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BibleTruth.cc "The Elementary Teachings" Series Repentance From Acts that Lead to Death - Returning to Your Creator By David M Rogers www.BibleTruth.cc Published: November 2017 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Messiah and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in Elohim, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And Elohim permitting, we will do so. (Hebrews 6:1-3) Table of Contents The Promises of Blessings and Curses The Biblical Definition of Repentance
Repentance as Taught by Yochanan the Immerser Repentance as Taught by Yahusha Messiah Repentance as Taught by the Apostles Is Confession of Sin the Same as Repentance? It is instructive to us that the writer to the Hebrews refers to repentance from acts that lead to death as one of the elementary teachings about Messiah. This thing called repentance is a foundation for us. It is something that everyone should understand, even those brand new to faith in Messiah. If we properly understand this elementary concept of repentance, then we can build an accurate set of teachings about our walk of faith upon it. But there's the rub.
We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you
are slow to learn. In fact,
though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach
you
the elementary truths
of Elohim's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!
Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Messiah and
go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from
acts that lead to death, and of faith in Elohim, instruction about
baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and
eternal judgment. And Elohim permitting, we will do so. (Hebrews
5:11-6:3) Here, a fundamental element of repentance is alluded to. Contrary to the teachings of many, repentance is not just a change of mind. It is a necessary change of action on the part of followers of Messiah. We will see this as it is developed in Scripture. There are many question
we endeavor to answer as we study this topic of repentance.
What is repentance? The Promises of Blessings and Curses The need for repentance is stipulated upon a core understanding of what the Creator demands of humans to be restored to proper relationship with Him. When setting the parameters for a functional covenant relationship between him and his people Israel, Yahuwah established the standards for that fellowship. 3 "'If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey
my commands, Being in favor with Yahuwah is not random. You cannot simply "believe" in Jesus and expect to walk in favor with Elohim. He has revealed for us the circumstances under which his blessings will fill our lives. The Almighty promises blessings and well being to those who walk in obedience to his decrees and commands. Those who cling to his ways, obey his instructions and listen to his voice will walk in favor with him and enjoy all the positives which Yahuwah grants to his people. But for those who reject his commands, curses and bad things accompany them. Yahuwah will make sure of it! He is always faithful. He will do what he said he will do. Just as He will reward obedience and right living, He will also punish and condemn disobedience, transgression, rebellion and wrong living. "'But if you will not listen to me and carry out all
these commands, These negatives are the curses of the Law written about by Paul in his letters. They are the result of disobedience to Elohim's law. Many Christian churches erroneously teach that returning to obedience to the Law given by the mouth of Elohim at Sinai is tantamount to rejection of His grace and a falling away from the work of Messiah in his atoning sacrifice. Nothing could be further from the truth. Elohim wants to bless his people and will do so when they obey his law. But for those who won't obey, he sends curses. He is faithful to what he said he will do. Paul speaks of this faithfulness of Elohim to reward the obedient ones and punish the faithless ones: Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself. (2 Timothy 2:11-13) In other words, He is going to do what he promises to do. Those who cling to him will enjoy his favor. Those who are faithless and disown him will reap the consequence of their own choices and find Elohim fulfilling his word against them. The Biblical Definition of Repentance The word repentance comes from the Hebrew bWv (shuv). The BDB says this word means to turn back, return. The HALOT tells us this word means to turn around, repent; hif. (causative) stem - to bring back, refresh, refute, to be changed . And the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT) gives us this: The basic meaning of shûb "to (re)turn" implying physical motion or movement appears over 270 times. A few times God is the subject, "At the appointed time I will return to you (Sarah)," (Gen 18:14). Most often the subject is a person: "I (Abraham) and the lad (Isaac) will go yonder and worship, and return to you" (Gen 22:5). In the Hiphil stem form there are eighty-seven occurrences of shûb in the sense of "bring back, carry back."Additionally, TWOT explains: Another important use of shûb in the Qal, and theologically the
