Jesse's in India, Pastor Jesse, and he asked me to speak the next two weeks. So here I am. You have me. You're welcome. No, I'm just kidding. I'm glad you're here. I have a very important topic today. But before we dive right into that, I want you to take your Bible and turn to Acts chapter 13, please. Acts chapter 13, briefly, Robert, I forgot to tell you about this. Sorry, but Acts 13, and we're going to look at verse 28. The screen is blank for a reason. So let's first see what Acts 13, 28 says. And before we read, I would like to pray. And actually, before I pray, I just wanted to thank you guys for praying for me and for actually, physically, many of you helping me and financially giving to me. Many of you know my mortgage shot up $600 a month. Whoa, yeah, over the course of the year. And I don't make that kind of money, and I prayed about it. And many of you really helped me, and we are locked in on the sale of our home. We're locked in on the purchase of a cheaper home. So I appreciate your prayers and your help and all of that. Thank you. And it's just been a real blessing, you know, just seeing how God can work even when I'm fretting and worrying and stressing and waking up at two in the morning just to go to work, going to bed at 10 the same night. And I've really been blessed by many of you, and I'm very grateful and thankful. So I want to start off in prayer with that in mind. Heavenly Father we thank you for the audience here, thank you for your word, thank you for Pastor Jesse who faithfully fills this pulpit every service. We pray for him as he's gone that you would give him great strength, help him not to get sick, and just help him to say the right things as there are there is a translation barrier there in many cases and I pray that he would be effective in his study toward his doctorate and I pray for today's service you would help me as I speak that my voice would maintain and that you could speak through me the words that be edifying and encouraging to the audience. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, Acts 13. We're going to read through this account here in Acts 13, verse 28. Look at it with me. It says, And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. This is Jesus. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, They took him down from the tree and laid him in a sepulcher, but God raised him from the dead. And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who were his witnesses unto the people. And we declare unto you glad tidings, How that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us, their children, and that he hath raised up Jesus again, as it is also written in the second Psalm, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore, he saith also in another psalm, thou shalt not suffer thine holy one to see corruption. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep and was laid unto his fathers and saw corruption. But he, Jesus, whom God raised again, saw no corruption. Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man, Jesus, is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. And by him, Jesus, all that believe in him are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. Let that scripture rest in your mind, amen and amen, right? Wow, what a statement. Be it known to you, you receive the forgiveness of sins by believing in Jesus Christ and Him alone. The topic we're going to discuss today, feast your eyes. I made that on my own, I'm so proud of that. Wow. I know. Is repentance? Big question mark. And you can see all the different ways that people may define repentance simply using characters on the screen. This is a word that is thrown around flippantly in my mind, and even translationally, I personally believe there could have been a better job, because this word, as you will see, is actually taking the place of not one word. Hebrew not one in Greek six variations six words in two in Hebrew and four in the Greek six different words in different languages But in your English Bible specifically I use the King James That's the best one Repentance wink wink repentance fulfills all six of those different six of those different words Okay, so we're gonna talk about that. I had seven you see that Wow We're recovering. Let's take one a shot of this right here Getting there. We gotta have fun a little bit, right? I'm not nervous, no. I'm just kidding. All right, we're gonna talk about repentance, though. So feast your eyes on the screen. We have a few quotes here and there. We're gonna look at the words. We're gonna look at the scripture. And before I go to the next slide, just... Remember what Acts 13 says? That, I believe it was Paul speaking, did not contain the word repentance. It says all that believe are justified from all things. Okay, so if you believe in Jesus Christ, you are justified in that moment from all things. He doesn't say some things. He doesn't say some people. He says all that believe are justified from all things. He is the propitiation for our sins, not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. Who's that? Jesus Christ died for the whole world. Let that rest in your mind as we study this word. Repentance, here's a quote. I know some of this might be small, but listen closely. Unfortunately, when doctrine is discussed, emotion-filled language is often used. However, it is essential that, as much as possible, we avoid slanting our conclusions based on things other than what is actually found and taught in the Bible. We must not be convinced of truth by persuasive words, but we must simply let the Word of God speak for itself. This is Dr. Richard Seymour in his book, All About Repentance. If you could get your hands on one of these, fantastic book. I did not just copy everything in this book, but he's a man who is well studied. I recommend this wholeheartedly. If you want to know more, it's only about 100 pages in here. All About Repentance. That was Dr. Richard Seymour. Great quote. Today we're going to talk about what repentance is. And then next week, Sunday morning, we're going to talk about what it is not. And I'm actually planning to clip some people. You guys know I do editing as part of my job. I'm going to clip some people, some famous people, people which you know, and some of them which you may trust to speak over the radio or over YouTube. And I'm going to show how they have a bad view of repentance. You're going to be here, right? Yeah. Today I would like to change your mind about what you may think repentance really means. Repentance is required for salvation. This is what Acts 20, 21 says, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks. Repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. That's a very famous verse they like to use. Many preachers and they expound on repentance. They make it say what it doesn't say. But we want to know what does it mean? What does it actually say? When we look in the context of scripture, what is repentance actually meaning? So, you can have repentance without believing in Christ, okay? You can, and I'm going to explain this, but you cannot believe in Christ without having repentance. Keep that in mind. You're going to be like, what? While that's in mind, look at these on the screen here. This is what Merriam-Webster defines repent as. It says, to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one's