WBS.042
FUNDAMENTALS
OF DISCIPLESHIP
A KINGDOM HEART – XII
Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the
performance of the will of IAUE.
2 Corinthians 7:8 For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent,
though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry,
though it were but for a season.
9 I now rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that
ye were made sorry unto repentance; for ye were made sorry according to IAUE,
that ye might suffer loss by us in nothing.
10 For sorrow by IAUE worketh repentance
unto salvation, a repentance which bringeth no regret: but the sorrow of the
world worketh death.
The most significant departure from the pure
"Gospel of the Kingdom" by the contemporary “epistle-based gospel” pertains
to this matter of repentance. Yahushua commanded that repentance be
preached as an intrinsic and necessary part of the gospel (Luke 24:47). Throughout the book of Acts, we see it being
proclaimed as a necessary response of the people. ("Elohim commands all men everywhere to repent.")
Today, men and women are seldom
brought to Messiah with any genuine sense of their need for repentance. Occasionally,
but not often, the “invitation” to accept Messiah is presented as follows:
“If you will repent of your sins, and ask Jesus to come into your heart
and forgive you of your sins; and accept him as your personal lord and savior,
you will be saved.”
There is no explanation as to what
repentance means or involves. It is just
a word thrown into a prayer.
Furthermore, Jesus does not come into your heart; and your sins were
already forgiven long before you asked for it; you just weren’t aware of
it. There is also no explanation as to
what being a lord and savior means. It
is little wonder that the masses who become “Christians” through the magic
prayer gravitate toward the typical religious culture of church attendance and
working to advance the programs of their local church, instead of learning how
to hear and obey the voice and the will of IAUE.
As these young believers begin to
grow in knowledge and experience, some discover the Scripture’s teaching of
repentance and it begins to take hold of their hearts. The problem, however,
is that the epistle-based gospel to which they first responded did not make
repentance a prerequisite for their "salvation." As a result,
the manner in which they deal with recurring sin in their life is rarely Scriptural
repentance.
2 Corinthians 7:10 "For
sorrow by IAUE worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the
sorrow of the world worketh death."
In the New Testament scriptures, there are two Greek
words translated "repentance." It is important to understand
the difference between these two words as this difference is the difference
between life and death.
Metanoia - To change the mind. This is the
repentance that Messiah commanded to be preached. It is the repentance
that IAUE commands of all men everywhere. This repentance produces a
change in the mind of man that leaves its object behind, never again to be
revisited. This "no-return" form of repentance was the first
response of the converts in the book of Acts. They recognized that both
their sins (acts of disobedience to the will of IAUE) and their sinfulness
(their human nature itself) were enemies of IAUE and His Kingdom. They
"changed their minds" about the desirability of walking in their sins
and sinfulness; and they turned their backs on it to receive remission (freedom
from the power of sin) and deliverance to walk forever in the power of the Holy
Spirit.
Metamelomai - To feel remorse or regret; to care about
something. This repentance is human sorrow. It is what someone feels
after he does something he knows he shouldn't do, but which he still enjoys
doing. This is the repentance that most contemporary believers experience. They
care about the fact they have disobeyed IAUE, and they feel sorry about it; but
their regret has no power to change their lives, because they still love their
sin. Their minds have not changed about
its value to them, personally. This
explains why they receive no lasting relief from the practices they have
desired to terminate.
This
can be depicted in the classic story of the scorpion and the fox. The scorpion and the fox come upon a
river. They both want to cross, but the
scorpion cannot cross on his own; so he asks the fox if he can climb up on his
head and let him swim him to the other side of the river. The fox tells the scorpion, “You will sting
me!” The scorpion promises the fox that
he won’t sting him; so the fox lets the scorpion climb up on his head and he
swims to the other side of the river. As
they reach the other side, the scorpion stings the fox. The fox cries out, “You promised you wouldn’t
sting me!” And the scorpion replied,
“But you knew I was a scorpion.”
