Shalom Aleichem...
Reflections is a weekly Christian Teaching Ministry. Each week we will talk about the Bible and lessons we can put to use in our daily life. We will try to, on a weekly basis, provide to you stories, thoughts, and just easy ways to live your life on a straight path.
THIS WEEK'S TEACHING....
In class, we have often talked of repentance and what it means both to us and to God. These can be quite different in the eye of the Christian. This week, we look at...
What is repentance and is it necessary for salvation?
Many understand the term repentance to mean “a turning from sin.” Regretting sin and turning from it is related to repentance, but it is not the precise meaning of the word. In the Bible, the word repent means “to change one’s mind.” The Bible also tells us that true repentance will result in a change of actions (Luke 3:8–14; Acts 3:19). In summarizing his ministry, Paul declares, “I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds” (Acts 26:20). The full biblical definition of repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of action.
What, then, is the connection between repentance and salvation? The book of Acts especially focuses on repentance in regard to salvation (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 11:18; 17:30; 20:21; 26:20). To repent, in relation to salvation, is to change your mind regarding sin and Jesus Christ. In Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts chapter 2), he concludes with a call for the people to repent (Acts 2:38). Repent from what? Peter is calling the people who rejected Jesus (Acts 2:36) to change their minds about that sin and to change their minds about Christ Himself, recognizing that He is indeed “Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). Peter is calling the people to change their minds, to abhor their past rejection of Christ, and to embrace faith in Him as both Messiah and Savior.
Repentance involves recognizing that you have thought wrongly in the past and determining to think rightly in the future. The repentant person has “second thoughts” about the mindset he formerly embraced. There is a change of disposition and a new way of thinking about God, about sin, about holiness, and about doing God’s will. True repentance is prompted by “godly sorrow,” and it “leads to salvation” (2 Corinthians 7:10).
Repentance and faith can be understood as two sides of the same coin. It is impossible to place your faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior without first changing your mind about your sin and about who Jesus is and what He has done. Whether it is repentance from willful rejection or repentance from ignorance or disinterest, it is a change of mind. Biblical repentance, in relation to salvation, is changing your mind from rejection of Christ to faith in Christ.
Repentance is not a work we do to earn salvation. No one can repent and come to God unless God pulls that person to Himself (John 6:44). Repentance is something God gives—it is only possible because of His grace (Acts 5:31; 11:18). No one can repent unless God grants repentance. All of salvation, including repentance and faith, is a result of God drawing us, opening our eyes, and changing our hearts. God’s longsuffering leads us to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), as does His kindness (Romans 2:4).
While repentance is not a work that earns salvation, repentance unto salvation does result in works. It is impossible to truly change your mind without that causing a change in action. In the Bible, repentance results in a change in behavior. That is why John the Baptist called people to “produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8). A person who has truly repented of his sin and exercised faith in Christ will give evidence of a changed life (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 5:19–23; James 2:14–26).
To see what repentance looks like in real life, all we need to do is turn to the story of Zacchaeus. Here was a man who cheated and stole and lived lavishly on his ill-gotten gains—until he met Jesus. At that point he had a radical change of mind: “Look, Lord!” said Zacchaeus. “Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” (Luke 19:8). Jesus happily proclaimed that salvation had come to Zacchaeus’s house, and that even the tax collector was now “a son of Abraham” (verse 9)—a reference to Zacchaeus’s faith. The cheat became a philanthropist; the thief made restitution. That’s repentance, coupled with faith in Christ.
Repentance, properly defined, is necessary for salvation. Biblical repentance is changing your mind about your sin—no longer is sin something to toy with; it is something to be forsaken as we “flee from the coming wrath” (Matthew 3:7). It is also changing your mind about Jesus Christ—no longer is He to be mocked, discounted, or ignored; He is the Savior to be clung to; He is the Lord to be worshiped and adored.
DID YOU EVER WONDER???
A child's love is like a whisper,
given in little ways we do not hear
but if you listen closely it will be very clear.
