The songwriter once penned these words, "Every precepts thou hast spoken is essential to our life. "How true we find these words. Paul told young Timothy "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable..." 2 Tim 3:16. When illuminated by the Holy Spirit, a doctrine stands out to our attention. Our hearts see the importance of obeying each commandment. There is not one commandment men may cast aside as being non essential, and still prosper in their souls.

Repentance is one of these. Yet in one sense, repentance is even more important than all the others. It will do a people no good to be taught and the intricacies and depths of the doctrines, the mysteries of the kingdom of God, or the revelation of Jesus Christ, without having obeyed his truth. Repentance is without a doubt the most widely forgotten, overlooked, and misunderstood doctrine throughout the Holy Scriptures.

Rev 2:5---"Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works..." Repentance is among the "first works" of the Christian experience.

God, in his word places much importance upon repentance.

In Luke 13:4-5---Jesus said, "those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay; but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." There is no avoiding this truth. This is a life and death issue to all. There are no exception to this. "Except (or unless) ye repent ye shall all likewise perish." It is a commandment of God.

Acts 17:30--- "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; But now commandeth all men every where to repent." Repentance is the will of God for everyone. Repentance is the underlying theme of the gospel message.

Matt 3:1-2---"In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Here we see John at the beginning of the gospel day preaching repentance.

Matt 4:17---"From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say ,Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Christ preached repentance and so did His disciples.

Mark 6:7---"And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth...

Verse 12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent."

But what is repentance and how can a person go about submitting to this commandment of God? How can he or she know for certain that they have obeyed this prerequisite to the blessing of God? It might do well to give a definition to this important word and note what it is not.

According to Webster's dictionary the word "repentance" means: To feel such deep contrition or sorrow for sin as leads to amendment of life; to be penitent; to grieve over one's past life, and to seek forgiveness for sin, with a determination to lead a new life." According to this definition we can see three main parts that belongs to repentance. Those parts are godly sorrow, forgiveness, and a new life in Christ. We might note here that the three make up the whole. True Bible repentance includes all three.

2 Cor 7:9-10---"Now i rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner,that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. "According to Paul there are two kinds of sorrow for sin. Godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation, while the sorrow of the world worketh death." Godly sorrow has a quality about it that will effect a change in the heart. It will cause one to acknowledge their own sin.

Many people have worldly sorrow for sin or the sorrow of the world. Some may even go as far as to make great demonstrations of weeping and deep grief for their sin; but in the end it worketh death. In reality their sorrow or grief is because they were caught and found guilty. They sorrow not for sin, but rather the loss of their good name and reputation. The sorrow of the world carries with it no true humility. An example of this is King Saul in the Old Testament. After he had rebelled against the commandment of God, he was not willing to admit his sin until the prophet Samuel had exposed it.

1 Sam 15:24-25---"And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that i may worship the Lord. "King Saul had no real shame for his sin. He was not willing to humble himself before the people and admit that he had sinned.

Verse 30- "Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God." His name and reputation meant more to him than his relationship with God. Sorrow of the world is not sorrow for sin. It has no regret over past deeds. When pressure is off and opportunity presents itself they will do it again.

If someone repeatedly wronged you, saying they were sorry each time, after a while you would not believe them. You would not believe they were truly sorry for what they were doing. If they were truly sorry for what they did to you, they would quit offending you. The same can be said for godly sorrow. Godly sorrow worketh repentance not to be repented of.

Repentance is the cornerstone of a justified experience. It is the initial part of conversion.

Acts 3:19---"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out...." It brings forgiveness from the Father.

In Luke 15 when the prodigal son returned, the father "saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck and kissed him."

Acts 5:31---"Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to`Israel, and forgiveness of sins." One must confess their sins. Unconfessed sin is unforgiven sin.

1 John 1:9---"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." It would be impossible for a person to remember every sin they ever committed. God simply wants every soul to be honest with Him. In confession, one exposes the known sinful deeds and habits that bind, to the cleansing blood of Christ. It keeps the soul from harboring secret sins and enables faith to grasp the promises.

Confession of sin is a necessary part of repentance, but confession alone is not repentance. There are countless millions who confess their sins on a regular basis. Some confess their sins weekly to a priest, others nightly to their bedside. Supossing confession is repentance, they ask God to forgive them of their sins committed that day; but such is not repentance. There must be a forsaking of all known sin. Without it there can be no forgiveness.

Prov 28:13---"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." Repentance is a changing of one's mind.

Isa 55:17---"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. "It is a turning away from sin.

Acts 3:26---"Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away everyone of you from his iniquities."

John the baptist demanded of those who came to his baptism, that they "Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance "(Matt 3:8). Repentance will bring forth certain fruit or evidence in a person's life. We are made a "new creature: old things are passed away; behold,all things are become new." The old desires, habits and attitudes of sin are passed away. We will have a forgiving spirit towards those who have wronged us in the past.

Matt 6:14-15---"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." We will love the brethren.

1 John 3:14---"We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." We will want to right our wrongs as much as is humanly possible. This includes making the restitution. To Christ, this was the proof of Zaccheus conversion. Jesus know for certain that Zaccheus had repented.

Luke 19:8-9---"And Zaccheus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day day is salvation come to this house...."

2 Cor 7:11---"For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation ,yea, what fear ,yea,what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter." Godly sorrow that worketh repentance will work some things in our souls. It will cause us to be careful and watchful. We will not want to get close to temptation or sin.

1 Thess 5:22---"Abstain from all appearance of evil." We will want a clearing before our fellow man. Our dealings with others will be fair and just. There will be a desire, zeal and an appetite for the things of God.

If you have not repented the Bible way, you do not have the forgiveness of God. Only if you seek Him with your whole heart will He be found of you.

2 Chro.7:14---"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."