We share Eve's problem as she stood before the tree of knowledge of good and evil prior to taking and eating its fruit. To her, in the moment of her temptation, evil seemed truly good. Like Eve, we often are deceived by evil's presentation of itself at our moment of temptation. As an illustration of humanity's continuing deception, consider Isaiah 5:20:

To grasp the astounding force of this statement, a person needs to read Isaiah 5:18-23. The people of Judah were guilty of the listed perspectives and behavior. They were certain they did what was "good." They were the "enlightened" who grasped and correctly understood life's purpose. Because they were the "enlightened" who did "good," they did not need to repent.

Prior to Babylonian exile, just who were these people who considered themselves the "enlightened?" They lived in Judah. They inhabited Jerusalem, the "holy city," the city that contained "God's temple." In theory, they were God's people [they claimed to belong to God, but their lives did not reflect God]. They worshipped at God's temple and placed their confidence in temple rites and sacrificial worship. Had not God talked to their ancestor Abraham? Had not God been responsible for giving their ancestor Isaac his existence? Had not God made the descendants of Jacob's twelve sons the twelve tribes of Israel? Had not God performed incredible acts to deliver those descendants from slavery? Had not God given their ancestor Moses the Law? Had not God given them Canaan? Had not God permitted their ancestor Solomon to build God's temple? God could not exile His people who lived in His holy city and worshipped in His temple!

Was anyone else designated as God's people? No. Had God given anyone else His Law? No. Had God permitted anyone else to build His temple? No. Was not scripture, God's word, given to Israel? Yes. Did not God communicate with Israel throughout their generations through Israelite prophets? Yes.

These people for centuries had a unique relationship with God, but they forgot Who God was. They laid claim to "correct rituals" at the "right place," but they no longer knew or were committed to God as a current living Being. Their limited knowledge declared they were special, not that God was special! Though they denied it, the force of their religious acts was to glorify themselves, not to glorify God Who brought them into existence and sustained them. Sadly, the people who should have known God best desperately needed to return to God, to repent!

Following are the basic perspectives that must be grasped by a person or a people for repentance to occur.

1. They must realize God's existence as the creator of life.
   (Genesis 1,2; Job 38; Isaiah 42:5; Acts 17:24-28; Revelation 4:11)

2. They must realize God's superiority.
   (Isaiah 40:12-17;1 Corinthians 2:9-16; Romans 11:33-36)

3. They must realize God's goodness. (Psalm 8; Psalm 19; Hebrews 2:6-8)
   The fact that God is the superior to people as the Creator is a source of hope, not threat.

4. They must realize "our" ["my"] evil is a costly, unjust abuse of God and His creation.
   (Psalm 103; Romans 3:21-26; 5:6-8)

5. They must realize that God responds to "us" ["me"] in kindness and mercy in spite of "our" ["my"] abusiveness. (Note Psalm 103 and Romans 5:6-8 again)

6. They must desire to move toward "our" ["my"] original created nature before evil was a part of human existence. (Philippians 3:1-14--note the direction toward the greatest form of righteousness is not the result of human achievement, but the result of a God-given righteousness.)

7. They must desire a redirection of mind, emotion, and behavior which encourages God's influences in "us" ["me"] rather than opposing God's influences in "us" ["me"].
   (Romans 12:1,2; Ephesians 4:20-24; Colossians 3:5-11; 1 Peter 2:11-17)

This does not suggest that the person who repents has to possess a total understanding of the changes brought by repentance. It states that those who repent need to understand that repentance is a continuing process of change, not a "one time" event. The process of repentance produces results in a person's life [or a people's lives] that are consistent with the process. Repentance produces "fruit" (Matthew 3:7-10). Repentance is not a sterile, inactive force in the life of the penitent. It is a living, growing awareness expressed in the penitent's emotions, motives, attitudes, and behavior. It is powerfully influenced by the penitent's understanding and maturity.

In the ongoing process of repentance, what fundamental awareness drives the process? (1) God is the ultimate, highest expression of goodness. (2) If my life moves toward God it moves toward goodness. (3) When only human forces influence my direction, I move further from God, further from goodness. (4) My past decisions/behaviors/attitudes/emotions/motives were unjust or abusive to God and His kindness. (5) It thus is my choice/will to cease being the person who is unjust and hurtful to God in order to be the person who seeks God's influence/presence in his/her life.

In the process of repentance, the more accurately I understand God, the more I repent. As I mature, I change. My repentance is the driving force behind my change. As I grow in understanding of God and His will, I accept the responsibility to repent.

Questions of Insight:

1. What common problem do we share with Eve?

2. What was Judah's pre-exilic view of themselves?

3. After centuries of association with God, what did Judah forget?

4. State seven basic perspectives that undergird the process of repentance.

5. Discuss why repentance is a process rather than a "one time act."

6. In the process of repentance, state five basic awareness that drive the process.

7. Why is repentance continually linked to spiritual maturity?

Link to Teacher's Guide Lesson 3

Copyright © 2004
David Chadwell & West-Ark Church of Christ

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