How
many times have you promised you would not do something, only to find yourself
doing that very thing soon afterwards?
All of the promising in the world does not amount to repentance; because
genuine repentance is a change in the way we think about sin. Promising not to do something we still love
will never remove from our lives our propensity from committing that sin.
"For sorrow
by IAUE worketh repentance (metanoia) to salvation "
Genuine repentance is the stuff of salvation. The character of its
grieving is focused on the intrinsic wickedness before IAUE of our actions and
our life. This grieving, like it did with Christian in Pilgrim's
Progress, can even take the form of mental anguish and torment until true
brokenness is accomplished, and the light and liberty of the gospel seize
control of the soul.
"not to be repented (metamelomai) of" True repentance is not
something we should ever regret. The fruit of true repentance is deliverance.
"but the sorrow of
the world worketh death."
False repentance does not produce life. It produces death. This is
not unlike all of the false religions in the world that provide for man to do
different practices and acts to appeal to Elohim for acceptance. These are man’s ideas. They originate with
man, and they do not achieve the righteousness of IAUE. When a believer “sorrows” over his sin, he
packages that sorrow in a way that he believes it will appeal to IAUE; but the
reality is that he is only satisfying himself with his show of remorse. He is not changing the way he thinks about
what he has done. He still loves his
sin, and has every intention of returning to it at the appropriate time.
Repentance is IAUE’s idea; and it produces life; but
even more than it being His idea, it must originate with Him. This is what few understand. We cannot choose to repent any more than we
can save ourselves. It must come from
IAUE.
Acts
5:31 Him hath IAUE exalted with his right hand to
be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
Acts
11:18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and
glorified IAUE, saying, Then hath IAUE also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
2
Timothy 2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if
IAUE peradventure will give them repentance
to the acknowledging of the truth;
2 Corinthians 7:9 I now rejoice, not
that ye were made sorry, but that ye were made sorry unto repentance; for ye
were made sorry according to IAUE, that ye might suffer loss by us in
nothing.
10 For sorrow by IAUE worketh repentance unto
salvation, a repentance which bringeth no regret: but the sorrow of the
world worketh death.
Repentance
is the will of IAUE for man. We have
explained in prior posts that no man can do the will of IAUE without Him first
providing grace (the power IAUE gives that enables us to do His will). Without that enabling power from Him, no man
can do any aspect of His will; thus no man can repent unless IAUE provides for
it.
Hebrews
12:17 For ye
know how that afterward, when he (Esau) would have inherited the blessing, he
was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
Here, we see that
Esau greatly desired repentance but could not find it. Why?
Because IAUE did not give Esau the grace to repent.
We have also seen
from prior posts how one positions himself to receive the grace of IAUE. We are saved (rescued, delivered) by grace
through faith. That is to say, when we
place our faith in Yahushua to restore us into relationship and fellowship with
IAUE, the Father’s response to that faith is to provide us with grace. If we truly trust in Messiah to bring us into
relationship and fellowship with IAUE; then IAUE provides us with the opportunity
to demonstrate our intention by giving us grace. If we act upon His grace, we will do His
will. If we reject His grace, because we
are intent on pursuing our own will; then that choice demonstrates that faith
in Messiah has ceased. Faith is like turning
on the tap. If faith exists, the water
of grace will flow; and as long as we are responsive to the Father’s grace by
obeying His will, we demonstrate the present continuous nature of our faith in
Yahushua.
When we understand
the mechanics of how this process works, we can readily understand how the
grace to repent is accessed. It is
rooted in the choice of our relationship and fellowship with IAUE over our own
will to please ourselves. The sorrow of
the world never removes us from the desire to do our own will; and that is why
it produces death. The sorrow that comes
from IAUE causes us to grieve over the loss our sin brings to our fellowship
with Him. It separates us from our
desire to do our own will. It changes
the way we think about the things we do that displease IAUE.
IAUE desires that we
have a kingdom heart; and genuine repentance is a necessary function of a
kingdom heart.
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