How Important Is Repentance for the Christian?

(This blog entry is dependent upon the five previous blog entries on ‘repentance.’ By itself, it might not make sense. So…please read the others first.)

What a question! Of course repentance is vital for the Christian...right?

I am not trying to wrangle words, be argumentative or create novelty, but rather, discover and apply biblical truth. So, I must say that as long as we keep pressing an old and incorrect meaning onto repentance, we will not know how to answer the title question.

Remember, repentance in the New Testament is actually a change in perception. Repentance certainly applied to those who did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God, the prophesied Messiah. The call to repentance after the death and resurrection of Jesus was a call to change one’s perception concerning Jesus. (See Acts 2, giving careful attention to verses 36-47.) But what about repentance after a person becomes a Christian?

The epistles (letters) in the New Testament are addressed to Christians, and repentance is fairly rare in those writings. That is not surprising since Christians have already repented. So in the epistles repentance is most often applied to unbelievers, but also believers who have left Christ or are at risk of leaving Christ.

It has often been taught that a Christian who sins should ‘repent of his sin.’ Paul seems to have said that in 2 Corinthians 12:21. He wondered if when he visited he would mourn...

over many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, immorality, and sensuality which they have practiced.

Actually, Paul wrote that they had not ‘changed their perception’ concerning their past sins.

The idea is that they had made a proper faith response to Christ, but they had not changed their thinking about their sin. 

Were they still sinning? “Yes.” 

Did they need to change their behavior? “Yes.”

However, instead of telling them to stop sinning or turn from sin or change their behavior, Paul addressed their thinking, that is their attitude toward sin. If their attitude toward sin changed, then their behavior would naturally follow.

We can see the same thought applied to the seven churches of Asia in Revelation 2 & 3. Over and over Jesus called the Christians to repent. Strictly speaking, He admonished them to ‘change their perception.’

As an example, Jesus said to the church in Ephesus,

But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first….
—Revelation 2:4-5

Note that they had ‘left their first love.’ Their behavior was not separate from a change in their heart. In other words, at one time they had changed their heart (mind) toward Jesus, but then, over time, fell. Their fall marked a change of heart (mind) away from Jesus. The call to repentance was a call to change their mind back to the way it was at first. AND they were to couple that changed mind with changed deeds, as they had done at first.

So, what do we say to the title question? Is it just for religious discussion? What does it matter?

While repentance is first, a call to those who do not believe, it is also vital to believers who have fallen away from Christ. As for the Christian who has already changed his perception of Jesus (repented), he surely must not change his mind back to his former way of thinking!


Mark Stinnett
December 30, 2019

Why Is 'Repentance' in the Bible?

The Question:

The title of this blog entry might be confusing. So, to be clear, the question is not about the concept of repentance, but the word itself. 

In recent blog entries I have shown that the underlying meaning of repentance is a ‘change of mind’ or more accurately ‘a change of perception.’ That underlying meaning is based on the meaning of the Greek term that is translated repentance in our English Bibles. Oddly, the English word repentance has connotations of sorrow and regret. In great contrast, the Greek term is a thinking word and deals with the perceptions of the mind. So, how did a ‘sorrow’ word find its way into our English Bibles where the Greek text had a ‘thinking’ word?

That’s Greek To Me:

Without being overly technical, the Greek word that is commonly translated repentance is metanoia. Its verb counterpart, repent, is metanoeo (pronounced: me-ta-no-EH-o). The two words were used to indicate a change of mind/perception. The change of perception was often followed by regret over the embarrassment of having previously been in error. 

A few modern translations and paraphrases use the phrase change your mind/heart or change the way you think instead of repent where the Greek verb metanoeo appears in the text. That is a great improvement, but most English translations still have repent/repentance, so… 

Why were the terms repent and repentance used in the first place? 

The Translation of Metanoeo:

One way to answer this question is to follow the history of the way the Greek term for metanoeo was translated in early English translations and their predecessors. 

The King James Version (KJV) of 1611 used repent to translate the Greek term metanoeo in every instance. An earlier translation that was a major influence on the KJV was made by William Tyndale in about 1535. The English Bibles before Tyndale used do penance to translate metanoeo. Under strong objection by the Roman Catholic Church Tyndale replaced the phrase do penance with repent.

