30 For I will multiply the fruit of the trees, and the increase of the field, that ye shall bear no more the reproach of famine among the heathen.
31 Then shall ye remember your own wicked ways, and your deeds that were not good, and shall judge yourselves worthy to have been destroyed for your iniquities, and for your abominations. Ezekiel 36:30-31 (1599 Geneva Bible)
The following is partially adapted from a sermon by C.H. Spurgeon titled “Mistaken Notions About Repentance.”
Some have defined repentance as, “a change of mind.” Others add, “with resultant change in actions.” Others believe it is anguish and grief over sin….
Others believe it is the same thing as belief. What is repentance? Repentance is wrought in the heart by a sense of love divine. In other words, it is the product of a work of God in the heart. If we hold this view of repentance we see it in its true light. This helps us to meet a great many mistakes which have darkened this subject. Many are kept from Christ and hope by misapprehensions of this matter.
If this is so then a right understanding of repentance is crucial to people coming to faith in Christ. Some confound it with morbid self-accusation. This is the fruit of some mental infirmity in which guilt has gotten out of control in the afflicted one’s heart. This is more a medical condition in which a physician may here do more than a preacher. Others mistake repentance for unbelief, despondency, or despair. These things are of no use in repentance, but in fact, tend to harden the heart. Others mistake repentance for a dread of hell, or a sense of wrath. These may go with repentance but is no part of it. True repentance is a hatred of evil, accompanied by a sense of shame and a longing to avoid sin. This repentance is wrought only by a sense of divine love. <Continue reading post>