life. Number two, to feel regret or contrition, or to change one's mind. to cause to feel regret or contrition, to feel sorrow, regret, or contrition. Okay, that was Miriam Webster. The Cambridge Dictionary says this, repent, to be very sorry for something bad you have done in the past and wish that you had not done it. Interesting. Dictionary.com says this, to feel sorry, self-reproachful, or contrite for past conduct, regret, or to be conscience-stricken about a past action, attitude, et cetera. To feel sorrow for sin or fault, as to be disposed to change one's life for the better, be penitent, or as a verb, to remember a regard with self-reproach or contrition, to feel sorry for regret. There's a lot of different definitions there. This is modern dictionaries, what they say about repentance. This is our first word in the Hebrew that we're going to look at. It is nakam. Nakam. Say that with me. Nakam. Nakam. I hope I'm saying that right. I might not be. Nakam. Okay. It's a Hebrew word. 5162. If you look in the Strong's Concordance, you can search H5162 and it'll give you all the occurrences of this word. Now this is what Strong's Concordance says, okay? Some of these could be off by one or two. I didn't go through and count literally all of these, because it would just take a lot of time. But it occurs about 108 times in your King James Version Bible. It means to comfort, or comforted, repent 19 times, repented 17 times, skip, skip, repenteth three times. And it's translated in various ways. And one thing you need to note when studying your Bible in general, but especially word studies and things, is you want to pay attention to the context. Okay, context is king when it comes to studying the Bible. So just because repent is thrown in there, you cannot just throw in one idea of what you think repentance means and cram it in there. You need to look at the context of what is it actually saying. And so the context would determine if it's intending the use of comfort, or repent, or maybe pity in another word we'll look at. Nakam means properly to sigh, that is breathe strongly, by implication to be sorry, that is to pity, console, or avenge, or comfort. It has many potential meanings, and that is why the context is very, very important. Of the 41 times it is translated as some form of repent, God is doing the repenting, I counted, I might be a little off, 34 times. It's the majority, okay, 34 of 41, give or take a few. God is the one doing the repenting. Okay, so as we saw, the definition of the word does not say anything about turning from sin. It doesn't have anything necessarily that it has to do with sin. Okay, but God is doing the repenting. So if we're going to force sin to the Bible into that word repent, and it's saying that God is repenting, we're going to look at one example. If we say God is turning from sin, okay, if that's what you're really going to say, take your Bible right now and throw it in the trash. If that's what you're going to say. If God is turning from sin, take the Bible and throw it in the trash. Bold statement, but it's true. God is not turning from his sin. He cannot sin. Ideas involved in this word is, this is what I gathered in my study. God is sighing over having to punish his people for their sin. God is unhappy with his people because of their sin. God can pity the people and decide not to do evil against them. It's the idea of comforting, pitying, or easing is used the other half, like 109 times, it's used a lot. The people sigh over an event. The idea is not used explicitly with changing the mind, although it may contain that. but it is more with reference to the emotions of what I've gathered, right? Pitying, or comforting, or sighing over something, or, you know, you get the ideas, really, kind of thing, you know? Salvation is truly not the subject in these scriptures, okay? Salvation into eternal life is not the subject at hand. Here's an example, Genesis 6-6, and it repented the Lord. Look at me. That's what I picture. Probably a little more frustration on God's part. You know the story of Genesis 6. Why is he grieved? Why is he... It's because man was continually wicked in his imaginations, right? It repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast and the creeping thing and the fowls of the air, for it repenteth me that I have made them. If we translated that, it turneth me from my sin that I have made them. That makes no sense, it makes no sense. Okay, grieving, pity, sighing, you know, that kind of thing, not shaking of the head. Genesis 24 67 and isaac brought her into his mother sarah's tent and took rebecca and she became his wife And he loved her and isaac was comforted After his mother's death you can see translation of comfort Is used for that word nakam Here's one more illustration here. It repented me that I have set up Saul to be king, for he has turned back, that's a different word we're about to look at, shub, from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel, and he cried unto the Lord all night. It repented the Lord that he set up Saul to be king. But why did he set up Saul? He wasn't going to, but the people begged and begged. We want a king, we want a king, we want a king, right? He's like, fine, I'll give you a king. And there were consequences to that, right? Our next word is shub. But just remember, nakam is not the word that we should look at when we're focusing on repentance into eternal life, right? How to be saved into eternal life. That's not the word we're going to look at. It's just not there. So it's not the best one to look at. This is shub. This is H7725. It occurs about 1058, give or take. And it's translated, look at this. Again, return, turn, return, bring, back, turned, repent. Maybe a few other as well. But repent only three times this word. Shub. Okay? And if there's any word that is linking the idea of turning and from sin together, it'd be this word. Because often that is what it is used for. Israel, turn from your sin. Not to be saved into eternal life. Stop being silly and knuckleheaded and stop doing that. Okay? Repent, use three times. It means to turn back, and I'm going through these quick, by the way, because I have a lot of slides. If you're taking notes, just jot quickly here and there. If you want to go back and look online, you can. If you want this slideshow, I can give it to you, okay? Free of charge. Shub means to turn back, transitively or intransitively. It's, skip, skip, the idea of return, or it could mean to retreat. Often used of Israel, simply turning back towards serving the Lord. You see it often. It's telling them to stop sinning, turn back to serving the Lord. Salvation into eternal life is not in view here, okay? It's not in view with this word. Let's see the three cases where the King James translators decide to translate it into repent instead of turn or return or again or something like that. Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, this is 1 Kings 8 47, and repent and make supplication unto thee, fancy word for prayer, in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, we have sinned and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness, keep going, context, context, And so return unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name. Then give them eternal life. Now, then hear thou their prayer, their supplication, and their supplication in heaven, thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people that have sinned against thee. Now, it does say forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, but the context is not talking about Israel being saved by turning from their sin. They're praying to the Lord. They're enduring punishment. They've done wrong, enduring the punishment, and they need to turn back, pray to the Lord, get things right, get things in order. Here's another case. Ezekiel 14, 6 says, therefore, say unto the house of Israel. Pause here. And one of the reasons why this is not dealing in turning from sin to be saved is because Israel was supposed to know the promise of the coming Messiah. Okay, we see it in Genesis 3 15 15 6 to Abraham 12 Genesis 12 to Abraham There's a promise of the coming Messiah and they were to know that it was only by faith in Jesus Christ Faith in the Messiah to come to be saved into eternal life So this idea of turning from sin here is not to do with them obtaining eternal life It's God is upset with them because they've done something wrong. They need to stop doing that thing wrong Okay, and get back in order Therefore say unto the house of israel thus saith the lord god repent and turn yourselves from your idols And turn away your faces from all your abominations you could say Return and turn yourselves from your idols and turn away your faces from all your abominations Ezekiel 18, 30, this is number three. Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel. Everyone according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent and turn yourselves. You could say return and turn yourselves from all your transgressions, so iniquity shall not be your ruin. And God gave Israel chance after chance after chance to make it right. But again, this is not dealing in salvation into eternal life. It's not the context. You can go to those passages, you can read the extended context, but it is simply not what is being said in the context. For the sake of time, we're not breaking it down further. But better translation for all three of these instances could be return or turn. Repent in the Old Testament, those are the only two words that are translated repent in the Old Testament. Looking at repentance in the Old Testament is not going to give us a conclusion concerning repentance and salvation into eternal life. Often the turning, returning, or going back, such as Shubh permits, results in a physical deliverance or promise from God being fulfilled. If you do this, then I will do this. If you do right, I will bless you. If you don't do right, you receive no blessing, chastening, cursing, right? Here is our first Greek word. It is metanoeo. Now, this word and the next one are the words you want to pay very close attention to, okay? Now, like I said earlier, the context ultimately determines what these words are trying to say. You want to pay attention to the full context. You don't want to read into it or just look at one word and say, oh, that's what it has to mean. But when we study repentance and look at the Greek for metanoia and the other two that we'll look at, When we study this, it's very important because of the idea that all six of these words are translated as repent. So a lot of people would just look at that and say, well, it has to mean this. Well, no, it's important to look at the Greek to see what word is being used. Because if the Greek writers wanted to get across the idea of shub to turn and maybe turning from sin or turning from something else, then they should have used a word similar to shub in the Greek. But metanoeo is a word that does not have that idea in the Greek. It has a different idea than turn, or be sorry for, or to pity, or to be comforted, or to sigh. It has a different idea altogether. So it's very important to understand that when you're reading and you come across a verse and it says repentance toward God, or repent about Jesus Christ, or repent about dead works, or repent about something you've done, of that sort. Repent, 21 times. Repented, 11 times. Repenteth, 2 times. That's it. Okay? So they only translate this as a form of repent. It's never translated as turn, return, sigh, sorrow, etc. Okay? This is from two Greek words, G3326 and G3539. It means to think differently or afterwards, that is, reconsider. Now you see the parentheses there. We'll discuss that in a moment. That is added in by Mr. Strong in his concordance. I would remove it in my definition of repent, and you'll see why. The two words that make up metanoeo are meta, okay? And it occurs 473 times in the King James Version Bible. It means with, after, among, afterward, against, or hereafter. Primary usage, with or after, okay? and noeo, or nous, okay? Total King James Version occurrences are 14 times, and this word means to understand or perceive or consider, to think, or understood or understanding. It's all to do with your mind, your intellect, what are you thinking about? What are you perceiving? What are you understanding? Okay, with that in mind, you have meta and noeo. The idea contained in metanoeo is as follows After think with understanding after understanding change mind after perceiving with mind most people Especially around here. You'll hear us say quickly repent means a change of mind Well, you could say any of those things it all means the same thing It's in the mind It's in the mind metanoeo only has to do with the mind and Not your hands, not your feet, not your belly, your mind. What are you thinking about? It's all to do with understanding information in the mind. This is the noun form of metanoeo, metanoeo the verb, metanoeo the noun, same idea. It occurs 24 times and it all shows up as repentance, right? The others are verbs, this is a noun, right? Repentance, the noun. It carries the exact same meaning, after think, with understanding, change of mind. Here's what I said I wanted to show you about the parenthetical that Strong added into his definition of repentance. Compunction, guilt, and reformation. Now these ideas are often used by preachers today tied alongside repentance. simply not what the word means. And what did I say? Context ultimately dictates if this is true or not, but definitionally and literally that is not contained in meta and noeo. It is not there. Compunction, guilt, and reformation is applied to these terms in Strong's Concordance, metanoia and metanoia. While this could, hear me closely, could be true concerning a post change of your mind, after you change your mind, it could be true of these things. You could feel compunction, you could feel guilt, you could see that you need to reform something in your life. This could be true. The change of mind, pay attention to this, if you're going to write anything down, write this down. The change of mind itself is a neutral moral act completely based in the mind. The words literally mean after think or with mind. It's in the mind. But it could be true that if I change my mind, the Bible does not say repent of sins one time, yes, that's often what we say, it does not say that. But there are occurrences in the Bible where someone has to change their mind about some sin they have done. So if I say, if somebody comes to me and they say, Trent, you've done wrong, you've sinned, you need to change your mind about that, you