The Truth About Repentance

Messianic Rabbi Ben Moshe: Shabbat Mar. 17^th, 2007

Repentance is not an ugly word, but it is a positive evaluation that I make so that I can gain G-D's plan for my life. Many people have misconceptions of what repentance is. There are three principles of repentance that I want to discuss here. The first two are a comparison between worldly repentance and true repentance and the third is how repentance applies to our lifestyle so that we walk in hope and the joy of knowing G-D on a personal intimate level.

1. Worldly repentance - Remorse

There are two main Greek words for repentance that I will be discussing. Worldly repentance is translated from the Greek word 'metamelomai' which literally means to have remorse for one's actions. Worldly repentance is destructive and unreal. It gives you a false hope because you are not genuine when seeking repentance. Let’s take a look at the biblical example of worldly repentance. Matthew 27:

1 When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people plotted against YESHUA to put Him to death.
2 And when they had bound Him, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
3 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
4 saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." And they said, "What is that to us? You see to it!"
5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.

The King James Version translates remorseful into the word repentance. The product of worldly repentance is not a changed life, but defeat and destruction. Worldly repentance is not a change of heart, but remorse, regret and the burden of one's guilt. The world can only see this as the meaning of repentance. That is why I frequently hear critics of the Messianic faith say things like, "I don't like Messianics because all they do is make me feel guilty like I don’t do enough or love G-d" or "to be a Messianic means you have to [carry your Bible everywhere/do certain works like wear the tzitzits, or head-coverings, and even abstain from anything enjoyable in life/or any list of ideas] and hang your head down in shame". Every genuine Messianic I know that is actually living their faith has a valid self-image and lives joyfully because of the freedom G-D has given them, even if there life is full of health problems, aches and pains, or even if they are financially poor. They live for G-D in spite of their personal circumstances. When it would be so easy to give up, or toss in the towel, instead, they hunker down, and pray the blessings of G-D down upon them.

Where does this perception come from? In our modern culture, it comes from counterfeits of the faith, and there are thousands of them. There are countless religions that base salvation on penance, deeds, and rules. G-D is not impressed with our efforts if our heart is far from Him. In fact, this grieves G-D. A genuine relationship with MESHIKHA (Aramaic for Messiah/Christ) produces holiness, holiness produces good works, good works produces atonement, and if your life does not meet this criteria, you will not be able to produce a genuine relationship with G-D. The relationship must come first. Only G-D can produce these good things in our lives, we cannot do them on our own. We subject ourselves to G-D's commands out of a love for G-D and a desire to grow close to Him. We value our relationship with G-D more than the pleasures of this life and we have the faith that G-D can keep His promise that "Those who trust under the shadow of His wings will be abundantly satisfied with the fullness of His house and He will give us to drink from the river of His pleasures" (Psalm 36:8). What are you and I missing by turning from temptation? Nothing! However, we would stand to lose much more by turning from His promises.

Another source of this worldly repentance is a rejection of grace and the need we feel to bear the penalty for our own wrongs. Judas was such a man. He saw that his actions had given the religious leaders the opportunity to condemn YESHUA to die on the stake. Judas' motivation all along was his own self-interest. He followed YESHUA as long as he thought he was to rule along side YESHUA when He set up His kingdom. But when YESHUA started talking about the world to come and a heavenly kingdom, Judas' visions of greed and prosperity began to melt. He sold YESHUA into the hands of His enemies for 30 pieces of silver. His exact motivation is not entirely clear. Either he decided to abandon YESHUA and get a profit on the way out, or he intended to force YESHUA' hand. Perhaps he thought that if YESHUA were attacked, he would be forced to stand and fight and establish His kingdom now. Judas never knew that he was fulfilling G-D's plan while sinning against the ELOHIM. Whatever the reasoning was, we do know Judas' motivation was greed. He was a thief from the beginning and in the end, the silver he so coveted failed him in the end. It was so worthless that he threw it on the ground. I don't think that Judas expected YESHUA to be condemned to die because when he saw that He was condemned, he tried to fix the problem by pleading with the priests. When he saw the consequences of his actions, he was very remorseful, however, his remorse was the worldly type, a counterfeit repentance. If he would have had genuine remorse, he would have gotten down on his knees, begging and pleading to G-D for forgiveness. Instead, the word tells us his worldly repentance led him to suicide. Which is exactly what worldly remorse or worldly repentance can often lead to.