Tyndale was among the earliest English Bible translators to use the ancient Hebrew and Greek manuscripts of the Bible. Earlier English translations were primarily translations of the Latin Vulgate, a Latin translation of the Bible that had been adopted by the Roman Catholic Church as the official Scripture text. 

The Latin Vulgate had a form of the Latin word poenitentia for every occurrence of the Greek term metanoeo. The Latin poenitentia derived its meaning from the Latin verb poenteo meaning: to punish or torment; and later, to make repent; to displease; to feel sorrow or regret.

When the Roman Catholic Church endorsed an English translation of the Bible, the Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB) of 1609, the Latin Vulgate was the source text. It was no surprise that metanoeo was translated do penance which retained the idea of sorrow and punishment for one’s sins.

For comparison, the familiar text of Luke 13:3 is shown below from the Douay-Rheims Bible and the King James Version. Boldface type is used where metanoeo appears in the Greek text.

DRB: "No, I say to you: but unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish."

KJV: "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."

Another familiar repentance verse, Acts 17:30, is shown below:

DRB: "And God indeed having winked at the times of this ignorance, now declareth unto men that all should every where do penance." 

KJV: "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent."

['Winked at' in this text meant to 'overlook.']

The same wording for metanoeo is found throughout the Douay-Rheims Bible. This raises yet another question: Why did the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible use a term for sorrow/punishment to translate the Greek metanoeo? 

Doctrine over Accuracy:

The Latin Vulgate was a Latin translation of the Bible completed in about 405 A.D. by a Roman Catholic priest, Jerome. He had been commissioned to by the pope to translate the Bible because of a wide variety of unreliable translations that were circulating in his day. He searched for the oldest and most reliable Greek and Hebrew manuscripts as the source for his translation. Overall, the Latin translation of Jerome was an amazing work. However, for every occurrence of metanoeo in the Greek New Testament Jerome translated using a form of the word poenitentia.

Jerome’s word choice reflected the Roman Catholic doctrine of penance that originated in a work by an early Christian writer named Tertullian. His ‘Sacrament of Penance’ stated that upon sinning there must be contrition, confession and satisfaction.

• Contrition is the sorrow felt within the sinner for sin;
• In confession a person admits their sin in public or in private to a bishop; and
• Satisfaction is any number of acts ordered by a bishop for the purpose of satisfying one’s debt of sin.

With this doctrine firmly in place in the Roman Catholic Church by the time of Jerome it is understandable that he would use a Latin term to promote and preserve this doctrine, and indeed he did. The Latin Vulgate became the official Bible of the Roman Catholic Church and remained the text of Scripture for the western world for more than a millennium.

So, the reason for Jerome’s word choice appears to have been linked to the accepted doctrine of penance. Because of the acceptance of his Latin translation the true meaning of the Greek metanoeo was obscured for centuries. When the first English translations appeared the Latin Vulgate was used as the source text. It was not until Tyndale and others who insisted on using the Greek texts as their source that penance was taken out of English translations. Even then, the doctrine of penance had made an indelible mark in the minds of people. 

Tyndale’s choices of the English repent and repentance were tremendous improvements over the infused doctrine of penance, yet they still did not convey the true meaning of the Greek metanoeo: To change the mind/perception. 

Conclusion:

The chart labeled “Figure 1” (below) shows the development of the two English words: penitence and repent. A strong case could be made that the words repent and repentance should not translate the Greek metanoeo. They both descend from Greek and Latin words for punishment and payment for doing wrong. The Greek term poine (see chart) from which the words repent, repentance, penitence and penance descend is not even found in the Greek text of the New Testament.

So, why do the words repent and repentance appear in our English translations? 

In short, they were early English word choices that were improvements over the concept of penance which was introduced into a 5th Century Latin translation of the Bible by a Roman Catholic priest; a translation that has strongly influenced the western world for a millennium.

Can/should English translations do better? Absolutely!

The English language is certainly not lacking with words sufficient to convey the meaning of the Greek term metanoeo (change of perception).

To replace the Greek metanoeo with words that convey sorrow, regret, or worse, penance is inexcusable. Yet, until improvements are made in English translations, Bible readers will do well to learn and remember the meaning of the Greek terms in the Bible behind repent and repentance. They will want to mentally transfer the more accurate and meaningful expression of change one’s perception to the words repent and repentance when they appear in the English text of the New Testament.

