SHEPHERDVILLE COLLEGE

FOUNDATIONS OF FAITH
Ptr. Evelyn S. Contante, EdD

MODULE 5: REPENTANCE

I. INTRODUCTION

In our last lesson, we learned about the fall of man because sin entered through Adam. Today
men mock at sin considering it as only a human weakness or tendency. When a sense of sin falls upon
mankind they will turn to God for mercy. Not until we understand the awfulness of sin can we understand
Calvary; only as we comprehend the meaning of Calvary do we see the exceeding sinfulness of sin as
viewed by a holy, righteous God.

Under the Old Testament order of law and sacrifices the people confessed their sin, offered a
sacrifice and then often returned to repeat the sin. Gospel repentance is turning from sin and turning
unto God Acts 20:21, "Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God,
and faith toward our Lord. . ." It is called "repentance unto life," because the new mind is not merely to
depart from evil, but to obtain the life that is found in Christ. Acts 11:18, "Then hath God also to the
Gentiles granted repentance unto life." It is also called repentance unto salvation as that is its object. II
Cor. 7:10, "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of. " As it is not to be
repented of again it means that one is not to return again to that sin; it infers a changed attitude toward
sin; not going back to iniquity.

II. COMPETENCY 5

A. OBJECTIVES
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
a. Discuss the Article of Faith No. 5: Repentance;
b. Discuss the old sinful nature of man;
c. Determine the importance of repentance unto God.

B. CONTENT

Article of Faith No. 5: The Jesus the Loving Shepherd Christian Fellowship believes:

That the only means of being cleansed from all sin is through repentance and
faith in the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

Part 1: Sin

a. DEFINITION OF SIN

The dictionary calls it transgression, evil, a violation of an accepted moral, religious or social
code. “Sin is any lack of conformity to the character of God whether in act or state." “Sin is a hopelessly
incurable disease of the soul" (the leprosy or cancer of sin). “Sin is characteristic of the old nature, the
flesh and finds expression daily." I John 3:4, "..for sin is the transgression of the law."
(1) Sin is an act; the breaking of a law or commandment is sin.
(2) Sin is a state; the fallen state of man without righteousness.
(3) Sin is a nature; the nature of fallen man at enmity against God
 b. ORIGIN OF SIN
1. Sin originated with Satan, Isa. 14:12-14. This is explained in Jas. 1 :14,15, "But every man is
tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth
forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. "

2. Sin entered the world through Adam. Rom. 5:12, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into
the world, and death by sin . . ."

3. The fact of the fall of man, Gen. 3 :1-6. (a) listened to the slanders against God (b) doubted
God's love and His Word (c) looked at what God had forbidden (d) lusted for what God had prohibited
(e) absolute disobedience to God's commands.

c. THE MANIFESTATIONS OF SIN

1. Transgression--the overstepping of the law. Psa. 51:1, "Blot out my transgressions."
2. Iniquity--an act inherently wrong or forbidden, as breaking a commandment.
3. Error-the departure from right. Psa. 51:9, ". . . and blot out all mine iniquities."
4. Missing the mark--the failure to meet the divine standard. I John 5 :17, Rom. 3 :23.
5. Trespass--the intrusion of the self-will into the sphere of God's authority.
6. Lawlessness--this is spiritual anarchy. I Tim. 1:9, ". . . for the lawless and disobedient."
7. Debt--a failure in duty, the sin of omission, the things that we leave undone.
8. Unbelief--an insult to the divine veracity of God. Heb. 3:12, ". . . evil heart of unbelief."