Worldly repentance is nothing but remorse and regret for the consequences of our action. It has no redeeming qualities; it only puts us under the burden of our guilt. Judas repented of his actions, but he did not turn to G-D for forgiveness. He tried to remove his guilt by arguing with the priest. They didn't care that he betrayed innocent blood and said so. He then tried to ease his conscience by casting the money into the temple. Undoing a wrong is like trying to unscramble an egg. Giving the money back did not erase the burden or undo the consequences. Because of the weight of his guilt, Judas hanged himself as though that would offer restitution. It does not. In death, Judas was just as guilty as in this life, only now he had no opportunity to be redeemed. Worldly repentance does not turn us toward G-D, but instead it drives us away from G-D. We feel unworthy of G-D's mercy because we are not looking at G-D or His word; we are looking at our actions and our guilt. Guilt can never bring us to true repentance. Only the light of G-D's word can produce true repentance.

2. True repentance

True repentance comes from the Greek word 'Metanoia' (Hebrew word ‘teshubah), which means to change one's mind and purpose - to turn from our own personal purpose and toward G-D's purposes. A good example of this can be found in 2 Corinthians 7:

10 For sorrow according to G-D produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
11 For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed according to G-D: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what righting of wrong! In every way you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

Here is another good example of Holy sorrow leading to true repentance:
Psalm 51:

1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O G-D, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me.
4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight -- That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.

Many make claims that the Bible makes them feel guilty. But that is because they are looking at their guilt and rejecting the Bible. When you transgress the Laws of the Almighty creator, you should feel guilty. Sorrow produced from transgressing G-D’s laws should lead to repentance and a clean, forgiven and purified heart, if we are genuinely repentant. When we are bearing the burden of our guilt and our focus is on ourselves, we will crumble under the weight. So the only hope that we have is to try to forget the burdens and move on. The only way we can forget this burden is to run from anything that reminds us of it and try to drown out its memory with heavenly things, holy pleasures and holy activities. Each time something new becomes the norm, people have to find something new to entertain them. If someone without MESHIKHA allows themselves to rest and be silent, the guilt catches up again. Once our guilt becomes overwhelming, depression and despair take over.

HOLY sorrow is just the opposite. This type of repentance is only found in the revelation of G-D's word. When I look at the holiness of G-D and see myself compared to Him, I clearly see that I fall way short. But I also see that G-D has bridged the gap for me. Mercy and restoration is always G-D's first choice. Holy sorrow always reveals G-D's desire to forgive and heal. Worldly sorrow is when someone sees their sins and chooses to bear the penalty on their own account.

True repentance is when I see my sins and failures and I lay them down in exchange for G-D's forgiveness, holiness and righteousness. True repentance is when I compare my path - the direction that I am going - to the path G-D has created for me to walk in and choose to change over. I leave my ways to follow His ways. Here is YESHUA'S example of genuine repentance:
Matthew 13

44 " Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45 " Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,
46 "who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

That is what we must do to find G-D's perfect plan. Like the man in the field, when we see G-D's purpose for our lives, we will evaluate it. We will either reject it and say our way is better and only what pertains to this life counts, or we will see G-D's plan and the eternal value of it. Once we see the value of G-D's will, we will count everything we have as worthless compared to G-D and His purpose. It will be a bargain to lay aside everything we have in exchange for Him. Without this kind of repentance, you will never understand the true believers life and you will never choose G-D's will over your current path. Holy, genuine repentance is not merely sorrow over what you have done in your life, but the joy of what G-D offers in exchange for your life. G-D has created a new life and a complete plan for every person who ever lived. One day we will all look back and see the perfection of G-D's plan. Those who chose it will rejoice but those who chose their own ways will regret it. That is the amazing love of G-D. Even though G-D knows that very few of us will ever follow His plan, He still predestined us to inherit all of His blessings. But He does not force us into His purpose. That is a choice.