Mark Stinnett

December 23, 2019

Lost in the Hazy Holiday Maze

I have an idea I’d like to develop but I’ll need to ask you to use your imagination. So, hang with me; there is a point to this.

Imagine that there is life on other planets and that you are a human-type being that has traveled to earth unnoticed. You look like a normal, average human, easily blending in with the population. Of course, you are not from around here so you don’t really care. You observe.

When you look at the human race, what do you see? You observe the political maneuvering of nations. You see aggressive nations trying to gain a stronger footing among other nations. You see terrorism. You see conflicting definitions of freedom.

Remember, you are not from around here. So, you have no allegiance to the U.S. or to Spain or to Indonesia. What does it all mean/matter?

You continue on relatively unnoticed for a while...watching people as they scurry from one place to another, going to work, working after work, playing, being entertained, arguing, struggling, fighting, living, dying. Individuals are doing a lot of maneuvering too. To what end?

Let’s extend this imagination tour beyond days to years, even to centuries. What was happening in the place where you are ’right now’ one thousand years ago? (Trees???)

In your mind go to a population center. Imagine being able to observe people and nations for a millennium. You can see the struggles and triumphs. You observe the rise and fall of power, the shifting of wealth, enterprise and foolishness, the proud and the lowly.

You watch the seemingly unending cycle of life. The repetition was startling at first, but now you can identify patterns and can accurately anticipate the outcome of choices and actions.

A thousand years pass and you return to your home to report. What will you say about the people and the nations of the earth? 

---------------------

My purpose in this outlandish journey has been to challenge you to step away from your personal life and its desires and stresses and joys, and disconnect...to think about God.

Do you know why it makes sense that God identified Himself to Moses as, “I Am Who I Am”? He transcends place and time. God created place. God created time. He is the one who really can step back and comprehend all places in all time. For that reason we would do well to respond as Moses did when God revealed Himself: Moses bowed low and worshiped.

Yet, God can also look directly into your life at this place at this time. In fact, He does look, because He is interested in you. So, while He seems to be distant because of His divine nature, His love for you draws Him into your life.

God has seen it all. He has watched the endless parade of nations as well as the cyclical and tiresome ways of man. And at the right time God entered into His creation as a little baby. That little baby was Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God. And He grew up, and He became the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He rules the nations and ultimately every knee will bow to Him.

He did not come to earth so that we could hustle and bustle, and exchange gifts, and have lots of food and football and fun and fellowship with friends and family. It doesn’t really matter how you celebrate Christmas or whether you celebrate Christmas if you get lost in the maze of holiday haze and forget why He came. 

So...stop! 

Remember.

Read the words of Jesus slowly.

I    came    that    they    may    have    life…

Mark Stinnett

How Important is Repentance?

What a question! Of course repentance is vital...right?

Over the past few weeks I have written about the meaning of the Greek term behind the word repentance as it appears in the New Testament. A more refined and accurate meaning of the word is a change of perception. So, the question might be asked, “How importance is one’s perception”?

One of my daughters has traveled extensively in Italy. She has noted numerous times that some Italians think that all Americans are rich. Obviously, that is a perception. Yet, because of that perception assumptions are made. For example, a border guard might hold an American’s passport demanding a significant sum of money for safe passage. After all, Americans have money.

A person’s perception may or may not be rooted in truth. Regardless, decisions are based on one’s perception of truth. When the American tourist truthfully tells the border guard that he is not wealthy and does not have enough money, the border guard does not believe him. And why? Perception: Americans have money.

So, the border guard tells the tourist to get the money from family or friends. The tourist objects saying that his family and friends don’t have that kind of money. Again, the border guard does not believe him. Perception.

All of the border guard’s actions were filtered through a mind that accepted the perception that Americans have money. Everything the tourist said was filtered through and interpreted with ears that perceived that Americans have money.

Repentance is not merely a change of mind; repentance involves a correction and realignment of one’s perception from error to truth. Until we come to terms with this meaning of repentance we will continue to misunderstand scripture.

What is your perception of God?

Your perception of God will determine the way you approach the Bible; the way you think about the creation account in the Book of Genesis; the way you perceive sin, and how you perceive salvation from divine judgment.

The way you perceive God will determine the way you think about the created world, your fellow man, your family, the government, the church and even the value of life.

Your perception of God will ultimately define your understanding of truth. I want to be clear: Truth stands independent of your perception. There is only one truth: We call it reality. However, people make decisions and take action based on their perception of truth.

