. But, what is it really? Is it feeling bad? Is it saying you're sorry? Is it changing your behavior? Or is it something deeper than that? So, it brings us to question number two. What does repentance actually mean? Repentance it it sounds like a church word, right? But, the Bible gives us a very straightforward and a very practical meaning. So, if repentance is where following Jesus begins, let's look at what that word means. The meaning of repentance. What exactly does repentance mean? Repentance is a changing of the mind that brings about a different direction. Also known as a reconsideration or reorientation. You're going one way and then you reorient yourself to now go a completely different way. You're thinking differently when you repent. You're changing your mind and you're changing the direction that you have been going. Change your mind. That's a term that often in modern English can sound casual, right? Maybe I'm changing my mind for a lunch order. But, biblical repentance it's a much deeper use of the expression changing your mind. Repentance starts when you see things differently because you start to accept that God is who he says he is and that God is right. You stop defending your old ways, right? You're reorienting yourself because you were going a down a path that you chose. You were going according to a vision of your own heart. You were chasing after your own desires. You were doing what maybe you felt was right without any knowledge or understanding or obedience or submission to God. And so, repentance involves stop defending your old ways and come into agreement with what God says about you. In other words, you think differently. The changing of the mind then changes your response to God. You start turning toward God and doing his will. Repentance isn't, "Yeah, I know it's wrong." Repentance is, "God is right and I will change." So, repentance isn't just changing your opinion. It's changing your response to God. And when you turn toward him, you find forgiveness, right? And the power to start living differently. Luke 24:45-47. Here we're going to see that Jesus opened the disciples' eyes to see the gospel as the central message of the Bible and that repentance and forgiveness is the message for all people. Luke 24:45, "And he opened their understanding, they being the disciples, that they might comprehend the scriptures." Then he said to them, "Thus it is written and thus it is necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day. And that repentance and remission of sins be preached in his name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem." Right? It says that Jesus opened their understanding that they, the disciples, might comprehend. That means they might understand, grasp, or connect the meaning of the scriptures. And remember, the New Testament wasn't written at this point. So, he was revealing the Old Testament to them because all throughout the Old Testament it testifies about Jesus Christ, the Messiah, his purpose, what the anointed one is doing, the deliverance of Israel, the preaching to the Gentiles. The New Testament is written throughout the Old Testament. That's why it's so often quoted in the New Testament. So, Jesus gave them understanding and connected the meaning of the Old Testament, the scriptures, to the disciples. And he said to them, "Thus it is written, right? Here's why this was written in the Old Testament," Jesus said, "and here's why it was necessary for Jesus Christ to suffer, right? To be necessary, why it must happen, why this was required in God's plan. "Remember, it was a shock to the disciples, even though Jesus told them repeatedly, it was a shock to them that their Lord and Savior was captured, was beaten, imprisoned, and killed. They were shocked. They were in shock and awe. And then they were even shocked when they saw the tomb emptied, right? This is how amazing this was. This is why this is literally the greatest moment in human history, where someone was dead and now they're alive. And more than that, they're telling them to go and preach this message throughout the world, and that by his spirit, he will bear witness to it, which he did all through the book of Acts. It's absolutely incredible. I saw this as a myth. I saw this as fairy tales when I was not a Christian and before. And then God, by his spirit, he drugged me in. He dragged me into his kingdom. I was resisting and fighting and rebelling. I didn't want to be a Christian. I didn't want to read a Bible. I didn't want to go to church. That's what crazy people did. And I joined the crazy people, because as it turns out, they're not so crazy. Praise God. And here I am. Here we are in a podcast. We're discussing God's word because of the experiences I have, I can no longer ignore. And so we're here. We read our scripture. We pray. We seek God's face, and we submit our lives to him because he's worthy and because he's the only one who can deliver us. He's the only one who could change us. He's the only one who can help us fulfill the purpose that he has always had for us. Praise God. So, we learn these scriptures, we pray, we submit ourselves to him, we repent because that's what God calls us to do. So, Jesus, he explained to them that it must happen for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day. And that repentance, here's that word again, thinking differently, changing of the mind, and remission of sins, which is the release, the pardon, or the forgiveness of sins. So, Jesus said, "Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations." When