September 2004 chaplain's corner
The Chaplain's Corner is a monthly message for chaplains.
Chaplain's Corner - September 21, 2004
Rev. Rich Hines
Repentance Is A Vital Part Of Jesus' Gospel
This message is prepared especially for those in the United States who call
upon the name of Jesus Christ as their own Lord and Savior from sin, and serve
as a chaplain in a jail, prison or a follow-up ministry such as a rescue
mission.
All Scripture quotes are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV),
copyright 1979,1980,1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by
permission. All rights reserved. When quoting a text, any
deviation from the NKJV text is within parenthesis signs ( ). These
usually occur as direct translations from the original languages,
or as notes from the original setting, to help apply the text to today's
culture. ALL CAPITAL LETTERS are sometimes used to emphasize a text.
This month I want to consider the subject of repentance. I know it is something
inmates and residents need to be taught. I have reasons to think many of them
are not being exposed to the true biblical teaching on this very important
subject. For one, I know the teaching about repentance, even the mention of it,
is lacking in most of
My heart's concern for correctional ministry is most intense as it relates to
inmates' salvation. They need to become Christians, that is, to be true followers
of Jesus Christ. So I write to remind you chaplains that repentance is a vital
part of Jesus' gospel. It's not a secondary issue. It's
part of what it means to have true saving faith in Jesus Christ.
John the Baptist, who Jesus said was the greatest Old Testament prophet, the
one who was sent to prepare people for Christ's coming, called men to
repentance (see Matt. 3:1-12 and Luke 3:1-17). Then Jesus called people to
repentance. He also taught His disciples to do the same as they spread His
gospel. By His Spirit He has directed you to do the same. You are to call
inmates and residents to repentance.
In Mark 1:14,15 we read -
14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching
(proclaiming, heralding) the gospel of the kingdom of God
15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.
REPENT, and BELIEVE in the gospel."
Consider Luke 24:46,47 - which tells us what Jesus
said in the evening of the day He rose from the dead. Together with Mark
16:15,16 and John 20:21, this passage is a record of the first of the three
occasions Christ gave His followers "The Great Commission," (the
second occasion was in the well known words of Matt. 28:19,20; and the third is
recorded in Acts 1:8).
The Luke 24 text reads-
46 Then He said to them (the eleven Apostle plus the two disciples from the
Emmaus road, see 24:13-33), "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary
for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,
47 and that REPENTANCE and remission OF SINS (literally, REPENTANCE UNTO THE
SENDING AWAY, or release of sins) should be preached (proclaimed, heralded,
announced) in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."
The Apostle Paul, though not part of the original group of Apostles that received
the great commission, must have been given the same gospel charge by Christ
during the three years he spent with the Lord, in the desert area around
I say that because when he later summarized his evangelistic message, he said
in Acts 20:21,
21 "... testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, REPENTANCE TOWARD GOD AND
FAITH TOWARD OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST."
Repentance is the flip side of the same coin as saving faith in Jesus Christ.
The two are partners. Repentance (really attempted repentance) without faith in
Christ, is humanism and always fails. Faith in Christ
without repentance, is presumption.
Further consider Acts 3:18,19,26, which is an example
of the Apostolic preaching of the gospel after Pentecost.
18 "But those things which God foretold by the mouth of His prophets, that
the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.
19 REPENT therefore and be CONVERTED, that your sins may be blotted out, so
that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord."
The Holy Spirit through the Apostle Peter continued in 3:26
26 "To you (Jewish people) first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus,
sent Him to bless you, in TURNING AWAY EVERY ONE OF YOU FROM YOUR INIQUITIES
(malignantly evil sins)."
These words in verse 26, "turning away from your iniquities," are
important. The Greek word translated by the NKJV translators as
"iniquities" is a synonym for sin, and has the root idea of a
malignant evil, like cancer. Sin is spiritual cancer that spreads and kills.
"Turning away" rightly captures the biblical idea of repentance. The actual Greek word for repent, means to change the mind.
Some teachers like to say repentance is no more than mentally calling something
bad that we once thought was good or at least all right to do. They sometimes
go so far as to say repenting and believing in Christ simply means to change
your mind about who He is, but that no actual change of behavior is called for,
or is even in view. NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH.
The basic meaning of the word is to change one's mind, BUT in its biblical use,
repentance ALWAYS MEANS a change of mind that is ACCOMPANIED BY A CORRESPONDING
CHANGE OF BEHAVIOR.
In the Bible as repentance relates to human sinners finding forgiveness and
eternal life it means a real change of life direction. This of course is
humanly impossible and can only actually happen as a work of God in and on the
human heart. True repentance is a miracle created by God alone. But in many places
in the Bible, God commands sinners to seek it from Him. Acts 2:38 is just one
example of such a command.
