(2a) Repentance: a wholehearted decision to love, obey and follow the Lord whatever the consequences.
Jesus warns us that we had better count the cost carefully before we decide to follow him:"If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters-- yes, more than your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.
And you cannot be my disciple if you do not carry your own cross and follow me.
But don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if there is enough money to pay the bills? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of funds. And then how everyone would laugh at you! They would say, ‘There's the person who started that building and ran out of money before it was finished!’
Or what king would ever dream of going to war without first sitting down with his counselors and discussing whether his army of ten thousand is strong enough to defeat the twenty thousand soldiers who are marching against him? If he is not able, then while the enemy is still far away, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace.
So no one can become my disciple without giving up everything for me” (Luke 14:26-33).
Again, Jesus makes us aware of the fact that “if any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow me.
If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life.
And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose or forfeit your own soul in the process?” (Luke 9:23-25).
The apostle Paul talks about his own decision to follow Jesus Christ wholeheartedly when he writes: “Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ and become one with him. ...
I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven” (Philippians 3:8.9.14).
(2b) Repentance: if necessary a recompense for injury or loss.
Concerning the people of Israel, God said to Moses (ca. 1400 B.C.): “Suppose some of the people sin against the LORD by falsely telling their neighbor that an item entrusted to their safekeeping has been lost or stolen.
Or suppose they have been dishonest with regard to a security deposit, or they have taken something by theft or extortion.
Or suppose they find a lost item and lie about it, or they deny something while under oath, or they commit any other similar sin.
If they have sinned in any of these ways and are guilty, they must give back whatever they have taken by theft or extortion, whether a security deposit, or property entrusted to them, or a lost object that they claimed as their own, or anything gained by swearing falsely.
When they realize their guilt, they must restore the principal amount plus a penalty of 20 percent to the person they have harmed” (Leviticus 6:2-5).
Zacchaeus, the corrupt chief tax collector in Jericho, repented of his wrongdoings and decided to follow Jesus. As a direct result of his decision, he concluded there and then: “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” (Luke 19:8).
It is clear from the texts we have read that ‘repentance’ itself does not grant us God’s forgiveness of our wrongdoings, and nor does it save us from God’s righteous anger at our rebellion.
‘Repentance’, as the Bible describes it, is the pre-condition for humbly approaching God to receive forgiveness and salvation.
It demonstrates that I am willing to capitulate before God, giving up my rebellion and my pride.
It proves that I unconditionally want to turn to God.
It shows that I have decided to categorically abandon all that God detests.
It even indicates that I am willing to leave behind whatever and whomever would hinder me to follow Jesus unconditionally.
‘Repentance’ shows my readiness that is needed to humbly meet the God who loves me.
So, what is lacking to receive God’s forgiveness and salvation?
Let’s look at that next week.
All Bible verses are quoted from the ‘New Living Translation’ except Luke 19:8 (‘New International Version’).
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