d. LIST OF SINS

1. Ex 20:3-17 (The ten commandments): idolatry, cursing, Sabbath breaking, disrespect to

parents, murder, adultery, stealing, lying, covetousness. (9 sins)
2. 1 Cor 6:9,10: effeminate, masturbation, drunkards, revilers, extortioners. (5 sins)
3. Rom. 1 :29-31: unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, maliciousness, envy, debate,
deceit, malignity, whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters,
inventors of evil things, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable,
unmerciful. (19 sins)
4. I Tim. 1:9-11: lawlessness, disobedience, unholiness, profanity, whoremonger, kidnapping.
(six sins)
5. Col. 3:5-8: inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy
communication. (7 sins)
6. Gal. 5:19-21: lasciviousness, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, strife, seditions,
heresies, revellings. (9 sins)
7. Mark 7 :20-23: evil thoughts, an evil eye, foolishness. (3 sins) A total of over fifty different sins
with many variations of each one.

e. SIN CANNOT BE HIDDEN

Num. 32:23, "But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your
sin will find you out. Pro. 28:13, "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and
forsaketh them shall have mercy.” It is not only the sin that will be discovered but the sinner will be
revealed, too. God sees and uncovers hidden sins--Adam, Cain, Achan, Ananias and Sapphira tried to
hide things from God but failed to do so.
 f. THE RESULTS OF SIN

1. Death--a denotative word signifying separation. Rom. 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death; but
the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.?
2. Lost--man is lost to God, and man is lost from heaven. Luke 15:24, "For this my son was dead,
and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.?
3. Condemnation--this is a judicial word signifying God's judgment. John 3:18, .j..'" ". . . but he
that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only
begotten Son of God.".
4. Guilt--an indicative word signifying being conscience-stricken. Gen. 26:10, "...one of the people
might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us.
5. Perdition--a prospective word signifying destruction and damnation. I Tim 6:9, ". . . which drown
men in destruction and perdition."
6. Punishment--a conscious word signifying penal infliction. Matt. 25 :46, "And these shall go away
into everlasting punishment.?
7. Eternal fire--a durative word signifying the length of punishment. Jude 7, ". . . are set forth for
an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.?
8. Hell--the abode of the devil and those who follow him. Matt. 25:41, "Then shall He say also unto
them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil
and his angels."
9. Lake of fire--the second death. Rev. 20:14, "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death. "

g. THE REMEDY FOR SIN.

Christ in His atonement and resurrection is the only remedy for sin. John 1 :29, "Behold the
Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" I John 3:5, "And ye know that He was manifested
to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin.” No man can cleanse himself from sin. Job 9:30,31, "If I
wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean; yet shalt Thou plunge me in the
ditch.? Jer. 2:22, "For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is
marked before Me, saith the lord God.”

The remedy for sin is forgiveness through the Blood of Christ. Eph. 1:7, "In whom we have
redemption through His Blood, the forgiveness of sins.? I John 1:7, "... and the blood of Jesus Christ
His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” No man is without sin, therefore we all need a Saviour. Gal. 3 :22,
"But the Scripture hath concluded ALL under sin." Rom. 3:23, "For ALL have sinned, and come short
of the glory of God."

PART 2: REPENTANCE

a. DEFINITION OF REPENTANCE
1. Negative--Repentance is not merely sorrow for sin; there are many who weep over sin but
without repentance immediately return to the same sin (drunkard). Doing penance is not repentance,
for it gives the sinner some merit to earn in order to gain salvation and often hinders true repentance.
Judas Iscariot and Esau showed sorrow for sin but they did not repent. Heb. 12 :17. "He (Esau) found
no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears." Remorse and tears often accompany
repentance, but they are not repentance in themselves.

2. Positive--It is a change of mind that leads to a change of conduct. Matt. 21 :28-32, the boy at
first refused to work in the vineyard but later repented, t changed his mind and then went and actually
worked in the vineyard
 b. NECESSITY OF REPENTANCE

1. All need to repent because all are guilty in God's sight. Jesus' first sermon after the baptism
and testing in the wilderness was on repentance. Matt. 4 :17, "From that time Jesus began to preach,
and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Luke 13 :3, Jesus preaching said, "Except
ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."

