God gave the Gentiles repentance, Acts 11:18
When God gave the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles in Cornelius’ house, what this showed the Jewish believers was that God had given them repentance leading to life.
Divisions in the Church
Repeated sins, repeated repentance and repeated forgiveness in Luke 17:3-4
Jesus uses unforgiveness as the prime example of a stumbling block we can place in the way of a fellow believer, bringing judgment. Therefore he warns us that we must be careful to freely forgive those who come to us expressing repentance for harm they have done to us by missing the mark of either our own, or God’s, expectations for their behavior.
Eli, the High Priest, Talking when Action was Required
True repentance would have required high priest Eli to act to remove his sons Hophni and Phinehas from office. Hophni and Phinehas were using God and their offices as a magical charm and using others, as many in the Church do today. The people also learned to do these things from their example. Instead of removing them, Eli just nagged them, and he and all Israel paid the penalty.
“Unless You Repent, You Will All Perish,” the Parable of the Spared Fig Tree, and the problem of evil in Luke 13:1-9
In Luke 13:1-9, Jesus answers the “problem of evil” by pointing at his questioners’–and everyone’s–sin, pointing out that death and suffering come as a result of sin, not of being a greater or lesser sinner, and calling for repentance.
Joy in Heaven Over One Sinner Repenting: The Parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin and the Lost Son
The parables of the lost sheep, the lost coins and the two lost sons, one of them the “Prodigal son,” in Luke 15 show our value to God, God’s search for us, and our returning to him, or not, in repentance, and teach why we should not be judgmental toward those who appear great “sinners.”
Simon Magus told to Repent of His Attempt to Buy the Power of God: Acts 8:9-22
Simon Magus was told to repent of his attempt to buy the Holy Spirit. We should also repent of our modern forms of claiming we can possess God for our own use or profit.
Judas Iscariot: Remorse Too Late in Matthew 27:3-5
Judas demonstrates the difference between worldly remorse and true repentance. Judas was truly remorseful after he saw Jesus would die because of his betrayal, and he tried to fix things himself. When that failed, he hanged himself. He was remorseful, but never repented of doing things his own way.
Debts, debtors and paráptōmata in the Lord’s Prayer and Jesus’ associated saying on mercy towards others’ weaknesses–Matthew 6:12-15 and Mark 11:20-26
In the Lord’s Prayer and the parallel teaching about mercy, Jesus tells us that we are to ask God to release us from the consequences or resulting debts of our sins as we release others from the debts we imagine they owe us. While praying, we are to show mercy upon the flaws (paráptōmata) that led them to sin, because the Father will show us mercy in the same measure.
Repentance, Confession and the Textual Variant in James 5:16
James 5:16 occurs in a context dealing with sick Christians and healing. In that context, it teaches that we are to agree with each other about the character flaws in our lives that lead to discrete sins, and pray for each other that these flaws–and the whole person–will be healed. This sensible reading is supported by the Byzantine New Testament text tradition, which is to be preferred for this verse.
A God who Speaks, Confession and Repentance, Confession of Sin, Forgiveness and Unforgiveness, God Speaks to Us, God's purpose for us, Is forgiveness of sins the focus of salvation?, Reconciliation, Repentance, Repentance in community, Restoration of God's Image, Restoration of our Relationships, Through others, Through the church, To live in unity
Introduction: The Question of Confession
Confession of sin is expression of our full agreement with God about the evil within us that produces acts of disobedience. It is NOT the recitation of a detailed list of wrong acts, which we admit we did but for which we deflect responsibility to God or others. True confession is the beginning of reconciliation and restoration.