Transcript: Episode 0063

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<v SPEAKER_1>Welcome to the Stone Choir Podcast.

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<v SPEAKER_1>I am Corey J.

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<v SPEAKER_1>Mahler.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And I'm still, whoa.

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<v SPEAKER_2>On today's Stone Choir, we're going to be discussing the subject of repentance.

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<v SPEAKER_2>This is obviously a crucial part of the Christian life.

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<v SPEAKER_2>It's found throughout the Bible.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And the way the word is used today among Christians is a pretty radical departure from what's actually in the Bible.

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<v SPEAKER_2>So today, we're going to be doing a word study and an examination of the doctrine of repentance and what actually means what actually looks like, because by the end of this episode, you will all be repenting of what you thought about repenting, and we'll explain what that means throughout the hour or so here today.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Before we get into the details, the meat of the subject, just a bit of housekeeping for the show.

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<v SPEAKER_2>First, if you're a regular listener, we apologize that we were not on schedule last week.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Corey had a bit of a nasty cold that messed up his voice and probably would not have been pleasant for him to talk for two hours straight.

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<v SPEAKER_2>But as we're talking about, we realize that so many people go back and listen to the archives, you know, months and years, hopefully at some point in the future after these things were recorded.

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<v SPEAKER_2>We've worked really hard to try to make them all sound the same.

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<v SPEAKER_2>So we decide we didn't want an episode where something just sounded really weird.

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<v SPEAKER_2>So we just took a bye week.

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<v SPEAKER_2>This episode is the one we had planned to do last week.

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<v SPEAKER_2>The second bit of show news, this coming Saturday, I am going to be appearing on the Forrest Moretti show.

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<v SPEAKER_2>It's a guy on Twitter who's been a friend of us, Cory and myself for a while.

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<v SPEAKER_2>He invited me on a brand new show that he's doing.

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<v SPEAKER_2>I'm going to be his guinea pig first guest as he works out some of the kinks.

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<v SPEAKER_2>So Saturday evening at 9 p.m.

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<v SPEAKER_2>on X, we'll be doing a live stream and then subsequent to that, it will be on a podcast hosting that he's doing.

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<v SPEAKER_2>He invited me on in part just to talk about stuff that Cory and I are never going to talk about here.

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<v SPEAKER_2>There's a lot of stuff that's off brand for us.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Cory and I are both experts on a number of things that have nothing to do with Stone Choir subjects.

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<v SPEAKER_2>So we're just never going to waste your time with it because that's not what you're here for.

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<v SPEAKER_2>So if you're interested in hearing me talk for a few hours about other stuff that's not the Bible, you can check that out.

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<v SPEAKER_2>After the recording, we will come back to this episode, show notes and update them so that that link will be here.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And also put the updated link in next week's show notes.

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<v SPEAKER_2>So if you're a regular listener, you'll be able to find it next week.

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<v SPEAKER_2>So check it out or not, no big deal.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Like it's going to have nothing to do with anything we normally talk about, it's just going to be him asking me questions about my life and history and some other stuff that I know about.

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<v SPEAKER_2>The third item of show housekeeping is that we have some merch coming.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Corey has been working on some really cool challenge coin.

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<v SPEAKER_2>He's going to explain to me what that is.

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<v SPEAKER_2>These are completely useless.

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<v SPEAKER_2>It's a two inch circle that's very nice.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Corey gifted me one he's made in the past that has the Luther seal on one side and a German quotation on the other side.

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<v SPEAKER_2>It's beautiful.

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<v SPEAKER_2>I love it.

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<v SPEAKER_2>I keep it in my pocket.

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<v SPEAKER_2>It's just, it's very satisfying, the heft of it and the feel.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And it's a nice commemoration of having been involved in something.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And so that one is focused on Lutheranism.

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<v SPEAKER_2>The one that we're doing is specifically focused on Stone Choir and why we are all here together as a Stone Choir.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Like Stone Choir is not two guys.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Stone Choir is really all of us.

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<v SPEAKER_2>It's all the people who are realizing that there is something that needs to be said that's not being said in our churches, in our societies.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And so we are all working together to say some of these things.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And so in order to help you guys feel a part of it, in order to give you an opportunity to support us, to support the show in a way that you get some token back, we're going to be selling these Challenge Coins starting pretty soon.

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<v SPEAKER_2>So Corey, give the details on the timeline.

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<v SPEAKER_2>I just want to make a couple things clear.

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<v SPEAKER_2>One, there's a limited run of 2,000 of them, which is a lot of them.

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<v SPEAKER_2>It's going to take a while to sell through.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Part of the reason that we're pre-selling them is that we want to recoup some of the money that's being outlaid to buy these because Corey is paying entirely out of pocket to produce them and then we'll get that money back over time.

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<v SPEAKER_2>So we'll be in the hole for a while until enough people come in to ask for them.

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<v SPEAKER_2>So initially, there are some pretty steep discounts on them and he's going to give the details on that timeline.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Every coin is the same except that they're serialized.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And so they'll be numbered from 1 to 2,000.

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<v SPEAKER_2>He gets number 1, obviously, I'll be number 2.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And then when you order, and the reason we're mentioning this now ahead of them being available, if you wish to have the lowest available number, you don't need to say anything, you'll get the next number in the sequence.

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<v SPEAKER_2>If, on the other hand, you want to have a specific number, you know, maybe the year of your birth or some special number to you, maybe have a favorite racist number from the ADL list of all the numbers that are considered to be wicked and evil.

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<v SPEAKER_2>If one of those tickles your fancy in the comments on the order form, you'll be able to list your top three requests.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And if it's available, Corey will fulfill that for you.

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<v SPEAKER_2>If not, you'll get the next lowest number available.

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<v SPEAKER_2>So that's the reason we're preannouncing it is that there's going to be a bit of a land rush for interesting numbers for a little while.

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<v SPEAKER_2>So what we're going to do when the art is back from the designers at CoinForce, the following Monday, whenever that is, hopefully it will be next Monday, but if the art doesn't come back in time for next Monday, there'll be the following week.

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<v SPEAKER_2>What we're going to do on Telegram, on the Stone Choir Discuss channel, we will be linking the storefront when it's available with the art.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And a few hours later, I'll be linking it on Gab and on X at the same time.

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<v SPEAKER_2>So if you want to get a first dab at the lowest number or the most interesting number to you, follow us in those places on Gab, it's at Stone Choir, on X it's also at Stone Choir.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And then the link will be in the show notes for the Telegram Discussion channel.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And the Discussion channel on Telegram is really kind of where our community is.

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<v SPEAKER_2>We have over 300 people now in the group just talking every day about stuff.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And I'm in there all the time, answering questions, helping people out.

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<v SPEAKER_2>I'm also on X answering questions for people looking for churches or whatever.

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<v SPEAKER_2>So we're always available at those of the best places to find us.

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<v SPEAKER_2>We'll link the store there so you can find it and you can place the order if you're interested.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Again, this is principally a way for you to help support the show, to help us keep going, doing what we're doing, because it takes a lot of time.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And it's free.

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<v SPEAKER_2>You don't have to give us anything.

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<v SPEAKER_2>But if you would like to, this is an opportunity for you to give us something and to get a really nice symbol or token back.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And like you said, I'm absolutely confident that when these are produced, they're going to be really, really nice.

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<v SPEAKER_2>It's going to be a conversation starter.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And frankly, I think that might be one of the useful things.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Once you get your Stone Choir Challenge Coin, you have in your pocket all the time.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And maybe if you're with a group of guys out drinking or whatever, and something comes up, and there's some reason why you might want to bring up Stone Choir, you could just whip out the coin.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Everyone, what is that?

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<v SPEAKER_2>So it could be a conversation starter to put on the table.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Hey, there's these guys talking about this stuff, and here's where I learned about this.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And it's an opportunity for you to support us, to show that you're a part of the show.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Eventually, as we are all meeting each other in the real world, you'll be able to see who has the lower number, and somebody who doesn't have a coin will be on the outs.

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<v SPEAKER_2>So it's a chance for a cool little shibboleth of participation and being an insider.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Or completely skip it if you think it's a grift, and we're jerks, that's fine too.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Show's free, keep listening, we love you too.

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<v SPEAKER_2>So, Corey, you can explain the details of what a challenge coin is and what the timeline will be.

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<v SPEAKER_1>So for those who have been in the military, you're going to know exactly what a challenge coin is, and I don't need to tell you anything about them.

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<v SPEAKER_1>But for those who have not been in the military, or in some cases, attached to a political campaign, they're also very common in the political sphere.

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<v SPEAKER_1>A challenge coin is, as Will mentioned, just a very large coin, so two inches in this case.

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<v SPEAKER_1>And the rules of how challenge coins are used is it's a drinking game, because of course it's going to be a drinking game.

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<v SPEAKER_1>If it's military or politics.

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<v SPEAKER_1>So how it works is if you take out your coin, you produce your coin, and you tap it on the table or toss it on the table, however you happen to do it, that is a challenge, and that's why it's called a challenge coin.

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<v SPEAKER_1>Everyone else at the table has to produce a coin.

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<v SPEAKER_1>If anyone fails to produce a coin, then he pays for the next round of drinks.

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<v SPEAKER_1>Or if multiple people fail, they share paying for the next round of drinks.

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<v SPEAKER_1>If, however, everyone else at the table produces a coin, then the person who issued the challenge pays for the next round.

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<v SPEAKER_1>So there's a bit of a risk there.

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<v SPEAKER_1>But if challenge coins become a little more widespread among the right-leaning part of the population, which I think is probably likely, then there's a risk of not having your coin on you.

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<v SPEAKER_1>You don't have to necessarily have our coin, but you should probably have a coin.

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<v SPEAKER_1>I have a handful of challenge coins.

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<v SPEAKER_1>I usually do carry the Luther one, the Lutheran seal one that Wo mentioned.

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<v SPEAKER_1>I have one in my hand right now.

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<v SPEAKER_1>But to give you the specifics for our challenge coin, I have already sent over the design information to the designer, so I should be getting back the initial drafts probably, I would imagine, either later today or tomorrow.

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<v SPEAKER_1>There may be some revision, so it may take a little time, but I would imagine we would be able to get that out, an actual image of what it will look like sometime next week.

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<v SPEAKER_1>And so the timeline for the coins would be, we currently have a discounted price on them of $25 per coin, and that is available until the 10th of March, so we made sure there was some time available there for people to get the coins at that price.

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<v SPEAKER_1>And then up until the Wednesday after Easter, which is technically in the church calendar year still called Easter Wednesday, which is the 3rd of April, it will be discounted to $35, and then after that it will be a full price of $42.

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<v SPEAKER_1>As we mentioned, this is largely a way to support the podcast, a way to keep things going, as it were.

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<v SPEAKER_1>But of course there is that initial outlay in order to get the coins, and so the first handful of hundreds of coins will just be to pay for that.

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<v SPEAKER_1>The prices have gone up a little bit for metal, as I'm sure many of our listeners are aware, and challenge coins being made for metal are no exception.

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<v SPEAKER_1>I certainly paid more for these than I did for the first run of the Luther coins, however many years ago that was at this point.

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<v SPEAKER_1>It's been a number of years.

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<v SPEAKER_1>But I very much like the quality, the production that is put out by CoinForce, so I know these will be very nice coins.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And of course, you don't have to make it a drinking game.

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<v SPEAKER_2>It can just be a nice memento.

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<v SPEAKER_2>It's a cool thing.

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<v SPEAKER_2>You're gonna enjoy it when you get them.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And like I said, it's gonna be a good conversation starter.

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<v SPEAKER_2>It's a good way to help support us.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And again, more and more of you guys are meeting each other.

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<v SPEAKER_2>It's funny.

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<v SPEAKER_2>It seems like on Stone Choir discussion on Telegram, almost once a week now, somebody says, I work with a guy who's listening to Stone Choir, and I had no idea.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Like talk about a small world.

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<v SPEAKER_2>We have, I don't know, maybe probably in the neighborhood of 10,000 listeners this point every week.

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<v SPEAKER_2>You know, it's impossible to tell, because we don't have creepy tracking or anything.

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<v SPEAKER_2>But just from the download numbers and kind of guessing how many folks listen together, we know a lot of people get together in listening groups.

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<v SPEAKER_2>That's awesome.

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<v SPEAKER_2>We love you guys.

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<v SPEAKER_2>We're guessing there's probably about 10,000 people, but there's a lot of people on the planet.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And so most people are not yet listening to Stone Choir.

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<v SPEAKER_2>The fact that there could be multiple people in one workplace, let alone there are multiple people in churches who are listening is really cool.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And so someday you guys are gonna have the Stone Choir Challenge coin, and you'll be able to find each other.

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<v SPEAKER_2>It's kind of an Ichthus in the world.

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<v SPEAKER_2>That might necessarily be obvious to someone, but if they know what's going on, you'll be really excited.

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<v SPEAKER_2>So we look forward to you guys meeting each other in the real world.

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<v SPEAKER_2>More and more we're connecting people with churches where there are already Stone Choir listeners, and that's awesome.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Like it's to meet like-minded Christians who all are on the same page and don't need to be embarrassed about believing what God says is a treat.

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<v SPEAKER_2>So that's the end of the housekeeping.

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<v SPEAKER_2>I don't want to ramble on any longer.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Today, as we're talking about repentance, like you said, it's going to be a bit of a word study, but one thing we're not going to do today is bury you in quotes from scripture for a particular reason.

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<v SPEAKER_2>We're going to explain the concept of repentance.

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<v SPEAKER_2>We're going to explain what scripture, what the word actually means, first in English and then in Greek, because the Greek is frankly more applicable to what we're focused on today.

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<v SPEAKER_2>The way the word morphed in English has kind of departed from what it actually means in scripture.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And so we're going to lay out kind of the taxonomy of the overlapping senses of the words.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Rather than giving you a list of verses that use the Greek word for repentance, the point that we want to hammer home today is that, as I said at the beginning, once you understand what scripture actually means, when it says repent, you're going to find it everywhere.

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<v SPEAKER_2>You're going to find it in all sorts of places in scripture that don't use the word at all, but they use the concept.

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<v SPEAKER_2>They describe repentance without saying repent, because it's that fundamental part of the Christian life.

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<v SPEAKER_2>In fact, repent basically is a synonym for live the Christian life.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Repent in sanctification, repentance and sanctification mean the same thing.

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<v SPEAKER_2>So that's the case that we're going to be making here today.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Some of you may think that sounds completely crazy.

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<v SPEAKER_2>We're going to lay out what we mean by that.

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<v SPEAKER_2>So to begin, looking at the word in English, repent.

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<v SPEAKER_2>It's been around for about 700 years in the English language.

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<v SPEAKER_2>The initial sense of the word was to be grieved over one's past and seek forgiveness, to feel such regret for sins, crimes or omissions as produces amendment of life.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And this came through old French via Latin, which meant to regret.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And the root there was actually to make sorry from the root in Latin for penal.

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<v SPEAKER_2>And so the other word I wanna highlight, because repent and penal, that P-E-N, it's the same thing.

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<v SPEAKER_2>It's the same root when you go back to the beginning.

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<v SPEAKER_2>Penal obviously still basically means the same thing today.

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<v SPEAKER_2>It's related to or pertaining to punishment under law.

00:15:22.572 --> 00:15:48.332
<v SPEAKER_2>And so what we find is that in English, as it pulled in the notion of the legal penitence, the sorrow for the legal consequences, like the infusion of the Latin and the English, they basically resulted in what we have today where there's kind of a conflation of repenting, meaning feel sorry and change your mind.

00:15:48.632 --> 00:15:52.952
<v SPEAKER_2>But you're sorry for what you did, and you're sorry for facing the consequences.

00:15:53.312 --> 00:15:57.412
<v SPEAKER_2>I think when we use repent today, it's definitely in that sphere.

00:15:57.632 --> 00:16:01.892
<v SPEAKER_2>It's in that lexical scope that we're using the word.

00:16:02.652 --> 00:16:12.772
<v SPEAKER_2>And when we look at another word that's related, the word contrition is specifically an emotional word.

00:16:13.332 --> 00:16:15.992
<v SPEAKER_2>Contrition is also about 700 years old in English.

00:16:16.012 --> 00:16:22.732
<v SPEAKER_2>It means brokenness of spirit for having given offense, deep sorrow for sin or guilt with the purpose of not sinning again.

00:16:23.912 --> 00:16:38.152
<v SPEAKER_2>So in the order of service, when the general confession of sins is given, you'll find something similar in Lutheran churches and some others where we say, I am hardly sorry for my sins and I sincerely repent of them.

00:16:39.032 --> 00:16:44.252
<v SPEAKER_2>And the reason that those things are right next to each others are closely related.

00:16:44.752 --> 00:16:51.452
<v SPEAKER_2>But if you listen carefully and you pay attention to all the words that are present is, I beg people regularly online to do.

00:16:52.092 --> 00:16:55.912
<v SPEAKER_2>Hardly sorry for them means I am contrite.

00:16:56.392 --> 00:17:03.732
<v SPEAKER_2>And sincerely repent of them obviously means something different than I'm hardly sorry for them because the sorry is already covered.

00:17:04.212 --> 00:17:09.272
<v SPEAKER_2>And so in the general confession, we say, I'm hardly sorry for my sins and I sincerely repent of them.

00:17:10.432 --> 00:17:13.672
<v SPEAKER_2>The and there is because we're saying two different things.

00:17:14.372 --> 00:17:23.912
<v SPEAKER_2>And I think this is where our understanding of repent in English has kind of gone off the rails because like I said, when we say repent, we usually think I feel sorry.

00:17:24.412 --> 00:17:35.332
<v SPEAKER_2>An example I've given in a past episode was when the former chief executive of CNN got caught for decades of abuse of girls under his supervision.

00:17:35.992 --> 00:17:40.652
<v SPEAKER_2>He put out a very tearful press release and he was very sorry for getting caught.

00:17:41.232 --> 00:17:43.212
<v SPEAKER_2>He was sorry for being embarrassed in public.

00:17:43.912 --> 00:17:47.992
<v SPEAKER_2>A Christian who is naively looking at that thing would think, oh, he repented.

00:17:49.392 --> 00:18:03.952
<v SPEAKER_2>What happens in cases like that where we have these public confessions of sin and grieving and tears, Jimmy Swagger saying I have sinned and he's tears streaming down his face, that is not repentance.

00:18:04.492 --> 00:18:17.692
<v SPEAKER_2>That may be contrition, but frankly, in most cases, when someone is called out publicly, what's often happening is they're sorry they got caught, they're sorry that they're facing consequences.

00:18:18.072 --> 00:18:22.772
<v SPEAKER_2>They may in fact even be sorry that they did whatever wicked thing that they did.

00:18:23.472 --> 00:18:28.572
<v SPEAKER_2>But the question of repentance is a separate question from those things.

00:18:29.212 --> 00:18:32.432
<v SPEAKER_2>Because repentance doesn't mean I feel bad about it.

00:18:32.732 --> 00:18:34.792
<v SPEAKER_2>It means I've changed my mind about it.

00:18:35.552 --> 00:18:42.412
<v SPEAKER_2>So in Greek, the verb for repent, to say to repent, is metanoeo.

00:18:43.312 --> 00:18:49.232
<v SPEAKER_2>And the underlying definition of that is properly to think differently afterwards.

00:18:49.572 --> 00:18:50.852
<v SPEAKER_2>It's talking about a change of mind.

00:18:50.912 --> 00:18:58.972
<v SPEAKER_2>It's talking about an intellectual switch being flipped, where you thought one thing, and then you thought a different thing.

00:18:59.792 --> 00:19:06.532
<v SPEAKER_2>And so when you look at the Greek conception of what we translate as repent, what you don't find is contrition.

00:19:06.872 --> 00:19:08.192
<v SPEAKER_2>You don't find any sorrow.