I repent, ask yourself, do I focus on what I'm leaving or where I'm going? When God calls us to repent, to change our mind, do we obsess and focus on that thing? Like Lot's wife, do we look back at the thing we're repenting from? Do we keep talking about that thing we left? Or do we repent and we focus on where we're going? Right, getting us away from that terrible behavior, that terrible habit, the thing that was trying to rule over us, trying to enslave us. Do we still focusing on that cuz we shouldn't be, folks. Turn away from what's killing you. Don't even think about it. Get away from it and turn to God who's giving you life and purpose. You'll notice in Philippians it doesn't say that whatsoever enslaved you or whatsoever you loved that was sinful, focus on those things. No, it talks about focusing on what's good and of good report and those things that are a blessing. Those are the things that we think and we meditate and we focus on. That's what God calls us to do. God isn't just calling you out of something, he's calling you to someone. And that someone is God. And you access God through trusting, right, through reliance on, through confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is literally the the that Jesus tells to preach here in Luke 24, and it's literally the message that Paul gave to the churches in the New Testament, and we can see this in Acts chapter 20. Acts 20 verses 18, 20, and 21. We're going to see that repentance turns you to God. Faith teaches us to rely on God. All right, Acts 20 verse 18. And when they had come to him, he said to them, "You know from the first day that I came to Asia. "This is Paul talking." In what manner I always lived among you, how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." Paul said, "I kept back nothing that was helpful, nothing that was profitable, useful, or brought about good. "He said," I kept none of it back. I shared all of it with you both publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews and Greeks. "Didn't matter who, Christians, non-Christians, Jew, Gentile, didn't even matter. He preached, he proclaimed repentance toward God. Remember, it's changing direction to God and to God's ways. That's what you're changing to. And faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Faith is trust, belief, confidence in God. And faith toward our Lord is putting your trust and your confidence in Jesus Christ. This is the message Paul gave to all the churches. So, ask yourself, am I turning my life to God, or am I adding Jesus to a life that I already had? Do you understand? These people, they were willing to sell out for Jesus, like the saying goes. And so, ask yourself, am I taking my life and am I giving it to God? Is Is he Lord? Is he master of my life? And am I turning my life to him, or am I simply taking a life and taking a little bit of Jesus and putting him on top because I know it's important, but still most of it is my own doing and then maybe I haven't repented of much. Repentance, it changes your direction and faith puts Jesus in charge of your next steps. That's pretty holistic and you can see that Paul also here is reiterating the first pair of Hebrews 6:1-3. Paul is preaching like Jesus was preaching, like Hebrews is writing about, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. That's three separate examples and there are more where at the very beginning is a repentance and faith. Guilt, it can make us miserable without ever making us repent, right? So, repentance, it happens when you stop defending your old ways, when you turn toward God. In fact, you can feel terrible cuz quite often we associate repentance with guilt, but you could feel terrible about something you did and still never turn toward God, which means you never repent. Remember, feeling bad and repenting, they're not the same thing. Let's see why. Feeling bad can lead you to repentance, right? It can create a situation in which you change your mind and you turn to God, but by itself feeling bad is not repentance, right? Here are some of the common emotional reactions that Christians can mistake for repentance, right? God instructed us to repent, but quite often we'll do some of these things or we'll see these things in someone else's life and we'll assume repentance happened when repentance did not happen. One example is guilt, right? Guilt, I know I did something wrong. That is a an important emotional reaction and that is something that can lead you to repentance, but feeling guilt, knowing you did something wrong is not repentance. Shame, I feel terrible about myself. It's an important emotional reaction, but again, not repentance. Regret. I wish I hadn't done that. Still not repentance. Getting caught. Right? I'm sorry people know about this. I feel bad I got caught. Not repentance. Apologizing, right? Saying I'm sorry without ever changing your direction is not repentance. Emotional promises. I'll never do it again because I feel in the moment like I want to say that or I want to do that or I want to make that commitment so others will approve of me. Again, saying I'll never do it again is not repentance. Wanting the consequences gone, right? You sinned and now you're feeling pressure and tribulation and you're having to deal with the consequences of it. So, wanting relief from God more than you want God is not repentance. You should be turning, you should be having a different mind and thinking differently and turning to God to have God's mind and God's