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How Exactly Does One Repent?

1/29/2015

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            I am revisiting this idea of "repentance."  I guess I want to make sure I'm not misunderstanding this topic so that I am clear when I talk to someone about their salvation.  Over the years, I have read a lot of gospel tracts, searching for the clearest explanation of how to be saved (not that I've doubted my own salvation, but I want to make sure I'm explaining it properly and not telling people something that is going to confuse them).
            I've read the
 Gospel of John, and the clear plan of salvation is given repeatedly.  It says, "...whosoever believeth in Him (Jesus) should not perish but have everlasting life,"  Consider the following verses on salvation from John's Gospel:  John 1:12, 3:15-18, 3:36, 4:14, 5:24, 5:39,40; 6:27-29, 6:35, 40; 6:47, 6:51, 6:54, 8:12, 8:51, 10:27,28, 11:25,26; 14:6, 15:6, 17:2,3; 20:31)      
Never once does the book of John say anything about "repenting" or "repentance."  So, why do so many tracts demand  that we "repent of our sins?"


                   Do we need to "repent of our sins" in order to be saved?

            If this is a biblical term (the actual phrases "repent of sin" or "repentance of sin"  aren't in the Bible, although there are some similar phrases that people often interpret to mean the same thing), and if it is consistent with the rest of Scripture, let's consider some things that "repentance of sin" cannot mean:

-"Repentance of sin" can't be  a work of righteousness we perform for our salvation.  The Bible is clear that our works cannot get us to Heaven (
Titus 3:5, Eph 2:8,9, Isaiah 64:6).

-"Repentance of sin" can't be completely forsaking all our sins.  If forsaking all our sins was necessary in order to be saved, when exactly would someone ever be able to be saved?  Most unsaved people don't even know exactly what the Bible calls a "sin."  Besides that, even saved people still sin (although they no longer seem to be called "sinners" by title, but rather "saints").   Our flesh sins daily, and if anyone will say that they never sin, the Bible calls them a liar (
John 1:10).

-"Repentance of sin" can't be "confessing" and "asking forgiveness" for every sin we commit.  If that were so, our salvation would be in jeopardy any time we sinned after our salvation.  We would still have to confess and seek forgiveness every time we sin, which means we would, in essence, have to get saved over and over again.  The Bible says nothing about being "born again, and again, and again..."  (There is only one spiritual birth, just as there is only one physical birth.  In fact, the Bible says that if you were able to lose your salvation,  there would be no way for you to be restored again, because Christ can't come down and be crucified every time you sin (
Hebrews 6:6, Hebrews 10:18) .

                      Consider the following verses concerning the spiritual birth:


- John 1:12,13 - "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

- John 3:3 - "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

- John 3:6 - "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."  
 

- 1 John 5:1 - "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him."

- 1 John 5:18 - "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not"

- 1 John 5:4 "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world,
even our faith."

            Let me also add the following verses: 

- 2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

- Galatians 6:15  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

            Notice in these verses, 1) The spiritual birth comes by believing/receiving the Gospel of Christ,  2)  the spirit-born "man" is separate from the flesh, and 3) this "new creature" cannot be corrupted or overcome by sin, death, or "the wicked one."  Does "repenting of your sins" have anything to do with your spiritual birth?  It doesn't appear that it does.  So then, what exactly does the Bible say concerning this idea of "repentance" and what does it have to do with our salvation? 

                                 What Does "Repentance," Mean?

            For starters, I checked the doctrinal statement of the college I attended,
Heartland Baptist Bible College.  I'm not trying to say they are the final authority in all things doctrine, but I did go to college there, and although I never signed anything saying I was in total agreement with every facet of their doctrinal statement,  I haven't yet had reason to argue with any of the foundational truths that were taught there.  So,  I thought it would be a good place for me to start.  In their doctrinal statement, which most pastors I know would probably agree with, it states:

"We believe that repentance and faith are solemn obligations, and also inseparable graces, wrought in our souls by the quickening Spirit of God; thereby, being deeply convicted of our guilt, danger, and helplessness, and of our need of salvation by Christ, we turn to God with unfeigned contrition, confession, and supplication for mercy and at the same time heartily receive the Lord Jesus Christ and openly confess Him as our only and all-sufficient Saviour."











