Hello there, how are you my friend? it’s been quite a while since you heard from me on this platform. I hope you’ve been keeping well. A lot happens in 2 years doesn’t it? Well i’m back and I do look forward to continuously sharing thoughts, ideas, meditations, learning and experiences in my journey as God’s daughter. I also look forward to hearing back from you to learn from your own journey as well and also to share in your experiences as a co-heir of the king our dad!.
When you hear the word repent what typically comes to your mind? I would imagine that for most people this could mean being sorrowful about certain actions and doing differently. This would mean turning away from evil as it were. This would mean turning away from evil to turn to the Lord. If you would agree with me, most people may tend to have this act of repentance mainly focusing on stopping certain actions and going a different way but at the core of repentance I believe is a state of mind and heart that makes a man to change in his thinking and in his believing that then births in him the state of being right with God.
Repentance (Greek translation) metanoia – means to change one’s mind
Galatians 3:6
So also, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
….When we change how we think and we choose to believe…we repent.
Well recently on my heart rose the phrase “To repent is to believe”. This phrase came up after I asked a group of kids i was teaching the word at our heirmindset kids bible academy the question “how do we get to heaven”?
The kids had a lot to say, some of the answers given included:
1. Never commit any sins
2. obey the 10 commandments
3. do good things
Some other answers given by the kids
1. Believe in Jesus
2. be born again
3. the blood of Jesus
Lovely kids and lovely heartfelt responses!. We know all our kids are doing well to know their bibles and to know Jesus! So i proceeded to ask them some more questions to get them to begin to think along the lines of some of the teaching i wanted to reinforce.
So I asked, “What if i make a mistake will i still make it to heaven?, what if i miss a commandment will i still make it? what if i don’t good things enough would that be okay?”. At this point the kids realised wait a minute, i may actually not get everything done right hence WHY WE NEED JESUS!. I echoed again with them that it is BELIEVING in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ declaring him as Lord over your life is what saves us and this is how we make it to heaven. I echoed one of our very anchoring scriptures in this truth.
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
BELIEVING is repentance. God is calling all humanity to A PLACE OF REPENTANCE and this really is a call to TURN AWAY FROM UNBELIEF and BELIEVE.
When you hear the word repent, what comes to mind? if you are like me the first thing i would be thinking off is turning away from from doing evil or doing wrong and seeking to do what’s right. Now this is correct but we usually don’t realise that the first thing on God’s mind when he is thinking about us turning away from evil is the turning away from the evil of UNBELIEF. The bible calls a wicked heart an unbelieving heart.
Hebrews 3:12
See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God.
You see it is when you stop disbelieving and you start believing in the gospel that the good actions that stem from your new faith can then begin to overflow. Believing in the gospel is what activates rebirth in you, the new life in you. This is a completely supernatural event that cannot be made to happen by will but is totally a divine act of God. There is no way you and I can shift from darkness to light without believing. Believing is what gives you and I access into the grace of God.
Romans 5:2 ESV
Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
At the core of repentance is believing. True repentance is when we actually start to believe God and take him at his word. Let’s have a look at a couple of scriptures that shows us more clearly that to REPENT IS TO BELIEVE:
Scriptures that show Believing is True Repentance – To Repent is to Believe
- Jesus proclaims to repent is to believe – Mark 1:15
and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
For Jesus, a call to repentance is a call to believe.
2. Believing is how we please God –
Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Faith is what pleases God. Believing is what he wants from us. It’s all he wants from us.
3. Believing is the work we have to do
– John 6:28-29,
28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
Jesus makes it clear that the core of our repentance and choosing him is to believe in him. This is the sole work we are to do. Everything else comes out from our having believed.
– 1 Thessalonians 1:3
Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;
In this new covenant, our work is the work of faith, our work is to believe!
4. Believing is how we become righteous
Romans 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. KJV
Galatians 3:6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness. KJV
Believing is the fulfillment of the criteria for righteousness
Romans 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. KJV
5. Believing is sure
Romans 9:33b Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed
6. Believing is our power
Ephesians 1:18-19 KJV
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power.
1 John 5:4
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith.
Believing is how we win, it is how we overcome, it is what releases the power of God at work in us
7. When we Believe we See
John 11:40 NKJV
Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?”
2 Cor 4:18
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
When we believe we see with the eyes of our heart which is how we see fully and properly.
Ephesians 1:8
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,
There’s so much to say about believing but i’ll stop here for now. I would however, like to challenge you to begin to look out for the word “believe” whenever you are reading through the new testament, just to get a fresh view of just how important and what role believing plays in accessing , walking in and partaking in all that the new covenant in Christ provides.
As you go on please keep fighting to believe, keep reassuring yourself of truths you’ve known, keep learning more and keep putting what you have known to believe to practice!
1 Timothy 6:12
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses
God’s blessings to you and all yours.
Love,
God’s daughter your sister in Christ
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