Why does God Allow
Evil? Click here: /Apologeticshtml/Why Does God Allow Evil 0908.htm
Should God’s existence be
proven? /Apologeticshtml/Should the Bible and God Be Proven
Fideism vs WCG.htm
Does the Bible teach blind faith? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Gospel of John Theory of Knowledge.htm
What is real repentance? If we’re emotionally cut to the heart, what
should we do then in response? How
should we then change our lives before God and other people? After hearing Peter’s sermon on Pentecost,
the listening Jews first replied by asking (Acts 2:37, NASB throughout),
“Brethren, what shall we do?” They felt
stung by Peter’s point that they had helped to crucify their Messiah and Savior
(verse 23). They did not respond by
denying responsibility and/or by seeking someone else to blame for their sins,
such as the Roman governor Pilate or their Jewish leaders on the
Sanhedrin. They felt stricken in their
consciences, so they sensed the need to change radically their ways of thinking
and their lives in response. In order
to change our lives effectively after being cut to the heart, we need to change
in the ways that God has commanded and authorized, not in the ways that we
think are best based on our own human reasoning (Proverbs 16:25). Peter answered their question by telling
them (verse 38), “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit.” So if we are really
convicted of our sins and our wrong way of life in the past, we should first
take action by repenting.
Repentance isn’t merely
feeling sorry for our sins. It isn’t
just confession and an admission of guilt.
It isn’t penance, which is doing good deeds to supposedly make up for
past sins. Effective repentance
requires an about-face in how we are living our lives. To truly repent, we need to accept God’s law
and its specific requirements as the future foundation for our way of
life. When John the Baptist confronted
the crowds coming out to see him in the wilderness, he declared (Luke
3:8): “Bring forth fruits in keeping
with repentance.” So once we know that
we are breaking God’s law in specific ways, we should strive to stop doing
that. Sure, it is difficult to overcome
certain habitual sins that are deeply engraved on our hearts and minds (Romans
7:18-19). But if we make no attempt to
do so, then we have just a “sorrow of the world” that produces no spiritually
productive results (II Cor. 7:9-10).
For example, after we learn that we are breaking the Ten Commandments in
their literal letter and/or their spiritual implications, we should stop
thinking and living against their specific provisions. Similarly, as we read through the detailed
instructions proclaimed by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, we should strive
mightily to stop living against them if we’re truly repentant. So if we’re truly cut to the heart, we will strive
to repent effectively, which requires a faithful commitment to obey God’s law
in the future.
Eric V. Snow
Click here to access
essays that defend Christianity: /apologetics.html
Click here to access
essays that explain Christian teachings: /doctrinal.html
Click here to access
notes for sermonettes: /sermonettes.html
Why does God Allow Evil?
Click here: /Apologeticshtml/Why
Does God Allow Evil 0908.htm
May Christians work on
Saturdays? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Protestant
Rhetoric vs Sabbath Refuted.htm
Should Christians obey
the Old Testament law? /doctrinalhtml/Does
the New Covenant Abolish the OT Law.htm
Do you have an immortal
soul? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Here
and Hereafter.htm
Does the ministry have
authority? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Is
There an Ordained Ministry vs Edwards.html
Is the United States the
Beast? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Are
We the Beast vs Collins.htm
Should you give 10% of
your income to your church? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Does
the Argument from Silence Abolish the Old Testament Law of Tithing 0205 Mokarow
rebuttal.htm
Is Jesus God? Click
here: /doctrinalhtml/Is
Jesus God.htm
Will there be a third
resurrection? Click here: /doctrinalhtml/Will
There Be a Third Resurrection.htm
Links to elsewhere on
this Web site: /apologetics.html /book.html /doctrinal.html /essays.html /links.html /sermonettes.html /webmaster.html For the
home page, click here: /index.html