will in regards to it. Simply wanting to get away from the consequences is not repentance. Repentance goes deeper. Repentance is saying, "God is right and I'm going to change my mind and my behavior in line with him. "Repentance, it turns from your old ways and it turns toward God. Repentance, it puts trust in Jesus instead of putting trust in yourself and your own skills and abilities. You can feel bad and you can still keep going in that same terrible direction. Real repentance, scripturally, biblically, it means changing your mind, thinking differently, and instead of going in that same direction, turning toward God. So, don't measure repentance by how bad you feel, how emotional you were, how embarrassed you were that people found out. Measure repentance by whether you actually turned toward God, whether you changed your mind about your wrong ways, and accepted what God says about you, and started moving in his direction, which brings us to simple truth number 122. Repentance is more than feeling bad, it's turning toward God. So, repentance, it isn't proving to God how sorry you are. It's a real change in your direction. You're saying, "God, I see you're right, and I'm going to trust and obey you more than I want to keep living in my old ways. "But, when you repent, does everything change immediately? So, let's take a moment. If I've really repented, this is a question I've been asked before. If I've really repented, will I be completely different right away? Well, repentance can change your direction in a moment, but that doesn't mean everything in your life changes overnight. You can genuinely be headed toward God. Remember, to repent is to change your mind, to change, and then head toward God, to turn to God. You can head toward God and still have some old habits, some old thoughts, and some struggles that you're working through. So, you may be headed toward God, but you're still overcoming some of these things by the power of God. Repentance is a change in direction, but it's not instant maturity. If you stumble, don't defend the old way. Go back to agreeing with God, get back up, keep turning toward him. It's always worth it. And as you keep trusting and obeying God, more of your life will begin to follow the righteous direction that you have chosen. In other words, the righteous direction that God has called you to, and that you have agreed with. Don't ask, "Am I perfect overnight?" Ask, "Am I still moving toward God?" So, repentance doesn't mean instant perfection, it means your direction has changed. But, what exactly are you leaving behind? And what does this new direction toward God actually involve? Well, question number three, when you repent, what are you leaving behind and what are you turning toward? We already know repentance turns us toward God, but the Bible gets more specific about what we're turning away from. Hebrews calls it repentance, remember, from dead works. But what are the dead works and why does God tell us to leave them behind? Well, let's go to Hebrews chapter 9 and take a look at it closely. Hebrews 9:13 and 14. We're going to see here that dead works, they're more than just bad behavior. They're the ways we think and act apart from God, things that will never produce spiritual life in us. Hebrews 9:13, quote, "For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh." He's going back, the writer of Hebrews is going back and talking about Old Testament practices of sacrifices and what was being done in the tabernacle, right? So he says, "If the blood of bulls and goats, the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh. "Verse 14,"How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" And it says, "How much more shall the blood of Christ, "right?" Cleanse your conscience." To cleanse is to make clean, to purify, to remove what defiles. So he says," How much more if these things in the Old Testament could do something, how much more can the blood and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the gospel, how much more can it make clean, purify, remove what defiles in your conscience, right? Not sanctifying for the purifying of your outside, the flesh, but instead to clean and remove what defiles inside of you in your inner awareness of sin, of your awareness of right and wrong. How much more can it cleanse that conscience from dead works? Dead works means lifeless actions. These are works apart from God. The things you're doing that are your idea, chasing after your desires, and not the things that God has called you to do. Things that have nothing to do with your purpose. So, what old behaviors and attitudes are you still trying to make work? Things that you have carried from your past that you're trying to get God to bless, that you're hoping that God will agree with when what you should be doing is changing your mind, turning toward God, and agreeing with what he wants. If it keeps pulling you away from God, stop trying to save it. Get rid of it. It's the fastest and the best thing you could do. In fact, it's only slowing you down. Remember, Paul describes you as running a race. And he says, "When you run the race, lay aside those weights. Lay aside that sin that tries to weigh you down." Who could run a race carrying a backpack full of concrete rocks? Who can do that? No one can. So, get rid of the weight. Get rid of the old behaviors and the old attitudes that you're still trying to make work. Repent from them. Repent from those dead works. So, what are dead works? Well, they're all the ways that we