2. Repentance comes before believing. Mark 1:15, "... repent ye, and believe the Gospel."

3. Repentance comes before forgiveness, Luke 24:47, "And that repentance and remission of
sins should be preached in His name among all nations. "

4. Repentance comes before conversion. Acts 3 :19, "Repent ye therefore, and be converted"

5. God commands repentance. Acts 17:30, "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but
now commandeth all men everywhere to repent."

c. IMPORTANCE OF REPENTANCE

Repentance is a very prominent subject in the Scriptures, being mentioned over one hundred
times in the Bible. Repentance was the theme of John the Baptist. Matt. 3:1,2, "In those days came
John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye." When Jesus sent forth
His disciples to preach, He commanded them to preach repentance. Mark 6:12, "And they went out,
and preached that men should repent." After Pentecost the disciples preached repentance. Acts 2 :38,
"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you."

This was the message of the Apostle Paul, too. Acts 20:21, quoted in the introduction. The
burden of the heart of God is that all should repent. II Pet. 3:9, "... not willing that any should perish, but
that all should come to repentance." Failure to obey God here will lead to eternal damnation. Luke 13:3,
"Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."

d. THE NATURE OF REPENTANCE

1. As touching the intellect. Matt. 21:29, "He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he
repented, and went." The lad changed his mind, thoughts and views. Repentance is a revolution
touching our attitude and views toward sin and righteousness. Repentance teaches us to hate sin and
learn to love holiness and purity. The prodigal son repented; he changed his mind about living in a far
country and decided to return to his father's household as a servant. When Peter at Pentecost asked
the Jews to repent, he meant for them to change their minds about the Person of Christ. From
considering Jesus a mere man, a blasphemer or an impostor, to recognizing Him as the Son of God,
the Messiah, the Redeemer of the world.

2. As touching the emotions. II Cor. 7 :9, "Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that
ye sorrowed to repentance." Very often feelings play a great part in repentance; repentance is a hard
battle. Luke 10 :13, "They (Tyre and Sidon) had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and
ashes." Luke 7 :44, "... but she hath washed My feet with tears. . ." (demonstrating repentance). The
publican in Luke 18 :13, smote upon his breast indicating sorrow of heart. The Greek word for
repentance means to cause one great concern. The Hebrew word for repentance means to pant, sigh,
or moan (expressing grief). Psa. 38 :18, "For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin."
 3. As touching the will. The Hebrew word for repent also means to "turn". Luke 15 :18,20, the
prodigal said, "I will arise. . . and he arose." Repentance is a crisis with a changed experience in view.
Paul taught repentance as an experience rather than a single act (rising and going). Repentance is a
twofold act: (1) Turning from sin and (2) turning unto God. Turning from sin without turning to God is
reformation without regeneration. 1 Thess. 1:9, "... how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living
and true God. " Acts 26 :18, "... and from the power of Satan unto God. "

e. HOW IS REPENTANCE PRODUCED?

Basically, it is a gift of God. Acts 11 :18, "... saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted
repentance unto life." II Tim. 2:25, "If God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging
of the truth." Repentance is a privilege granted to us by God the Father. As people hear the message
of the Gospel the Holy Spirit convicts them of their sin and a great desire to repent comes over the
individual as a result. Jonah preached repentance to Nineveh; they believed the message and turned
to God. Rom. 2:4, "... not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" Rev. 3:19,
"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." God often uses
chastisements or rebukes to cause us to repent of our sins.

f. THE RESULTS OF REPENTANCE

1. All heaven is made glad. Luke 15:7,10, "I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven
over one sinner that repenteth. “

2. It brings pardon and forgiveness of sins. Isa. 55:7, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and
the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him;
and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. "

Acts 3:19, "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the
times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord." Repentance does not cause one to merit
forgiveness; repentance is merely a condition.

Repentance prepares a man for pardon but it does not entitle him to it. (After repentance we are
still unworthy of the Lord's love and forgiveness.)

3. The Holy Spirit is poured out upon the penitent. Acts 2 :38, "Repent... and ye shall receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost."

g. THE SEVEN (7) STEPS OF REPENTANCE.