00:19:08.532 --> 00:19:11.552
<v SPEAKER_2>You don't necessarily even specifically find anything about sin.

00:19:12.052 --> 00:19:15.992
<v SPEAKER_2>Now in scripture, it's always talking about repenting in the context of sin.

00:19:16.332 --> 00:19:24.332
<v SPEAKER_2>But this is why it's so crucial because what repentance means in the Bible is to think differently afterwards about your sin.

00:19:25.072 --> 00:19:43.072
<v SPEAKER_2>So in the case of some e-celeb or some real celebrity, some executive who publicly confesses a sin tearfully, in order to determine whether or not they have repented, they would have to think differently afterwards about whatever it was that they were confessing.

00:19:43.612 --> 00:19:55.792
<v SPEAKER_2>So when the guy puts out a press release and says, oh, I'm so sorry that for decades I was abusing these girls under my authority, is he actually saying, I don't want to do that anymore?

00:19:55.852 --> 00:19:56.512
<v SPEAKER_2>That was evil.

00:19:56.532 --> 00:19:57.472
<v SPEAKER_2>I never should have done it.

00:19:57.932 --> 00:20:00.132
<v SPEAKER_2>Or is he just saying, I'm sorry I got caught?

00:20:00.872 --> 00:20:02.892
<v SPEAKER_2>The reality is he's saying, I'm sorry I got caught.

00:20:03.372 --> 00:20:10.752
<v SPEAKER_2>So even if it's contrition, it is not repentance, because repentance is a repudiation of one's past sins.

00:20:11.092 --> 00:20:15.732
<v SPEAKER_2>It's looking at what you did in the past and saying, this is no longer me.

00:20:15.752 --> 00:20:16.812
<v SPEAKER_2>This is disgusting.

00:20:17.192 --> 00:20:18.772
<v SPEAKER_2>I hate what I was doing.

00:20:19.892 --> 00:20:25.692
<v SPEAKER_2>And the reason that's crucial is that it's separate from feeling bad about your sin.

00:20:26.932 --> 00:20:38.952
<v SPEAKER_1>For those in our audience who are Roman Catholic, you're going to notice a difference between what Lutherans and Roman Catholics believe when it comes to this issue.

00:20:40.172 --> 00:20:41.472
<v SPEAKER_1>And it is worth highlighting that.

00:20:41.472 --> 00:20:48.392
<v SPEAKER_1>Many, and in fact, most Protestants are going to agree with what the Lutherans believe on this particular subject.

00:20:49.132 --> 00:21:01.772
<v SPEAKER_1>And so historically, and still today, the Roman Catholics conceive of repentance, which they would call the sacrament of penance or reconciliation, or confession even.

00:21:02.492 --> 00:21:06.112
<v SPEAKER_1>They conceive of it as having three parts or a fourth part.

00:21:06.452 --> 00:21:13.632
<v SPEAKER_1>The fourth part is implied for those who say it as only three, although most modern interpreters, I believe, will say that there are four distinct parts.

00:21:14.552 --> 00:21:20.452
<v SPEAKER_1>And those would be contrition, confession, satisfaction, and then absolution, which follows those things.

00:21:23.532 --> 00:21:33.032
<v SPEAKER_1>The problem with this conception of repentance is that it turns it into works righteousness.

00:21:33.052 --> 00:21:35.652
<v SPEAKER_1>This is what actually would make it works righteousness.

00:21:35.672 --> 00:21:43.792
<v SPEAKER_1>We know that there are going to be some listeners who are going to think that what we are saying is works righteousness, but that is not what we're saying.

00:21:43.812 --> 00:21:49.032
<v SPEAKER_1>Because what we are saying is that this is the and then what of the Christian life.

00:21:49.052 --> 00:21:52.592
<v SPEAKER_1>That is so often the focus of Stone Choir episodes.

00:21:54.812 --> 00:21:57.332
<v SPEAKER_1>We got justification right in the Reformation.

00:21:58.372 --> 00:21:59.412
<v SPEAKER_1>That's done, it's settled.

00:21:59.952 --> 00:22:01.452
<v SPEAKER_1>We're not fighting over that anymore.

00:22:01.472 --> 00:22:06.092
<v SPEAKER_1>Yes, if we're rehashing those debates in some cases, we're fighting over justification again.

00:22:06.412 --> 00:22:09.892
<v SPEAKER_1>So for instance, we still disagree with Rome when it comes to justification.

00:22:10.672 --> 00:22:16.612
<v SPEAKER_1>But with other Protestants, there's no real argument there.

00:22:16.632 --> 00:22:17.812
<v SPEAKER_1>That's not the problem.

00:22:17.832 --> 00:22:22.732
<v SPEAKER_1>We're talking about what do you do as a Christian once you are converted?

00:22:22.752 --> 00:22:24.412
<v SPEAKER_1>What is the Christian life?

00:22:24.892 --> 00:22:27.592
<v SPEAKER_1>And the Christian life very well is repentance.

00:22:28.232 --> 00:22:35.752
<v SPEAKER_1>And so the Lutheran and the Protestant conception of repentance is contrition and faith.

00:22:36.612 --> 00:22:43.972
<v SPEAKER_1>Now we have to be careful about that faith part because the faith part is more encompassing than what most are going to believe when they just hear faith.

00:22:44.812 --> 00:22:45.372
<v SPEAKER_1>Okay, faith.

00:22:45.632 --> 00:22:47.692
<v SPEAKER_1>I have faith, so I have therefore repented.

00:22:48.732 --> 00:22:52.932
<v SPEAKER_1>Faith in this context means the entirety of the Christian life going forward.

00:22:53.892 --> 00:22:55.492
<v SPEAKER_1>Read James, basically.

00:22:56.832 --> 00:23:08.692
<v SPEAKER_1>Because the real Christian, the actual Christian, the Christian who has a living faith is going to do certain things and not do certain things because of that faith.

00:23:09.352 --> 00:23:10.752
<v SPEAKER_1>That is what repentance is.

00:23:11.792 --> 00:23:21.432
<v SPEAKER_1>Repentance is that change of mind, that metanoia, to use the Greek term, that accompanies an actual living faith.

00:23:21.452 --> 00:23:26.972
<v SPEAKER_1>It is to turn away from your sin because you now recognize it as sin.

00:23:27.052 --> 00:23:28.872
<v SPEAKER_1>You recognize it as abhorrent.

00:23:29.652 --> 00:23:42.072
<v SPEAKER_1>If you don't have a real faith, if you're just standing up and apologizing because you were caught, which as Woe said is often the case, and it very much is often the case in the public realm, particularly the political realm.

00:23:43.192 --> 00:24:00.612
<v SPEAKER_1>Contrary to that sort of false repentance, real repentance is to look at the things that you once did and find them disgusting because you now think about them differently from how you thought about them before you were regenerated.

00:24:02.772 --> 00:24:04.132
<v SPEAKER_1>That is sanctification.

00:24:04.312 --> 00:24:05.552
<v SPEAKER_1>That is the Christian life.

00:24:05.572 --> 00:24:07.672
<v SPEAKER_1>That is how these things are supposed to work.

00:24:09.512 --> 00:24:35.832
<v SPEAKER_1>There's a little bit of irony here, perhaps, with the modern practice in the political realm when it comes to so-called repentance because historically in the churches, in the early churches, one of the things that they would do with regard to repentance was have someone who had committed some sort of transgression stand up, be accused of that before the congregation, and then publicly repent.

00:24:37.612 --> 00:24:42.812
<v SPEAKER_1>Now, that led to some various problems, and so there's some reasons those things changed historically.

00:24:43.672 --> 00:24:51.512
<v SPEAKER_1>And obviously, you can recognize there's a bit of a perverse incentive there perhaps to be falsely repentant because you were accused publicly.

00:24:52.372 --> 00:24:54.392
<v SPEAKER_1>And that's what we see happening in the political realm.

00:24:55.872 --> 00:25:01.052
<v SPEAKER_1>For the Christian, repentance is a real change of mind.

00:25:01.892 --> 00:25:09.232
<v SPEAKER_1>Again, it is to look at the things that you once did and to find them abhorrent because you have been given a new mind.

00:25:09.272 --> 00:25:10.572
<v SPEAKER_1>You have been regenerated.

00:25:11.832 --> 00:25:16.272
<v SPEAKER_1>You have been given the spirit, and therefore you find sin to be repulsive.

00:25:16.812 --> 00:25:20.192
<v SPEAKER_1>You turn away from it, which is what this is.

00:25:20.212 --> 00:25:22.292
<v SPEAKER_1>This is a turning away from sin.

00:25:22.312 --> 00:25:23.592
<v SPEAKER_1>It is a change in your life.

00:25:23.592 --> 00:25:26.112
<v SPEAKER_1>It is a real and tangible thing.

00:25:27.632 --> 00:25:34.172
<v SPEAKER_1>And there may be some who will be thinking, well, isn't that judging someone if we decide if his faith is real based on?

00:25:34.372 --> 00:25:35.392
<v SPEAKER_1>And the answer is yes.

00:25:36.872 --> 00:25:39.812
<v SPEAKER_1>And we did an entire episode on judgment because of this.

00:25:40.932 --> 00:25:42.512
<v SPEAKER_1>It is entirely licit.

00:25:42.532 --> 00:25:47.492
<v SPEAKER_1>It is in fact commanded that we judge others on this sort of basis.

00:25:48.112 --> 00:25:51.492
<v SPEAKER_1>Because you can tell if someone has had a real change in his life.

00:25:51.512 --> 00:25:54.752
<v SPEAKER_1>You can tell if he has a living faith by what he does.

00:25:55.972 --> 00:26:07.912
<v SPEAKER_1>If someone says, I repent of X, and then he gets caught doing X again and again and again, you very well know that that repentance was probably false.

00:26:08.852 --> 00:26:16.892
<v SPEAKER_1>Now, I'm not saying that if you have a particular sin that plagues you, you are impenitent because you fall back into that sin.

00:26:18.092 --> 00:26:23.512
<v SPEAKER_1>That just means that the ongoing process of sanctification is in fact an ongoing process.

00:26:24.612 --> 00:26:31.872
<v SPEAKER_1>We are all going to have certain sins that are more difficult to clean out, more difficult to eject from our lives.

00:26:32.752 --> 00:26:35.572
<v SPEAKER_1>And we can all think of what our personal sin is in this case.

00:26:37.372 --> 00:26:47.992
<v SPEAKER_1>Repentance in those cases is going to mean looking at that with disgust, looking at it with abhorrence, recognizing that it is sin, and wanting to turn away from it.

00:26:48.992 --> 00:26:55.632
<v SPEAKER_1>And you can find comfort, of course, in the words of Paul, you know, the very thing that you want to do is the thing you do not do.

00:26:56.112 --> 00:26:58.872
<v SPEAKER_1>The very thing that you do not want to do is the thing that you do.

00:26:59.652 --> 00:27:03.012
<v SPEAKER_1>That is part of having original sin, it is part of living in a fallen world.

00:27:04.112 --> 00:27:10.992
<v SPEAKER_1>But repentance is that change of mind, and that desire to do differently, and working toward it.

00:27:12.172 --> 00:27:15.532
<v SPEAKER_1>Because the Christian life is not just one of going, oh, I wish things were better.

00:27:15.552 --> 00:27:18.892
<v SPEAKER_1>No, you work toward making things better.

00:27:19.432 --> 00:27:21.052
<v SPEAKER_1>There are works in the Christian life.

00:27:21.432 --> 00:27:23.492
<v SPEAKER_1>We're saved by works, Christ works.

00:27:23.852 --> 00:27:25.372
<v SPEAKER_1>We're not saved by our works.

00:27:26.032 --> 00:27:41.172
<v SPEAKER_1>However, once we have been regenerated and given a living faith, that faith will necessarily result in works, a change in behavior, a change in mindset, which is what we are looking at when it comes to repentance.

00:27:41.572 --> 00:27:44.512
<v SPEAKER_1>Because repentance, again, is the Christian life.

00:27:46.032 --> 00:28:00.192
<v SPEAKER_2>I think one of the real problems that we all have when we're trying to wrap our heads around all these things that are related to sin and sorrow for sin, asking for forgiveness, receiving forgiveness, repenting of those sins.

00:28:01.172 --> 00:28:29.452
<v SPEAKER_2>I think the difficulty that we all have intellectually is we're just trying to wrap our heads around it is that we necessarily want to look at all those things on a timeline where you have A and then B and then C and then D, where there's a causal chain, where A affects B and B affects C, where you sinned and therefore you're sorry, because you know the law, you know God's law, and then you receive the gospel, you hear the gospel and you receive forgiveness.

00:28:30.212 --> 00:28:36.232
<v SPEAKER_2>And when the problem is that when we try to pinpoint, okay, well, am I forgiven yet?

00:28:36.592 --> 00:28:37.672
<v SPEAKER_2>Am I forgiven now?

00:28:38.152 --> 00:28:45.372
<v SPEAKER_2>Is that it doesn't approach the question the way God does, because time is part of creation.

00:28:45.892 --> 00:28:47.772
<v SPEAKER_2>Time is not something that limits God.

00:28:48.152 --> 00:28:51.392
<v SPEAKER_2>God created time in order to order things.

00:28:51.732 --> 00:28:58.992
<v SPEAKER_2>I can't even say the sentence without using order twice, because that's the nature of how God has structured everything.

00:28:59.552 --> 00:29:14.532
<v SPEAKER_2>And so I think the same problem that we face today when we're trying to figure out, well, if I'm sorry and then I'm forgiven, but then I have to repent, and if I don't repent, I'm not forgiven, it seems like we're putting causality into the mix.

00:29:15.072 --> 00:29:19.252
<v SPEAKER_2>And so one of the things we want to highlight here is that that's not the case.

00:29:20.292 --> 00:29:26.732
<v SPEAKER_2>When you think about Christ's satisfaction for your sins on the cross, this happened in the past.

00:29:26.932 --> 00:29:28.592
<v SPEAKER_2>It happened 2000 years ago.

00:29:28.852 --> 00:29:31.312
<v SPEAKER_2>It's a concrete thing in time.

00:29:32.032 --> 00:29:33.372
<v SPEAKER_2>For us, it's in the past.

00:29:34.032 --> 00:29:39.132
<v SPEAKER_2>For men like Abraham, they were looking thousands of years into the future for that event to occur.

00:29:39.792 --> 00:29:48.472
<v SPEAKER_2>The same benefit that accrues to us from the cross accrued to those men who received it by faith before it happened.

00:29:48.972 --> 00:29:49.332
<v SPEAKER_2>How?

00:29:49.732 --> 00:29:51.772
<v SPEAKER_2>Because God operates outside of time.

00:29:52.472 --> 00:29:58.992
<v SPEAKER_2>When Christ said it is finished on the cross, He was paying for every sin and every direction on the timeline.

00:29:59.672 --> 00:30:01.812
<v SPEAKER_2>And this is actually one of the problems in the early church.

00:30:01.832 --> 00:30:11.992
<v SPEAKER_2>There was a heresy that sprung up that said that anyone who wasn't alive and heard the gospel and anyone who died before Jesus died couldn't be forgiven because they didn't know about it.

00:30:12.412 --> 00:30:17.692
<v SPEAKER_2>That's because they were trying to look at causality being connected to time.

00:30:18.112 --> 00:30:19.692
<v SPEAKER_2>And that's simply not how God works.

00:30:20.352 --> 00:30:23.872
<v SPEAKER_2>Our names were written in the Book of Life from before eternity.

00:30:24.472 --> 00:30:27.352
<v SPEAKER_2>God paid the price for every single sin on the cross.

00:30:27.572 --> 00:30:28.992
<v SPEAKER_2>He redeemed the universe.

00:30:29.652 --> 00:30:34.212
<v SPEAKER_2>Only those who reject that propitiation on the cross are damned.

00:30:34.972 --> 00:30:39.852
<v SPEAKER_2>Everyone who receives with faith, which is itself a gift from God, is saved.

00:30:40.452 --> 00:30:56.172
<v SPEAKER_2>And so we've done a number of episodes where we talk about how some of this can't really be logically reconciled because you're putting cause before effect and you have these double binds where you have all men were died for, but not all men received salvation.

00:30:56.192 --> 00:30:57.452
<v SPEAKER_2>Did God fail on the cross?

00:30:57.652 --> 00:31:04.312
<v SPEAKER_2>So we address the fact that there are cases where when the human mind tries to perceive these things, it just falls apart.

00:31:04.912 --> 00:31:15.492
<v SPEAKER_2>And it's crucial to acknowledge that sometimes our reason fails us, because if you don't admit that your reason fails you, you're going to make up lies to try to explain what happened.

00:31:15.932 --> 00:31:40.832
<v SPEAKER_2>And so I think one of the big problems we have today when we're talking about repentance, when we're understanding correctly the repentance is thinking differently than before about our own sin, is that there are many places in Scripture that say that repentance is necessary for salvation, which goes back to what Corey was saying about the order of operations in Rome, that you have to do things in a series of events, and forgiveness comes at the end.

00:31:41.652 --> 00:31:42.632
<v SPEAKER_2>We reject that.

00:31:43.772 --> 00:31:51.132
<v SPEAKER_2>When you are sorry for your sins, you receive the forgiveness that was paid in the past on the cross.

00:31:51.392 --> 00:31:53.132
<v SPEAKER_2>You were already forgiven for that.

00:31:53.152 --> 00:31:55.372
<v SPEAKER_2>You have to simply receive that forgiveness.

00:31:56.572 --> 00:32:14.672
<v SPEAKER_2>So rather than approaching this question of forgiveness and contrition and repentance in terms of a sequence of events, I want to opt for an alternative way of viewing all the scriptural passages that talk about it that are entirely consistent with the Protestant view of justification.

00:32:15.112 --> 00:32:26.912
<v SPEAKER_2>And as this, rather than saying this happened and then this happened and then this happened and forgiveness is somewhere in there and repentance is somewhere in there, and you try to have a timeline where there's cause and effect.

00:32:27.772 --> 00:32:33.592
<v SPEAKER_2>Instead, view every question momentarily as either true or false.

00:32:34.472 --> 00:32:38.072
<v SPEAKER_2>Where the question in any given moment is did I sin?

00:32:38.372 --> 00:32:38.772
<v SPEAKER_2>Yes.

00:32:39.332 --> 00:32:43.692
<v SPEAKER_2>If I say that I sin and I confess those sins, am I forgiven?

00:32:43.792 --> 00:32:44.852
<v SPEAKER_2>Yes, true.

00:32:45.732 --> 00:32:51.432
<v SPEAKER_2>If I am forgiven by God and I am sorry for my sin, am I going to persist in that sin?

00:32:51.812 --> 00:32:52.112
<v SPEAKER_2>No.

00:32:52.852 --> 00:32:53.872
<v SPEAKER_2>That is the repentance.

00:32:54.252 --> 00:33:05.792
<v SPEAKER_2>When we repent, when we look at the thing that God has told us not to do, when we say, yeah, I shouldn't have done that, that was a sin, you paid for it on the cross, I would have been damned if you had not saved me from myself.

00:33:07.432 --> 00:33:09.232
<v SPEAKER_2>That is the beginning of repentance.

00:33:09.232 --> 00:33:13.872
<v SPEAKER_2>But again, because as I said earlier, repentance and contrition are separate things.

00:33:14.232 --> 00:33:16.772
<v SPEAKER_2>Contrition is, I feel bad about this.

00:33:17.092 --> 00:33:22.112
<v SPEAKER_2>I feel bad that I nailed Christ to the cross with my stupid, foolish wickedness.

00:33:22.412 --> 00:33:25.912
<v SPEAKER_2>Things that I repeat that I know better, and I still struggle with them.

00:33:26.572 --> 00:33:27.812
<v SPEAKER_2>That is contrition.

00:33:28.452 --> 00:33:32.132
<v SPEAKER_2>It's shameful to know that we have done wickedness in the eyes of the Lord.