So, if you hold to an erroneous perception, for example, that there is no God, then you will have a skewed sense of reality. Your decisions and actions will not align with the way things really are.

Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent (change their perception), because he has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. 
—Acts 17:30 (NASB95)

“Yes,” repentance is vital. 

That is the only way to have a correct perception of God and sin and righteousness...a correct perception of truth. 

Repentance leads to salvation!


Mark Stinnett

December 15, 2019

The Object of Repentance, Part 2

The meaning of repentance has been unintentionally ambiguous. “Repent of your sins” is often intended to mean “Turn from your sins.” Curiously, the statement “Repent of your sins” is not found in the New Testament.

On one occasion when Peter was preaching in Jerusalem he called the people to repentance:

“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away….” 
—Acts 3:19

Peter did not say, “Turn and return….” Rather, the Greek word translated repent meant to change one’s perception. (See previous blog entry.) So, what did Peter mean? What was the object of repentance? The people were to change their perception about what?

Peter had been preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. He had been declaring that the ancient promise to Abraham and many Old Testament prophecies had been fulfilled in Jesus.

When Peter called for repentance, he was specifically inviting the people to change their perception about Jesus. They had, in ignorance, rejected Jesus as the Messiah, so they needed to change their perception. Not only that, he insisted that they ‘return.’ The implication was that they had turned away from God.

On another occasion Peter gave the Holy Spirit to some believers. A new Christian, Simon, was amazed and tried to buy the power from Peter so that he could do the same. Rebuking him, Peter said:

Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. 
—Acts 8:22

Did Peter mean, “turn from this wickedness”?

That would make sense, but that is not the meaning of the word repent. The remainder of the verse helps us to understand that the problem was Simon’s ‘intention of his heart.’

Yes, it was wicked; and yes, he needed to turn. But Peter literally said, “Change your perception of this wickedness of yours….” More specifically, Peter was addressing the intention of Simon’s heart. Simon had perceived that the authority to give the Holy Spirit could be purchased. He needed to change his thinking, his attitude.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth to explain something about repentance:

For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. 
—2 Corinthians 7:10

As explained in an earlier blog entry, the Greek term for repentance was generally used in a negative sense. A person was compelled to change his perception because he had not used forethought. Only after a decision was made and a course of action taken did sound reasoning take place. That approach was viewed as foolish, not wise. So, it was natural for regret to accompany repentance because of one’s error and backward thinking.

However, God does not see things the same way when it comes to faith in Jesus. When a person changes his perception concerning Jesus (repentance), the result is not regret. It is true that his previous perception was in error and that his thinking was foolish. However, God assures the believer that when he changes his perception about Jesus there is no regret. The simple reason is that changing one’s perception about Jesus leads to salvation. So, in that case genuine sorrow motivates repentance and joy follows...no regrets!

Mark Stinnett

December 8, 2019

The Object of Repentance, Part 1

Repentance is a change of mind, or more accurately, a change of perception. (See the previous two articles.) But what does that look like in real life? Is repentance always about sin?

When you think about it, the word repentance is rather neutral. After all, if you called a friend and announced, “I’ve changed my mind,” he would be waiting for you to finish your statement. He needs context; you are changing your mind about what???


Imagine when sailors finally learned that the world was not flat. They repented of their perception of the shape of the earth. At that point everything changed. They perceived that they could freely sail the oceans without fear of falling off the edge into an abyss. (There were other things to fear, but not the edge of the earth.)

I know that belief in a flat earth is not a moral issue, but that is the point. The Greek term behind repentance was not always used in reference to morality. The context in which the word was used defined the object of repentance.

Let’s turn to the New Testament and see a few examples of repentance...in context.

John the Baptist came onto the scene preaching

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 
—Matthew 3:2

So, what was the object of repentance? Or, we might ask, “Repent of what?” Or more accurately, “Change your perception about what?” If we were to replace the word ’repent’ with the meaning of the Greek term…

“Change your perception, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Does that help to clear things up?

John was announcing the coming of the kingdom of heaven saying that it was near in time. He insisted, “Change your perception.” That was a wake-up call that alerted people to change the way they had been thinking about the arrival of the kingdom of heaven. Their nation had been waiting and waiting and waiting...and waiting. Now! The time had come.