3. Holy repentance is a lifestyle

Repentance is not a single act, but a lifestyle choice. It is a continuous evaluation that I make as I compare my life to G-D's word and seek to conform to the image of MESHIKHA. As I see areas that are drawing my focus away from G-D's plan, I reset my focus on MESHIKHA and align my life with His will. It doesn't mean that I beat myself over the head and live in misery, but instead I choose to keep myself aligned to His holy path by focusing on YESHUA MESHIKHA. He is the author and finisher of our faith. HE is the only way to be justified and forgiven so that we can have a vibrant relationship with HIM and He is also the finisher of our faith. He is the goal we aim for and the One who equips us to live the true believers life that sometimes may be beyond our own abilities. Holy repentance is to recognize that G-D's plan is good and my path has no lasting benefit. It also means that I must abide in MESHIKHA. Look at John 15:

1 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
2 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3 "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
4 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
6 "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
8 "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
9 " As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.
10 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.

It is beyond your ability to produce holy fruit if you are not a genuine follower of G-D. Holy fruit is the good works that glorify G-D and those people we impact that will grow and begin to glorify G-D and produce fruit as well. Many people run back and forth trying to find G-D's will and find their purpose. Many believers produce meaningless good works that G-D doesn't acknowledge just because they feel they should be doing something. To find G-D's will is a profoundly simple task. Abide in MESHIKHA. Two key verses I want to draw attention to is verse 5, "He who abides in me and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing" and verse 7 "If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask what you desire and it shall be done…by this My Father is glorified".
 
To abide is to have a consistent relationship centered on MESHIKHA. Being a true believer is a two-way relationship. He abides in us from the moment we completely surrender our hearts and lives to Him. We open the door of our heart, invite Him in and make Him Savior and ELOHIM. That is only half the picture. Many believers live defeated lives because they think this is where the relationship ends. Inviting MESHIKHA into our heart is only the beginning. This is the moment we walk through the door and become a citizen of His kingdom as a child of G-D. No relationship is vibrant unless it is growing. He always remains in us as long as we continue in His word ; it is we who must make the effort to abide in Him. The Bible makes it clear, the key to abiding is His word. If His word abides in us, we have the open door. If we have that abiding relationship, our desires will be right and G-D will bless those desires. If my desires take me away from G-D, they will not be granted because I must abide. G-D already has the plan. I must let G-D lead me to where He is blessing; He will not alter His plan to bless what I am doing if it is outside of His will. If my purpose is to abide and glorify G-D, my desires will be centered around that and I will ask with the promise that G-D will do it - so that G-D is glorified.

When I glorify G-D, I will benefit beyond anything that I can seek on my own. Glorifying G-D must come first. This is where faith takes a front seat. If I have faith in G-D's plan for my life, I will joyfully seek to glorify G-D because I already have the promise of G-D's blessings. I know I won't be lacking in any good thing; what I must guard is the treasure of my salvation. If I take care to glorify G-D, I can leave the satisfaction and fulfillment to Him. G-D said, "I am your exceedingly great reward". When G-D is my reward, I will never be shortchanged. It's a small thing for G-D to bless me. The harder task is for me not to allow worldly desires to draw me away from an abiding relationship.

Finally, I want to look at how sin applies to our daily lifestyle of repentance. Compare these two passages from 1 John:

5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that G-D is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of YESHUA MESHIKHA His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

1 John 3:

5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.
6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.
8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of G-D was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
9 Whoever has been born of G-D does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of G-D.
10 In this the children of G-D and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of G-D, nor is he who does not love his brother.