00:33:33.632 --> 00:33:35.232
<v SPEAKER_2>Repentance is something different.

00:33:35.592 --> 00:33:37.952
<v SPEAKER_2>Repentance is thinking differently afterward.

00:33:37.972 --> 00:33:54.212
<v SPEAKER_2>As Corey said, in the process of sanctification, which is ongoing for the entire Christian life, you look at a thing that, you know, perhaps before you were a Christian, some of you who are listening today used to not be Christians, or you were such weak Christians that you didn't pay any attention, you didn't really care.

00:33:54.612 --> 00:34:10.792
<v SPEAKER_2>When you started caring more, or you care for the first time because you received the Holy Spirit, like, I'm a Christian now, when you look back at your life before, you see evil things that you shouldn't have done that either you did know better and you didn't care, or you didn't know better, and you did them anyway.

00:34:12.472 --> 00:34:15.452
<v SPEAKER_2>Repenting is saying, that is no longer who I am.

00:34:15.652 --> 00:34:18.312
<v SPEAKER_2>To look back at that and say, that was evil, that's not me.

00:34:18.872 --> 00:34:26.952
<v SPEAKER_2>The evil thing that I did before I knew Christ's love is no longer the man I want to be, because I am a Christian now.

00:34:27.332 --> 00:34:32.232
<v SPEAKER_2>I am a brother of Christ, I am a co-heir of God's eternal salvation with Him.

00:34:33.412 --> 00:34:36.772
<v SPEAKER_2>When this repentance occurs, it's an ongoing process.

00:34:36.792 --> 00:34:40.032
<v SPEAKER_2>Because remember, the definition is think differently afterwards.

00:34:40.852 --> 00:34:43.192
<v SPEAKER_2>It's thinking, it's actual cognition.

00:34:43.412 --> 00:34:46.752
<v SPEAKER_2>It's not a feeling, it's actually I'm thinking about this.

00:34:47.112 --> 00:34:55.552
<v SPEAKER_2>I can evaluate as a jurist and determine, yes, what I did meets the legal definition of a sin that God describes.

00:34:56.012 --> 00:34:56.972
<v SPEAKER_2>That's intellectual.

00:34:57.832 --> 00:35:02.492
<v SPEAKER_2>Differently, thinking differently is saying, the thing that I used to think it was okay, I now think is evil.

00:35:02.932 --> 00:35:07.792
<v SPEAKER_2>I used to listen to this or say this or hang out with these people or behave in this way.

00:35:08.132 --> 00:35:14.292
<v SPEAKER_2>Whatever your own personal foibles were your first personal sins, foibles, the evil that you did in the past.

00:35:14.692 --> 00:35:16.912
<v SPEAKER_2>When you look at those things now and you say, that's not me anymore.

00:35:17.272 --> 00:35:18.752
<v SPEAKER_2>I'm ashamed that I had done that.

00:35:18.992 --> 00:35:20.472
<v SPEAKER_2>I'm contrite for having done it.

00:35:20.792 --> 00:35:23.672
<v SPEAKER_2>And I now today reject who I was.

00:35:24.152 --> 00:35:28.852
<v SPEAKER_2>The sinfulness in my past is no longer who I am or who I want to be in the future.

00:35:29.752 --> 00:35:41.672
<v SPEAKER_2>When you look at the passages in scripture that talk about repentance, a lot of times they will say things like, Acts 3.19 says, repent therefore and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.

00:35:42.152 --> 00:35:43.532
<v SPEAKER_2>Well, that sounds like cause and effect.

00:35:43.732 --> 00:35:46.292
<v SPEAKER_2>It says repent, that, that's causative.

00:35:46.852 --> 00:35:49.552
<v SPEAKER_2>If you want your sins to be blotted out, you have to repent.

00:35:50.872 --> 00:35:55.472
<v SPEAKER_2>Luke 13.3 says, no, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

00:35:57.292 --> 00:36:02.972
<v SPEAKER_2>Matthew 4.17, from that time, Jesus began to preach, saying, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

00:36:03.552 --> 00:36:05.112
<v SPEAKER_2>And Jesus is saying, repent all the time.

00:36:05.112 --> 00:36:06.552
<v SPEAKER_2>They're all saying, repent all the time.

00:36:06.872 --> 00:36:07.592
<v SPEAKER_2>And it's law.

00:36:07.872 --> 00:36:11.152
<v SPEAKER_2>It's saying, repent or you will not be saved.

00:36:11.672 --> 00:36:27.552
<v SPEAKER_2>Now, this is a problem for us when we're thinking in terms of sin and salvation and forgiveness, because if you say you have to do something to be saved, that's works righteousness.

00:36:27.792 --> 00:36:29.192
<v SPEAKER_2>And that would be works righteousness.

00:36:29.552 --> 00:36:42.212
<v SPEAKER_2>If I have to do something to be saved, that is me affecting my salvation, and Jesus is either a partial participant and I'm picking up his slack, or maybe if I'm a full-on Pelagian, I'm doing the whole thing.

00:36:42.452 --> 00:36:45.772
<v SPEAKER_2>You know, Jesus gives me a pat on the head for doing such a good job.

00:36:46.212 --> 00:36:47.572
<v SPEAKER_2>Obviously, that's false doctrine.

00:36:48.012 --> 00:36:55.712
<v SPEAKER_2>Obviously, we completely reject that which Scripture rejects, because at no point do we do anything to affect our salvation.

00:36:56.492 --> 00:37:01.992
<v SPEAKER_2>So what does it mean when we look at all these passages in Scripture that say, repent that you are not damned?

00:37:02.472 --> 00:37:11.872
<v SPEAKER_2>Well, if you look at it in the terms that I was talking about a minute ago, in terms of instantaneous evaluation of whether a statement is true or false, it becomes very simple.

00:37:12.712 --> 00:37:26.552
<v SPEAKER_2>If I am a Christian, because I know that Jesus died for me and because I confess my sins, if that is true, if I'm a Christian, if I'm a saved child of God, then I must necessarily repent.

00:37:26.852 --> 00:37:36.952
<v SPEAKER_2>The salvation has already occurred, but the fruit of that salvation, the sanctification, according to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, is a life of repentance.

00:37:37.372 --> 00:37:40.032
<v SPEAKER_2>A life of saying, the evil I was doing before is not me anymore.

00:37:40.872 --> 00:37:49.412
<v SPEAKER_2>And so those passages that seem to flip the cause and effect of salvation aren't actually doing that once you understand that they're talking about the Christian life.

00:37:49.652 --> 00:37:56.532
<v SPEAKER_2>They're talking to Christians, saying, okay, you've heard the law, you've heard the gospel, you've received them with thanksgiving from God.

00:37:56.832 --> 00:37:59.332
<v SPEAKER_2>You now live a repentant Christian life.

00:37:59.612 --> 00:38:04.212
<v SPEAKER_2>You think differently afterwards, and the afterwards is an ongoing thing.

00:38:04.812 --> 00:38:07.412
<v SPEAKER_2>So you're not saving yourself by repenting.

00:38:08.272 --> 00:38:14.712
<v SPEAKER_2>You are bearing the fruit of the Christian who lives a life in keeping with the fact that he is saved.

00:38:15.312 --> 00:38:21.652
<v SPEAKER_2>See, just as we sin because we are sinners, we will repent because we are Christians.

00:38:22.212 --> 00:38:25.112
<v SPEAKER_2>The sin is the fruit of our fallen sinful nature.

00:38:25.452 --> 00:38:29.772
<v SPEAKER_2>The repentance is the fruit of our Christian sanctified nature.

00:38:30.212 --> 00:38:31.992
<v SPEAKER_2>And the repentance is discussed with sin.

00:38:32.492 --> 00:38:37.332
<v SPEAKER_2>The repentance is thinking differently afterwards about all the stuff that we were doing before.

00:38:38.572 --> 00:38:52.272
<v SPEAKER_2>An example from this is in 2 Corinthians 7, Paul writes, For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted to every turn, fighting without and fear within.

00:38:52.772 --> 00:39:01.572
<v SPEAKER_2>But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you.

00:39:02.212 --> 00:39:07.092
<v SPEAKER_2>As he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more.

00:39:07.592 --> 00:39:12.912
<v SPEAKER_2>For even if I had made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it.

00:39:13.352 --> 00:39:16.552
<v SPEAKER_2>For I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while.

00:39:17.012 --> 00:39:22.132
<v SPEAKER_2>As it is, I rejoice not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting.

00:39:22.572 --> 00:39:26.532
<v SPEAKER_2>For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.

00:39:27.512 --> 00:39:34.752
<v SPEAKER_2>For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

00:39:35.292 --> 00:39:44.952
<v SPEAKER_2>For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment.

00:39:45.532 --> 00:39:48.692
<v SPEAKER_2>At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.

00:39:49.092 --> 00:40:02.072
<v SPEAKER_2>So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God, therefore we are comforted.

00:40:03.192 --> 00:40:05.392
<v SPEAKER_2>So here Paul is talking about this.

00:40:05.752 --> 00:40:10.852
<v SPEAKER_2>He's talking about the law convicting the consciences of those in Corinth.

00:40:11.572 --> 00:40:14.672
<v SPEAKER_2>And what happened when their consciences were convicted?

00:40:15.252 --> 00:40:21.972
<v SPEAKER_2>Their godly grief, their contrition, produced repentance that leads to salvation without regret.

00:40:22.812 --> 00:40:29.672
<v SPEAKER_2>Because they were set free from the penalty for their sin, and they were given a road map to live a Christian life.

00:40:30.352 --> 00:40:33.372
<v SPEAKER_2>Now, they didn't save themselves by following the map.

00:40:33.612 --> 00:40:35.592
<v SPEAKER_2>Because they were saved, they were able to.

00:40:36.232 --> 00:40:42.712
<v SPEAKER_2>Because of their repentance, which was the fruit of their contrition, of their forgiveness as Christians, they repented.

00:40:42.812 --> 00:40:47.032
<v SPEAKER_2>They turned away from it, and they were indignant at their own sins.

00:40:47.292 --> 00:40:51.612
<v SPEAKER_2>They were disgusted with what they were before, because they thought differently afterwards.

00:40:51.992 --> 00:40:53.272
<v SPEAKER_2>That is the fruit of repentance.

00:40:53.292 --> 00:40:54.312
<v SPEAKER_2>That's what it looks like.

00:40:54.472 --> 00:40:55.552
<v SPEAKER_2>That's what it sounds like.

00:40:56.032 --> 00:41:07.912
<v SPEAKER_2>So, when you look at scripture, and you're looking at these places where it calls us to repentance, it's calling us to be disgusted with what we were doing before, and to do something different in the future.

00:41:08.492 --> 00:41:15.312
<v SPEAKER_2>And so, talking about timelines, again, just briefly, repentance is not a past tense thing.

00:41:15.612 --> 00:41:19.072
<v SPEAKER_2>Repentance is the beginning of something that is ongoing.

00:41:19.392 --> 00:41:30.492
<v SPEAKER_2>For whatever particular sin or every group of sins of which you repent, when you realize that you were doing something sinful against God and you repent of it, that is a turn.

00:41:30.732 --> 00:41:36.912
<v SPEAKER_2>And from that point ever after, when you look at that sort of behavior, that sin, you are grieved by it.

00:41:37.252 --> 00:41:44.732
<v SPEAKER_2>But you're not grieved as, oh no, I'm still doing this thing, but that this was evil, I can't believe I ever did it, thank God for forgiving me.

00:41:45.032 --> 00:41:46.252
<v SPEAKER_2>I'm never going back there.

00:41:46.452 --> 00:41:47.592
<v SPEAKER_2>That is no longer me.

00:41:48.332 --> 00:41:50.472
<v SPEAKER_2>That is repentance, and it's a permanent state.

00:41:51.072 --> 00:42:00.972
<v SPEAKER_2>If, on the other hand, you do something like some of these celebrities where they're sorry they got caught, and then a few years later, they're sorry they got caught again, they didn't repent.

00:42:01.332 --> 00:42:02.532
<v SPEAKER_2>They didn't change a thing.

00:42:02.992 --> 00:42:06.492
<v SPEAKER_2>All they did was change their tune to get out from under the spotlight.

00:42:06.832 --> 00:42:08.512
<v SPEAKER_2>But that's not how judgment day is going to work.

00:42:09.012 --> 00:42:12.812
<v SPEAKER_2>God's not going to miss anything of our sins against Him.

00:42:13.432 --> 00:42:18.292
<v SPEAKER_2>And so the only godly repentance is a turning away from whatever the evil is.

00:42:18.672 --> 00:42:21.672
<v SPEAKER_2>It's something that's ongoing, and it's a fruit of being Christian.

00:42:22.352 --> 00:42:25.592
<v SPEAKER_2>To emphasize this, you're not saving yourself by repenting.

00:42:25.972 --> 00:42:27.792
<v SPEAKER_2>You repent because you're saved.

00:42:29.152 --> 00:42:37.552
<v SPEAKER_1>There are three words in play here that are rather circular in their references in English and can become a little bit confusing.

00:42:38.252 --> 00:42:46.332
<v SPEAKER_1>And so I want to make sure that these three words are clear in the way that we are using them and in the way that Christians should think about them.

00:42:47.812 --> 00:42:51.952
<v SPEAKER_1>The three words are repentance, contrition, and penitence.

00:42:53.872 --> 00:42:56.512
<v SPEAKER_1>Repentance has two parts as previously mentioned.

00:42:56.532 --> 00:42:58.972
<v SPEAKER_1>That would be contrition and faith.

00:43:00.412 --> 00:43:07.132
<v SPEAKER_1>Contrition would be those deep feelings of sorrow with regard to sin.

00:43:07.172 --> 00:43:13.312
<v SPEAKER_1>These are often called the terrors of conscience in the writings of particularly Lutheran theologians.

00:43:14.892 --> 00:43:22.272
<v SPEAKER_1>So when you see the horror of your sin, the depth of your own depravity, that will result in contrition.

00:43:22.292 --> 00:43:25.952
<v SPEAKER_1>Unless of course you are impenitent, that would be the other option, that is the worst option.

00:43:26.532 --> 00:43:29.112
<v SPEAKER_1>But you have contrition as a response to that.

00:43:29.712 --> 00:43:37.292
<v SPEAKER_1>That is that it's really deeper than a feeling of regret and remorse, but that is the best way to characterize it that is comprehensible.

00:43:38.172 --> 00:43:44.192
<v SPEAKER_1>Penitence, on the other hand, is the action of displaying that publicly.

00:43:44.572 --> 00:43:46.932
<v SPEAKER_1>That's not what is in view here.

00:43:48.292 --> 00:43:56.532
<v SPEAKER_1>Repentance is the turning away from that sin, the change of mind that results in a change in your life.

00:43:57.592 --> 00:44:03.112
<v SPEAKER_1>So it is important in these discussions to keep these three terms clear in your mind.

00:44:04.212 --> 00:44:06.852
<v SPEAKER_1>Contrition is part of repentance.

00:44:07.732 --> 00:44:15.692
<v SPEAKER_1>Penitence in really the Roman Catholic conception of it is not part of repentance.

00:44:16.372 --> 00:44:21.792
<v SPEAKER_1>You don't have to make a public show, as it were, of your supposed sorrow.

00:44:22.472 --> 00:44:30.732
<v SPEAKER_1>That can be fake, that can be false, that can be the celebrity crying on the day, the talk program or whatever.

00:44:31.432 --> 00:44:35.132
<v SPEAKER_1>That could be the politician who stands up with teary-eyed and all that.

00:44:35.192 --> 00:44:37.252
<v SPEAKER_1>That's not what's in view here.

00:44:37.792 --> 00:44:38.432
<v SPEAKER_1>That's a show.

00:44:38.452 --> 00:44:40.812
<v SPEAKER_1>That's putting on a hair shirt and crawling somewhere.

00:44:42.492 --> 00:44:45.072
<v SPEAKER_1>Repentance is contrition and faith.

00:44:45.832 --> 00:44:50.232
<v SPEAKER_1>That is the Christian response to seeing the reality of one's sins.

00:44:51.492 --> 00:44:59.592
<v SPEAKER_1>You feel that depth of sorrow for them, because your sins are the reason Christ died on the cross.

00:45:00.872 --> 00:45:05.692
<v SPEAKER_1>Yes, the Jews are the ones who crucified him, and that is, of course, a greater sin.

00:45:06.232 --> 00:45:11.632
<v SPEAKER_1>But it is important to recognize that each and every one of our own sins put Christ on the cross.

00:45:12.212 --> 00:45:13.532
<v SPEAKER_1>You feel sorrow for that.

00:45:13.552 --> 00:45:14.512
<v SPEAKER_1>That's the contrition.

00:45:15.112 --> 00:45:18.252
<v SPEAKER_1>And then you have faith in the forgiveness of sins.

00:45:19.152 --> 00:45:20.032
<v SPEAKER_1>That's repentance.

00:45:21.252 --> 00:45:23.592
<v SPEAKER_1>And then you turn and live the Christian life.

00:45:23.612 --> 00:45:25.432
<v SPEAKER_1>That is, of course, the and then what?

00:45:25.952 --> 00:45:30.692
<v SPEAKER_1>That is the extension of repentance out into the Christian life.

00:45:30.812 --> 00:45:38.412
<v SPEAKER_1>Because again, as stated a number of times, the Christian life in this world is a life of repentance.

00:45:38.912 --> 00:45:45.692
<v SPEAKER_1>You are going to be repenting of your sins as long as you're here, because you are going to continue sinning.

00:45:46.752 --> 00:45:57.172
<v SPEAKER_1>And as sanctification progresses, you will recognize more and more things in your life that are sin, that you just thought that wasn't a big deal.

00:45:58.112 --> 00:45:59.152
<v SPEAKER_1>Because that's repentance.

00:45:59.332 --> 00:46:00.672
<v SPEAKER_1>That's the change of mind.

00:46:01.192 --> 00:46:18.292
<v SPEAKER_1>When you recognize the reality of the things you were doing and that reality is that they were sin, you turn, you have a change of mind with regard to those, and then you turn from them to live the Christian life, to walk away from those things and to walk toward the things of God.

00:46:19.072 --> 00:46:23.832
<v SPEAKER_1>That is what it means to actually be repentant, to have actual repentance.

00:46:24.812 --> 00:46:28.852
<v SPEAKER_1>And that is why it is vitally important to keep these terms clear.

00:46:29.532 --> 00:46:39.792
<v SPEAKER_1>Because there is a very strong tendency to use these terms in a messy fashion, sometimes deliberately on the part of malefactors, but sometimes it's just sloppiness.

00:46:40.972 --> 00:46:51.272
<v SPEAKER_1>And if we are not clear about what we mean by each individual term, then we start to have no idea what we actually mean about the core of the Christian faith.

00:46:51.792 --> 00:46:54.712
<v SPEAKER_1>What does repentance mean if we don't keep these terms clear?

00:46:55.292 --> 00:47:00.052
<v SPEAKER_1>And so I want you to keep clear in your mind repentance, contrition, penitence.

00:47:00.092 --> 00:47:02.292
<v SPEAKER_1>Penitence is sort of off to the side.

00:47:03.352 --> 00:47:03.992
<v SPEAKER_1>It is a thing.

00:47:05.212 --> 00:47:07.252
<v SPEAKER_1>There is some role for it in the Christian life.

00:47:08.112 --> 00:47:09.972
<v SPEAKER_1>It's not what is directly in view here.

00:47:10.492 --> 00:47:15.752
<v SPEAKER_1>It is not part of repentance, because repentance is contrition and faith.

00:47:16.772 --> 00:47:21.872
<v SPEAKER_2>So here's a scriptural example of what it looks like in the absence of repentance.

00:47:23.072 --> 00:47:44.392
<v SPEAKER_2>In Revelation 9, it describes, The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, nor give up worshipping demons and idols of gold and silver, and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

00:47:46.472 --> 00:47:48.552
<v SPEAKER_2>So absent repentance, what happens?