A person’s mind would be more alert the next time they went to the synagogue to hear the scripture read. They would be more interested in the word-of-mouth news of events transpiring in other locations. They might go to their local rabbi and ask to be reminded of the signs that would accompany the coming of the kingdom and the Messiah.

Everything coming into their mind and going out of their mind would be filtered through this new information, this new perception.

Another repentance verse, spoken by Jesus, is a often quoted:

“I tell you, no, but unless your repent, you will all likewise perish.” 
—Luke 13:3

Interestingly, Jesus was not talking about sin at all. Rather, the people had approached him with the ‘headline news’ of their day wondering what He thought about it.

Jesus actually rebuked them for being distracted by their muddled cause-and-effect thinking associated with the horrible news that had little to do with them personally. He then told a parable instructing them to refocus their minds; to focus on their response to God, not everyone else’s response to God. Change the way you are thinking; change your perception...or you will perish just like the others.

Repentance is vital, but repent of what???

Only when we answer this question does repentance make sense.

(Next week, additional examples to consider.)

Mark Stinnett

December 1, 2019

Repentance and the New Mind

My wife and I were heading home one evening when the conversation turned to dinner. We were reviewing our options, reflecting on the contents of the refrigerator. Then, I suggested that we eat out instead of eating leftovers. We had changed our minds about dinner.

Did repentance come to mind as you read about our dinner decision? 

Probably not.

The meaning the Greek term that is translated ’repent’ in our New Testaments actually meant to change the mind. Yet, who would describe our changed dinner decision as repentance?

In last week’s blog, I explained the way the Greek word metanoeo (repent) was used in the New Testament. While its technical meaning was to change the mind, its actual usage suggested a deeper meaning. It was most often used in a negative sense after a person had come to the realization that he was operating with an erroneous perception. As a result he was practically forced to change his mind, or more accurately, change his perception.

When we use the expression change of mind in reference to dinner, we intuitively understand that we are not referring to a changed perception (repentance); so also the Greek-speaking world of the first century. In fact, the Greek language at the time of Jesus had as many as eighteen different words for 'a change of mind.’ One was descriptive of the impromptu change of mind describing my dinner plans. Others terms described:

• A change of purpose (based on chance);
• A change of purpose (based on knowledge);
• A change of opinion;
• A change of mind because of sorrow;
• A change of mind due to persuasion.

Many of the eighteen change of mind terms do not appear in the Bible. Yet the Greek-speaking people of the first century would have distinguished those words in their vocabulary. So, the shades of meaning were/are very important.

The term translated repentance in the New Testament reflected a change of mind that dealt with the perception. Your perception is like a filter that interprets everything coming into your mind through your senses, and going back out of your mind in speech and behavior.

An atheist and a Christian both have a bank account and worldly possessions. The atheist find meaning and value in his possessions. The Christian agrees with the Apostle Paul:

I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. 
 —Philippians 3:8

Why the difference?

When the Christian repented (i.e. changed his perception) he replaced his old value-filter with a new one based on his convictions regarding Jesus Christ. He adopted a new view toward possessions, a new view of people, of the world and life itself. His mind was changed from a perception defined by and governed by the human senses and human values, to a perception defined by and governed by Christ. Or, as Paul explained, we who are in Christ, have been given the mind of Christ through the Holy Spirit. So we look at life from Christ’s perspective.

Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
—2 Corinthians 5:16-17

Mark Stinnett

November 24, 2019

What You Might Not Know About Repentance

“REPENT! THE END IS NEAR!”

As soon as you read or hear the word ‘repent,’ what comes to your mind?

I don’t know anyone who consistently uses the terms repent and repentance the same way they were used by Jesus and His disciples.

English dictionaries only reflect how ‘we’ English-speaking folks have used the word ‘repent,’ but not necessarily how the Bible did. The definition is presented as a kind of menu selection:

• To do penance (i.e. deeds to pay for sin);
• To feel sorrow;
• To change behavior; or
• To change one’s mind/heart.

Do you know how repentance is used in the New Testament...every time?

The Greek term behind repent and repentance meant to change one’s mind/heart. More literally, it meant ‘to perceive afterward.’ Let me explain.

There are two times that people think about things: before they decide, and after they decide. The wise person thinks ‘before’ making a decision. He investigates, thinks, ponders, studies, and processes. From that he forms a perception upon which he will base his decision. All of that comes before the decision; and as a result, he does not have to change his mind later. The Greeks called that pronoeo (perceiving beforehand). That’s wise.