            The key phrase in this paragraph, I believe, is "turn to God."  That is a definition that HBBC has giving here for the word "repentance."  So, according to this, biblical repentance (as it applies to "saving faith") is this: "Turning to God with unfeigned contrition, confession, and supplication for mercy" (The rest of the quote has to do with how it is inseparable with "saving faith.")
            If this statement is accurate, is repentance necessary for salvation?  Yes, but only if one defines it correctly.  According to this statement, the act of repentance is something that the "Spirit of God" gives us at the moment we receive Jesus.  By this definition then, 1) repentance is not something we can do ourselves for our salvation, 2) it isn't "forsaking all sins," but seeking mercy for all of them as a whole, and 3) it's not confessing individual sins.  Repentance is turning to Christ and confessing Him as our sufficient Savior from our sins--I'm in agreement with all that so far!

            To verify the accuracy of this concept, we need to look at how the word "repentance" is used in the Bible, and see if there are any contradictions to this position.  Unfortunately, there are too many uses of the word for us to look at them all, but we can eliminate the ones that don't apply: 1) Many of the uses of the word "repent" or "repentance" in the Old Testament are reference to God repenting (Ge 6:6, 
Ex 32:14).  We can eliminate these because they don't apply to the topic of our repentance.  2) Also, many times, the word "repent" or "repentance" is addressed to people who are already saved (Re 2:5 ) Since we are mainly trying to see how repentance relates to salvation, we will not address any of those either, except to say that we believe the Bible is clear that repentance after salvation is not in order to keep one's salvation or to renew it, but a saved person who repents does so to renew their immediate fellowship and communion with God.

 Surely, we are still left with many verses regarding repentance.  Let's look at some of them:

- Acts 2:38. This is no doubt one of the verses from which people get the idea of "Repenting of your sins" in order to be saved.  Peter clearly tells the unbelieving Jews to "Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins." (we don't want to get too distracted at this point in addressing the concept behind the word "baptized" as it is used here, and how it applies to this verse, except to say that we believe water baptism itself does not save.  We do however practice the ordinance of baptizing as we believe it was instructed by Jesus for His church to administer to believers after they are saved.  We believe this "water baptism" is only a picture or a symbol of what takes place at the "spiritual birth.") 

            If  the guidelines we set above are accurate, "repent" here should have to do with "turning to God, and confessing Christ as one's only hope for salvation."  That seems to fit the context of this passage.  The Jews were claiming they were following the law as a means of their salvation, but Paul was warning them to turn from trusting their works and believe on Jesus.  This is the first foundational doctrine mentioned in Hebrews 6:1, "Repentance from dead works."  Consequently, the second foundation is "faith toward God."

- Romans 2:3,4.  This verse speaks of the "goodness of God" leading people to "repentance," and in context speaks of avoiding judgment.  Again, the text is about the Jews who were guilty of judging others who did not follow the law, when they themselves were also guilty of breaking the law.  The whole context of Romans is that all have sinned and deserve death in hell, but God offers us the free gift of salvation.  So, I think it is safe to say that "repentance" here is also speaking of turning from one's false belief that their works will save them, and turn to God, trusting in the work of Christ.

- Luke 13:5.  This is one of the few accounts given of the occasion when Jesus said "except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."  This is another common verse used by some to show that we need to repent of our sins, because in this passage Jesus is saying that all sinners will die for their sins if they don't "repent."  Jesus told these men that the sins of certain wicked nations that had been destroyed were no less condemning than their own sins.  Therefore, they too would be destroyed for their sins  unless they "repented."  However,  applying the principle above, it seems more likely that the point being made is that all are guilty of sin and worthy of death.  Turning to Christ and seeking the mercy of God is the only hope for our salvation.