00:47:48.872 --> 00:47:49.932
<v SPEAKER_2>All the sin persists.

00:47:50.412 --> 00:47:55.012
<v SPEAKER_2>All the evil that was going on before continues, because there's no repentance.

00:47:55.692 --> 00:47:59.332
<v SPEAKER_2>So as Coriam mentioned earlier, we're talking about judging.

00:47:59.932 --> 00:48:07.012
<v SPEAKER_2>You can generally, depending on the type of sin, judge the repentance of another man.

00:48:07.672 --> 00:48:10.972
<v SPEAKER_2>Because again, you're not talking about, did he feel bad for it?

00:48:11.252 --> 00:48:12.832
<v SPEAKER_2>Did he say he was sorry?

00:48:13.252 --> 00:48:14.132
<v SPEAKER_2>Totally not in view.

00:48:14.492 --> 00:48:16.792
<v SPEAKER_2>Repentance has nothing to do with that.

00:48:17.392 --> 00:48:19.572
<v SPEAKER_2>Repentance has to do with, did he change?

00:48:19.992 --> 00:48:21.632
<v SPEAKER_2>Did he stop doing the wickedness?

00:48:22.672 --> 00:48:27.212
<v SPEAKER_2>Nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

00:48:27.632 --> 00:48:29.692
<v SPEAKER_2>They kept doing all those things because they didn't repent.

00:48:30.172 --> 00:48:32.152
<v SPEAKER_2>They were the same before as they were afterward.

00:48:32.372 --> 00:48:33.972
<v SPEAKER_2>The Christian life is the opposite.

00:48:34.312 --> 00:48:38.632
<v SPEAKER_2>Coriam said, the Christian life is the things that you were doing that you thought were hunky-dory.

00:48:38.972 --> 00:48:41.692
<v SPEAKER_2>You now realize they're actually evil, and I have to cut it out.

00:48:42.472 --> 00:48:45.772
<v SPEAKER_2>And then there's contrition because you're like, Lord have mercy.

00:48:46.212 --> 00:48:48.912
<v SPEAKER_2>I was doing this for a long time, and I didn't even think about it.

00:48:49.152 --> 00:48:53.172
<v SPEAKER_2>And now that I know, I'm hardly sorry for them and sincerely repent of them.

00:48:54.952 --> 00:48:57.492
<v SPEAKER_2>Repentance is changing.

00:48:58.552 --> 00:49:06.992
<v SPEAKER_2>To give an example that's completely outside of Christianity, but it illustrates the principle of thinking differently afterward.

00:49:09.352 --> 00:49:12.172
<v SPEAKER_2>About 12 years ago, I visited my parents.

00:49:12.252 --> 00:49:13.432
<v SPEAKER_2>It was after I got divorced.

00:49:13.452 --> 00:49:16.072
<v SPEAKER_2>I think it was probably the spring or summer after that happened.

00:49:16.732 --> 00:49:19.572
<v SPEAKER_2>I went to them just because I hadn't seen them for a few years.

00:49:20.192 --> 00:49:26.932
<v SPEAKER_2>And when I left, my mom took a couple pictures with me and my dad and the family pictures together, and she sent them to me.

00:49:27.652 --> 00:49:32.932
<v SPEAKER_2>And there was one particular picture that when I remember to this day, it makes me angry at myself.

00:49:34.172 --> 00:49:36.592
<v SPEAKER_2>This picture was of me standing next to my dad.

00:49:36.892 --> 00:49:39.332
<v SPEAKER_2>He's got two inches on me and probably about 100 pounds.

00:49:39.852 --> 00:49:43.532
<v SPEAKER_2>He was the smartest guy in his high school, and he was the strongest guy in his high school.

00:49:43.552 --> 00:49:44.852
<v SPEAKER_2>He was always very athletic.

00:49:45.152 --> 00:49:50.752
<v SPEAKER_2>He was a big, strong guy, never built, just incredibly powerful.

00:49:51.332 --> 00:50:01.632
<v SPEAKER_2>He did manual labor for 35 years, and then he became a pastor, and unfortunately, he kind of maintained the caloric intake of a man who had a much more active lifestyle.

00:50:02.252 --> 00:50:06.152
<v SPEAKER_2>And on his side of the family, people get big, the men and the women.

00:50:06.672 --> 00:50:10.032
<v SPEAKER_2>My mom's side of the family are wiry hillbillies.

00:50:10.052 --> 00:50:11.472
<v SPEAKER_2>I more than split the difference.

00:50:11.492 --> 00:50:22.112
<v SPEAKER_2>I definitely tend towards my mom's side, but in this picture that my mom sent me, I was standing next to my dad, and I looked like a skinny fat piece of garbage.

00:50:22.832 --> 00:50:26.532
<v SPEAKER_2>I had a double chin, and my second chin was starting to maybe grow a third chin.

00:50:26.572 --> 00:50:31.072
<v SPEAKER_2>My belly was kind of sticking out a little bit from this ill-fitting t-shirt I was wearing.

00:50:31.392 --> 00:50:32.272
<v SPEAKER_2>I had no arms.

00:50:32.752 --> 00:50:35.132
<v SPEAKER_2>And I looked at that picture that my mom had sent me.

00:50:35.292 --> 00:50:36.392
<v SPEAKER_2>This was like a week later.

00:50:36.412 --> 00:50:40.072
<v SPEAKER_2>So like literally the man who was looking at the picture was in the picture.

00:50:40.552 --> 00:50:41.792
<v SPEAKER_2>And I was disgusted.

00:50:42.392 --> 00:50:49.112
<v SPEAKER_2>I looked at that, and the reason I'm giving this example is that one of two things could have happened when I saw that.

00:50:49.892 --> 00:50:51.212
<v SPEAKER_2>There was contrition, obviously.

00:50:51.412 --> 00:50:52.512
<v SPEAKER_2>Like, that's gross.

00:50:52.832 --> 00:50:53.652
<v SPEAKER_2>I don't like that.

00:50:54.292 --> 00:50:58.932
<v SPEAKER_2>But one possibility would be to wallow in it and say, oh, wow, I'm terrible.

00:50:59.392 --> 00:51:02.652
<v SPEAKER_2>Boohoo, I'm going to eat even more because it's all hopeless.

00:51:03.412 --> 00:51:04.732
<v SPEAKER_2>Or I could repent.

00:51:05.892 --> 00:51:07.112
<v SPEAKER_2>That's exactly what I did.

00:51:07.732 --> 00:51:10.552
<v SPEAKER_2>I looked at that picture that, like I said, I can still remember it.

00:51:10.572 --> 00:51:12.732
<v SPEAKER_2>I still get angry when I think about how I looked.

00:51:13.112 --> 00:51:18.232
<v SPEAKER_2>Because when I looked at myself, I said in that moment, that is not who I am.

00:51:18.912 --> 00:51:21.812
<v SPEAKER_2>Even though I was looking at myself, it was basically looking in a mirror.

00:51:22.112 --> 00:51:23.672
<v SPEAKER_2>I said, this is not who I am.

00:51:24.092 --> 00:51:26.652
<v SPEAKER_2>And I was disgusted by it, and I changed.

00:51:27.092 --> 00:51:35.812
<v SPEAKER_2>From that moment on until this day, 12 years later, I changed my behavior because I did not want to continue down that path.

00:51:36.492 --> 00:51:42.592
<v SPEAKER_2>Because my body naturally wants to make my butt bigger and my belly bigger, and I'm naturally lazy.

00:51:43.052 --> 00:51:49.192
<v SPEAKER_2>And if I just eat what I want and do what I want without any thought or consideration, I'm going to turn into a piece of crap.

00:51:49.832 --> 00:51:51.032
<v SPEAKER_2>It's not special.

00:51:51.192 --> 00:51:52.992
<v SPEAKER_2>I think that applies to most of us.

00:51:53.552 --> 00:51:56.392
<v SPEAKER_2>But when I saw that, I could have gone one or two ways.

00:51:56.692 --> 00:52:01.172
<v SPEAKER_2>I could have wallowed and gotten even pudgier and eventually maybe ended up like my dad.

00:52:01.732 --> 00:52:04.352
<v SPEAKER_2>Or I could have gone the different direction, and that's what I did.

00:52:04.632 --> 00:52:07.592
<v SPEAKER_2>And so that is an example of repentance.

00:52:07.632 --> 00:52:17.192
<v SPEAKER_2>And the reason I'm highlighting something that has nothing whatsoever to do with Jesus or with forgiveness of sins, although becoming obese, I think, is a moral matter.

00:52:17.212 --> 00:52:18.652
<v SPEAKER_2>It's not simply an aesthetic one.

00:52:19.472 --> 00:52:20.892
<v SPEAKER_2>It's a discussion for another day.

00:52:21.652 --> 00:52:36.212
<v SPEAKER_2>The simple fact is that when you look at repentance in the scriptural sense as thinking differently afterward, this is a perfect example because that moment until today for me personally has been one of repentance.

00:52:36.692 --> 00:52:39.092
<v SPEAKER_2>I still get mad at that picture because that's not who I am.

00:52:39.872 --> 00:52:44.572
<v SPEAKER_2>And my waist size is three, four inches smaller now.

00:52:44.972 --> 00:52:46.992
<v SPEAKER_2>I've kept it off, and that takes work.

00:52:47.612 --> 00:52:58.812
<v SPEAKER_2>And sometimes I do a little better, a little worse one season to the next, but I will never permit myself to become that again because I looked at it and said, that's not who I am.

00:52:59.772 --> 00:53:01.232
<v SPEAKER_2>Repentance looks like that.

00:53:01.672 --> 00:53:10.092
<v SPEAKER_2>And so, again, this isn't a moral example, but if I had told you 12 years ago, yeah, I feel sorry about being out of shape.

00:53:10.592 --> 00:53:11.192
<v SPEAKER_2>I repent.

00:53:11.652 --> 00:53:12.912
<v SPEAKER_2>And then you looked at me today.

00:53:13.252 --> 00:53:17.872
<v SPEAKER_2>You wouldn't have to introspect my mind to know whether or not I had actually repented.

00:53:18.212 --> 00:53:20.912
<v SPEAKER_2>You could look at my waistline and say, yeah, you kept it off.

00:53:20.932 --> 00:53:25.012
<v SPEAKER_2>You got rid of it, and you're not misshapen.

00:53:25.192 --> 00:53:26.532
<v SPEAKER_2>You look like a proper human being.

00:53:27.432 --> 00:53:30.552
<v SPEAKER_2>That is a symptom of repentance in that particular situation.

00:53:30.852 --> 00:53:35.272
<v SPEAKER_2>It was a change of mind that requires daily self-discipline.

00:53:36.192 --> 00:53:43.632
<v SPEAKER_2>Everything, every sinful proclivity that we have is one that requires daily self-discipline.

00:53:44.132 --> 00:53:57.872
<v SPEAKER_2>Whatever appetite you have, whether they're something sinful or they're just something that's generally not that great for you, when you go down that path, casually, with indifference, without thinking about it, you end up getting worse and worse.

00:53:58.232 --> 00:54:01.072
<v SPEAKER_2>That's kind of the sinful entropy of the world.

00:54:02.252 --> 00:54:08.452
<v SPEAKER_2>It takes actual effort and concentration on a daily basis to say, No, I'm not going to do this.

00:54:08.472 --> 00:54:09.832
<v SPEAKER_2>I'm not going to repeat this error.

00:54:10.192 --> 00:54:14.772
<v SPEAKER_2>I'm not going to return to that trough and go back to the sinful deeds that I was engaging in before.

00:54:17.032 --> 00:54:18.392
<v SPEAKER_2>Repentance is observable.

00:54:18.832 --> 00:54:21.952
<v SPEAKER_2>It's not inward permanently.

00:54:22.192 --> 00:54:25.272
<v SPEAKER_2>Now again, some sins are entirely inward and no one would ever know.

00:54:25.692 --> 00:54:31.512
<v SPEAKER_2>But most of the things that we do wrong, most of the things that we have to actually fix, they're going to be visible.

00:54:31.532 --> 00:55:02.772
<v SPEAKER_2>You know, as Corey and I have been talking for years now, to especially younger guys who are becoming much more engaged in their faith in some result of joining churches and talking to us, one of the common refrains among those young guys or anyone is that once you become a Christian, or you actually become engaged in your Christian faith, it was just sort of you're a casual before, and now you actually take it seriously, your friends are going to treat you differently, they may well cease to be your friends.

00:55:03.612 --> 00:55:12.812
<v SPEAKER_2>It's very common for someone who becomes engaged in his Christian faith to lose the friends that he had before who just aren't coming along with him.

00:55:13.232 --> 00:55:20.452
<v SPEAKER_2>And it's not that he became some sort of moralizing, pietistical, judgmental guy that no one wants to be around.

00:55:21.152 --> 00:55:35.872
<v SPEAKER_2>They're simply made uncomfortable by the fact that this guy no longer is interested in the evil that they are, because they don't think it's evil, and they don't want a guy around who's going to say no, or that they know might think no, regardless of the situation.

00:55:36.612 --> 00:55:41.692
<v SPEAKER_2>So it's very common that guys, when they get into their faith, lose their circle of friends.

00:55:41.712 --> 00:55:45.012
<v SPEAKER_2>It changes, and that is difficult.

00:55:45.032 --> 00:55:53.172
<v SPEAKER_2>That's one of the ways that Satan really comes after you when you're first getting back into God's things, is it gets hard.

00:55:53.672 --> 00:56:02.992
<v SPEAKER_2>It gets really hard for a while, because there's a transition as a result of repentance, because you think differently afterward when you're a faithful Christian.

00:56:03.272 --> 00:56:04.612
<v SPEAKER_2>You're like, well, I can't do that anymore.

00:56:04.972 --> 00:56:06.272
<v SPEAKER_2>I can't go to that place.

00:56:06.632 --> 00:56:13.172
<v SPEAKER_2>I can't go with those people in that circumstance, because it is sinful or because I know it will lead to me committing sins.

00:56:13.612 --> 00:56:14.392
<v SPEAKER_2>I just can't do it.

00:56:14.912 --> 00:56:20.672
<v SPEAKER_2>And so when you think differently after that sort of turning, it changes your life, and other people notice.

00:56:20.892 --> 00:56:23.432
<v SPEAKER_2>And sometimes you pay the price for it, at least for a while.

00:56:24.072 --> 00:56:27.172
<v SPEAKER_2>You may have to completely change your social circle.

00:56:27.472 --> 00:56:29.032
<v SPEAKER_2>I know some guys where that's happened.

00:56:29.052 --> 00:56:34.572
<v SPEAKER_2>Like they lost their friends because their friends wouldn't tolerate a Christian in their midst.

00:56:35.412 --> 00:56:41.412
<v SPEAKER_2>And that's Satan trying to unwind that man's repentance, saying, you know what?

00:56:42.292 --> 00:56:46.092
<v SPEAKER_2>If you gave up on all this Jesus stuff, you could have your old life back.

00:56:46.412 --> 00:56:49.412
<v SPEAKER_2>Wouldn't that be nice to have the routine that you're familiar with?

00:56:50.812 --> 00:56:53.212
<v SPEAKER_2>Repentance is saying, no, I don't care.

00:56:53.792 --> 00:56:59.272
<v SPEAKER_2>I miss him, but if that's the price of me being faithful to God, I'll happily bear it.

00:57:00.212 --> 00:57:02.072
<v SPEAKER_2>And repentance is sticking with it.

00:57:02.552 --> 00:57:04.872
<v SPEAKER_2>It's the afterward of the entire equation.

00:57:05.772 --> 00:57:13.492
<v SPEAKER_2>Because if there's no afterward, if there's just, well, I felt bad about it, and then I just kept on my day, you haven't repented, even if you're contrite.

00:57:14.592 --> 00:57:20.112
<v SPEAKER_2>If the thing that changed you doesn't actually bear fruit, then it was no change at all.

00:57:20.752 --> 00:57:25.332
<v SPEAKER_2>Even if you felt it, even if you briefly thought it, if you don't stick with it.

00:57:25.352 --> 00:57:30.032
<v SPEAKER_2>You know, it's as I stuck with not eating so much crap that I would be gross.

00:57:30.712 --> 00:57:32.992
<v SPEAKER_2>It would be very easy to.

00:57:33.072 --> 00:57:34.092
<v SPEAKER_2>My body wants to.

00:57:34.112 --> 00:57:35.812
<v SPEAKER_2>My appetite wants to.

00:57:36.272 --> 00:57:37.972
<v SPEAKER_2>I have to say no to myself.

00:57:38.792 --> 00:57:42.892
<v SPEAKER_2>And it takes daily repentance to keep from getting fat.

00:57:43.372 --> 00:57:45.732
<v SPEAKER_2>It takes daily repentance in whatever you're doing.

00:57:45.872 --> 00:57:55.932
<v SPEAKER_2>Again, that personal secular profane example is the same sort of thing as the spiritual examples because it's the same inward mental active process.

00:57:56.332 --> 00:57:57.492
<v SPEAKER_2>That's a crucial thing here.

00:57:57.792 --> 00:57:59.072
<v SPEAKER_2>Repentance is active.

00:57:59.312 --> 00:57:59.992
<v SPEAKER_2>It's mental.

00:58:00.212 --> 00:58:00.952
<v SPEAKER_2>It's ongoing.

00:58:01.152 --> 00:58:03.752
<v SPEAKER_2>It has a beginning, but it cannot have an end.

00:58:04.932 --> 00:58:07.132
<v SPEAKER_2>I think that's a crucial thing to understand about repentance.

00:58:07.152 --> 00:58:08.152
<v SPEAKER_2>It's not a flash in the pan.

00:58:08.372 --> 00:58:10.612
<v SPEAKER_2>Your contrition is momentary.

00:58:11.112 --> 00:58:12.372
<v SPEAKER_2>It should be generally.

00:58:12.392 --> 00:58:16.692
<v SPEAKER_2>Like if you're contrite for something that you did in the past, you're hardly sorry for it.

00:58:16.952 --> 00:58:18.512
<v SPEAKER_2>You sincerely repent of it.

00:58:18.972 --> 00:58:21.252
<v SPEAKER_2>You leave the guilt at the cross.

00:58:21.572 --> 00:58:22.932
<v SPEAKER_2>You know that you are forgiven.

00:58:23.572 --> 00:58:27.912
<v SPEAKER_2>And so when you look back on it years later, it's only in repentance.

00:58:28.372 --> 00:58:35.832
<v SPEAKER_2>There shouldn't necessarily be ongoing shame and guilt for that past thing, but there is ongoing disgust.

00:58:36.152 --> 00:58:37.572
<v SPEAKER_2>Like I can't believe I did that.

00:58:37.952 --> 00:58:38.692
<v SPEAKER_2>I mentioned the past.

00:58:38.732 --> 00:58:42.012
<v SPEAKER_2>I personally have things I look back like, what were you thinking?

00:58:42.052 --> 00:58:42.952
<v SPEAKER_2>This is disgusting.

00:58:42.972 --> 00:58:44.332
<v SPEAKER_2>How could you possibly do this?

00:58:44.872 --> 00:58:45.632
<v SPEAKER_2>That's repentance.

00:58:46.132 --> 00:58:50.952
<v SPEAKER_2>It's not being weighed down by guilt or by feeling that somehow I'm not forgiven.

00:58:51.352 --> 00:58:56.392
<v SPEAKER_2>I know that only God's forgiveness can fix those things, but the repentance is like, yeah, it's not me anymore.

00:58:56.972 --> 00:58:58.812
<v SPEAKER_2>I'm not going to be that again.

00:58:58.832 --> 00:59:09.272
<v SPEAKER_2>And if it means that, you know, there are certain aisles in the grocery store that I don't walk down because my self-control ends when I'm standing in front of a certain aisle, I still go down the aisle.