In great contrast is the person whose investigating and thinking and pondering and processing comes after making a decision. Circumstances occur that prove their decision to be a poor decision based on wrong perceptions. With embarrassment that person, upon coming to terms with their poor thinking, has to change his mind; all because he did his thinking afterward. The Greeks called that metanoeo (perceiving afterward).

The Greek term metanoeo was most often used in a negative sense. It was a sign of foolishness because it followed the surprise or even shock of coming to terms with a previous false perception. Understandably, a sense of sorrow or regret usually preceded metanoeo, but often lingered.

Follow a perfect example of metanoeo in Scripture, when the Apostle Peter preached the first gospel sermon: 

Fifty days after the crucifixion of Jesus, Peter faced a crowd of people on the temple grounds in Jerusalem. Among those people were some (many?) who had been among those who had called for the death of Jesus.

Peter appealed to Old Testament prophecy and showed the crowd that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the long-awaited Messiah and Lord.

They were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” 
 —Acts 2:37

Having previously perceived Jesus to have been a fraud, they called for his crucifixion. Then, Peter had showed them the error in their thinking. Their pierced hearts revealed their shock and sorrow regarding their previous erroneous perception.

Peter answered their question: “Repent!” They heard, “change your minds,” or more accurately, “change your perception.” He called for them to change their perception about Jesus of Nazareth from blasphemer to Lord and Messiah.

Their repentance was a change of perception that would affect all future thought and behavior. Everything coming into their minds would be filtered through this new conviction: Jesus is Lord and Messiah. The natural result was a change in all of their future decisions, behavior and speech.

The next time you come across repentance in your Bible reading, remember that it is a change of perception which will naturally result in changed thinking, changed speech and changed behavior. 

But it is first an internal change of perception.

Mark Stinnett
November 17, 2019

How Do You Get a Good Conscience?

Considerable time, effort and money have gone into materials designed to answer the question: “Should Your Conscience Be Your Guide?” Pages in pamphlets and pulpit pounding proclamations have emphatically answered, “NO!”

I do not wish to sound argumentative, but let’s face it, your conscience IS your guide. That’s just how God designed us. So, the real question is, “Since the conscience is my internal moral guide, how can I make sure mine is a good, pure conscience?”

When comparing the old covenant with the new covenant, the author of Hebrews stated that the gifts and sacrifices offered under the Law of Moses could not “make the worshiper perfect (complete) in conscience” (9:9) (Note also that the Law was given by God and described as holy and righteous and good (Romans 7:12).) He posed a question saying, if the old covenant could cleanse the flesh,

how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 
—Hebrews 9:14

So, man needs outside help in the cleansing of his conscience, and that help comes in the sacrifice of Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

Of course, not every soul on earth automatically gets a cleansed conscience. So, how is the distinction made? How do YOU obtain a cleansed conscience through Christ?

The Apostle Peter answers...

Baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. —1 Peter 3:21

Simply put, the believer appeals to God for a good (cleansed) conscience. His appeal is not made by crying out or praying some sort of man-devised statement, but rather, in baptism. (No explanation; let the text stand.)

The point is that when a believer is baptized into Christ he is actually asking God to bring about a change to his conscience; that part of the mind that deals with moral decisions.

Let’s take this thought a step further...

The Apostle Paul wrote about the gospel of Christ saying that it had been revealed to him through the Spirit of God. He then explained that the spirit of man knows the thoughts of a man. Likewise, the Spirit of God knows the mind of God. And…

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God. 
—1 Corinthians 2:12

The connection I wish to make is that the mind and spirit are inseparable. In addition, the spirit of the believer is intimately related to the Spirit of God. Finally, the Apostle Peter instructed...

Repent and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. —Acts 2:38

The final connection I wish to make is that the gift of the Holy Spirit and the appeal for a cleansed conscience both occur at a believer’s baptism into Christ. These scriptures suggest that, at least in part, the gift of the Holy Spirit involves the cleansing of the conscience.

The believer who does not have a cleansed conscience will simply not be able to avoid sin. We can overcome sin only with help from the Holy Spirit. 

So...How was your conscience cleansed?

Mark Stinnett

November 10, 2019

Don't Violate Your Conscience!

(The Conscience, Part 4)

The conscience is one of the most important aspects of your being. It is of such great importance that the Apostle Paul taught Christians that they should never violate their conscience.