most crucial, is in passages dealing with the covenant community's
return to God (in the sense of repentance), or turning away from evil
(in the sense of renouncing and disowning sin), or turning away from God
(in the sense of becoming apostate). In such contexts shûb in the Qal is
used 129 times. By contrast, in the Hiphil shûb is used only eleven
times when discussing the divine-human relationship. "turn back (Qal
imperative) and 'let yourself be turned from your idols' (Hiphil) "
(Ezek 14:6). So the Hebraic concept of repentance is simply to return to Elohim's ways. It means to go back to obedience. By forsaking the path that we have been on and returning to Him, Elohim will receive us again. If you are in a Messianic or Hebrew Roots environment, you will often hear the term teshuvah meaning repentance. But in a strictly biblical usage, teshuvah is not used that way. Just to let you know, the Hebrew hb'vut. (teshuvah) means to answer, (re-)turn. Appears eight times, five times in reference to the spring as the "turn" of the year (2Sam 11:l; 1Kings 20:22, 26; 1Chr 20:1 ; 2Chr 36:10); once "return" to a place (1Sam 7:17), and twice in the sense of "answer, retort" (Job 21:34; Job 34:36). (TWOT Lexicon). Here is an example:
Afterward, the prophet came to the king of
Yisrael and said, "Strengthen your position and see what must be done,
because next spring (lit. “at the turning of the year”) the king of Aram will attack you
again."
The Promise to Those Who Repent (Return to Sender) The love of our Maker compels him to reach out to us with terms of reconciliation. He desires that - although banished from his presence - we might still change our ways and turn back to him. His promise is to receive those who will turn away from their disobediences and cling to his ways. At the time he layed out the two choices and their outcomes, Yahuwah gives hope to those who are receiving the curses on account of their disobediences:
You will perish among the nations;
the land of your enemies will devour you.
"'But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their
fathers-- their treachery against me and their hostility toward me,
which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the
land of their enemies-- then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled
and they pay for their sin, Yahuwah is the "sender" of the rebellious sons of Israel into exile around the world. But his promise to those of them who repent and return to Him is to restore them to covenant relationship with him. True repentance reaches down deep. It requires a wholesale change in our life. We must transform the choices we make and the actions we take.
When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come upon you
and you take them to heart wherever Yahuwah your Elohim disperses you
among the nations, When the change of heart occurs in us and we decide to abandon our own control over our lives and give Him control, He will keep his promise to return us to our inheritance so that we can be his people again. Furthermore, he will bless his people more abundantly in the land he promised the patriarchs.
He
will bring you to the land that belonged to your
fathers, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more
prosperous and numerous than your fathers. The end result of repentance is that we obey all his commands. No true repentance happens without the result being full scale obedience to his commands. For those who think they can "confess" their sins and be "in Jesus" but not obey his commands, they are deceived and don't truly know Elohim. The book of Deuteronomy goes on to tell us more about the prosperity of those who repent: Then Yahuwah your Elohim will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. Yahuwah will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your fathers, if you obey Yahuwah your Elohim and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to Yahuwah your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul. (Devarim [Deuteronomy] 30:9-10) The Christian view that just accepting Jesus into your heart will gain you all the blessings of God just doesn't cut it. It doesn't ring true with the plain teachings of Scripture and the words that the Almighty himself spoke. The death of Messiah provides an atonement for all who will repent and return to Elohim. But the fruit of true repentance is a changed life which is featured by obedience to all the laws, commands, decrees and judgments as given to and through Moses. The promise to those who repent, as found in the Torah, is reinforced by the words of the prophets. All the prophets called Israel to repent of their rebellious ways in forsaking the Law of Elohim and to return to right living as expressed through obedience to His Word. At the dedication of the Temple, Elohim responds to Solomon's prayers and makes a promise of restoration to those who repent.