Look at the following quotes from Dr. John MacArthur's notes on repentance from
the "MacArthur Daily Bible," page 926:
" 'Repentance' refers to the desire to turn from sin and restore one's
relationship to God! Repentance is at the very heart of and proves one's
salvation: unbelievers repent of their sin initially when they are saved, and
then as believers, repent of their sins continually to keep the joy and
blessing of their relationship to God! It is the initial reaction of true
repentance to eagerly and aggressively pursue righteousness. This is an
attitude that ends indifference to sin and complacency about evil and
deception. Repentance leads to anger over one's sin and displeasure at the
shame it has brought on the Lord's name and His people. The essence of
repentance is an aggressive pursuit of holiness,.."
What happened to the ancient Thessalonians believers is exactly what John
MacArthur is saying biblical repentance from sin means.
1 Thessalonians 1:9b says of them, "...you TURNED TO God FROM idols
(idolatry is sin) TO SERVE the living and true God."
God-granted biblical repentance is a true and total change of directions. It is
what inmates and residents and all sinners need. Chaplains and their gospel
assistants need to fully explain the necessary role of repentance to inmates
and then in God's stead, command them to seek it.
Ultimately, as I said in the July Chaplain's Corner, this gets down to their
individual hearts responding to His Spirit. On this theme of true repentance
being part of the saving gospel, one of my favorite Christian writers, Dr. A.W.
Tozer, said:
"The GIFT element in the gospel is held to be its exclusive content, and
the SHIFT element is accordingly ignored. Theological assent is called faith,
and is thought to be the ONLY DIFFERENCE between the saved and the lost."
"A Christian," say these teachers, "is not morally better than a
sinner, the ONLY difference is that he has taken Jesus, and so he has a Saviour." I trust it may not sound flippant to
inquire, "A Saviour from what?" If not from sin and evil conduct and the old fallen life, then from
what?"
"Is justification from past offenses all that distinguishes a Christian
from a sinner? Can a man become a believer in Christ and be no better than he
was before? Does the gospel offer no more than a skilful Advocate to get guilty
sinners off free at the day of judgment?"
"How then can any man be saved? The penitent sinner meets Christ AND AFTER
THAT SAVING ENCOUNTER HE IS A SINNER NO MORE. The
power of the gospel changes him, shifts the basis of his life FROM SELF TO
CHRIST, FACES HIM ABOUT IN A NEW DIRECTION and makes of him a new creation.
Salvation must include a judicial change of status, but what is overlooked by
most teachers is that it ALSO INCLUDES AN ACTUAL CHANGE IN THE LIFE OF THE
INDIVIDUAL. And by this we mean more than a surface change, we mean a
transformation as deep as the roots of his human life. If it does not go that
deep it does not go deep enough." (A.W. Tozer,
"The Divine Conquest," Chapter 2, "In Word, Or In Power")
Tozer was describing true God given repentance.
The real opponent to true repentance is the human heart set on the pursuit of
its own sin. Let me show you from the Bible what I mean. In the future, as
Christ begins to take back the earth, He will yet be gracious, giving some
unrepentant sinners time to consider where their sin will lead them. As we read
about coming events and judgments He orders in Revelation, we see this.
By the time you get to Revelation 9:18, at least one-half of the world's sinful
population has been killed (compare Rev. 6:7,8 with
Rev. 9:18) by God's judgment. God will graciously leave half of the population
alive that they might seek repentance, and yet Revelation 9:20,21 says -
20 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, DID NOT
REPENT of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and
idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear
nor walk.
21 And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries (use of drugs
"pharmakeion") or their sexual immoralities
or their thefts.
That's an incredible commitment to malignant evil, especially when we remember
that Jesus warned sinners "unless you repent you will all likewise
perish!" (Luke 13:3,5). That warning is for all
of us.
But at the same time God's great patience with unrepentant sinners is explained
in 2 Peter 3:9
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise (from the near context - His
promise to judge sin), as some count slackness, but is longsuffering (intensely
patient) toward us (as sinners), not willing (desiring) that any should perish
but that all should come to repentance.
Today and even into the time of the great tribulation in the future, God will
graciously grant repentance and salvation to some. So, promote the preaching
and teaching of biblical repentance.
The messenger of the gospel is told in 2 Timothy 2:24,25
to patiently teach "in humility correcting those who are in opposition (to
God's truth) IF GOD PERHAPS WILL GRANT THEM REPENTANCE, so that they may know
the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the
devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will."
May God grant true repentance to those in your facility.
May you be His voice calling them to seek repentance.
May none of us ever leave repentance out of our presentation of the gospel.
Rich Hines
Minister To Chaplains,
"for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ"