Repentance

In the parable of the prodigal son, Jesus taught us that we have to repent and return to God. This means that we were once with God, but got separated from God. Then why did we get separated from God? The bible teaches that we got separated from God because of our sins.

Isaiah 50:1 This is what the Lord says: “Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce with which I sent her away? Or to which of my creditors did I sell you? Because of your sins you were sold;     because of your transgressions your mother was sent away.

Because of our sins we were sent away from God and driven out to this earth living in pain and sorrow.

Isaiah 59:1 Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

Here again God teaches that we were separated from God and came down to this earth because of our sins. Then how can we repent and return to God? The bible let us know the way to return to God.

2 Chronicles 30:6  At the king’s command, couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and from his officials, which read: “People of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you who are left, who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 Do not be like your parents and your fellow Israelites, who were unfaithful to the Lord, the God of their ancestors, so that he made them an object of horror, as you see. 8 Do not be stiff-necked, as your ancestors were; submit to the Lord. Come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God, so that his fierce anger will turn away from you. 9 If you return to the Lord, then your fellow Israelites and your children will be shown compassion by their captors and will return to this land, for the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate. He will not turn his face from you if you return to him.”

King Hezekiah sent out message to the people of God, telling them to return to God by keeping the Passover. Here we can know that we can return to God through the Passover. In the Book of Malachi we can also know how to repent and return to God.

Malachi 3:6  “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7 Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ 8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.

In this chapter God let us know that we can return to God through the tithes and offerings. Through these examples we can conclude that we can return to God through the laws of God such as the Passover, and the tithes. By obeying to the commands of God we can return to God. It makes sense because we were separated from God because of our lawlessness, or disobedience to the words of God in the first place. Therefore, the true repentance is in the obedience to the words of God.

Mark 1:14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

The true repentance is in believing the good news, that is, the gospel of the new covenant: the laws and regulations Jesus Christ established for our salvation. By keeping the Sabbath Day, Jesus established the Sabbath Day as a part of the gospel. The Passover, the Day of Pentecost, the Feast of the Tabernacles, the regulation of veil for women—all these are parts of the new covenant that we have to keep.

By keeping the laws of the new covenant, we can repent and return to God. We should remember that God established the new covenant for our salvation. Let us keep the gospel of the new covenant with the mind of repentance and return to God.