When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts
to devour the land or send a plague among my people, The pleading of Elohim to return to him is found all over the Scriptures and to every generation. This is the very heart of the Everlasting Gospel, which is the good news that the Almighty wants us to enjoy the fullness of life through proper relationship with him. That relationship begins when man becomes aware of his separation from Yahuwah and the reasons for it, and then repents of his lifestyle choices and returns to submission and obedience to Elohim's commandments. Isaiah the prophet describes a generation of people who repent of their wrong doing and return to Yah. These people will prosper in the inheritance Elohim gives to those who are of the faith of Abraham.
From the west, men will fear the name of Yahuwah, and from the rising of
the sun, they will revere his glory. For he will come like a pent-up
flood that the breath of Yahuwah drives along. "The Redeemer will come
to Zion, to those in Ya'acov who repent of their sins," declares
Yahuwah. The theme of repentance is always featured when the prophets tell of the future blessings Yah brings to his people. It's only on the condition of repentance and return that Israel can experience His favor. Jeremiah also brought the good news predicated upon repentance.
Therefore this is what Yahuwah says: "If you repent, I will restore you
that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless, words, you
will be my spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn
to them. But why should this surprise us? The love of Elohim is communicated through the call to repentance so that mankind can set himself in a position of receiving the promises of Yahuwah. So, the Christian theologians, pastors and teachers have done a great disservice to the body of Messiah when they don't emphasize the importance of from-the-heart change of mind and actions, which is the essence of repentance. The prophets make it clear that humans must align themselves with the will of Elohim in order to receive the blessings and prosperity of Elohim. Repentance as Taught by Yochanan the Immerser In the New Testament, the message of repentance is the same as we see in the Law and in the Prophets. The message of Scripture from the very beginning is that man has transgressed the instruction of Elohim and has thus fallen out of fellowship with his Creator. For restoration to occur, man must repent of his rebellion and return to obedience. John the Baptist (Yochanan the Immerser), whom Yahusha Messiah described as the greatest of all the prophets, preached the message of repentance, just as had all the prophets before him: In those days Yochanan the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Yehudah and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Yeshayahu: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for Yahuwah, make straight paths for him.'" Yochanan's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. (Matthew 3:1-4) The everlasting gospel is simplified by Yochanan in the short phrase, "repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." Repentance is a requirement for entering into the kingdom. The wicked and sinful cannot take part in Elohim's righteous government. A wholesale transformation is necessary for anyone to participate in it. John’s message and its effect on people is further explained in the verses that follow: People went out to him from Yerushalayim and all Yehudah and the whole region of the Yarden. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Yarden River. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. (Matthew 3:5-8) The people who heard Yochanan's message were convicted of their wrongdoing and so confessed their sins. The baptism or immersing was the response, as stipulated in Torah, of a cleansing act, symbolic of the change from a dirty, sinful person to one who walks in cleanness and integrity. The result of this change that comes from repentance is the fruit of ones actions. By their fruit you will know them.
The
English word repentance is translated from the Greek
meta,noia
(meta-noi-a)
Paul explains the Gospel by first explaining that "the wages of sin is
death" (Romans 3:23).
Transgression of Elohim’s law requires
a payment. That payment is
death. Thus, Elohim
requires everyone who sins to pay the penalty with death.
Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Avraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones Elohim can raise up children for Avraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." "What should we do then?" the crowd asked. Yochanan answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same." Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?" "Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told them. Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely-- be content with your pay.“ (Luke 3:8-14)
What is the fruit of repentance? Yeshua later spoke of this "fruit in keeping with repentance":
By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from
thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just as a tree is recognized by its fruit, so the person's repentance will be tested by the fruit of his life. Again, Yahusha tells of the fruit of a man's inner heart disposition:
Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its
fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. The baptism of Yochanan was for those who had confessed their sins and repented. Again, the baptism represented the cleansing of the confessing individual and the ridding of sin.