They often do not say it loud but in how they come to you...
Daddy, will you play with me?
Mommy, tie my shoe?
...the many ways they tell you changes as they grow
Dad, I made the team today!
Mom, I've Got to go!
Pop, I need some money
You see there's...this girl at school...
Mama, I met a boy today and wow he is so cool...!
Dad, I've got something to tell you... I think she is the one.
Mom, He asked me to marry him. Would you love him as your son?
Dad, I've got some news for you...
It's gonna be a boy!
Mom, I'm kind of scared of this, yet I'm filled with joy!
A child's love is like a whisper,
given in little ways we do not hear
but if you listen closely it will be very clear.
They often do not say it loud but in how they come to you...
Grandpa, will you play with me?
Grandma, tie my shoe...
It is never ending
A blessing from above
Listen to the whispers of a child's love.
Author Unknown
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE...A TEACHING
We continue our journey through the Bible, verse by verse...
From Prison to Power
Genesis 37-50
Jacob had twelve sons and one daughter. Which of them would be destined to carry Abraham’s legacy?
Once again, it is not the firstborn. Jacob may have sensed it from the beginning, because one of his sons was clearly his favorite. Jacob clearly favors Joseph, the baby of the family. And Joseph was spoiled. He seemed to take pleasure in feeling superior to his brothers, perhaps even taunting them, and was something of a tattletale. And when he started having dreams that one day his brothers would bow and pay homage to him, they could stand it no longer.
Barely stifling an urge to kill him outright, Joseph’s brothers take him and sell him to a passing caravan. He is then transported to Egypt and sold to a high-ranking Egyptian military official.
Josaeph’s life in Egypt is a series of mishaps. He is falsely accused of making advances to his master’s wife and thrown into prison. While in prison he becomes known as an interpreter of dreams. A fellow prisoner promises to tell Pharaoh of Joseph’s skill, but upon his release he forgets all about him.
Then one night, two years later, Pharaoh cannot sleep. Disturbing dreams keep waking him up. His cupbearer, the man who had been in prison with Joseph, finally remembers Joseph and tells Pharaoh about him.
Joseph reveals the meaning of Pharaoh’s dreams: Egypt will enjoy seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of famine. Showing some political skill Joseph manages to convince Pharaoh that a special administrator is needed to carry Egypt through the crisis and that he, Joseph, would be the perfect man for the job.
When the years of famine finally arrive the entire region is affected. Under Joseph’s stewardship, Egypt conserved many resources from the previous plentiful years and prepared for the crisis. Back in Canaan Jacob’s family is suffering from hunger, and so Jacob sends his sons to Egypt to procure food.
In Egypt they see their brother for the first time since they sold him to the caravan. They do not recognize him, but Joseph knows who they are and tests them rather harshly, accusing them of spying and forcing them to prove themselves. In a climactic scene Joseph finally reveals his identity. The brothers are reconciled and Jacob comes to live with them in Egypt.
Joseph’s life is a model for the person of faith. He witnesses no spectacular miracles. Instead, we are simply told that God was with him in all that he did. The timing of events in Joseph’s life - even the tragic ones - seemed always to point Joseph toward his destiny, even though he did not know it at the time. Had he not been sold by his brothers, had his master’s wife not falsely accused him, had he not been thrown into prison where he met the royal cupbearer, he would not have found himself at the right hand of Pharoah, in a position to save the country and to find his family again. Even in the cold darkness of the prison, redemptive forces were working in his life.
This is how the Covenant operates. It is not a promise of miracles, or of immediate relief from suffering. It is rather the assurance of God’s guidance acting in our lives, gradually revealing our destiny, which becomes like a magnetic pole towards which all the events in our experience begin to point. Even our suffering contributes to our destiny - we could not find our destiny without it.
Faith is the ability to witness this process and to trust that it will work, regardless of how dark our lives may seem to us at the moment.
HAVE A SAFE AND BLESSED WEEK:)
Ho'omaikaʻi ka Pua iā kākou