The Forgotten (or maybe just Ignored) Word (Part One)

This lesson generated a lot of discussion in class so we did not finish it. This is what we covered. Rest of lesson next week. Hayward



The Forgotten (or maybe just Ignored) Word

The word repentance is not a popular word in today’s society. It is not popular because if we call people to repentance then we are admitting that people are doing something wrong. People don’t like to be told that they are wrong or have been living the wrong way. And you may be accused of “judging” and that is not the ‘political correct’ thing to do.

When you think of repentance, what do you think of?

Quite often repentance is one of those Bible words that we just throw around sometimes and we do not fully understand what it means to truly repent of sin. Bible repentance means more than just saying you are sorry. It is a change of mind, prompted by a change of heart, resulting in a change of life. There are some things or stumbling blocks that get in the way of sincere repentance.

Stumbling blocks to Repentance…
1) Pride or Arrogance
Most people do not like to admit that they are wrong. That is called, pride. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit that God said not to eat and ‘got caught”, they were not necessarily repentant over their sin. They knew they had sinned and even tried to hide from God. They both got into the ‘it’s not my fault” mode. Adam – She made me do it! “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” (Genesis 3:12) AND, he even blamed God – you gave me the women.
Eve – the serpent made me do it. “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.” (Genesis 3:13)
Not once was there a, “You know what, I messed up” moment with them. Their pride kept them from admitting their sin.

2) Hardened Hearts
Sometimes people are hindered from repenting because their hearts are hard. It can be easy for someone to shut themselves off from hearing or receiving God’s Word when they realize their own faults or mistakes. They just don’t want to “hear it”. There are many that are so hard hearted towards their actions that repentance does not come easy. Because of their constant sin, they have justified it in their minds, to the point where there are many who do not even see their sin as sin or as a big deal at all.

3) Enjoyment of Sin
Sometimes others will not repent of sin because they just like it to much. True repentance comes down to a choice between stopping sin or continuing sin. Many people will just flat out tell you that they cannot truly repent of their sin because they like and enjoy the practice of their sin too much. We cannot love both God and the sinful things of this world. The necessary outcome of repentance is to change and abandon those sinful desires, and some just don’t want to give them up! This keeps many folks from being saved!