Paul was addressing an issue in the church in Rome concerning the eating of certain foods. (See Romans 14.) He writes about one person who ‘has faith’ that he can eat all things. Yet another person who is ‘weak in faith’ eats only vegetables. Paul is addressing not only an issue of eating certain things, but more broadly, the convictions of the heart, that is, the conscience.

One Christian ‘has faith’ (i.e. confidence) that he can eat all things, so his conscience is not bothered by what he eats. He feels no guilt for eating anything.

On the other hand, another Christian feels that there are moral restrictions on what he can eat. (For example, a Christian with a Jewish background might feel guilty for eating pork, an unclean food according to the Law of Moses.) Though it is not morally wrong under the new covenant, his conscience has been trained to avoid pork out of a moral response to the Law of Moses. So, to eat the pork would violate his conscience and make him feel guilty.

The key to understanding and dealing with the conscience is found at the end of the chapter:

The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.
—Romans 14:22–23 (NASB95)

The phrase, “Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves” is another way of saying, “happy is he who does not have an evil conscience.” Someone with an evil conscience labels morally bad things as good. His evil conscience approves of evil actions. So, his conscience is clear, though he has done wrong.

Still addressing the food issue, Paul writes that “he who doubts is condemned if he eats.” The doubt is his conscience warning him to stop. In his conscience, he believes it is morally wrong to eat food which he considers to be restricted. So, to doubt his own conviction is to go against his conscience. Or, as Paul puts it, his eating is “not from faith.” Stated succinctly, he doesn’t believe that he should eat the food he perceives to be restricted, but he eats it anyway. That is “not of faith.” It IS a violation of his conscience. So, to violate his conscience is to sin.

The odd thing in all of this is that Paul actually resolved the moral issue. He said that in reality, there were no longer restrictions on food as there had been in the Law of Moses. So, technically, the person who still felt guilty about eating certain foods was not guilty...of eating unclean food. Yet, if he ate, he was guilty of violating his conscience.

This might seem a little confusing until we focus on the heart of the matter: the conscience.

The conscience functions in two ways:

• Moral guide (before we act); and
• Judge and jury (after we act).

Paul simply taught that whenever a person goes against his moral guide (conscience) he sins, even if his moral guide is more restrictive than God’s standard. God does not want us to get into the habit of violating the moral standard embedded in our mind. So, don’t violate your conscience; that is sin. 

Train your conscience with God’s word, and follow it...ALWAYS!!

Mark Stinnett

November 3, 2019

What is the Value of a Clear Conscience?

(The Conscience, Part 3)

You may be familiar with the old west humor where the gunslinger bellies up to the saloon bar after a gunfight and growls loudly, “Well, he needed a good killin’.” It is a somewhat humorous way of justifying the death of the other gunman lying in the street.

Whatever you may think of my silly illustration, focus on the word ‘justify.’ To justify something is to make it ‘right.’ Now, look a little closer. Why would anyone need to make something right?

I’m sure you see it. More accurately, justification is making something that is perceived to be wrong to appear to be right. The gunslinger justified murder by claiming that the other man needed (deserved) death.

It is likely that we have all tried to justify something, though not as serious as murder!

Have you ever lied, but felt like it was the right thing to do in your specific circumstances? You don’t generally lie. But on that occasion, it seemed necessary.

You might have justified your lie by telling yourself that it was for a good reason. If you had told the truth, a friend would have suffered in some way. Or, perhaps your lie saved you a significant amount of money. After all, that organization is well off (or corrupt or undeserving or abusive…) and they would never miss the small amount that you kept from them.

Whenever we justify a wrong we must understand that it is still wrong. The proof of our wrongdoing is our perceived need to justify ourselves. In other words, if it was not perceived to be wrong, then why would we feel the need to explain (justify) ourselves?

Why do you think it is so important for people to justify themselves?

The human conscience is a built in judge and jury that deals with moral issues. Whenever the conscience disapproves of an action it assigns guilt. In the case of lying, the conscience knows that lying is wrong. So, it acts as a jury and renders a ’guilty’ verdict. (We try to avoid guilt.)

Solomon made this observation:

People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry, but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold; he will give all the goods of his house.
--Proverbs 6:30–31 (ESV)

The simple point is that people may be understanding or even find it easy to justify a moral wrong, but it is still wrong.