Certainly, I have only scratched the surface on this topic, but so far, I am convinced that the term "repenting of your sins" for salvation is misleading.  I am in no way saying we should continue in sin.  As Christians, we should definitely be trying to walk in the spirit instead of the flesh.  However, we daily fight a battle against the flesh, as did Paul.  Thankfully, all those who have been spiritually born (by trusting in Christ alone, and His word) are in no peril of spiritual death, but have (present tense) "eternal life."  In closing, consider these words from the apostle Paul:
 (Romans 7:18-8:2)

18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
 
1
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

The "flesh" and the "spirit" coexist, but they are entirely separate one from another. "The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus" and the "law of sin and death" coexist, but they are entirely separate on from another.  The "inner man" of a saved person "delights in the law of God," but the "members" of a saved person continue to "war against" our mind. 

Thanks for reading.  I hope this is a blessing to someone!

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Youth Activity #5 - Blacklight Party

1/27/2015

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See our Youth Activities Page for more ideas (work in progress)


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First, I want to give some of my thoughts and warnings regarding "black light parties."  Then, I will try to share some tips that might help if you decide to do something like this.  We had a great time when we did it as part of one of our Atomic Fridays, and I do recommend it.  But remember, I am a hard-nosed, Bible-believing, Fundamentalist (Lord help me), and so of course, I have to bring out the warning label!
First, my concern:

People prefer the darkness rather than the light...because their deeds are evil (paraphrasing a Bible verse).  At our activities, we like to have lights on.  Lot's of them!  When you turn down the lights, you could bring out the "evil" in people.  Crazy talk? Just think about it.  If anyone has a tendency to steal, or if anyone boys and girls desire to get "touchy-feely" with each other...or whatever else you can think of, wouldn't they take advantage of those things in the dark?  In fact, the thought of a black light party could conjure up in one's mind a night club where everyone parties and lets out their "wild side."  We don't want that! Not at all!  Therefore, we recommend the following:

So, some suggestions:

1. Please don't encourage the "night club" feel by providing music that is sensual.  I won't take the time to give my philosophy on modern contemporary music here, but I think you can understand what I'm saying.

2. Have plenty of good helpers that are not afraid to confront any ungodly conduct.  We don't need to be Nazis about it, but we need to be firm.

3. Keep the black light segment of the night brief.  We broke ours up with an outside activity (it was summer, so it was still bright outside).  Then, as always, we went into the auditorium (well lit) for our Bible lesson.  The black light segments were only during our "fellowship" times, when the concessions are open and free-for-all games (fuseball, ping pong, carpet ball...) are available.

4.  So, have a good time...just not too good of a time! 
following are some suggestions to make the black light party  a success (there are a lot of things we could have done to make ours work a little better.  We want to pass on to you some of what we learned that I think will help):
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You need black lights for a black light party!
It is very important that you have plenty of black lights.  A couple bulbs just won't work very well.  The long, fluorescent lights are definitely the best.  They are a little pricey (especially if you don't have the light fixtures for them), but you might be able to borrow.

Mirrors on the walls will help the effect.
Not only will the mirrors open up the space and make it feel like it is bigger and that there is more going on, it will reflect the black lights a little and help to make more things "glow."
 

Wear reflective clothes
Anything white reflects pretty well, but there are some properties to certain materials that work better than others.  Of course, fluorescent colors should work well, but again, some that you think would reflect well don't.  You will have to experiment and then make suggestions to the young people as you are promoting the event.

Decorate with reflective paint and tape
You can buy glow-in-the-dark paint just about anywhere, and it is fairly inexpensive.  It doesn't glow all that well, but it does reflect the black light.  Notice, in the first illustration above,  the "I.B.Teens" on the wall was simply made out of white printer paper (some types reflect better than others) painted with glow-in-the-dark paint.  It really stood out well.  The cups in the second photo were also painted with the same paint (the filling is just some polyester stuffing which you could decorate with as well if you have some...or pull some out of an old pillow).  We really didn't buy any reflective tape, but that would be an easy purchase as well.