Everyone who has this hope in him (of being like Yeshua) purifies
himself, just as he is pure. Upon confession of sin and repentance comes purification and the forgiveness of sins. This is followed by a lifestyle of living righteously. Yochanan's definition of righteousness is simply doing right. The disciple of Messiah no longer can live any which way he wants, but must walk uprightly before his Redeemer by obeying all the commandments. He must stop sinning. Repentance as Taught by Yahusha Messiah Yahusha taught repentance as an integral element of the characteristic of those entering into the kingdom of heaven. Following his baptism and temptation in the wilderness and at the beginning of his public ministry, Yahusha began to preach the message of repentance: From that time on Yahusha began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.“ (Matthew 4:17) Entrance into the kingdom of heaven could only be granted to those who first repent. And what do religious people need to repent of? Certainly they are a pious bunch! Yet, even the religious leaders of Yahusha's day needed to repent. They had basically created their own religious system They now call that religious system Judaism. It is not the same as faith walk as dictated by the Law of Elohim. The leaders of Judaism had formulated a religious system based on the Bible, but without actually following the instructions of the Bible. They needed to repent of their open rebellion against Yahuwah's commandments.
Following several healings, Yahusha admonished the
recipients of the healing to stop sinning. Later Yahusha found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.“ (4th Gospel 5:14)
Repentance in the biblical sense means “Stop Sinning”!
Yahusha straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no
one condemned you?" Yahusha told it to her straight on. A person who anticipates entrance into right relationship with Elohim MUST stop sinning. If the person does not stop sinning there is very real doubt that the repentance was genuine. Is it practical or even possible for any human being to stop sinning? Of course it is. Yochanan tells us:
No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin
has either seen him or known him. Dear children, do not let anyone lead
you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is
righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil
has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of Elohim
appeared was to destroy the devil's work. Those who have genuinely given their lives to their Maker have a transformation in their being performed by the Holy Spirit. They have the power over the choices in their lives. They can literally stop transgressing Elohim's commandments. Repentance as Taught by the Apostles
Repentance was also preached by the Apostles
"Therefore let all Yisrael be assured of this: Elohim has made this
Yahusha, whom you crucified, both Master and Messiah." Amazingly for some, Peter's message to the crowds was exactly the same as Yochanan the Immerser's and Yahusha's messages. Repentance is the necessary beginning of a new relationship with the living Elohim. Forgiveness and restoration cannot happen until the sinner repents. Peter later spoke the message to the crowds after healing the man crippled from birth.
Repent, then, and turn to Elohim, so that your sins may be wiped out,
that times of refreshing may come from Yahuwah, and that he may send the
Messiah, who has been appointed for you-- even Yahusha. (Acts 3:19-20) Paul spoke repentance to the philosophers at Athens:
"Therefore since we are Elohim's offspring, we should not think that the
divine being is like gold or silver or stone-- an image made by man's
design and skill. And again later, Paul was still preaching the gospel of the kingdom just as Yochanan the Immerser had and as Yahusha Messiah had: First to those in Damascus, then to those in Yerushalayim and in all Yehudah, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to Elohim and prove their repentance by their deeds. (Acts 26:20) All the disciples of Yahusha preached repentance because this is what all the prophets throughout all time taught. There is no other way to enter into Father's presence. Is Confession of Sin the Same as Repentance? It has been alleged by some Christian groups that repentance is not needed to obtain salvation. Confession of sin, they say, is all that is required. They say something like this: Just believe that Jesus died for your sins and confess or admit that you are a sinner. Then ask Jesus to forgive your sins and to come into your heart. That's it! Now that may sound good to many. And a precursory glance at a couple passages of Scripture may appear to support this notion. Yochanan, for example, seems to lay out a simple remedy for the guilt of sin:
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and
the truth is not in us. So the word translated confess is from the Greek o`mologe,w (homologeo). The BDAG Greek Lexicon provide this about our word:
1.
to commit oneself to do someth. for someone, promise, assure
2.
to share a common view or be of common mind about a matter, agree
3. to concede that something is factual or true, grant, admit, confess Taking definition number three, it appears Yochanan is telling believers to admit that in fact, they are sinners. And this is the totality of finding forgiveness from Elohim. Even the Torah seems to support confession as the way to forgiveness:
But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers--
their treachery against me and their hostility toward me, It would be easy to read the "confess" part of this message and conclude that conceding that we are sinners is all that's necessary. But we would miss the point if we didn't dwell of the rest of the passage. The Law says then that we must pay for our sin. The payment for sin - that is, the wages of sin - is death. The individual must die for that sin unless there is a substitution for that penalty. And surely Elohim has provided a substitution. The animal sin offering was the temporarty substitution in death for the sin of the person. Later, Elohim send his only begotten Son to pay the price for the sins of mankind.
But the Law tells us there is more to paying for sin than just the
death. In the here and now, payment must include the restoration
of that which was taken with a fifth of its value added to it.
Wrongs done against an individual must be restored according to the
value of the thing done wrong. Leviticus 5 and 6 list out for us
what one must "pay" for his sin.
Sins of uncleanness, failure to speak up, taking
thoughtless oath: Leviticus 5:1-13; sins against Yahuwah’s holy things: Leviticus 5:14-16
Nehemiah’s pray of confession is an example of what true confession entails. Not just admitting an offense, but reversing the behavior of the offender:
Then I said: "Yahuwah, Elohim of heaven, the great and awesome Elohim,
who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his
commands, Thus, Nehemiah implies that this confession of sins is accompanied by a return to the Almighty and a return to obeying his commandments. The is the very definition of repentance. True, biblical confession includes repentance and restoration. Merely "confessing" a wrong does not fix the wrong. The repenting is what makes right out of wrong. In Paul, sorrow is the result of the realization of sin - confession if you will. Paul's prior letter of rebuke stated the Corinthians sins and problems, causing them to sorrow. And that confession is designed to lead the transgressor to repentance:
Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not
regret it. Though I did regret it-- I see that my letter hurt you, but
only for a little while-- yet now I am happy, not because you were made
sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became
sorrowful as Elohim intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. It is not sorrow that leads to salvation, but repentance leads to salvation. Sorrow and confession brings about repentance, which in turn leads to salvation.
What is in the heart of Elohim?
The sacrifices are to atone for sin. Psalm 40:6-9 - Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you have pierced; burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, "Here I am, I have come-- it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, O my Elohim; your law is within my heart." I proclaim righteousness in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, as you know, Yahuwah. Elohim wants our obedience rather than our payment for sin.
"Does Yahuwah delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in
obeying the voice of Yahuwah? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to
heed is better than the fat of rams. At the end of the day, we must pay for our sins because of the effect of sin on our lives. But it was never Elohim's will that we need a system that remedies the problem of sin. He would rather have our obedience. What does Elohim require of us? Certainly not our sin and guilt offerings. He wants us to be like him.
With what shall I come before Yahuwah and bow down before the exalted
Elohim? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year
old?
It would be tragic to know the importance of turning
back to Yahuwah with all you heart and soul by keeping all his
commandments but fail to know what those commandments are through
purposeful ignorance. Repentance is not a one time event. Certainly it is the beginning of a new relationship with the Creator. But it is also required of us every time we become aware of an area in our thinking or in our life that is wrong before him. We should be humble enough to repent just as soon as we know we have displeased the Master. One final exhortation comes through David’s prayer of confession – Psalm 32
Of David. A maskil. Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed
is the man whose sin Yahuwah does not count against him and in whose
spirit is no deceit.
This is the goal of all these things. To enter into fellowship
requires a change of mind and action on our part. Elohim doesn't
need to change. We do. He is a holy and righteous Master.
We need to be holy and righteous to enter into his presence.
Repentance is a good thing. It prepares us to hear the "well done"
when we must stand before him in judgment.
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