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Friday, 29 April 2016

THE ELEMENTS OF REPENTANCE IN CHRISTIANITY


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Repentance has three elements; the Intellect, Emotion and Will.
(A) The Intellect: Repentance involves knowledge. First, there must be this acknowledgement that man is born in sin and that the wages of sin is death, Rom. 3:23, 6:23. Intellect as an element implies the understanding  of man's depravity and God's redemptive plan through Christ, 2 Pet. 3:9. The Holy spirit through this information from God's word convicts the sinner who has reached the age of reasoning and decision taking. This is to say that repentance is obtained by adults. Children are only trained in righteousness until they grow to decide for Christ, Prov. 22:6, John 9:21.
(B) The Emotion: This is the tendency for man to have a feeling of care, love or deep care for another and express it in weeping, laughter, shouts, etc. Emotion is an inbuilt quality in man. This means that a good information about Christ from the bible stirs a deep remorseful feeling and yearning for God from within the heart of man. Godly sorrow works repentance, 2 Cor. 7:8-10.
(C) The Will: This is the desire and longing to totally surrender to God. It is the real determination to forsake sin, change one's attitude towards sin and surrender to God, Matt. 6:10.

Repentance is clearly illustrated in the parable of the prodigal son, Lk. 15:11-24.

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1 comment:

Justin said...

Thank you, I needed to learn this