And don't forget to provide glow sticks and bracelets
I hightly recommend that you provide everyone with some of these.  Most young people, I think, will want to wear them.  It will help everyone to feel included...and most importantly, you will be able to keep better track of those ones that "love the darkness because their deeds are evil"
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Youth Activity #4 - Water Balloon Home Run Derby

1/19/2015

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See our Youth Activities Page for more ideas (work in progress)
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We have been playing this game every summer since I began working with youth.  We will have an outside "water games" day during one of our Atomic Fridays.  The key here is to have a ton of water balloons, which thankfully are inexpensive.  However, it takes a lot of time to blow them up before the activity, so be prepared for that. 

There are some pretty neat gadgets out there that help blow them up faster.  For example, you could buy from "bunchoballoon" and fill up 100 in the time it normally takes you to fill up 5-6, but It is a little pricey.  There is also a tool by "splashparty" that makes tying the balloons a snap (according to the video...which I warn you is extremely annoying! "Water balloons-water-water-water-water balloons...")  

We typically just stick with the old-fashioned way and have two teams of two people filling up trash cans at two different water spigots.  You may need a dolly (two wheeler) to move the trashcans around after they are filled...and yes, many of them will explode on you. 

After you have enough water balloons, there are endless ways to have fun, but one of my favorites is "water balloon homerun derby."  Simply line everyone up and have them take turns batting your easy, underhand pitches.  Some will need some coaching at how to swing a bat, but you will be amazed how many people hit the balloon, even if they can't hit a baseball.  If I was a little league baseball coach, I think we would use this game frequently because young people really seem to improve their batting average when they are rewarded with an exploding water balloon!

This is another game I highly recommend.*  You'll have a blast!

*Personally, I think you should always explain to your young people the importance of dressing properly for any water games.  When clothes get wet...well, I think everyone understand what I am saying.  So, as you are inviting people to your water games activity, make sure you establish dress standards and make it clear to avoid any problems.  We try to follow the biblical principle of having the "older women" talk to the "younger women" if they don't seem to get it. 

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Youth Activity #3 - Tennis Ball Soccer

1/12/2015

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See our Youth Activities Page for more ideas (work in progress)
No, I haven't already run out of ideas!  I want to make a point with this post, and a simple tennis ball says it all.  We've already featured some time consuming and even expensive ideas, and that's what I am mainly going for on this project of mine (not necessarily expensive, but activities that show some investment and some effort made on the part of the leadership that the young people will appreciate).  However, as I pointed out last week, some of the most "successful" activities we have had took no planning or money at all, because when young people sit around looking for something to entertain themselves with, they can usually find it. 

Maybe we youth ministers can take note from this.  Watch what your youth group does when they are on their own and you can learn a lot about how their minds work...sort of.  Remember, you were a teen once (for some of us, it was longer than others!)

One evening after Wednesday night service, we had a few more teens attend than usual.  So, my wife and I bought pizza and invited the teens to stay after for awhile and fellowship.  While waiting on the pizza, one of the teens saw a tennis ball and started kicking it around.  That was the last I knew when I left to pick up the pizza. 

When I got back, the teens were engaged in one of the simplest, yet most entertaining games we have ever played (and we have since featured it at an organized Atomic Friday night).  We just call it "Tennis ball soccer" and here are the rules (you can adapt your own)

1.  All players are divided into two teams.

2.  All players must take off their shoes (not that this will eliminate any bruises or crushed toes!)

3.  There are no boundaries, and all obstacles on the playing field are left where they are.

4.  Unless you are designated by your team to guard your team's goal, you cannot use hands at any time, even if the ball gets trapped under something (like a stack of chairs for example).

5.  Players must kick the tennis ball past the goal keeper and into the set "goal" (can be anything: chair, hallway, table... and can be located anywhere, not necessarily straight across from other goal).

6.  At the end of the set time, team with most points wins (Let them go eat first, or make the losers serves the winners...or whatever).