need to do differently. And I'm like, okay, I changed my mind about, let's just throw it out there. I said a cuss word, right? I said a cuss word and somebody comes to me, Bob comes to me, he's like, Trent, you should not have cussed, you need to change your mind about that right now, you need to get that right. And I say, yes, sir, I'll change my mind. And I changed my mind right then and there. I haven't done a thing, but I changed my mind. But should I probably not say any more bad words? Yes, I shouldn't say any more bad words. So I might go on through the rest of my life and reform my life and no longer say those bad words. Okay, so it could be contained with the idea if I change my mind about some sort of sin that maybe I shouldn't do that sin anymore. Wouldn't be good for me to do that because Bob would have to come to me again and tell me again. But what you need to understand is repentance, okay, definitionally and literally only means a change of mind or with the mind or to change your understanding. You understand new information and you change it. What you used to think to something that you now think. Okay? And this is especially important when dealing in the context of salvation. Okay? Because there are some cases where maybe a change of mind is done, but then right then and there, there is also a change of action. That could be true, and that is found in scripture. But definitionally, literally, and contextually, we need to understand that metanoia and metanoio is literally a change of mind. Okay? It does not require a change of action. And to say it does require a change of action is heretical. Heretical. Okay? Metamelomy. This is a different word. Remember I said there are six total words we look at? Notice meta, okay? Total King James Version occurrences are six, and it's translated as repent three times and repented three times. This word carries the same thought as nakam, okay? Just sigh, breathe strongly, sorry, regretful kind of thing. It's from 3326 and the middle of 3199. To care afterwards, that is regret. Okay, now this shows up six times in the King James Bible, and it does carry the idea of being regretful over something. Here's an example. Go there, go to Matthew 21. I don't have this on the screen. Go to Matthew 21, verse 28. Raise your hand if you've stopped at Buc-ee's. Anybody stop at Buc-ee's before? Oh man, y'all need to go on a road trip, some of y'all. You go about 350 miles north here into Georgia, mm, God's country, you'll find Buc-ee's. That is the cup I'm drinking my delicious throat coat tea from today. Matthew 21 verse 28 through 32. Pay close attention here. It says, But what think ye? A certain man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. And he answered and said, I will not. But afterward, He repented and went. And he came to the second and said, likewise, and he answered and said, I go, sir, and went not. Whether of them Twain did the will of his father, they say unto him, well, the first one did because he went, right? He actually did go. The first one. Jesus saith unto them, verily I say unto you, that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. He's talking to the Pharisees here. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and you believed him not. But the publicans and the harlots believed him. See, they see the idea of the publicans and the harlots believing John's message, and the Pharisees see that, and they don't even care one bit. They're not even going to change their mind one lick. They're not even going to show any regret. There's no regret shown for that. That even these people are believing, and they show nothing toward that. The Pharisees should have cared afterwards or regretted and seen the publicans and harlots believe in John's words, and they should have believed it as well. That's one example in Matthew 21. Here's some other examples. It has nothing to do with salvation, although the Pharisees, through that regret, they did need to believe in the message that John was preaching. What was the message John was preaching? How the Messiah was coming and he would be born and he would die for the sins of the world, right? The Lamb of God sent to die for the sin of the world, John 1. Matthew 27 3 gives one example regarding Judas. Judas, it does not say specifically the word is metamelemi, it doesn't use metanoeo, it is a regret he had for what he had done, okay? 2nd Corinthians 7 8, Paul, regret or care afterwards, we're going to look at that in a moment. Hebrews 7.21, the Lord will not regret concerning his oath. It says he will not repent. He made a promise, he's not gonna, he doesn't have any regret about that. But in the context of all of these passages, for sake of time, we're not gonna look at them entirely, they do not contain the idea of someone having to regret or be sorrowful to be saved into eternal life. That's just not the context specifically. Here's our last word we will look at before we dive into some scriptural examples. It is ametemeletos. This occurs two times in your King James Version Bible. It is translated repentant and repented. It's used negatively. It means irrevocable or without repentance, not to be repented of, okay? Romans 11, 29, for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance or they are irrevocable. Very good, no problem. 2 Corinthians 7 10, for godly sorrow worketh repentance, that is metanoia, change of mind, to salvation not to be repented of, but the sorrow of the world worketh death, or it's not to be revoked, okay, not to be changed, okay, not to be revoked, So this idea in, let me just make a note on this, the idea in 2 Corinthians 7, Paul is talking to the Corinthians, okay, and this is after he has written his first letter to Corinth, totally calling them out on all their sin, but what do we know about Corinth? What do we know about the Corinthians? Were they saved or were they lost? You're saved people, okay? So Paul is not telling them in the context of 2 Corinthians 7, you need to get saved again, you need to be real, real sorry, and you need to believe again, or you're not saved. That's not what he's saying in 2 Corinthians 7, okay? He's saying that I'm glad you have sorrowed over the things that I've told you before, and you've changed some of those things, okay? You shouldn't go back to that. That's the idea in 2 Corinthians 7. This word is not dealing with salvation into eternal life. The Corinthians were already saved. Paul's letter, 1 Corinthians, led them to a sorrowful change of mind concerning their sin. And they shouldn't go back to doing those things. But he's not telling the Corinthians you need to get saved again because you've been doing all this sin, the guy fornicating with his mother-in-law, them bickering and fighting, taking each other to the law, one against another. He's not saying you weren't saved and now this is how you get saved, you need to be real sorry to get saved again. It's not found in the context, okay? They were already saved and that was established in 1 Corinthians chapter 1. were saved. They were saints. Repentance in the New Testament gives us the best understanding of repentance with regards to salvation, and particularly metanoeo and metanoia. The context ultimately dictates how this is understood, and here's why. There are cases where metanoeo and metanoia, which we will look at, are used and translated as repent, and it's not talking about a person being saved into eternal life. So we need to look at the context and see what is it talking about. Here's one example. This is probably the most popular example in the entire Bible that people like to grab, repent out of, and make it say what it doesn't say, but this one is utterly clear. This is abundantly clear. Go to Luke 13, verse one. In the youth group, when I stutter like that, or if I'm hanging out with Robert and Erica, and I just totally mess up and stutter, we call that glitching. You glitched, like a video game. Right? So, next time I stutter on stage, you say, Trent, you glitched. Luke 13 verse 1, page 1094 in a Schofield or a Churchill Bible. It says there were present at that season some that told him, Jesus, of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. Ew. Ugh. Jesus answering said unto them, the ones who told him about this, they're like, hey Jesus, you hear about these guys? You hear about those guys? Them? Mmm. Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans because they suffered such things. So Jesus is saying, are you saying that they're worse than then all, everyone else, they're just worse and you're setting them aside as though they're worse. Is this what you're saying right now? Is that what you're thinking? Notice the phrase he uses, suppose ye, look at me, look at me, suppose ye, what are you thinking right now? Are they worse than you? Verse 3, I tell you, nay, no, he's not saying a horse, nay, but except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish keep reading verse 4 or those 18 upon whom the tower of siloam fell and slew them think ye catch that think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in jerusalem are they worse than everyone else just because a tower fell on them and killed them Oh, God brought that upon them. They're real bad. They're worse than you and me. Don't be like those guys. They're surely going to hell. Verse five, Jesus says, I tell you, nay, no, but except you, repent, change your mind, you shall all likewise perish. What did they need to change their minds about? They were lifting themselves on a higher pedestal than these people who had died in various ways. They were self-righteously lifting them up. And Jesus looked them in the face and says, no, sir, you ain't better than them. You're a sinner just like them. That's why he says in another place which we looked at, I came to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance. You're just as bad as those guys that died from the Tower of Siloam falling on them. Nobody's better here. You need to change your mind. In another place, change your mind in what? Believe in Christ so you can be righteous in God's eyes. Repentance for the self-righteous. They needed to change their mind from thinking they're so self-righteous. He is not saying There's nothing in this context that promotes the idea, I don't even know how pastors come to the conclusion of saying that somehow this word would then mean a turn from sin. I just don't even find it there. Jesus is telling them, no, you're not better than those people who died and Pilate mingled their blood with the sacrifices. The Tower of Siloam fell on them and killed them. So as people see those events and they see, They must have been really bad because that happened to them. Those people that died in the hurricane above where I live, I live in Holiday, I was real close, all right? That hurricane that came by, they're so much worse than me because they died and I did. Mm-mm, mm-mm, no. Jesus says, you need to change your mind about that. You are not better than them. Everyone, God commanded everyone everywhere to repent. Change your mind. You are not better than somebody else. We're sinners alike. That's Jesus's point here. Matthew 9, go there, verses 9-13. Matthew 9. And just so you know, if you disagree with the presentation this morning, feel free to try to change my mind. Matthew 9, verses 9-13. That's how it should be though, you know, if you disagree with someone, have an honest conversation with them about it. Talk to them, pull them aside. Just don't call me out in public, you know, that'd be weird. Talk to me first. Matthew 9, verses 9 through 13. And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the receipt of custom. And he saith unto him, follow me. And he arose and followed him. It came to pass as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. Okay, so you have publicans and sinners sitting down with him. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, why eateth your master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that he said unto them, they that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth. I will have mercy and not sacrifice. For I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Catch this, catch this. Who is Jesus talking to? The Pharisees. He's not telling the publicans and the sinners to turn from their sin, to then be righteous. He's talking to the Pharisees, saying, you already think you're righteous. They needed to change their mind. They needed to trust in Christ. Obviously, they would not. And that was the pointed message toward them. They thought they were so puffed up and self-righteous. Jesus was hanging out with the publicans and the sinners because they knew they needed him. They knew there were sinners. They couldn't do anything about their sinful condition. So he's not going around just hanging with the Pharisees like, we're so good, yeah. No, he's hanging with the publicans and the sinners, the people who know they need a savior. That's why they believed in him. They recognized their condition, they trusted in Jesus Christ. But the Pharisees, so puffed up and self-righteous and think they got it all, they needed to change their mind. He came to call those... it's everyone, right? The message is to everyone, but the sinners who know they sin, who know they need a Savior, they believed in Jesus Christ, many of them. But the Pharisees, who think they're so puffed up and so righteous, they rejected Him. They wouldn't believe in Him because they think they got it already. And many of them just because they came straight out of Abraham's loins. Uh-oh. We're getting it back. One moment. Try again. Almost. Let me try that again. There it is. Okay. Yeah, we've been fiddling with this a lot. Pardon. They need to change their mind from thinking they are so self-righteous. Okay, for sinners. The sinner changes his mind about Jesus and believes in him. And so the publicans and the sinners, they did that. They understood. But the Pharisees didn't, and the response was to the Pharisees' question. So this is why context is very important. Who's he talking to? What is he talking about? He's not telling the publicans and the sinners here to turn from their sin. He's telling the Pharisees that you need to be like these guys, okay? You need to trust in me for salvation. Stop being so puffed up, self-righteous. Acts 2.38, go there. Acts 2.38, another case where repent is used. This one very popular, especially in charismatic circles. And notice, all the uses are metanoeo or metanoia. Acts 2, before you get to 38, look at verse 29. Acts 2, 29, please. Says, men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David. That's a guy we like. he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God has sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, of David's loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ the Messiah to sit on his throne, He seeing this before, so David seeing and understanding the Messiah would come, spake of the resurrection of Christ. That is fascinating, that statement alone. Spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. You can find that in the Psalms, I believe it's Psalm 16. Verse 32, this Jesus who is the Messiah. He just connected Jesus with being the Messiah. This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are all our witnesses. Therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this which he now see and hear. The flaming tongues of fire, all the miracles happening from the Holy Spirit, speaking in different tongues, right? The Holy Ghost is come down. For David, verse 34, is not ascended into the heavens, but he saith himself, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand. Psalm 110.1, right? David knew he was speaking, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand, referring to Jesus and the Father. Wow. This is before David passed. 35, until I make thy foes thy footstool. Therefore, here's the conclusion. This is the point that Peter is making. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly. Catch the audience. Did you see that? Israel. Know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Pause. You, Israel, crucified Jesus, who you didn't believe in. He's the one who is the Lord in Christ, and you killed him. That's what Peter's saying. Verse 37, now when they, the audience of Israel, heard this, they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, change your mind, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For this promise is unto you and your children and to all that are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Now, I'm not going to break down the baptism portion there, but at the point of 37, these people probably connected the dots, okay? The change of mind is the piece of the puzzle that would grant them the remission of sins. The problem at hand was Israel, the people who literally begged with Rome, stick him on the cross, crucify him, crucify him, Peter is speaking to them saying, you killed the Messiah. You need to change your mind about who he is and what he did for you. Believe in him, he is the Messiah. And then further on in doing so, you receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Upon hearing that, they were pricked in the heart. That hit hard, the message from Peter. They needed to change their mind and believe in Jesus Christ. They needed to believe Him not as Jesus from Nazareth, some person that was just born to Mary and Joseph. They needed to believe that Jesus is the Christ. What does it mean when John says, believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God? It means that you believe who He is. That he's not just some Jesus far off. You don't understand that what he is the Messiah and what he has done for you. He died for these people, the very people that crucified him. They didn't believe they needed to believe. That's a change of mind. The Israelites who killed Jesus on the screen needed to change their mind about him and believe he is the Messiah. They didn't. Thought he was just some dude who was blaspheming. They said, he calls himself to be God. Kill him. No, He is God. Believe in Him. Repentance for idolaters. Go to Acts chapter 17 with me. Acts chapter 17. If you have more questions about Acts 2.38, feel free. I know I just totally skipped over baptism, but we need the time. Purpose today is repentance and what it means definitionally and contextually. Acts 17, back up from verse 30 and go to verse 23 with me. Context is important. Paul here. Talking to a knowledgeable Gentile crowd on Mars Hill. 23, for as I passed by and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, Paul speaking, to the unknown God, hmm, whom therefore you ignorantly worship. Him declare I unto you. God, that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands." That's idolatry, right? You think of the golden calf, made with hands, right? What is Paul saying? He, this guy, this unknown God that you're just putting an altar to just in case. He is the creator. You need to know about him. 26, and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation, that they should seek the Lord, if happily they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us. I love that statement. So he's using their own word against them here. To think that the Godhead, did you catch that? To think that the Godhead is like unto gold or silver or stone or graven by art or man's devices. He is not some idol that we make with our hands. He's a real God that created everything. He's powerful. He created you. 30. And the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent. because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man, Jesus, whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." These idolaters on Mars Hill that Paul is pleading with, they had all this idol worshiping going on, all the knowledge abounding in the world, and he's saying, this supposed unknown God, well, he's very knowable, and he's the guy that created everything. He is God of the universe. He created you, and he's not far off. You need to change your mind. He commands everyone, everywhere, change your mind. Believe in him. Change your mind about all this. You think it's these idols over here? You made them with your hands? No. There is a God in heaven whom you call the unknown God. You need to believe in Him. Change your mind. It is not the idols that saves you. It is God who sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for your sins that saved you. He commands everyone to repent and believe in the one, verse 31, who God raised Him from the dead. On the screen, the men of the city needed to change their minds about who the unknown God is, Jesus Christ. They needed to believe in Him. Now, check this out. We're going to go to a different type of example where metanoia is used. Go to 2 Timothy 2 with me, please. This one's also very popular, especially in Calvinistic circles. If you disagree with my take on this, that's okay. That is okay. Understandable. 2 Timothy chapter 2, Pastor Jesse actually just went through a verse-by-verse, a series called Them That Are His, and he stopped around verse 20, 21, I think. Go to 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse 20, says this, It says, but in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth and some to honor and some to dishonor. Here's why I think the context of this portion here is about believers. It's about everything he said before, verses one through 19, okay? He just got through saying that believers, if you believe not, God is faithful, he cannot deny himself. He got through a whole dissertation about eternal security. He even presents two men, Hymenaeus and Philetus, who are saved, who are saved, who are saved, Hymenaeus and Philetus, okay? They are saved individuals. but they have erred concerning the truth. Even those men, God knows them that are his. The people who have erred from the truth, who once believed in Christ, he still knows them that are his because the foundation of God stands sure. They put their faith in Christ and they are his. And so we keep going to verse 20 and he's explaining it further. You have some people who believe and they are a vessel to honor. You have some people who believe and they're a vessel to dishonor. Verse 21, if a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor. This is not about salvation into eternal life. This is about you're saved. What are you doing now? vessel unto honor sanctified meat for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. Flee also youthful lusts, but follow righteousness." We do not have to do that to be saved. These people are already saved. Faith, charity, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart, but foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. And here it is, and the servant of the Lord must not strive but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, keep reading, and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil who are taken captive by him at his will. interesting. Did he say that God needs to gift these, this is what some people say, that God needs to give these supposed unsaved people like Hymenaeus and Philetus a repentance so that they can then believe in Jesus to be saved? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. These people in the context are already saved. God has already said the foundation stands sure. He knows them that are his. Now, them that are his, will you be a vessel to honor or will you be a vessel to dishonor? Can you be a believer and dishonor God? Yes, you can. Can you be a believer and honor God? Yes, you can. This is the same concept I talked about about a month ago. You're going to walk in the flesh. You're going to walk in the spirit. You walk in the flesh, dishonor. You walk in the spirit, honor. Same idea. You think God, you know, had this put together when he was writing, using the men to write the scriptures, you know, Paul, Peter, James, John, they all agree on this. So these people You can be a vessel unto honor or vessel unto dishonor, but when he gets down here and he says, give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, okay, he's talking about these people who are dishonorable. You, as a believer, Timothy in particular, as a pastor here, you need to, in meekness, instruct teach those who are in error that perhaps these believers who are in error would change their mind, hearing the truth of God's word, give them repentance, hearing the truth of God's word so that they come to a change of mind and stop being a vessel to dishonor and be a vessel to honor. You see the difference there? This is the idea that Paul is iterating to Timothy, as he's teaching the word of God to the believers there. And so that not that they may be saved, but that they could recover themselves out of the snare of the devil. Because when you're walking in dishonor, and when you're walking in your flesh, and when you as a believer are sinning, you're essentially in the snare of the devil. You're doing exactly what he wants you to do. Can you be a believer and be living as though you're in the snare of the devil? Yes, you can. Change your mind. Change your mind. Not to get saved. Change your mind, and yes, stop doing that. Stop doing that. This idea is also iterated in Revelation multiple times, chapters one through three, you find it. Believers may need to change their mind concerning the things in their life after having received Christ. And now, as I say this again, Change of mind, in and of itself, the repentance does not require action. But if you're as a believer and you see something you're doing wrong in your life and you change your mind about that, well, it'd be very good for you to stop doing those things and carry on. It'd be good for you to have a change of action. But the change of action does not determine the fact that you already changed your mind. You see? Here's another example in Hebrews chapter six, verse one. We're gonna have to zoom, zoom. Go to Hebrews six. And I'm giving you different examples of different scenarios because I want you to understand specifically the word metanoia, metaneo, when it comes to repentance, because this is the word we're dealing with, especially in understanding salvation into eternal life. But you can see that it's used in different ways in different scenarios. The word simply means change your mind. Think differently. A believer can change his mind. An unbeliever can change his mind. Repentance from dead works, Hebrews 6 verse 1 says this, Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God. What is our foundation? When we didn't believe, maybe we thought, maybe we thought, look at me, you thought that works could save you. Change your mind, repentance from those dead works and faith toward God. Change your mind, believe. That's the idea. The unbeliever may need to change his mind concerning dead works being able to save him. Same chapter, Hebrews 6, verses 4 through 6. Boy, is this chapter thrown around a lot. I'm going to give it to you real fast. It's very clear, very simple. I think it's the strongest case for eternal security in the New Testament. Would you believe that? But everyone uses it as a way that you can lose your salvation. Let's see how it's used and how repentance comes up. Verse 4 says, For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened How do you become enlightened? You've believed in Jesus Christ. So it's impossible for this individual who has been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift. How do you taste of the heavenly gift? Believe in Jesus Christ, right? For by grace you save through faith in that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, as they mention boast. Tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost." How do you become a partaker of the Holy Ghost? Believe in Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1 13, right? In whom you also trusted. After that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. In whom also after that you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Believe in Jesus Christ. You become a partaker of the Holy Ghost. And have tasted the good word of God. They heard the word, they believed. And the powers of the world to come. If they shall fall away So, it's impossible for these people who have experienced this by faith in Christ, if these people shall fall away, this is what is impossible. Two, renew them again to repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh and put Him to an open shame. You can't get saved again, you can't lose your salvation. The problem with the Hebrews was they were trying, they had already believed in Christ, and they were trying to earn it again by sacrificing things on the altars of blood of animals, but Jesus Christ himself made the one offering for their sin. You can't save yourself again, you Hebrew. Stop that. It's like you're trying to repent again. Thank you, Bob. Amen. Amen. This is such a strong case for eternal security. It's amazing. You don't get salvation twice. You believe once, you have it. You've tasted, you've experienced. You repent one time, you change your mind, you believe in Jesus Christ, and you have eternal life. So he's saying you don't have to do it again because that's like what the Catholics do and put Jesus Christ back on the cross again. When we take communion today, I am not, I don't