try to live apart from God, right? Doing what we know is wrong, chasing after people's approvals, trying to control everything ourselves, trusting in our own efforts, right? Hiding what we're ashamed of. You could say dead works are even doing religious things because we think that they'll make God accept us. All of these things are dead works. You could go to church, you could serve, you could give, and still be depending more on what you're doing rather than on what God has already done. And those things are dead. They're lifeless actions, they produce no spiritual life, and they'll never cleanse your conscience. They'll never give you spiritual life. They'll never produce the things that only God can give. But, that doesn't mean all works are bad, right? There's another kind of works or actions that come from faith, and that's what James chapter 2 helps us see next. James 2:17, 18, 22, and 26. Here we're going to see that faith, it starts on the inside, but it doesn't stay there. It begins to show up on the outside in your attitude, your actions, and your behavior, in your works. James 2:17. Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But, someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." Verse 22. Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? Verse 26. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead, also. It says, "Thus also faith by itself," right? Faith, trusting, believing, having confidence in God. By itself, if it does not have works, deeds, actions, things you do, it's dead. To be dead, it's lifeless. It's disconnected from God. He says, "Someone will say, 'You have faith. You have trust. You have confidence in God, and I have deeds and actions and things that I do.'" James writes in verse 18, "Show me your faith, your trust, your belief, your confidence in God without your deeds." And James says, "But, I will show you my faith, my trust, my belief, my confidence in God by my deeds, by the things that I do." That's what James is saying. He says, "Do you see that faith, right? Trust, belief, confidence in God working together with deeds? And by deeds, faith is made perfect." And then he says, "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith, trust in God, without actions is dead, also." Am I trusting God enough to actually do what he says? "I say I trust in God," James is saying. That's what you and I can ask ourselves. Am I trusting in God? Because if I was trusting in God, then I would be doing what he was saying. I would have some form of works, some deeds, some actions, some things that I do to show that I'm trusting God. Right? Real trust, it shows when you obey God, especially when your way feels easier. When your old way feels easy and you're still trusting in God, now you are showing some faith. Faith that never affects your actions, James is writing, is lifeless. Real faith, it works together with what you do. And as you act on what you believe, your faith itself is brought to maturity. Now we're discussing and we're connecting back to Hebrews chapters 5 and 6. We talked about going on to perfection. In other words, your faith is made complete over time by your actions in faith, by your works. So, the question isn't just, "Am I doing something?" The question is, "What is driving what I do?" Right? Is it faith or is it my old, easy ways, things I was comfortable with that keep getting me into trouble? Is it coming from a real submission to and a trust in God? Or am I just doing everything how I want it, when I want it, and the way that I want it? Right? Romans chapter 14 takes that even further. Romans 14:23. Here we're going to see that faith doesn't just ask, "Can I do this?" It asks, "Can I do this with a clear conscience, trusting God and honoring him?" Romans 14:23, quote, "But he who doubts is condemned if he eats because he does not eat from faith. For whatever is not from faith is sin." It says, "He who doubts." Context of this is about buying foods from people who may have offered it to idols, right? The butchers themselves. This is not something we're typically used to in the world, but the butchers themselves being a part of a religious sect that is offering that and sacrificing elements of that to other gods. And Paul said quite clearly that he could eat it in faith with a clear conscience. But it says, "But he who doubts." That person who wavers, who hesitates, who's divided within themselves. They're condemned. They're judged guilty. What does that mean? Well, they're in the wrong because they're acting against what their conscience believes is right. If they truly believe that it is inappropriate for them to eat that meat, then they shouldn't eat that meat, right? And they're just condemning themselves because their conscience inside of them is uncomfortable with eating it and they're pushing themselves to do it anyway. But Paul said he doesn't doubt. And he's not condemned because he understands that God made all things for good and that is good for food and he could simply give thanks to God and eat it, right? But he says, "The person who wavers, hesitates, who's divided in themselves, they're condemning themselves because their conscience says you shouldn't do it, right? He who does not eat from faith." As in flowing out of faith, acting from a sincere trust and confidence in God, right? And that's when he really drills in that mark at the end. For whatever is not from faith, whatever is not flowing out of your trust to your confidence in God, whatever it is in which you have a clear