Repent!

If you've ever been stuck in some type of besetting sin...  (not some pious standard set by some holier-than-thou church-goer) ... a real sin, and were delivered from it, you probably know that it wasn't a command to "Repent" that actually caused you to repent.

So often the word "Repent" is used with no explanation leaving the hearer with the impression that he can just pull himself up by his bootstraps and stop sinning. That is a misunderstanding and a miscommunication.

What is Repentance?
Heidelberg 88 states, that involved in genuine repentance or conversion, are "Two things: the dying-away of the old self, and the rising-to-life of the new."
Repentance is far more than behavior modification.

1. In dying to self, you begin to understand your sin, where it has taken you, and what it has done to God and neighbor.
2. And in new life, you know and believe that there is a Holy and Loving God, Who gave His One and Only Beloved Son to give His righteous in exchange for your sin, by living, dying and rising again, and ever lives to make intercession for you.

So, as you think about repentance, remember that too, is a gift from the Lord that only happens in the context of being convinced of the Gospel by faith. Preach repentance, but in your preaching, don't forget the Gospel.