00:59:10.112 --> 00:59:19.352
<v SPEAKER_2>Other people have other challenges, and some of them, again, some are immoral, some of them are just matters of wisdom, where it's not necessarily like, it's sinful to eat frozen pizza or something.

00:59:19.372 --> 00:59:25.032
<v SPEAKER_2>I'm just saying that when you actually have an inward change, it will continue to bear fruit.

00:59:25.632 --> 00:59:40.532
<v SPEAKER_2>And so, unfortunately, especially in Protestantism, because we have fled so far from the Roman penitential system where there are these inputs and outputs, and at the very end of the process of actions, then you're forgiven.

00:59:41.232 --> 00:59:44.872
<v SPEAKER_2>Because we know that that's nonsense, we forget that there's still a process.

00:59:45.712 --> 00:59:47.172
<v SPEAKER_2>The process is that you're forgiven.

00:59:47.432 --> 00:59:48.192
<v SPEAKER_2>You're a Christian.

00:59:49.012 --> 00:59:49.992
<v SPEAKER_2>Go and sin no more.

00:59:50.892 --> 00:59:54.132
<v SPEAKER_2>Don't keep doing the things that you were doing before, because they're evil.

00:59:54.172 --> 00:59:55.132
<v SPEAKER_2>You know they're evil.

00:59:55.152 --> 00:59:56.492
<v SPEAKER_2>You hate that they were evil.

00:59:56.752 --> 00:59:57.592
<v SPEAKER_2>You reject them.

00:59:58.372 --> 01:00:00.212
<v SPEAKER_2>Repentance is a turning.

01:00:00.312 --> 01:00:05.452
<v SPEAKER_2>It is a change of mind, and it is a rejection of that, which you used to be.

01:00:07.092 --> 01:00:07.892
<v SPEAKER_2>Sometimes it's hard.

01:00:07.912 --> 01:00:08.792
<v SPEAKER_2>Sometimes it's easy.

01:00:09.152 --> 01:00:26.992
<v SPEAKER_2>And that's describing it as the process of sanctification is an important part of that, is recognizing what Paul said in Romans 7, that even though he knows that Jesus died for him and he wants to do good, his own sinful flesh continues to seek after those things which are evil.

01:00:27.672 --> 01:00:34.032
<v SPEAKER_2>We're all at war with ourselves because we have our sinful nature and we have our sanctified nature at the same time.

01:00:34.572 --> 01:00:41.552
<v SPEAKER_2>And repentance is the intellectual process of the sanctified nature rejecting the sinful nature.

01:00:42.092 --> 01:00:43.712
<v SPEAKER_2>Basically, you have to be your own nanny.

01:00:44.052 --> 01:00:45.012
<v SPEAKER_2>You have to say no.

01:00:45.552 --> 01:00:47.352
<v SPEAKER_2>I know that I want to do that evil thing.

01:00:47.652 --> 01:00:49.332
<v SPEAKER_2>God says no, I'm not going to do it.

01:00:49.912 --> 01:00:52.772
<v SPEAKER_2>When you're an adult, there's no one necessarily around to yell at you.

01:00:53.072 --> 01:00:55.312
<v SPEAKER_2>There's no one to know if you're doing something bad.

01:00:55.592 --> 01:00:56.712
<v SPEAKER_2>You have to know for yourself.

01:00:57.112 --> 01:01:01.592
<v SPEAKER_2>And so the Holy Spirit gives us the power to be aware and to resist the devil.

01:01:02.132 --> 01:01:03.252
<v SPEAKER_2>We can't do it on our own.

01:01:03.272 --> 01:01:03.952
<v SPEAKER_2>We don't want to.

01:01:04.332 --> 01:01:06.672
<v SPEAKER_2>If there were no God, why would you bother resisting the devil?

01:01:06.692 --> 01:01:07.992
<v SPEAKER_2>He gives us fun stuff.

01:01:08.772 --> 01:01:13.932
<v SPEAKER_2>All the evil thing, like people enjoy evil because there's some upside temporarily.

01:01:14.672 --> 01:01:16.752
<v SPEAKER_2>But there's something juicy about it.

01:01:17.132 --> 01:01:20.072
<v SPEAKER_2>That's how he gets people, is that there's some fun.

01:01:20.312 --> 01:01:22.292
<v SPEAKER_2>There's some good to doing evil.

01:01:22.672 --> 01:01:23.772
<v SPEAKER_2>It's not true good.

01:01:24.172 --> 01:01:28.672
<v SPEAKER_2>It's momentary, and it always backfires because Satan poisons everything.

01:01:29.252 --> 01:01:34.932
<v SPEAKER_2>But it's not like when men pursue evil, it's always only ever pursuing complete destruction.

01:01:35.672 --> 01:01:37.752
<v SPEAKER_2>There's usually some putative upside.

01:01:38.432 --> 01:01:49.072
<v SPEAKER_2>And so it requires conscious effort and a repentant heart and a repentant mind to know you have to guard yourself against whatever evil is in your heart.

01:01:49.552 --> 01:01:52.772
<v SPEAKER_2>Your evil, your struggles may well be different than mine.

01:01:53.412 --> 01:01:55.472
<v SPEAKER_2>I've talked about food as an example.

01:01:55.492 --> 01:01:59.012
<v SPEAKER_2>Again, not necessarily one of sin, although gluttony is certainly a sin.

01:01:59.632 --> 01:02:02.652
<v SPEAKER_2>Things like alcohol abuse are another prime example of this.

01:02:03.612 --> 01:02:05.672
<v SPEAKER_2>I have no problem whatsoever with alcohol.

01:02:05.812 --> 01:02:07.872
<v SPEAKER_2>I have a room full of scotch in my house.

01:02:08.852 --> 01:02:11.172
<v SPEAKER_2>And some people think, oh, man, you must have a drinking problem.

01:02:11.192 --> 01:02:15.652
<v SPEAKER_2>Well, if I had a drinking problem, I wouldn't have bottles have been open for 15 years.

01:02:15.912 --> 01:02:17.172
<v SPEAKER_2>It wouldn't last that long.

01:02:17.832 --> 01:02:20.832
<v SPEAKER_2>I could go the rest of my life without ever drinking alcohol again.

01:02:21.212 --> 01:02:22.352
<v SPEAKER_2>I wouldn't particularly care.

01:02:22.652 --> 01:02:25.832
<v SPEAKER_2>I'd be a little sad because I think it's tasty, but that's why I drink it.

01:02:26.292 --> 01:02:33.692
<v SPEAKER_2>Some people, whether it's genetic or it's behavioral or personality, don't have that option when they are exposed to alcohol.

01:02:33.712 --> 01:02:38.312
<v SPEAKER_2>When they drink, they don't just have a glass in an evening or two glasses.

01:02:38.652 --> 01:02:39.652
<v SPEAKER_2>They finish the bottle.

01:02:39.872 --> 01:02:41.052
<v SPEAKER_2>They finish two bottles.

01:02:42.872 --> 01:02:46.512
<v SPEAKER_2>There's a difference in the struggles that we have.

01:02:47.052 --> 01:03:00.292
<v SPEAKER_2>And so that's, you know, I think that when someone realizes that they're an alcoholic, and I'm sure that some of you are listening struggle with this, and I give this example because it's a concrete one that I think we all have some understanding of.

01:03:00.352 --> 01:03:07.412
<v SPEAKER_2>Now, I have no personal, I try to be empathetic, but again, like, I don't know what it's like to have that sort of desire for a bottle.

01:03:07.432 --> 01:03:12.472
<v SPEAKER_2>Like, for me, it's just, it's just tasty, but it doesn't, I don't seek obliteration in alcohol.

01:03:12.492 --> 01:03:17.592
<v SPEAKER_2>It's just, I think it's a tasty beverage, and that's the end of it, which is why I'm indifferent.

01:03:18.412 --> 01:03:29.552
<v SPEAKER_2>If you are someone who struggles or you know someone who struggles with the actual addiction to alcohol where it's not, they don't care what it tastes like, they need to find whatever is at the bottom of that bottle.

01:03:30.312 --> 01:03:31.892
<v SPEAKER_2>That's a completely different thing.

01:03:32.332 --> 01:03:47.132
<v SPEAKER_2>And so I think the 12-step program is, parts of it are a good example of repentance, because it's not simply, oh, boohoo, I am an addict, it's so sad, I should feel bad about this and Jesus will forgive me.

01:03:47.472 --> 01:03:49.312
<v SPEAKER_2>No, you have to amend your life.

01:03:49.652 --> 01:03:53.472
<v SPEAKER_2>You have to stop doing what you've been doing because it's destructive.

01:03:53.852 --> 01:03:56.872
<v SPEAKER_2>It's destructive to yourself, it's destructive to everyone around you.

01:03:57.412 --> 01:04:07.532
<v SPEAKER_2>And so a crucial part of that process for someone fighting that sort of addiction is actual repentance, thinking differently afterwards.

01:04:08.012 --> 01:04:13.032
<v SPEAKER_2>And unfortunately for someone with substance abuse problems, it's usually when they hit rock bottom.

01:04:13.392 --> 01:04:23.112
<v SPEAKER_2>It's usually, it can't begin with the intellectual ascent to say, man, I'm drinking too much, I should cut that out, or I have some other substance abuse problem, I should do that less.

01:04:23.652 --> 01:04:29.852
<v SPEAKER_2>Usually something so bad has to happen that someone realizes either I stop this or I'm going to die.

01:04:30.552 --> 01:04:34.452
<v SPEAKER_2>Unfortunately, that's usually what it takes for the repentance to occur.

01:04:34.912 --> 01:04:39.792
<v SPEAKER_2>And because the repentance is intellectual, from that point forward, you can be intellectually committed to it.

01:04:40.132 --> 01:04:48.712
<v SPEAKER_2>But it takes that battle of the wills, of the man or the woman in their mind resisting their own temptation to do evil.

01:04:49.092 --> 01:04:53.032
<v SPEAKER_2>Because you know if you persist in that, it's going to kill you.

01:04:53.912 --> 01:04:55.812
<v SPEAKER_2>Again, that's a secular example.

01:04:55.832 --> 01:04:59.472
<v SPEAKER_2>Obviously, that sort of addiction is sinful because it's harmful.

01:04:59.912 --> 01:05:03.292
<v SPEAKER_2>It's not what God says not to do with that gift.

01:05:04.352 --> 01:05:07.872
<v SPEAKER_2>But on the other hand, the fact that that repentance works.

01:05:08.192 --> 01:05:08.912
<v SPEAKER_2>It plays out.

01:05:09.192 --> 01:05:16.232
<v SPEAKER_2>There are people who have suffered with that addiction, and they are repentance, and they never get drunk again the rest of their life.

01:05:16.652 --> 01:05:22.192
<v SPEAKER_2>And some of them are so successful that they're able to occasionally have a glass socially with a friend.

01:05:22.592 --> 01:05:27.612
<v SPEAKER_2>You know, the one drop rule is not strictly a part of the process.

01:05:28.692 --> 01:05:43.972
<v SPEAKER_2>The point is that you set aside finding the bottom of the bottle, and if you're able to enjoy something just as a small drink, then it's okay because it's not sin anymore, because it's not destructive.

01:05:45.412 --> 01:05:50.132
<v SPEAKER_2>The destruction is where the sin comes from, and the repentance is understanding I can leave it all behind.

01:05:50.412 --> 01:05:58.272
<v SPEAKER_2>I can either never have a drink again, or I can actually have a drink after decades of sobriety, because I know that I can stop at one drink.

01:05:58.752 --> 01:06:04.572
<v SPEAKER_2>And that's really the ultimate success for a recovering alcoholic, is to actually be able to have one drink again.

01:06:04.592 --> 01:06:06.952
<v SPEAKER_2>Not everyone gets there, not everyone wants to try.

01:06:06.972 --> 01:06:10.272
<v SPEAKER_2>Maybe they know that their willpower is not there, not trying to tempt anyone.

01:06:10.292 --> 01:06:18.072
<v SPEAKER_2>I'm just saying that when you look at the question of changing the before and after, it's going to be the rest of your life.

01:06:18.632 --> 01:06:36.752
<v SPEAKER_2>Whether it's some sort of addiction problem, where you have to hit rock bottom before you can have an after, or if you simply read the Bible, or you hear a sermon, or maybe you hear a podcast, or you have a conversation, and you realize the thing that you were doing that you thought was okay, is actually not what God says.

01:06:37.132 --> 01:06:43.292
<v SPEAKER_2>And when you repent, the rest of your life is redefined, in terms of fleeing from that, and saying, that's not me anymore.

01:06:44.552 --> 01:06:52.532
<v SPEAKER_1>To give another example, not necessarily a personal example like Woe was giving earlier, but one that will resonate with much of our audience.

01:06:52.552 --> 01:06:57.792
<v SPEAKER_1>We know most of our audience is male, relatively young men.

01:07:00.412 --> 01:07:22.892
<v SPEAKER_1>Before I get into that example, though, I want to point out those who are listening attentively will undoubtedly have noticed that we are speaking of two different but related things, because we have been speaking of both feeling, so for instance, contrition, and thinking, metanoia, to think differently, to change one's mind.

01:07:25.032 --> 01:07:34.752
<v SPEAKER_1>These are both in view, but they are in view in slightly different ways, and with regard to different sins, in slightly different ways.

01:07:36.232 --> 01:07:42.792
<v SPEAKER_1>Certain sins, it is going to be easier to feel disgusted about those once you have that change of mind.

01:07:43.812 --> 01:07:56.952
<v SPEAKER_1>And I have spoken previously about sins that are contra naturam, or in pactum cum natura, which is just Latin for against nature, or in agreement with nature.

01:07:59.012 --> 01:08:11.492
<v SPEAKER_1>And so a sin that is in the latter category, that is in agreement with nature, is going to be more difficult for you to have a feeling of disgust about it than a sin that is contrary to nature.

01:08:13.412 --> 01:08:29.972
<v SPEAKER_1>And so for instance, if you have been in the depths of drug use, destructive drug use, you may very well find it easier to feel disgusted about that, although there's obviously going to be that biological and psychological pull still for some years afterward.

01:08:30.612 --> 01:08:36.772
<v SPEAKER_1>But it may be easier to feel that visceral disgust, because that really is a sin against nature.

01:08:37.212 --> 01:08:42.912
<v SPEAKER_1>It is at the very least an abuse to such an extreme that it becomes a sin against nature.

01:08:45.372 --> 01:08:58.392
<v SPEAKER_1>However, in the case of fornication, which is the example I want to give, that is a sin that is in agreement with nature, because biologically you are designed to like having sex.

01:08:59.032 --> 01:09:03.952
<v SPEAKER_1>Unless, of course, you are one of the rare individuals who is actually celibate.

01:09:04.612 --> 01:09:09.432
<v SPEAKER_1>But if you are, you know, and this will have no relevance to you whatsoever.

01:09:10.052 --> 01:09:13.192
<v SPEAKER_1>Chances are no one listening is in that particular boat.

01:09:14.372 --> 01:09:32.912
<v SPEAKER_1>And so, if in your past, in your youth as it were, you engaged in fornication, you are going to have a difficult time, a much more difficult time, looking at that past with the sort of disgust that you would have for a sin that is against nature.

01:09:33.312 --> 01:09:36.912
<v SPEAKER_1>Now, if you were engaging in unnatural acts, perhaps it will be easier.

01:09:38.192 --> 01:09:42.452
<v SPEAKER_1>But that is not necessarily what is exactly in view here.

01:09:43.232 --> 01:09:45.252
<v SPEAKER_1>It is important to distinguish two different things.

01:09:47.292 --> 01:09:57.672
<v SPEAKER_1>You can feel disgust for the sin and not necessarily viscerally feel that disgust for the act that constituted the sin.

01:09:58.632 --> 01:10:09.212
<v SPEAKER_1>And that's what it is important to keep in mind in particular with the sin of fornication, because there may be some who are listening and going, I can't feel disgusted about what I did with my high school girlfriend.

01:10:10.272 --> 01:10:13.792
<v SPEAKER_1>That feels entirely like it was correct, except for the fact that it was sin.

01:10:14.932 --> 01:10:20.992
<v SPEAKER_1>To have the repentance, to have the metanoia, to have the change of mind, is to think about it differently.

01:10:21.552 --> 01:10:27.212
<v SPEAKER_1>That is to look back at that and recognize that it was sin and that you should not have done that.

01:10:28.432 --> 01:10:35.492
<v SPEAKER_1>Now, over time, via sanctification, you will begin to feel that disgust toward the sin.

01:10:36.512 --> 01:10:44.252
<v SPEAKER_1>That is something that you will grow into in your Christian life as you grow into your Christian life, as you are sanctified by the Spirit.

01:10:45.952 --> 01:10:54.452
<v SPEAKER_1>I bring up this example because I do not want anyone listening to think, I don't feel disgusted by this particular sin, and so I can't possibly repent of it.

01:10:54.472 --> 01:11:05.752
<v SPEAKER_1>No, you can still repent, because you can feel contrite with regard to the fact that it was a sin, with regard to the fact that it is one of the sins that nailed Christ to the cross.

01:11:06.312 --> 01:11:08.312
<v SPEAKER_1>And you can think differently about it.

01:11:08.332 --> 01:11:10.092
<v SPEAKER_1>You can recognize that it's sin.

01:11:10.432 --> 01:11:11.672
<v SPEAKER_1>That's thinking differently.

01:11:12.632 --> 01:11:15.492
<v SPEAKER_1>Because at the time you probably weren't thinking it was sin.

01:11:15.512 --> 01:11:16.672
<v SPEAKER_1>You were just thinking it was fun.

01:11:16.972 --> 01:11:17.772
<v SPEAKER_1>It was enjoyable.

01:11:18.192 --> 01:11:19.492
<v SPEAKER_1>It was something you wanted to do.

01:11:20.372 --> 01:11:32.332
<v SPEAKER_1>And so you can still repent by thinking differently about that sin, even if you don't yet feel that disgust with regard to the contrition aspect of repentance.

01:11:33.512 --> 01:11:38.632
<v SPEAKER_1>So don't despair just because you can't feel disgust for some of your past sins.

01:11:39.172 --> 01:11:42.152
<v SPEAKER_1>That's not necessarily part of this initially.

01:11:43.532 --> 01:11:47.072
<v SPEAKER_1>But again, you will grow into that as you grow in your Christian life.

01:11:47.092 --> 01:11:54.272
<v SPEAKER_1>It's just like some of the, you can call them smaller sins in your life, that you may not recognize when you first become a Christian.

01:11:55.492 --> 01:12:07.132
<v SPEAKER_1>But as you grow in your Christian life, as you grow in your understanding of scripture, as sanctification progresses, you'll start to recognize these things in your life, that, oh, well, that was actually a sin.

01:12:07.652 --> 01:12:08.512
<v SPEAKER_1>This is a sin.

01:12:08.912 --> 01:12:10.352
<v SPEAKER_1>I need to stop doing this.

01:12:10.492 --> 01:12:12.272
<v SPEAKER_1>And so you think differently about it.

01:12:12.792 --> 01:12:13.892
<v SPEAKER_1>You turn from it.

01:12:14.592 --> 01:12:16.612
<v SPEAKER_1>That is part of this ongoing process.

01:12:17.032 --> 01:12:19.212
<v SPEAKER_1>It's not a one and done sort of thing.

01:12:20.292 --> 01:12:22.872
<v SPEAKER_1>This is distinct from justification.

01:12:22.892 --> 01:12:25.072
<v SPEAKER_1>Justification is one and done.

01:12:26.532 --> 01:12:28.712
<v SPEAKER_1>When you are justified, you're justified.

01:12:28.812 --> 01:12:29.212
<v SPEAKER_1>Period.

01:12:29.312 --> 01:12:29.852
<v SPEAKER_1>That's done.

01:12:31.132 --> 01:12:33.652
<v SPEAKER_1>And the work of that was done on the cross.