conscience with God when you do it, it's sin. You're missing the mark. You're falling short of God's standards. So, you ask yourself, this action I'm going to take, can I do it with a clear conscience? Or am I ignoring what inside of me feels is wrong? Very important as Christians to pray to be led by the Spirit. And for one person, one action, their conscience they're just not comfortable with it. Whereas with another person, their conscience is very clear and they could do it in faith. And an example is given right here on eating food that was being offered to idols. In another place in scripture, Paul describes how the person who's mature in faith shouldn't eat or do those actions in front of someone who's immature because you're just causing them to stumble. And so, it's extremely important. Now, we're not getting into that topic here and we'll cover that in another season. But, I think the fundamental aspect around repentance is can you do this thing with a clear conscience or are you ignoring your conscience and ignoring what's right inside of you? Because you don't want to judge yourself guilty because you know you shouldn't be doing it and you're still doing it. And if you can't do it in faith, don't push past your conscience simply because you want it. So, repentance, it isn't just leaving a bad behavior [clears throat] behind. It's leaving your self-directed life behind. And it's learning to make choices based on faith and obedience to God. It changes what your life is coming from, right? It's coming from I'll do it my way to God, I trust you enough to do this your way. That brings us to simple truth number 123. Repentance turns you from dead works and toward God in faith. So, the question isn't whether you agree with God. The question is whether you're willing to change your direction because you agree with God. That is repentance. Repentance is a turn away from something that's lifeless actions, dead works that God is leading you away from and he's asking you to repent from and it's turning toward God in faith. So, what do you need to turn away from today? Ask yourself that question and let's get practical. What should I do now? Okay, so repentance isn't proving to God how sorry I am. We saw that. It's agreeing that God is right, changing your direction and turning toward God in faith. I now know that I need to stop defending my old ways when God shows me it's wrong. Agree with God and turn to him instead of just feeling bad. And trust God enough to do what he's asking from me, right? But how exactly do I do this in my life, you might be asking. Well, try this for the next 7 days. We call it the turn to God 7-day challenge. So, day one, name what you should repent from. Identify an attitude, a habit, an area of your life where you know God is right and you're still holding on to your old way, your dead works. Confess to God plainly in prayer something like, "You're right, God, and I am now turning this toward you." Days 2 through 7, catch yourself trying to do it again. Be conscious, be aware, right? If that old way shows up, pause before you do it. Remember, you're intercepting that now. You're catching yourself before you try to do it. And don't just do it and feel bad. That's a terrible cycle, a horrible cycle. And you know in your heart and your spirit that that is not the way you want to live and it's creating consequences, creating issues, it's creating effects that you want to get away from, right? It's trying to destroy you. Instead, agree with God and change directions, liberating through the power of redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ. Change direction and get strength from God through prayer, through reading scripture, through praise and worship, right? Through the five disciplines. Days 3 through 7, trust God with it. Ask yourself, "What does obeying God look like right now in this?" As these things come up, what would God be pleased by? Remember, the first two pairings in Christian basics is repentance from dead works and faith toward God. But, the last two pairings has to do the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. What we do has consequences. And as you're living your life, asking yourself, "What would Jesus want me to do?" Right? Used to be those bracelets people wear. What would Jesus do? There's some value to that as a concept. What does obeying God look like right now in this situation? And take one real step in his direction. Remember, you're turning from something and toward faith in God, right? Even if it feels like a small step, take it, right? And watch episode 4.7, which is called "What Is Sin and How Do We Overcome It?" There's a lot of really good content in there. If you're having an issue with this challenge, you may find that episode to be really valuable. So, God bless you. God bless you as you repent and you have faith and you believe the gospel. As you obey what the Bible clearly calls us to doing. And as you name what you're repenting from and you're catching yourself from doing it, and you're putting your trust and your faith in God, and you are resisting the temptation to do those dead works, to do those old ways, God bless you as you do that. So, stop defending your old ways and just turn to God instead, right? You know he's right. Check out episode 4.7, as we said, on your screen right now, if you need help with this 7-day challenge. And don't miss the next episode where we learn what happens after you repent and subscribe for more simple, biblical, and essential truth. [music]