I highly recommend this game.  I'm sure if it is a game that fits your young people, they will come up with some of their own rules.  I strongly recommend that you referee the game to keep it fair and enforce good, godly conduct.  Let me know how it goes or if you have any suggestions to add!
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Youth Activity #2 - "Robot Wars"

1/6/2015

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See our Youth Activities page for more ideas (work in progress)
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One of the most memorable youth activities our group has tried to tackle is "Robot Wars."  I must say, I had very high expectations for this activity and was slightly disappointed by the turn out, but I think it was mostly how I went about organizing and promoting it.  Every youth pastor knows that some of the best activities are the ones that happen spontaneously (next week I'll talk about an activity our group loves that developed just that way), and if I'm honest, I think I tried to force Robot Wars on them a little.  That being said, the potential is there for this activity to be an extraordinarily fun and memorable time. 

First, I must give credit to a youth group that posted this activity on YouTube.  Peace Youth Group has some really great ideas for youth activities, and they post a lot of videos of their activities on YoutTube.  I contacted them and they were very helpful.  They gave me advice and made a few suggestions that were very beneficial.  However, I make no apologies in saying that I would not recommend my teens to be part of that group because their "philosophy of ministry" does not line up with what we feel to be God-honoring... but that is for another time, and I really don't mean to belittle anyone, I just want to clarify my stand since I am mentioning their group in this post.

The idea of "Robot Wars" comes from a popular TV series that featured roboteers who custom made their own remote-controlled robots to fight each other in a tournament.  So, the basic idea of Robot Wars for youth groups is that everybody takes an old (preferably cheap) remote-controlled car, modifies it using their own creativity, and brings it to the tournament (ours was during one of our Atomic Fridays) to battle it out with other contenders.

We made an arena (about a 12'x12' floor made out of OSB board) with a 2"x4" wall around it which we painted yellow and black (see picture above).  The arena rests on top of a few tables.  To make things more interesting, you can add obstacles and "hazardous spots" to your table.  For example, we used the Peace Youth Group's idea of adding an operatable circular saw (supervised by a youth worker) that comes up through the table.  Also, we added some trap doors and a 2x4 "hammer," on hinges, that drops every minute (operated by another youth worker). 

You can agree on your own set of rules regarding size, weight, what all the "battle bot" is allowed to do, etc.  But keep the following in mind:

1.  Frequencies.  There are basically two frequencies that store-bought remote controlled cars operate on--27MHz and 49MHz.  Both cars battling cannot be on the same frequency or they will interfere with each other.  Also, all other cars will need to be shut off. Because of this dilemma, you will have to organize the tournament in such a way that there is plenty of competition.  So, you may need to find out in advance what frequencies you will have present on that night.

2.  Batteries.  Batteries drain very quickly!  Some vehicles come with chargeable batteries (which probably run down faster, but usually operate more powerful machines), but you will have to make sure all vehicles are charged...and you'll probably need extra batteries.

3.  Participation.  You need participation for this to work!  We had a fairly good turnout of people, but unfortunately not such a great turnout of vehicles present.  Knowing this would probably happen, we had provided several cheap vehicles with no alterations made to them.  We let people compete using the vehicles that we provided...  BUT THEY WERE BORING!!!  The goal was to get people to create their own bots, and we only had a few that took it seriously.  Then, because we provided some the first time we did this activity, people showed up the next year expecting the same thing (which we provided again, but this is sort of counterproductive).

4.  Preparation Time.  Allow yourself plenty of time to promote this and to prepare.  Keep encouraging your group to work on their bots (and hopefully get their family and friends involved), because most teens aren't self-motivators! 

If you are interested and have any questions, feel free to contact me or comment on this post.  I also would be willing to lend our table to your group if you need it.
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    Bro. Rocky

    Currently serving as the pastor at Iola Baptist Temple in Iola, KS. 

    Husband, father, life-long Bible student, artist, ultra runner wannabe, and outdoor enthusiast.

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