01:12:34.272 --> 01:12:35.532
<v SPEAKER_1>That is a one-time thing.

01:12:36.392 --> 01:12:39.992
<v SPEAKER_1>Sanctification is the ongoing process in the Christian life.

01:12:40.692 --> 01:12:43.452
<v SPEAKER_1>And from our perspective, that is repentance.

01:12:43.752 --> 01:12:48.292
<v SPEAKER_1>That is this change of mind that is then accompanied by a change in behavior.

01:12:51.432 --> 01:12:54.912
<v SPEAKER_1>And so, you will find, like I said, small things.

01:12:55.532 --> 01:13:01.492
<v SPEAKER_1>Once you've dealt with the big things anyway, you will find small things in your life that I need to change that.

01:13:02.052 --> 01:13:06.452
<v SPEAKER_1>You'll think about it and realize that no, that actually is sin.

01:13:06.852 --> 01:13:09.092
<v SPEAKER_1>I should not be engaged in this.

01:13:10.072 --> 01:13:16.992
<v SPEAKER_1>And so, for instance, we go over a number of those issues in some of these podcast episodes.

01:13:18.132 --> 01:13:22.252
<v SPEAKER_1>We had an episode where we went over things that were neglected matters in the Christian life.

01:13:22.892 --> 01:13:34.912
<v SPEAKER_1>And so most Christians don't think about usury, don't think about the charging of interest as a sin, because they haven't been taught that it's a sin, and they weren't paying close enough attention reading scripture, assuming they were doing so.

01:13:36.612 --> 01:13:44.252
<v SPEAKER_1>And so you may realize, I have been engaged in this particular sin for years, and I didn't recognize it was sin.

01:13:46.592 --> 01:13:56.372
<v SPEAKER_1>That recognizing that it is sin is basically the first step, because you have to recognize the thing is sin to have a change with regard to how you think about the thing.

01:13:56.872 --> 01:14:00.272
<v SPEAKER_1>If you never recognize it's sin, you're never going to change your mind.

01:14:00.952 --> 01:14:05.832
<v SPEAKER_1>This is one of the reasons that we need to be reading scripture every single day.

01:14:06.412 --> 01:14:09.072
<v SPEAKER_1>We need to be in the Word of God.

01:14:09.172 --> 01:14:10.392
<v SPEAKER_1>We need to be discussing it.

01:14:11.452 --> 01:14:13.072
<v SPEAKER_1>Just read what scripture says about scripture.

01:14:13.612 --> 01:14:15.052
<v SPEAKER_1>Discuss it when you pass by the way.

01:14:15.072 --> 01:14:19.592
<v SPEAKER_1>Write it on the doorposts of your house and on the gates of your towns, etc.

01:14:21.452 --> 01:14:30.632
<v SPEAKER_1>We need to be deeply involved in the Word of God because that is how God speaks to us, and that is how we start to recognize these things that are sin.

01:14:30.652 --> 01:14:42.592
<v SPEAKER_1>It's one of the reasons that we do this podcast because we read scripture and we recognize things that are sin, and then we look at what is going on in our society and what Christians are actually doing.

01:14:43.172 --> 01:14:50.812
<v SPEAKER_1>And Christians are engaged in these behaviors that are sin, clear sin, if you read the Word of God.

01:14:51.392 --> 01:15:01.532
<v SPEAKER_1>But if you don't read the Word of God, you may never recognize their sin, and so you won't repent because you cannot repent of that which you do not recognize as being sin.

01:15:02.812 --> 01:15:07.752
<v SPEAKER_1>And so that is the vitally important foundation that you have to build in order to have this repentance.

01:15:08.852 --> 01:15:20.972
<v SPEAKER_1>You use the Word of God, and you use discussing the Word of God, hearing the Word of God in church, and when you have your Bible study, all these other places where you engage with the Word of God by yourself or with other men.

01:15:22.852 --> 01:15:28.252
<v SPEAKER_1>That is how you build the foundation upon which you can build this repentance, this Christian life.

01:15:29.232 --> 01:15:36.032
<v SPEAKER_1>Because when you recognize the sin that the Spirit will highlight for you in the Word, and do bear that in mind.

01:15:37.292 --> 01:15:42.852
<v SPEAKER_1>This is not simply reliant on your ability to read well and understand.

01:15:43.592 --> 01:15:46.932
<v SPEAKER_1>Because when you read the Word of God, you are interacting with God.

01:15:46.952 --> 01:15:48.352
<v SPEAKER_1>It is not a passive process.

01:15:48.372 --> 01:15:49.512
<v SPEAKER_1>It's an active process.

01:15:50.452 --> 01:15:52.812
<v SPEAKER_1>The Spirit will help guide you into truth.

01:15:53.432 --> 01:15:54.512
<v SPEAKER_1>That is what He does.

01:15:54.532 --> 01:15:57.772
<v SPEAKER_1>That is what God promises will happen when we read His Word.

01:15:59.032 --> 01:16:09.632
<v SPEAKER_1>And so you will begin to recognize these things in Scripture and go, well, that's a sin, and I've been doing that, and our church is engaged in that, and this group is engaged in that.

01:16:10.612 --> 01:16:15.552
<v SPEAKER_1>And then you can repent, because you can think differently about it, because now you know it's a sin.

01:16:16.952 --> 01:16:18.832
<v SPEAKER_1>And then, of course, you feel sorrow for it.

01:16:20.052 --> 01:16:25.452
<v SPEAKER_1>If you are able to feel sorrow for it, again, that may come later, but you think differently and you turn away from it.

01:16:25.932 --> 01:16:26.952
<v SPEAKER_1>That is repentance.

01:16:28.012 --> 01:16:31.852
<v SPEAKER_1>But you cannot have that repentance if you don't recognize it's sin.

01:16:32.952 --> 01:16:39.112
<v SPEAKER_1>And so that is why we constantly recommend that you read this, that or the other part of scripture.

01:16:40.132 --> 01:16:44.572
<v SPEAKER_1>It doesn't matter so much which reading schedule you're following.

01:16:45.932 --> 01:16:48.212
<v SPEAKER_1>Just be involved in the Word of God.

01:16:48.352 --> 01:16:49.452
<v SPEAKER_1>Read the Word of God.

01:16:52.192 --> 01:16:58.772
<v SPEAKER_1>That is part of the Christian life, and that is how you actually build the foundation for the rest of the Christian life.

01:16:59.952 --> 01:17:04.052
<v SPEAKER_1>You can't just say, I'm a Christian, and then expect everything to come to you.

01:17:04.572 --> 01:17:07.032
<v SPEAKER_1>That is what historically we have called enthusiasm.

01:17:08.312 --> 01:17:14.452
<v SPEAKER_1>Those are the individuals who think that God is just going to strike them out of the blue with a lightning bolt of inspiration.

01:17:15.652 --> 01:17:17.052
<v SPEAKER_1>That is not how God works.

01:17:17.912 --> 01:17:21.612
<v SPEAKER_1>God has given us his Word, because that is how he speaks to us.

01:17:22.412 --> 01:17:27.932
<v SPEAKER_1>And so when we read his Word, when we hear his Word, we are hearing the voice of God.

01:17:28.892 --> 01:17:32.752
<v SPEAKER_1>And that is how we recognize our sin, and that is how we amend our lives.

01:17:32.772 --> 01:17:35.052
<v SPEAKER_1>That is how we have actual repentance.

01:17:35.672 --> 01:17:36.892
<v SPEAKER_1>We have this metanoia.

01:17:36.912 --> 01:17:44.952
<v SPEAKER_1>We have this change of mind with regard to things that we once did not think were sinful, but now we recognize they are.

01:17:46.552 --> 01:18:01.592
<v SPEAKER_2>And you highlight an excellent point there that when someone is raised in a Christian household and properly instructed and simply rejects these things out of hand, there is no need for repentance because the thing he believed the first time was correct.

01:18:03.292 --> 01:18:12.352
<v SPEAKER_2>It's only those who go down the path of committing sins and falling into error and misbelieving, not believing what God says, they have these problems.

01:18:13.452 --> 01:18:19.592
<v SPEAKER_2>If we are obedient from the beginning, which of course is impossible, it's not like no one can possibly be perfect.

01:18:20.012 --> 01:18:24.732
<v SPEAKER_2>Nevertheless, we all know that there are some families that are more Christian than others.

01:18:25.092 --> 01:18:31.212
<v SPEAKER_2>There are some kids who are simply more Christian that would never do the things that we grew up thinking were fine.

01:18:31.892 --> 01:18:39.152
<v SPEAKER_2>And honestly, I think one of the problems that we have even as Christians is that when we see that, it's often off-putting.

01:18:39.612 --> 01:18:49.252
<v SPEAKER_2>When someone is actually holier than us, when they are less with sin, when they're better behaved, we get offended, naturally, very offended.

01:18:49.272 --> 01:18:55.472
<v SPEAKER_2>Because it's viscerally offensive when you see somebody who just didn't make these mistakes in the first place.

01:18:55.492 --> 01:18:56.192
<v SPEAKER_2>They didn't sin.

01:18:56.492 --> 01:18:57.952
<v SPEAKER_2>They didn't disbelieve God.

01:18:58.292 --> 01:18:59.692
<v SPEAKER_2>They did what He said from the beginning.

01:18:59.712 --> 01:19:00.832
<v SPEAKER_2>They took it seriously.

01:19:01.472 --> 01:19:09.952
<v SPEAKER_2>And whatever their doctrinal precepts were that shaped the view of them raising their family that way, you can't argue with the fruit.

01:19:11.032 --> 01:19:12.372
<v SPEAKER_2>And I think that we...

01:19:13.472 --> 01:19:27.932
<v SPEAKER_2>It's important to emphasize that repentance is part of sanctification, I think, in part to illustrate that when you don't get these things wrong, you will have a more Christian life, basically for free.

01:19:28.572 --> 01:19:31.772
<v SPEAKER_2>Not because you're not doing anything, but because you're simply obeying God.

01:19:32.312 --> 01:19:38.672
<v SPEAKER_2>And again, as we said from the beginning, we say in many episodes, justification before God is not in view here.

01:19:39.192 --> 01:19:41.652
<v SPEAKER_2>We are not saying, oh, look, here's all the things you do to be saved.

01:19:41.912 --> 01:19:42.132
<v SPEAKER_2>No.

01:19:42.932 --> 01:19:50.232
<v SPEAKER_2>Because you're saved, look at all the benefits that God will bless you with simply by doing what He's already told you.

01:19:50.552 --> 01:19:53.352
<v SPEAKER_2>When you already know what to do and you do it, your life is better.

01:19:53.832 --> 01:19:55.072
<v SPEAKER_2>That's a pretty good deal.

01:19:55.672 --> 01:20:05.532
<v SPEAKER_2>And it's only in the cases where we disbelieve and we sin and we doubt, and then we have to be restored, like the prodigal son, that God has to fix these things for us.

01:20:05.912 --> 01:20:06.572
<v SPEAKER_2>And it's harder.

01:20:06.592 --> 01:20:21.532
<v SPEAKER_2>You know, as Cory was saying, the example of someone who's fallen into those particular types of sins, it's harder to patch things up internally because you've gone down a path where something that should have been good, part of it was bad in one way.

01:20:21.892 --> 01:20:22.592
<v SPEAKER_2>And it was evil.

01:20:22.692 --> 01:20:24.292
<v SPEAKER_2>It was something that God condemns.

01:20:24.972 --> 01:20:28.072
<v SPEAKER_2>But it wasn't unnatural.

01:20:28.112 --> 01:20:29.892
<v SPEAKER_2>It was just disordered.

01:20:30.552 --> 01:20:32.612
<v SPEAKER_2>And it causes confusion and doubt.

01:20:32.792 --> 01:20:40.932
<v SPEAKER_2>And it burdens people who wouldn't be burdened if they've simply followed the rules, God's rules, God's law, from the beginning.

01:20:41.812 --> 01:20:58.712
<v SPEAKER_2>And so ultimately, you know, these, when we're talking about the Christian life and setting a Christian example and teaching Christian doctrine, it's not about getting a good score, it's about trying to make heaven more like Earth the way God wants it to be.

01:20:59.352 --> 01:21:06.252
<v SPEAKER_2>When you look at Christ's exhortations in the New Testament, he's always saying things like, go and sin no more.

01:21:06.812 --> 01:21:08.872
<v SPEAKER_2>He's always telling people to behave.

01:21:09.652 --> 01:21:11.452
<v SPEAKER_2>That's what God says to do.

01:21:11.472 --> 01:21:23.472
<v SPEAKER_2>You know, a lot of times when these discussions come up in the church, especially among Protestants, who again, were so allergic to works righteousness, that we get angry when someone says to obey God.

01:21:23.972 --> 01:21:24.792
<v SPEAKER_2>Are you kidding me?

01:21:25.752 --> 01:21:29.332
<v SPEAKER_2>How can you actually read the Bible and have that response?

01:21:29.812 --> 01:21:36.312
<v SPEAKER_2>You can't read a single book without having an exhortation to obey God, because it's what God tells us.

01:21:36.612 --> 01:21:37.932
<v SPEAKER_2>Otherwise, what's the point of the book?

01:21:38.672 --> 01:21:41.592
<v SPEAKER_2>If everything's hunky-dory, he doesn't need to tell you to do anything.

01:21:42.012 --> 01:21:48.992
<v SPEAKER_2>It's the stuff that we're getting wrong because of our sinful nature that required God to tell us, here's what godly living looks like.

01:21:49.792 --> 01:21:57.952
<v SPEAKER_2>And even when Paul was personally ministering to people, you know, Paul's one of those people who his very shadow healed people of their illnesses.

01:21:58.512 --> 01:22:01.952
<v SPEAKER_2>He had the power of God in a way that no one who preaches today does.

01:22:02.892 --> 01:22:10.432
<v SPEAKER_2>He was a direct and immediate vessel for the Holy Spirit in a particular way that we haven't seen since then.

01:22:10.972 --> 01:22:11.692
<v SPEAKER_2>And that's okay.

01:22:11.712 --> 01:22:12.752
<v SPEAKER_2>God did it for them.

01:22:12.772 --> 01:22:14.152
<v SPEAKER_2>He doesn't need to do it for us.

01:22:14.172 --> 01:22:15.392
<v SPEAKER_2>He's given us the example.

01:22:15.712 --> 01:22:20.912
<v SPEAKER_2>And yet, even in the churches that he planted, the people had the same problems that we have today.

01:22:21.232 --> 01:22:33.792
<v SPEAKER_2>They had the same unbelief, the same doubt, the same falling into other false teachers and not remembering what Paul just told them six months or a year ago and listening to these other guys who are making stuff up.

01:22:34.592 --> 01:22:41.352
<v SPEAKER_2>If those churches planted by the apostles had those problems, we're smoking crack if we think ours are in better shape.

01:22:41.612 --> 01:22:42.792
<v SPEAKER_2>They're simply not.

01:22:43.312 --> 01:22:50.212
<v SPEAKER_2>I think it's one of the very most dangerous things that we face in all of our churches today is we think we have everything figured out.

01:22:50.672 --> 01:23:00.892
<v SPEAKER_2>We think that we're so experienced with this Christianity stuff that we have all the doctrines and we have all the right ideas written down and therefore we're not going to fall into error.

01:23:01.772 --> 01:23:03.052
<v SPEAKER_2>Complete BS.

01:23:03.732 --> 01:23:09.832
<v SPEAKER_2>If Paul couldn't achieve those results with those to whom he preached directly, your pastor is not going to do any better.

01:23:10.572 --> 01:23:20.432
<v SPEAKER_2>And defying what God says by refusing to tell people to obey God and to stop sinning is going to have the opposite effect of producing better Christians.

01:23:23.272 --> 01:23:33.772
<v SPEAKER_2>Another example of repentance that I want to give is from Matthew 18, which echoes something that hopefully we're all saying, certainly every week, if not every day, in the Lord's Prayer.

01:23:34.272 --> 01:23:36.812
<v SPEAKER_2>Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

01:23:38.652 --> 01:23:41.992
<v SPEAKER_2>In Matthew 18, Jesus teaches the parable of the wicked servant.

01:23:43.492 --> 01:23:47.932
<v SPEAKER_2>Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.

01:23:48.332 --> 01:23:51.792
<v SPEAKER_2>When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him 10,000 talents.

01:23:52.192 --> 01:23:58.812
<v SPEAKER_2>And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.

01:23:59.272 --> 01:24:04.272
<v SPEAKER_2>So the servant fell to his knees imploring him, have patience with me and I will pay you everything.

01:24:04.612 --> 01:24:08.632
<v SPEAKER_2>And out of pity for him, the master of the servant released him and forgave the debt.

01:24:09.372 --> 01:24:14.372
<v SPEAKER_2>But when the same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him 100 denarii.

01:24:14.712 --> 01:24:18.292
<v SPEAKER_2>And seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, pay what you owe.

01:24:18.792 --> 01:24:23.712
<v SPEAKER_2>So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, have patience with me and I will pay you.

01:24:24.172 --> 01:24:27.552
<v SPEAKER_2>He refused and went to put him in prison until he should pay the debt.

01:24:28.132 --> 01:24:35.252
<v SPEAKER_2>When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.

01:24:35.692 --> 01:24:41.532
<v SPEAKER_2>Then his master summoned him and said to him, you wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you had pleaded with me.

01:24:42.032 --> 01:24:46.392
<v SPEAKER_2>And should not you also have had mercy on your fellow servant as I had mercy on you?

01:24:46.412 --> 01:24:51.292
<v SPEAKER_2>In an anger, his master delivered him to the jailers until he should pay all of his debt.

01:24:51.892 --> 01:24:58.832
<v SPEAKER_2>So also my heavenly father will do to every one of you if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.

01:25:01.192 --> 01:25:07.012
<v SPEAKER_2>Now this is about repentance because superficially the wicked servant was contrite.

01:25:07.812 --> 01:25:10.312
<v SPEAKER_2>His master dragged him in and said, pay what you owe.

01:25:10.332 --> 01:25:12.132
<v SPEAKER_2>And he said, I can't, please have mercy on you all.

01:25:12.352 --> 01:25:13.352
<v SPEAKER_2>I'll pay it all back.

01:25:14.032 --> 01:25:26.232
<v SPEAKER_2>And his master didn't even take him up on the offer to pay it all back, which as Corey said in a previous episode, the amount of silver that this servant owed was almost incalculable in terms of wealth.

01:25:26.492 --> 01:25:29.712
<v SPEAKER_2>It's far more than any man could ever conceivably pay back.

01:25:30.452 --> 01:25:36.372
<v SPEAKER_2>So when the servant really falsely said, I'll pay you back, the master didn't take him up on it.

01:25:36.392 --> 01:25:37.652
<v SPEAKER_2>He said, I forgive all your debt.

01:25:38.572 --> 01:25:39.032
<v SPEAKER_2>It's gone.

01:25:40.492 --> 01:25:51.412
<v SPEAKER_2>The reason that there was no repentance, even though there was contrition, even though he was very sorry for his debt, there was no repentance because he didn't have a new view of debt.

01:25:51.672 --> 01:25:52.332
<v SPEAKER_2>What did he do?

01:25:52.732 --> 01:25:55.352
<v SPEAKER_2>He turned around to a fellow servant and grabbed him by the throat.

01:25:55.672 --> 01:26:11.292
<v SPEAKER_2>As soon as his master got him back to zero from being effectively infinitely in the hole, when he got back to zero, he turned to his fellow servant, grabbed him by the throat and said, pay what you owe, so that he could go up, so that he could have more at the expense of someone else.

01:26:11.832 --> 01:26:18.952
<v SPEAKER_2>His lack of repentance surrounding debt, the fact that he did not view it differently than before, because there was no repentance.

01:26:19.452 --> 01:26:28.472
<v SPEAKER_2>And therefore, God threw him to the jailers until he could pay it all back, which is hell, which is eternity, because there was never paying that back.

