A repentant person’s lifestyle

Jude Hama Life Jun - 25 - 2023 , 10:18

A Bible Preacher looked closely at a group of enthusiastic Praise and Worship Leaders in the Church and had a word for them and the entire congregation.

He says, “a scandal of Christianity today is the so many people around who claim to have repented and become “born again” but still “fornicate like fish”; and tell lies without blinking their eyes. We don’t see transformed or changed lives in them.”

But true repentance is a change of mind on who really Jesus Christ is - a change of mind on sinfulness and wrong behaviour. It is a change of mind that leads to a radical change in day-to- day behaviour. The Apostle Paul is very clear on this that a truly repentant person must express his or her repentance in a changed lifestyle of godly living with integrity:

“I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the unbelievers do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.” (Ephesians 4:17-24, 31, NIV).

Then, in his letter to the believers in Galatia, the Apostle Paul gives us a description of the difference in lifestyle between a repentant person and a non-repentant person.

First, the unrepentant person:

“When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarrelling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these.”

Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21 NLT).

Next, the Apostle Paul describes the lifestyle of the repentant person, whom the Holy Spirit indwells: “The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.” (Galatians 5:22-24 NLT). The evidence of the kind of lifestyle we have shown whether we are truly repentant or not. John the Baptist shouts it out: “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.” (Luke 3:8a NLT).

A truly repentant person’s life is a continued renewal of mind in a process of becoming more and more Christ-like and to live godly: “Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing, and perfect.” (Romans 12:2 NLT).

Genuine repentance leads to transformed people and transformed communities. Repentant people in Church, living repentant lifestyles in Church and in society, will lead to a transformed nation where Political leaders and Civic leaders, leaders in Business, Agriculture, the Arts, Science, and Medicine, and indeed ordinary citizens, live lifestyles of godliness with integrity.

And the Nation progresses through its citizens’ lifestyles of a clean heart, a clean mind, clean hands, clean lips, clean decision making, and clean behaviour. The Bible says, "Upright citizens are good for a city and make it prosper, but the talk of the wicked tears it apart.” (Proverbs 11:11 NLT). It adds, it is only clean and godly living that makes a nation progress: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” (Proverbs 14:34 NASB).

Indeed, may the beauty of Jesus be seen in us repentant people, including all His wonderful compassion and purity.

(The author is a consultant in authentic Christian Spirituality and Discipleship and former CEO of Scripture Union.)