even know where it went, I am not drinking the literal blood of Jesus Christ. That's me putting Him on the cross, putting Him on the cross. They're over there today, putting Him back on the cross, putting Him back on the cross. It's like they're slipping the animals and laying them on the altar, throwing the blood. No, no. Jesus died once, you believe once, you repent once, change your mind about Him, believe in Him, and you have it. I got fired up, my voice is back, y'all. The change of mind for salvation is a one-time event. I know time is running short, we're gonna zoom. One-time event, otherwise you're trying to hang Jesus back on the cross. Okay, that's it for the scripture reading. Repent as metanoia, metanoio or metanoia. Catch this, this is very important. Repentance in and of itself is a change of mind. Those words, okay? We've seen shub and nakam, different meanings. The repentance requires an object to repent about. This object could be, we saw self-righteousness, we saw it could be Jesus, it could be God, it could be sin. Just because the phrase repent of sin is not found in the Bible, you could change your mind about some sin, right? Or all sorts of things. I wanted to bring up here an example. The example falls short about me changing my mind from eating some ice cream to eating some broccoli so I could lose some weight, but the example falls short. But I could change my mind about all sorts of things, right? The bottom line, repentance is a change of mind from not believing in something to believing in something. Specifically, when you believe in Jesus, okay, you're believing he is who he says he is and you know what he's done for you. You're believing he is who he says he is. They needed to believe he was the Messiah who died for their sin. He was buried and rose again. The guy you crucified, Israel, he died for you. Believe in him. That's the idea. Unbelief to belief. Here's a few quotes. This is Flavius Josephus. metanoia repentance to see whether they would change their minds I don't see salvation to eternal life there. The word is thrown around and used as a change of mind. That's all it is. Here's another quote, John Calvin. We sometimes like this guy. The Hebrew word for repentance, he did a lot of good stuff, but there's some stuff you should avoid from John Calvin. The Hebrew word for repentance denotes conversion or he says return, careful, but notice what he says about the Greek word referring to metanoia. The Greek word signifies change of mind or intention, change of mind. Dwight L. Moody, repentance is a change of mind. Louis Perry Schaeffer, the word means a change of mind. Here's one of my favorites. You'll know this guy. Why do we have a problem? The problem has come about because metanoia should never have been translated into the English word repent. Repent does not mean, the English word, does not mean the same thing as metanoia, the Greek word. We saw the dictionary and we saw Strong's Concordance. The English does not mean the same as the Greek. Perhaps what the translators should have done was a transliteration of the Greek word. For example, the translators of the King James Bible took the Greek word baptizo, dropped the O, put an E in, replaced it with an E, they brought the new word baptize into the English language. This is called a transliteration. They should have done this with metanoia. The problem would have been eliminated. Can you imagine preachers saying metanoia to their congregations? At least the correct meaning would be known, Dr. Hank Lindstrom. And that is our quick study on what repentance is. Repentance is necessary to believe, okay? You change your mind about this object, specifically the object Jesus, and you believe in him, that he died for your sins, he was buried, he rose again. You didn't believe, now you do believe. It's a change of mind. You do not have to demonstrate that with your hands, with your actions, with anything else. You believe it, it's settled. The foundation of the Lord stands assured. He knows them that are His. I went a little bit over, but let me show you this real quick and we'll take part of communion. letting this hand represent you and me and the whole world, and letting this represent our sin. We all have sin on us. God loves us. He doesn't like our sin because our sin separates us from God. It's a barrier between us and God. Now, because of this sin, we deserve to go and pay for it in hell. That's what we deserve. So the, you know, we deserve to die and pay for all that sin. The very idea that we can try to repent from that sin and turn from it is impossible. It's who we are. We deserve a death payment for that sin. God wants us to go to his perfect heaven, but you see that we have to be perfect. So it's really impossible to turn from all that sin because you can't attain perfection. To think you are is a lie. You're self-righteous. You're like the Pharisees. You have to die to pay for that sin. It's the only way you can do it. And so God did the unthinkable because it's not by works. It's one thing, Jesus Christ The Son of God who has no sin, He made it possible. He who had no sin took all of our sin on Himself. And He died, He was buried, He rose again. And all who believe in Him are justified from all things. which repenting of sin, turning from sin, would not have justified you from trying to keep all these good works, would not have justified you. You need to believe in Jesus Christ. All who believe receive eternal life. You believe it, you have it, and as we saw from Hebrews chapter 6, you don't need to do it again. Once you have eternal life, you have it forever. Never lose it. Sin is paid. It's gone. I might as well chunk it back in the bag. Cast it as far as the east is from the west. If you believe it, you receive eternal life. If you haven't done that, change your mind. because you're not believing, and believe in Jesus Christ that he paid for all your sin. That's repentance for salvation. Change your mind. You have a life change, change your mind. Let's pray real quick and we'll do communion real fast here. I'll give you time to pray for that as well, but let's pray real quick. I'll pray for the elements right now, actually. Heavenly Father, we just thank you for this service. Thank you that we can understand repentance with regards to salvation, the proper understanding of it. We pray now as we go into communion, that we would remember your body that was broken for us, the blood that was shed for us, and right before we do so, I'd like to ask if there's anyone in the crowd today, before we take communion, if you understand for the first time that Jesus Christ died and paid for all your sin, you understand that He is the Savior, you understand He died for all your sin, was buried and rose again, and you say, that makes sense to me, I understand that, and I believe that. Would you let me know by raised hand? You're saying, yeah, Trent, I believe that. Anyone at all for the first time? By raised hand? I see that hand. You can put it back down. You just received eternal life by believing in Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord. Over the live stream, same for you. Believe in Jesus Christ. You can send us an email, comment, so on and so forth. Thank you, Heavenly Father, that we can come to you in communion. That's what we're going to do now in Jesus' name.