01:26:29.312 --> 01:26:34.232
<v SPEAKER_2>And so Jesus says, so also my heavenly father will do to every one of you.

01:26:34.852 --> 01:26:53.932
<v SPEAKER_2>And then he says, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart, which is another part of repentance versus contrition, when it's possible to separate those, because saying forgive your brother, on one hand, that could simply be contrition.

01:26:53.952 --> 01:26:58.992
<v SPEAKER_2>It could be, okay, well, you know, you owed me a bunch of money and you didn't pay back, so I forgive it.

01:26:59.692 --> 01:27:00.432
<v SPEAKER_2>It's forgiven.

01:27:00.492 --> 01:27:01.212
<v SPEAKER_2>Don't worry about it.

01:27:02.052 --> 01:27:06.712
<v SPEAKER_2>But in your heart, you still are bitter that the guy never paid you back.

01:27:07.392 --> 01:27:09.512
<v SPEAKER_2>That's not actually forgiving in your heart.

01:27:10.032 --> 01:27:14.332
<v SPEAKER_2>It is not enough to wipe the slate clean physically and mechanically.

01:27:14.732 --> 01:27:23.592
<v SPEAKER_2>You have to wipe it clean in your heart to say to the man, there is no debt, whether it's sin or it's actual monetary debt, whatever it is.

01:27:24.332 --> 01:27:32.632
<v SPEAKER_2>If the beginning of your contrition is not in your heart, then what happens downstream is not going to be repentance.

01:27:33.292 --> 01:27:34.872
<v SPEAKER_2>This is what Jesus illustrates here.

01:27:35.592 --> 01:27:38.132
<v SPEAKER_2>It's an example of someone who was contrite.

01:27:38.412 --> 01:27:39.132
<v SPEAKER_2>He was sorry.

01:27:39.412 --> 01:27:40.572
<v SPEAKER_2>He wasn't repentant.

01:27:40.832 --> 01:27:43.452
<v SPEAKER_2>He didn't change anything about how he thought.

01:27:43.792 --> 01:27:48.952
<v SPEAKER_2>He thought he got away with it, and he was going to go out and make sure that the next guy wouldn't get away with it either.

01:27:49.332 --> 01:27:50.152
<v SPEAKER_2>That's wickedness.

01:27:50.392 --> 01:27:52.032
<v SPEAKER_2>That's what God calls wickedness.

01:27:52.592 --> 01:27:57.852
<v SPEAKER_2>So in all the passages that you can read in Scripture that say, repent and be saved, this is why.

01:27:58.312 --> 01:28:09.312
<v SPEAKER_2>And again, this is why the order of operations argument simply has to be put out the window if we want to be consistent about what the doctrine is regarding forgiveness and justification.

01:28:09.892 --> 01:28:20.052
<v SPEAKER_2>Because if you try to say, well, if this happens, then this will happen, and this is the result, and therefore we place forgiveness here, mechanically that doesn't work.

01:28:20.712 --> 01:28:24.432
<v SPEAKER_2>The question must be an instantaneous true or false question.

01:28:25.012 --> 01:28:27.612
<v SPEAKER_2>Was the servant Christian?

01:28:28.192 --> 01:28:36.172
<v SPEAKER_2>The answer was no, because his immediate response, after having been forgiven, was to lash out wickedly as his fellow servant.

01:28:36.752 --> 01:28:39.392
<v SPEAKER_2>He was not a Christian, therefore he was not forgiven.

01:28:39.832 --> 01:28:45.952
<v SPEAKER_2>The cause and effect wasn't that because he failed to repent, he was unforgiven.

01:28:45.972 --> 01:28:58.672
<v SPEAKER_2>It's that he was not a Christian at all, and his lack of repentance demonstrated the fruit of a rotten spirit, and that's what God punished, was the wickedness where there was no repentance because there was no faith.

01:28:59.672 --> 01:29:08.572
<v SPEAKER_2>So all of this is not about cause and effect, it's not about trying to save ourselves, it's recognizing when we're Christian, here's how we behave.

01:29:09.172 --> 01:29:15.972
<v SPEAKER_2>That's why we've mentioned earlier, we mentioned frequently, the Epistle of James is written to Christians about the Christian life.

01:29:17.152 --> 01:29:25.532
<v SPEAKER_2>If you read James and you try to figure out, okay, well, here's how I can save myself, which is effectively what Rome does with portions of that.

01:29:26.892 --> 01:29:32.412
<v SPEAKER_2>If instead you understand, this is talking to Christians saying, here's what the repentant life looks like, it all makes sense.

01:29:32.932 --> 01:29:33.892
<v SPEAKER_2>Is someone a Christian?

01:29:33.912 --> 01:29:34.172
<v SPEAKER_2>Yes.

01:29:34.552 --> 01:29:35.592
<v SPEAKER_2>Here's the repentant life.

01:29:35.852 --> 01:29:36.752
<v SPEAKER_2>Here's what they'll do.

01:29:36.992 --> 01:29:38.292
<v SPEAKER_2>They'll do what's in James.

01:29:38.792 --> 01:29:41.692
<v SPEAKER_2>If they're not a Christian, they won't do what's in James.

01:29:41.932 --> 01:29:43.352
<v SPEAKER_2>They won't do what's in the Bible.

01:29:43.572 --> 01:29:44.332
<v SPEAKER_2>It's that simple.

01:29:44.792 --> 01:29:45.572
<v SPEAKER_2>Are you Christian?

01:29:45.712 --> 01:29:48.392
<v SPEAKER_2>You believe in God, you do what he says, because you're Christian.

01:29:49.112 --> 01:29:50.272
<v SPEAKER_2>It doesn't make you Christian.

01:29:50.652 --> 01:29:52.452
<v SPEAKER_2>It's the fruit of the Christian spirit.

01:29:55.152 --> 01:30:08.372
<v SPEAKER_1>So to tie into the episode that we did two weeks ago on slander, I can give another good example, a general example of what it looks like to actually repent.

01:30:08.392 --> 01:30:12.152
<v SPEAKER_1>And we spoke about this to some degree in the episode on slander.

01:30:13.832 --> 01:30:24.752
<v SPEAKER_1>But if you have slandered someone, if you have spoken falsely, if you have borne false representation against your neighbor, you need to repent of that.

01:30:24.872 --> 01:30:36.992
<v SPEAKER_1>And one of the components of that sort of repentance is to go to those to whom you slandered this other man and speak well of him.

01:30:38.832 --> 01:30:48.252
<v SPEAKER_1>You have to undo, you have to attempt to undo anyway, because you probably cannot actually undo, but you have to attempt to undo that harm that you caused.

01:30:49.612 --> 01:30:56.792
<v SPEAKER_1>You spoke evil about your neighbor, you harmed his reputation, probably in a way that you cannot actually undo.

01:30:58.092 --> 01:31:05.632
<v SPEAKER_1>But part of repentance in that case is going to be that work to undo the harm that you caused.

01:31:06.612 --> 01:31:12.752
<v SPEAKER_1>So you need to find those who heard the slander that you spoke and undo it as best you can.

01:31:14.632 --> 01:31:22.552
<v SPEAKER_1>And very likely, the slander at that point has probably spread beyond the individuals to whom you spoke it.

01:31:24.292 --> 01:31:30.492
<v SPEAKER_1>Because often slander does not stop at the first level, as it were, the second level, depending on how you want to count.

01:31:31.472 --> 01:31:49.692
<v SPEAKER_1>And so you may have told another neighbor, well, he may have told additional neighbors, if you are truly penitent, you need to attempt to undo the harm that you caused, which is going to include going to those who heard the slander that you spoke second hand.

01:31:51.392 --> 01:31:56.372
<v SPEAKER_1>That's going to be very difficult in some cases, which is why we did an entire episode on slander.

01:31:56.392 --> 01:32:00.912
<v SPEAKER_1>It is a sin that is very difficult to undo, very difficult to ameliorate.

01:32:01.472 --> 01:32:06.592
<v SPEAKER_1>And again, in many cases, you simply cannot actually undo the harm that you caused.

01:32:07.252 --> 01:32:23.332
<v SPEAKER_1>But part of repentance is going to be thinking differently about what you did, recognizing it was slander, recognizing it was wrong, and then attempting to undo it, attempting to do the right thing, attempting to restore that man's reputation.

01:32:25.332 --> 01:32:30.212
<v SPEAKER_1>So you need to go to those to whom you slandered him and confess.

01:32:31.452 --> 01:32:42.412
<v SPEAKER_1>Not in the sense of confession and absolution that you would go to, say, your pastor, but in the sense of saying, I spoke falsely and wickedly against this other man.

01:32:43.292 --> 01:32:44.532
<v SPEAKER_1>I should not have done so.

01:32:45.092 --> 01:32:45.992
<v SPEAKER_1>That was sin.

01:32:46.612 --> 01:32:51.172
<v SPEAKER_1>In fact, here is what I think about that man, and then you speak well of him.

01:32:52.712 --> 01:32:59.712
<v SPEAKER_1>That is part of what it means not to speak falsely about your neighbor, not to slander your neighbor.

01:33:01.492 --> 01:33:10.752
<v SPEAKER_1>We won't rehash exactly the contours of slander in this episode because we have an entire episode on it, so you can go back and listen to that episode from two weeks ago.

01:33:12.372 --> 01:33:23.032
<v SPEAKER_1>But the reason that slander is such a good example when it comes to repentance is that it highlights that certain sins are going to be very difficult when it comes to repentance.

01:33:23.572 --> 01:33:24.672
<v SPEAKER_1>Some are going to be easy.

01:33:25.432 --> 01:33:27.412
<v SPEAKER_1>You know, you stole someone's pen.

01:33:28.132 --> 01:33:29.032
<v SPEAKER_1>You return the pen.

01:33:29.512 --> 01:33:31.152
<v SPEAKER_1>You say, I'm sorry for stealing your pen.

01:33:31.172 --> 01:33:31.772
<v SPEAKER_1>That was wrong.

01:33:31.792 --> 01:33:32.552
<v SPEAKER_1>I should not have done that.

01:33:32.932 --> 01:33:33.752
<v SPEAKER_1>Here's your pen.

01:33:34.572 --> 01:33:35.012
<v SPEAKER_1>You're done.

01:33:35.312 --> 01:33:35.892
<v SPEAKER_1>Very easy.

01:33:37.392 --> 01:33:48.032
<v SPEAKER_1>But when it comes to something like a man's reputation, if you steal that from him, if you destroy that, if you harm his reputation, that is a harm that it is very difficult to undo.

01:33:49.152 --> 01:33:50.952
<v SPEAKER_1>And that is the case with a number of sins.

01:33:52.612 --> 01:34:00.752
<v SPEAKER_1>Fornication is another one where the consequences may be much more difficult to undo, depending on the particular circumstances.

01:34:01.552 --> 01:34:04.072
<v SPEAKER_1>That one's going to be particularly complicated in some cases.

01:34:05.472 --> 01:34:14.232
<v SPEAKER_1>But some sins have greater, more complicated, more difficult consequences in this life than others.

01:34:14.892 --> 01:34:22.992
<v SPEAKER_1>This doesn't necessarily even correlate with whether or not the sin in question is a greater sin or a lesser sin.

01:34:23.852 --> 01:34:34.112
<v SPEAKER_1>There may be relatively small sins that have enormous impact that is very difficult to undo, and there may be heinous sins, of which it is much easier to repent.

01:34:35.332 --> 01:34:47.732
<v SPEAKER_1>And so, for instance, if you violate the Fifth Commandment, if you murder someone, the repentance for that is probably going to be easier in a practical sense than the repentance for violating the Eighth Commandment for slander.

01:34:50.912 --> 01:34:57.492
<v SPEAKER_1>Just because a sin is a greater sin does not mean that the repentance for that sin is going to be more difficult.

01:34:57.792 --> 01:35:03.692
<v SPEAKER_1>And just because a sin is a lesser sin does not mean the repentance for that sin is going to be easier.

01:35:05.352 --> 01:35:08.992
<v SPEAKER_1>But the point is not the difficulty of the repentance itself.

01:35:09.672 --> 01:35:12.812
<v SPEAKER_1>The point is that repentance is part of this.

01:35:13.792 --> 01:35:18.112
<v SPEAKER_1>And part of repentance is attempting to undo that harm that you caused.

01:35:18.852 --> 01:35:33.412
<v SPEAKER_1>Because if you think differently about this thing that you did, if you have turned away from that sin, part of that turning away from the sin and moving away from the sin and toward the things of God is doing what is right.

01:35:34.172 --> 01:35:45.992
<v SPEAKER_1>And part of doing what is right is restoring what is rightfully the property of another, or at least attempting to do so as best you can given the circumstances.

01:35:46.932 --> 01:35:50.192
<v SPEAKER_1>Now, of course, there are, as it were, limitations to this.

01:35:50.212 --> 01:36:06.052
<v SPEAKER_1>And so we do not want to slide into the old Roman Catholic way of thinking and say that absolutely every single tiny sin you've ever committed must be explicitly confessed, and you must do X, Y and Z with regard to it.

01:36:07.572 --> 01:36:08.492
<v SPEAKER_1>That's not what we're saying.

01:36:09.012 --> 01:36:15.492
<v SPEAKER_1>If you stole a piece of gum from the person who sat next to you in elementary school, yes, that was a sin.

01:36:16.252 --> 01:36:18.012
<v SPEAKER_1>You've covered that when you've prayed the Lord's Prayer.

01:36:18.252 --> 01:36:23.632
<v SPEAKER_1>You don't need to obsess over that, find that person and give him back a piece of gum.

01:36:24.092 --> 01:36:25.112
<v SPEAKER_1>That's not what we're saying.

01:36:26.472 --> 01:36:36.112
<v SPEAKER_1>What we are saying is that as best you can, with regard to your current situation, where you are in life, all of these things, this is a matter of wisdom.

01:36:36.632 --> 01:36:39.932
<v SPEAKER_1>There are many matters in the Christian life where it is a matter of wisdom.

01:36:40.272 --> 01:36:44.312
<v SPEAKER_1>It is not a simple formula where if X, then to Y.

01:36:44.512 --> 01:36:45.552
<v SPEAKER_1>That's not how this works.

01:36:47.812 --> 01:37:12.212
<v SPEAKER_1>Taking into account wisdom, your conscience, all of these other factors, you are to do the best that you can to undo the harm that you have caused, because that is part of turning away from the sin, recognizing that it is sin, and attempting to do not just the right thing, but the Christian thing, the thing that God would want you to do.

01:37:13.352 --> 01:37:23.152
<v SPEAKER_1>And as we've mentioned before, each of the commandments has this foil to the statement of the command, the bare statement of the commandment.

01:37:23.892 --> 01:37:27.352
<v SPEAKER_1>And so when it says, thou shalt not murder, it also means to help your neighbor.

01:37:28.112 --> 01:37:33.852
<v SPEAKER_1>When it says, thou shalt not commit adultery, it also means to help your neighbor maintain his relationship with his spouse.

01:37:34.752 --> 01:37:39.672
<v SPEAKER_1>When it says, thou shalt not bear false witness, it means to speak well of your neighbor.

01:37:41.832 --> 01:37:43.592
<v SPEAKER_1>So this is part of the Christian life.

01:37:44.532 --> 01:37:47.352
<v SPEAKER_1>You turn from the evil, and you do the good.

01:37:49.372 --> 01:37:57.512
<v SPEAKER_2>The example of slander highlights another important facet of repentance, which is that often, repentance cannot be secret.

01:37:58.272 --> 01:38:04.352
<v SPEAKER_2>It's not simply an inward turning of your heart, because it's necessarily how you're going to live the rest of your life.

01:38:05.152 --> 01:38:11.012
<v SPEAKER_2>And if you didn't used to be a Christian, now you're Christian, your naturally repentant life is just going to look Christian.

01:38:11.352 --> 01:38:27.232
<v SPEAKER_2>And if there are particular sins of which you need to repent, for which others were involved and must necessarily be involved again, because as part of repudiating your evil past, you have to somehow make amends if it's appropriate.

01:38:27.412 --> 01:38:29.312
<v SPEAKER_2>As Corey said, it's not always appropriate.

01:38:29.432 --> 01:38:39.192
<v SPEAKER_2>It may well be that for you to try to patch things up, to try to make amends, would actually make worse whatever situation there was.

01:38:39.932 --> 01:38:41.032
<v SPEAKER_2>That's a matter of wisdom.

01:38:41.052 --> 01:38:44.312
<v SPEAKER_2>It's not saying you have to do this because you're already forgiven.

01:38:45.072 --> 01:38:48.052
<v SPEAKER_2>Again, as I said online, we missed an episode last week.

01:38:48.432 --> 01:38:54.912
<v SPEAKER_2>The You Are Forgiven episode is a counterpart to this, especially if your conscience is burdened at the end of this episode.

01:38:55.352 --> 01:38:58.532
<v SPEAKER_2>Go back and listen to You Are Forgiven, because that's a part of it.

01:38:58.872 --> 01:39:10.072
<v SPEAKER_2>But as we said, because this stuff is not on a timeline, we're not bound to get these things in the right order, because it's often the case that you're forgiven, and then you continue to repent.

01:39:10.892 --> 01:39:12.792
<v SPEAKER_2>It's not necessarily going to be secret.

01:39:13.832 --> 01:39:21.712
<v SPEAKER_2>I think one of the most important things to take away from this, once you understand what repentance actually is, is a simple point.

01:39:22.452 --> 01:39:25.292
<v SPEAKER_2>Repentance does not occur at church on Sunday morning.

01:39:26.292 --> 01:39:39.912
<v SPEAKER_2>The only case where repentance would occur at church on a Sunday morning fully is if you did something to someone else at church and you needed to confess your sin to them, to be patched up, to be forgiven before you go to communion.

01:39:40.792 --> 01:39:44.792
<v SPEAKER_2>But your repenting is the rest of the day, and it's the rest of the week.

01:39:45.212 --> 01:39:47.552
<v SPEAKER_2>Your repenting is for the sins that you're committing.

01:39:47.572 --> 01:39:54.232
<v SPEAKER_2>And so maybe your conscience is convicted by a sermon, and so you repent during the sermon for something.

01:39:54.752 --> 01:39:59.992
<v SPEAKER_2>But the repentance isn't located in the pews in the morning when you hear the sermon.

01:40:00.372 --> 01:40:06.832
<v SPEAKER_2>The repentance is the change of heart that you take with you for the rest of the day and the week and the month, and hopefully for the rest of your life.

01:40:07.212 --> 01:40:08.312
<v SPEAKER_2>That's the repentance.

01:40:08.952 --> 01:40:13.492
<v SPEAKER_2>So even if it has a birthplace and a moment, it's a new part of you.

01:40:13.892 --> 01:40:14.772
<v SPEAKER_2>That's the whole thing.

01:40:15.152 --> 01:40:17.352
<v SPEAKER_2>Repentance is not a moment that's isolated.

01:40:17.872 --> 01:40:20.052
<v SPEAKER_2>My mom sent me that horrible picture of me.

01:40:20.492 --> 01:40:21.932
<v SPEAKER_2>The repentance is continuous.

01:40:22.172 --> 01:40:23.672
<v SPEAKER_2>It's like, that's not me anymore.

01:40:23.692 --> 01:40:25.852
<v SPEAKER_2>That's just not me.

01:40:26.492 --> 01:40:28.092
<v SPEAKER_2>That's the way this works.

01:40:28.452 --> 01:40:31.112
<v SPEAKER_2>It's a permanent new state of affairs.

01:40:32.732 --> 01:40:35.132
<v SPEAKER_2>Last passage I want to read is from Matthew 3.

01:40:35.152 --> 01:40:40.872
<v SPEAKER_2>It's one we read a couple of weeks ago from John the Baptist as he was baptizing Jesus.