In the first passage, John makes it clear that we are forgiven and cleansed from our sins through an abiding relationship with G-D. To have fellowship, we must be walking with Him in His will. Those who walk willfully contrary to G-D do not have fellowship with Him and don't have the promise of forgiveness. It is the righteousness of G-D that cleanses us and makes us righteous. It is a foreign righteousness - His righteousness given to us through faith in MESHIKHA. Because it is the righteousness of G-D, I believe the Bible clearly shows us that we must walk in G-D's presence. We can't take what is G-D's into the pursuit of the world. Many people have left their salvation at the door because they fail to realize that we can't leave G-D and expect to be walking in righteousness. To reject G-D's ways is a lack of faith and without faith and works it is impossible to please G-D. It is a growing process to learn to surrender each area to MESHIKHA. Our focus is the difference. If we are focused on the world, we will walk in the world. If we are focused on MESHIKHA, we will walk in MESHIKHA and allow Him to shape us.

The second passage adds more information to clarify John's lesson on sin. Verse 6 says "whoever abides in Him does not sin" and 9 says, "whoever has been born of G-D does not sin…and he cannot sin".
 
It is important to view both of these passages together so that the point is not missed. Chapter one tells us that if we say we have not sinned, we are calling Him a liar and that when we do sin, and we are walking in Him, we confess and are forgiven. In summary, chapter 1 is saying that we must be walking with G-D, but we are still human and there will be times when we allow ourselves to be drawn into sin. But we confess, get back into fellowship and continue to walk in the light with the absolute promise that our sins are forgiven. The scenario in chapter 3 is a different mindset completely. This chapter is talking about a lifestyle. The first point is that we can't abide in Him and sin. We must be drawn away in order to sin. James 1:14 says that each one of us is tempted when we are drawn away by our own desires and enticed. We don't sin in fellowship with our Holy G-D, but we must be drawn into the devil's territory and take the bait.

The second point to note is that this refers to a celebration of sin. Anyone who has the Spirit of G-D in their heart will not be able to celebrate a sinful lifestyle. You will always feel the conviction and the calling to return to fellowship with G-D. Some people have a battle overcoming habits and some try to drown out G-D's call, but if we belong to Him, we will never have genuine rest until we return to G-D. Because G-D's seed (or the Holy Spirit) remains in us, we cannot live or follow a sinful lifestyle. If G-D does not deal with us, we don't belong to Him. G-D will call us to repentance and will hold us and make us strong. We must stand on His strength and not our own. Look at Psalm 145

14 The ELOHIM upholds all who fall, And raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season.
16 You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The ELOHIM is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works.
18 The ELOHIM is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.
19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them.
20 The ELOHIM preserves all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy.

Those who belong to G-D have the promise that G-D will uphold us with His hand. He will give us strength and equip us. We have the promise of 1 Corinthians 10:13 that G-D will never allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. The key to resisting temptation is found in James 4:6-8

6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "G-D resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
7 Therefore submit to G-D. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to G-D and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

The key to resisting temptation is not resistance, but total submission to G-D. Satan does not flee from our resistance, but he flees from G-D when G-D’s power rests upon us. I can tell you from my own life that resistance based on my own strength does not work for long. Satan keeps pounding my weaknesses until I give in. Like pushing a weight off my chest, I can hold out for a while, but in time I will tire and give in. Submission is the opposite of resistance. When I submit to G-D, I am turning from temptation and toward G-D. No longer am I dependent on my own strength, but I am dependent on His strength. I have the promise that when I draw near Him, he draws near to me. Therefore His strength can pull me out of my weakness and Satan flees because I am near G-D, not because I resisted Satan.

A lifestyle of repentance is the most valuable aspect of the true believers life. If I am not evaluating my position compared to G-D's word, I have no way of knowing that I am drifting away. A slight change of focus will eventually set you far off course unless there is something in your life that provides correction. That is why the Bible tells us to renew our minds daily. The farther off course we get, the harder it is to make changes and the easier it is to get discouraged. Repentance is a joy. Nothing is sweeter than positioning my life in line with G-D's plan and keeping it there. It is the resistance to repentance that causes dread and worldly repentance that burdens us with guilt. Genuine repentance gives freedom, satisfaction and fulfillment.  AMEIN!