(Repent: to feel so contrite over one's sins as to change one's mind and conduct about it. [
Webster's Dictionary])

1. REALIZE that your behavior is wrong and a sin against Almighty God. Take extra time during your
prayer time to consider His call for repentance.
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.~ Psalm 51:3

2. REGRET your sin, be convicted by the Holy Spirit. Ask the Risen Christ, through His Holy Spirit, to
join you as you begin the repentance process.
And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment~
John 16:8
3. RESOLVE to RENOUNCE your sin. Exercise your free will decision to renounce all sin under His
blood and truly repent from one or more of your sins.
Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them
finds mercy. ~ Proverbs 28:13

4. REVEAL your sin. Confess it. Confess your sins to the Holy Spirit; then ask Him if there's any more.
Confess your sins to others also and receive assistance in healing.
Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.
~ James 5:16 (a)

5. RESTITUTION and RECONCILIATION. If you are able, restore the other person you have sinned
against. This can be a restoration of relationship also.
When a man or woman commits any of the sins of mankind, acting unfaithfully against the LORD,
and that person is guilty, then he shall confess his sins which he has committed, and he shall
make restitution in full for his wrong and add to it one-fifth of it, and give it to him whom he has
wronged.~ Numbers 5:6-7

Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister
has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled
to them; then come and offer your gift. ~ Matthew 5:23

6. RELEASE forgiveness by letting go bitterness and forgiving others.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave
you.~ Ephesians 4:31-32

7. RECEIVE and Experience the Joy of the Lord and His Liberty from that sin stronghold.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. ~ Psalm 51:12
7 STEPS OF REPENTANCE

7. RECEIVE
6. RELEASE
5. RESTITUTION
4. REVEAL
3. RESOLVE
2. REGRET
1. REALIZE

How will you know when you have truly repented? You will begin to "bear fruits of repentance."
(Matthew 3:8). Your behaviour will begin to change. Your attitudes towards others will improve. You will
begin to HATE sin and LOVE others, wanting them to be free also.
 You will experience a new intimacy and friendship with God. Your prayers will be powerful and
effective. Your mind will be set on things above and not on things of the earth. You will become
passionate for the things of God. Old bondages and bad habits will begin to break off of you and a fresh
JOY will flood your soul. You will feel fresh and clean in your inner soul.
Rinse and Repeat as often as necessary!

C. STUDENT ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS (SAQ)

Answer the following questions. Write your answers in the worksheet. (Note: Compile all your
worksheets in one document only. You will submit worksheets (SAQ & evaluation answers) altogether
during exam day to my email address with the file name: <your surname: Prelim WS>)

1. What is the key to understanding Calvary? (10%)

2. What is the remedy for sin? (20%)
3. How is repentance produced? (20%)
4. What are the results of repentance? (10%)

III. SUMMARY

Christ is the required Saviour for He alone was without sin. II Cor. 5:21, "For He hath made Him
to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." Heb. 4:15,
"For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in
all points tempted like as we are, yet WITHOUT sin." I John 3 :5, ". . . and in Him is no sin." I Pet. 2 :22,
"Who did no sin . . ." God is too holy to condone or look at sin (Hab. 1:13), "Thou art of purer eyes than
to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity." A prayer: "Lord, teach me to see the exceeding sinfulness
of sin (Rom. 7 :13), and teach me to hate sin." (Psa. 97:10). "Ye that love the Lord, hate evil." "Lord,
teach me to confess my sin." (I John 1:9) "Lord, teach me to forsake sin." (Pro. 28 :13)

All the blessings of this lesson follow the true believer's initial repentance Godward. A redeemed
sinner should never cease to be penitent.

IV. EVALUATION (Follow the same instruction from the SAQ part.)

1. Write a prayer of repentance and follow the seven steps. (40%)

2. Memorize Article of Faith No. 5.

V. REFERENCES

Douglas, A. (1966). 100 Bible Lessons.

Holy Bible. New International Version (NIV).