01:40:41.592 --> 01:40:49.232
<v SPEAKER_2>But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, you brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

01:40:49.872 --> 01:40:56.632
<v SPEAKER_2>Bear fruit in keeping with repentance, and do not presume to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father.

01:40:57.032 --> 01:41:00.612
<v SPEAKER_2>For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children of Abraham.

01:41:01.112 --> 01:41:03.372
<v SPEAKER_2>Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees.

01:41:03.952 --> 01:41:09.192
<v SPEAKER_2>Every tree, therefore, that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

01:41:10.512 --> 01:41:21.132
<v SPEAKER_2>When John contrasted the wickedness of the Pharisees and their lack of repentance with their claims that Abraham was their father, he was describing us too.

01:41:21.692 --> 01:41:25.772
<v SPEAKER_2>Every church today has its traditions and its confessions.

01:41:26.252 --> 01:41:28.512
<v SPEAKER_2>Some of them, one in particular, has a pope.

01:41:28.892 --> 01:41:34.152
<v SPEAKER_2>We've all got something that functions as a pope in our churches, even as just some doctrinal position.

01:41:34.912 --> 01:41:46.972
<v SPEAKER_2>And the threat that these doctrines pose to us is not that they're false necessarily, although obviously as Lutherans, we would disagree with many of you about certain doctrines that you hold.

01:41:48.012 --> 01:42:01.472
<v SPEAKER_2>When the doctrine that a particular denomination holds becomes an idol for that denomination, it rapidly turns into the fair sacral situation where there are many Lutherans that say, we have Luther as our father.

01:42:01.752 --> 01:42:04.072
<v SPEAKER_2>How can I possibly be guilty of sin?

01:42:04.412 --> 01:42:06.332
<v SPEAKER_2>You say that I have some false doctrine.

01:42:06.652 --> 01:42:08.152
<v SPEAKER_2>I confess the Book of Concord.

01:42:08.952 --> 01:42:12.792
<v SPEAKER_2>Presbyterians and others, you have your Westminster confession and all these other things.

01:42:13.212 --> 01:42:15.692
<v SPEAKER_2>And you say, I hold proudly to this doctrine.

01:42:16.152 --> 01:42:23.012
<v SPEAKER_2>Well, if that is your basis for a claim of salvation, you're missing the point of scripture.

01:42:23.692 --> 01:42:33.492
<v SPEAKER_2>Because if you're doing something that's sinful and God warns you to bear fruit in keeping with repentance, and your answer is, I don't need to think differently afterwards.

01:42:33.772 --> 01:42:35.032
<v SPEAKER_2>I have the right confession.

01:42:36.032 --> 01:42:37.832
<v SPEAKER_2>God warns that that's crap.

01:42:38.092 --> 01:42:38.772
<v SPEAKER_2>That's BS.

01:42:39.172 --> 01:42:44.172
<v SPEAKER_2>There's no such thing as having a true confession without having true fruit.

01:42:44.792 --> 01:42:52.072
<v SPEAKER_2>If your confession is true, but you are false in confessing it, then you make yourself a liar by the very confession that you make.

01:42:52.572 --> 01:42:54.892
<v SPEAKER_2>And if your confession is false, then it's worthless anyway.

01:42:55.452 --> 01:42:59.692
<v SPEAKER_2>But the fruits in keeping with repentance are the Christian life.

01:42:59.712 --> 01:43:04.792
<v SPEAKER_2>That's why the Epistle of James is so crucial, because it describes a Christian life.

01:43:05.272 --> 01:43:08.072
<v SPEAKER_2>It's an exhortation to be Christian.

01:43:09.332 --> 01:43:12.932
<v SPEAKER_2>And so to leave you for this week, go read your Bibles.

01:43:13.312 --> 01:43:17.612
<v SPEAKER_2>I would recommend, is the reading for this, go read Colossians.

01:43:17.632 --> 01:43:18.432
<v SPEAKER_2>Just read the whole book.

01:43:18.452 --> 01:43:19.252
<v SPEAKER_2>It's not very long.

01:43:19.672 --> 01:43:21.312
<v SPEAKER_2>It's an epistle about repentance.

01:43:21.752 --> 01:43:26.192
<v SPEAKER_2>When you read it in view of thinking differently afterward, it's what the whole thing is about.

01:43:26.592 --> 01:43:32.632
<v SPEAKER_2>Paul is talking about waging war with the elemental spirits of this age and struggling with these things.

01:43:33.172 --> 01:43:42.232
<v SPEAKER_2>It's talking about the Christian life in view of rejecting that which is worldly, that which is fleshly, and embracing that which is godly.

01:43:42.612 --> 01:43:43.432
<v SPEAKER_2>That's repentance.

01:43:43.772 --> 01:43:45.052
<v SPEAKER_2>That's sanctification.

01:43:45.532 --> 01:43:50.672
<v SPEAKER_2>If you are Christian, you are being sanctified continuously by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

01:43:51.232 --> 01:43:55.452
<v SPEAKER_2>And that means daily experiencing repentance.

01:43:55.992 --> 01:43:59.032
<v SPEAKER_2>And every day, you're going to be repenting for something new.

01:43:59.332 --> 01:44:03.872
<v SPEAKER_2>Certainly, if you're living in the Word, and if you're not, then that's something to repent of.

01:44:03.892 --> 01:44:04.732
<v SPEAKER_2>So, you know, I should read more.

01:44:04.992 --> 01:44:05.712
<v SPEAKER_2>I'm guilty of it.

01:44:05.732 --> 01:44:06.892
<v SPEAKER_2>I don't read the Bible every day.

01:44:07.252 --> 01:44:07.892
<v SPEAKER_2>I try to.

01:44:07.912 --> 01:44:09.532
<v SPEAKER_2>I frequently fail.

01:44:10.052 --> 01:44:11.292
<v SPEAKER_2>Or I don't read enough.

01:44:11.312 --> 01:44:12.772
<v SPEAKER_2>Like, I should do more.

01:44:13.072 --> 01:44:15.172
<v SPEAKER_2>And it's not, oh, I got to read the Bible to save myself.

01:44:15.412 --> 01:44:16.332
<v SPEAKER_2>This is God's stuff.

01:44:16.612 --> 01:44:19.712
<v SPEAKER_2>What am I doing wasting my time and studying or reading the Word of God?

01:44:20.212 --> 01:44:40.412
<v SPEAKER_2>The more time that we spend in His Word, just reading it and meditating on it, taking it seriously, the less opportunity there is for sin, and the more God's Word will armor our hearts and our minds to be able to recognize, hey, this thing that this guy is saying over here, this thing that my friend wants me to do, I shouldn't actually do that because it's not true.

01:44:40.692 --> 01:44:41.772
<v SPEAKER_2>It's actually sinful.

01:44:43.272 --> 01:44:48.752
<v SPEAKER_2>To think differently afterward is the description of the Christian life.

01:44:49.152 --> 01:44:51.512
<v SPEAKER_2>Repent is the description of the Christian life.

01:44:51.892 --> 01:44:54.072
<v SPEAKER_2>It's not a feeling, it's a thought.

01:44:54.472 --> 01:44:57.472
<v SPEAKER_2>It's an ongoing process because it's the process of sanctification.

01:44:58.592 --> 01:45:02.872
<v SPEAKER_2>And when you look at the words that are involved, you can go read the definitions for these words.

01:45:02.892 --> 01:45:04.052
<v SPEAKER_2>We're not playing any games here.

01:45:04.432 --> 01:45:05.932
<v SPEAKER_2>We didn't change anything around.

01:45:06.612 --> 01:45:09.992
<v SPEAKER_2>And then you understand that think differently afterward is literally what repent means.

01:45:10.492 --> 01:45:18.972
<v SPEAKER_2>When you look at all the places in the New Testament, the epistles that basically say think differently afterward, it's talking about the entire Christian life.

01:45:19.472 --> 01:45:22.872
<v SPEAKER_2>This is something that's largely missing from a lot of our preaching today.

01:45:23.092 --> 01:45:29.992
<v SPEAKER_2>Now, some churches are getting better in some regards and some areas, but the whole Council of God is for all of this.

01:45:30.392 --> 01:45:35.572
<v SPEAKER_2>We don't get to pick and choose, like a buffet, which parts we want and which parts we're just going to leave.

01:45:36.812 --> 01:45:42.012
<v SPEAKER_2>The Christian life of repentance is one where we have everything that God wants to give us.

01:45:42.592 --> 01:45:54.532
<v SPEAKER_2>And it's only by refusing to think about what God says, to believe what He has told us, and to live a life in bearing with those fruits that we miss out on everything God wants to give us.

01:45:55.172 --> 01:46:02.912
<v SPEAKER_2>And the more you do that, the more you ultimately endanger your salvation by matter of degrees, just not caring.

01:46:02.932 --> 01:46:05.652
<v SPEAKER_2>It's not that if you momentarily screw up, you're going to.

01:46:05.972 --> 01:46:07.192
<v SPEAKER_2>We sin every day.

01:46:07.492 --> 01:46:08.992
<v SPEAKER_2>We need forgiveness every day.

01:46:09.232 --> 01:46:11.252
<v SPEAKER_2>We ask for it and we receive it daily.

01:46:11.612 --> 01:46:13.812
<v SPEAKER_2>We receive forgiveness that was one at the cross.

01:46:15.172 --> 01:46:17.632
<v SPEAKER_2>Repentance means thinking differently afterward.

01:46:18.392 --> 01:46:22.272
<v SPEAKER_2>As long as we're doing that, we're living the godly life.

01:46:22.832 --> 01:46:24.372
<v SPEAKER_2>And that's what we would wish for everyone.

01:46:24.772 --> 01:46:26.252
<v SPEAKER_2>You're not going to save yourself.

01:46:26.272 --> 01:46:27.252
<v SPEAKER_2>You're already saved.

01:46:27.552 --> 01:46:28.472
<v SPEAKER_2>So live like it.

01:46:29.792 --> 01:46:43.492
<v SPEAKER_1>I want to leave you with one of those denominational distinctives that woe has referenced throughout this episode, but in a way that is useful, that is profitable and will maybe annoy some people just a little bit.

01:46:45.972 --> 01:46:55.472
<v SPEAKER_1>Last week before I lost my voice due to that cold, I wrote a homily on the readings for the week, and the core topic was repentance.

01:46:55.492 --> 01:46:58.932
<v SPEAKER_1>Now that I have my voice back, I will record that and put it in the show notes.

01:47:00.212 --> 01:47:09.252
<v SPEAKER_1>But what I want to highlight to close out this episode is that really this is law and gospel, and I know many Lutherans will be happy to hear me say that.

01:47:10.292 --> 01:47:12.872
<v SPEAKER_1>And so you have contrition because that is the law.

01:47:13.472 --> 01:47:21.032
<v SPEAKER_1>The law in the terrors of conscience drive you to contrition, and then the gospel is that second part, faith.

01:47:23.692 --> 01:47:29.592
<v SPEAKER_1>But really the word repent itself is gospel, if you think about it in the right light.

01:47:30.952 --> 01:47:40.192
<v SPEAKER_1>The first words of Christ recorded in the gospel of Mark are, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe the gospel.

01:47:40.992 --> 01:47:45.752
<v SPEAKER_1>I would contend that the entirety of that, for the Christian, is gospel.

01:47:47.112 --> 01:47:48.652
<v SPEAKER_1>And the reason for that is simple.

01:47:50.072 --> 01:48:01.412
<v SPEAKER_1>If Christ, if God, tells you repent, God does not command us to do that which is pointless or fruitless, meaningless.

01:48:02.512 --> 01:48:20.612
<v SPEAKER_1>And so if God commands us to repent, the gospel is necessarily entailed by that command, because in order for repentance to have any meaning, to be worth doing, to be something that is not fruitless, there must be forgiveness of sins.

01:48:21.732 --> 01:48:29.532
<v SPEAKER_1>And so the fact that we can repent, because that is what Christ is saying when he orders us to repent, he is saying repentance is possible.

01:48:29.912 --> 01:48:34.572
<v SPEAKER_1>And so the fact that we can repent means there is forgiveness of sins.

01:48:35.432 --> 01:48:39.112
<v SPEAKER_1>That is the word of both the law and the gospel there together in one word.

01:48:40.232 --> 01:48:45.732
<v SPEAKER_1>Repent, turn from your sins, think differently about these things that you have done in the past.

01:48:46.252 --> 01:48:49.392
<v SPEAKER_1>Feel contrition for the evil you have committed.

01:48:50.652 --> 01:48:53.872
<v SPEAKER_1>But the good news is, there is forgiveness of sins.

01:48:54.532 --> 01:48:56.372
<v SPEAKER_1>You can turn from those things.

01:48:56.852 --> 01:48:58.872
<v SPEAKER_1>You can be given the free gift of faith.

01:48:59.712 --> 01:49:02.472
<v SPEAKER_1>And in that faith, your sins are forgiven.

01:49:03.192 --> 01:49:10.712
<v SPEAKER_1>And so we have both the voice of the law and the voice of the gospel here in the first words of Christ as recorded in the Gospel of Mark.

01:49:12.752 --> 01:49:20.892
<v SPEAKER_1>And so I'll leave you with a flowchart that is actually good news for once in the entirety of the existence of flowcharts.

01:49:23.172 --> 01:49:27.052
<v SPEAKER_1>When you sin, there are two possible reactions initially.

01:49:27.632 --> 01:49:32.552
<v SPEAKER_1>You can be impenitent, or you can be penitent in the sense of contrite.

01:49:33.292 --> 01:49:33.872
<v SPEAKER_1>So that's contrition.

01:49:34.772 --> 01:49:41.992
<v SPEAKER_1>The Christian will feel contrition, will respond to that sin by being contrite.

01:49:42.772 --> 01:49:45.752
<v SPEAKER_1>Now, the impenitent, high-handed sinner, we know where that leads.

01:49:46.152 --> 01:49:47.252
<v SPEAKER_1>We can leave him aside.

01:49:49.452 --> 01:49:54.572
<v SPEAKER_1>But once you have that contrition, this is where there's a real fork in the road.

01:49:55.492 --> 01:50:01.632
<v SPEAKER_1>Because we see contrition for, for instance, in two men in Scripture.

01:50:02.392 --> 01:50:06.072
<v SPEAKER_1>The first is Judas, and the second is Peter.

01:50:07.672 --> 01:50:09.732
<v SPEAKER_1>Judas is most certainly contrite.

01:50:10.132 --> 01:50:17.612
<v SPEAKER_1>He feels the terrors of conscience, and he feels great sorrow for the evil he committed in betraying Christ.

01:50:19.092 --> 01:50:21.532
<v SPEAKER_1>But he chooses the first option, and he despairs.

01:50:23.072 --> 01:50:24.052
<v SPEAKER_1>And so he's damned.

01:50:24.772 --> 01:50:29.892
<v SPEAKER_1>He will spend eternity in hell, because he was contrite, but he despaired.

01:50:30.712 --> 01:50:33.092
<v SPEAKER_1>The second option is what Peter does.

01:50:34.452 --> 01:50:36.152
<v SPEAKER_1>Peter also betrays Christ.

01:50:36.452 --> 01:50:42.672
<v SPEAKER_1>He denies him three times, after emphatically saying that he would go to death with him before denying him.

01:50:44.492 --> 01:50:49.972
<v SPEAKER_1>But Peter does not despair, because Peter is propped up by Christ.

01:50:50.192 --> 01:50:53.352
<v SPEAKER_1>He is brought back into communion with Christ.

01:50:53.532 --> 01:50:58.832
<v SPEAKER_1>He is given a restored and a renewed faith, and so Peter has hope.

01:50:59.052 --> 01:50:59.832
<v SPEAKER_1>He has faith.

01:51:00.472 --> 01:51:02.372
<v SPEAKER_1>Ultimately those are really the same thing.

01:51:04.492 --> 01:51:05.872
<v SPEAKER_1>That is the Christian life.

01:51:06.572 --> 01:51:08.552
<v SPEAKER_1>You don't despair because you sinned.

01:51:08.932 --> 01:51:11.652
<v SPEAKER_1>You don't despair because you feel contrite for your sins.

01:51:11.652 --> 01:51:21.952
<v SPEAKER_1>In fact, when you feel contrite for your sins, you should recognize that as a good thing, because the alternative to that is to be that impenitent sinner.

01:51:22.912 --> 01:51:27.872
<v SPEAKER_1>If you do not feel contrition with regard to your sins, that is when you are in trouble.

01:51:28.652 --> 01:51:35.672
<v SPEAKER_1>But if you feel sorrow for your sins, you recognize you've committed this evil, and then you turn and think differently about it.

01:51:35.692 --> 01:51:36.332
<v SPEAKER_1>You repent.

01:51:38.092 --> 01:51:41.852
<v SPEAKER_1>That is when faith comes in, and you have the forgiveness of sins.

01:51:42.472 --> 01:51:48.492
<v SPEAKER_1>Not because you repent, not because you feel contrite, but because that is how God works.

01:51:48.932 --> 01:51:54.972
<v SPEAKER_1>He uses the law to drive you to the Gospel, because the law drives you to repentance.

01:51:54.992 --> 01:51:56.412
<v SPEAKER_1>It shows you your sin.

01:51:56.752 --> 01:52:01.412
<v SPEAKER_1>It holds up the mirror and points out to you, you are a sinner.

01:52:02.132 --> 01:52:03.532
<v SPEAKER_1>You have committed great evil.

01:52:03.972 --> 01:52:05.152
<v SPEAKER_1>You have transgressed.

01:52:05.212 --> 01:52:08.272
<v SPEAKER_1>You are the reason Christ was nailed to the cross.

01:52:09.912 --> 01:52:11.092
<v SPEAKER_1>But that's the Gospel.

01:52:11.812 --> 01:52:14.072
<v SPEAKER_1>Christ crucified for sinners.

01:52:16.632 --> 01:52:25.752
<v SPEAKER_1>That is good news, because in that you have the free forgiveness of sins given to you by grace in faith.

01:52:28.772 --> 01:52:32.632
<v SPEAKER_1>And so when you hear the word repent, don't just think law.

01:52:33.052 --> 01:52:36.132
<v SPEAKER_1>Don't just think, oh, this is something that I have to do.

01:52:36.512 --> 01:52:40.712
<v SPEAKER_1>This is something, some work, this some burden that is placed upon me.

01:52:41.652 --> 01:52:50.552
<v SPEAKER_1>Recognize in the word repent that both the law and the Gospel are present, and that it is actually in fact good news for us that we have God's law.

01:52:51.292 --> 01:52:55.692
<v SPEAKER_1>Because as Christians, yes, the law will always accuse us in this life.

01:52:56.652 --> 01:52:58.452
<v SPEAKER_1>But it is lex semper accusat.

01:52:58.472 --> 01:53:00.152
<v SPEAKER_1>It is the law always accuses.

01:53:00.572 --> 01:53:02.572
<v SPEAKER_1>It is not the law only accuses.

01:53:03.212 --> 01:53:08.032
<v SPEAKER_1>Because the law does not only accuse, the law also guides us in the Christian life.

01:53:08.372 --> 01:53:10.132
<v SPEAKER_1>It aids us in our sanctification.

01:53:10.452 --> 01:53:19.592
<v SPEAKER_1>The law itself is good news for those with ears to hear, and eyes to see, and hearts of flesh and not stone.

01:53:21.272 --> 01:53:24.852
<v SPEAKER_1>That is what you need to hear when you hear the word repentance.

01:53:26.112 --> 01:53:33.332
<v SPEAKER_1>And so yes, it may seem like this episode was heavy on law, and perhaps accusations, and do this and don't do that.

01:53:34.312 --> 01:53:46.852
<v SPEAKER_1>But it's because that is part of the Christian life, and that is a good thing, because this is how Christ is pulling us out of this sinful world, and preparing us for eternal life with him in Paradise.

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<v SPEAKER_1>And that is very good news.