Justification is made to soothe the guilty conscience. It does not take away the wrong, but it explains the wrong so that can be said, “My conscience is clear.” The guilt has been removed by justification, but in reality, only the guilt feelings are removed. Yet, as with the hungry thief, true guilt remains. So, self-justification masks guilt by renaming wrong as right. For that reason, a clear conscience is worthless.

Some modern translations of the Bible refer to a clear conscience. However, in every one of those cases the Greek text describes the conscience as: good, clean, pure, blameless or perfect (complete), never clear.

A clear conscience is an unreliable moral judge. It could result from following a good conscience or justifying an evil conscience.

God is not interested in you having a clear conscience without first obtaining a clean conscience. He does not want you to justify your guilty conscience, but follow a pure conscience. 

Is your conscience clear or is it clean?

Mark Stinnett

October 28, 2019

How Important is Your Conscience?

(The Conscience, Part 2)

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, 
  whose sin is covered. 
Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, 
  and in whose spirit there is no deceit. 
For when I kept silent, 
  my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; 
  my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. 
I acknowledged my sin to you, 
  and I did not cover my iniquity; 
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” 
  and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. 
—Psalm 32:1–5 (ESV)

King David had sinned and his conscience had convicted him of sin and caused guilt feelings. That is very thing the conscience is supposed to do; our built-in judge and jury of morality.

Vitally Important
The conscience is a vitally important aspect of our humanity. The presence of the conscience is one way in which man is distinguished from animals and all other things on the earth.

Animals operate solely by their instinctive nature. Dogs, for example, behave in a way that is unique to dogs. Trainers and breeders depend on the consistency of the nature of dogs in general, but also the uniqueness of the different breeds of dogs. They capitalize on the fact that dogs cannot choose to change their nature.

Because animals operate solely by instinct, we do not accuse them of sin. So, if a dog digs up your tulip bulbs, you might become angry and even discipline the dog, but the dog feels no guilt and you do not read scripture to the dog to point out his moral obligation.

So it is with all other kinds of animals. The simple reason is that animals do not possess a conscience and are not subject to a moral standard. Unlike mankind, they were not made in the image of God and are not expected to operate beyond their instinctive nature.

In great contrast, mankind was created in God’s image and can actually choose to rise above his instinctive fleshly nature to embrace the nature of God, or godliness (i.e. God-like-ness).

Powerful
The human conscience is also a powerful aspect of our humanity. King David’s guilty conscience caused physical and emotional misery. Yet, He found relief when he confessed his sin to God. Guilt is meant to drive us to God.

God designed man this way so that he would choose to embrace the nature of God. After all, good and evil are defined by the nature of God.

Now, there are three ways to find peace from the misery of a guilty conscience.

First, the conscience can be seared. The way people sear their conscience is to play the hypocrite. In other words, simply continue to do wrong in spite of the guilt feelings produced by the conscience. Over time, the conscience loses its moral sensitivity and no longer identify right as right and wrong as wrong. The Apostle Paul described the seared conscience in 1 Timothy 4.

Second, the guilty conscience can be justified. The person knows that his action was morally wrong, but he believes that he had good reason to do the wrong. He ‘justifies’ his action making it seem right. The end result is a clear conscience which is basically indifferent to right and wrong.

King David dealt with his guilty conscience the right way by confessing his sin to God. Even though he had violated his conscience, the powerful guilt feelings led him to confess his sin. The result was a cleansing of his conscience beginning with God’s forgiveness.

A seared conscience will sin again.
A clear conscience is morally indifferent and will sin again.
A clean/pure conscience possesses true peace and will guard you against sin.

Mark Stinnett
October 20, 2019

What is the Conscience?

(The Conscience, Part 1)

Every person has, at one time or another, violated his/her conscience. In other words, he/she has thought something, said something or done something believed to be morally wrong.

The conscience is that mysterious part of the human being that evaluates moral right and wrong. Regardless of how the conscience has been trained, it functions as an internal judge and jury. When choices are made that are perceived to be right, the conscience approves. Yet, when choices are made that are perceived to be wrong, the conscience disapproves. The conscience judges choices, but also thoughts, speech and behavior associated with choices.

It is important to understand that the conscience is concerned with morality. So, if a person shoplifts, his conscience acts as a witness and renders a verdict: “Shoplifting is morally wrong; you are guilty.” In contrast, if a store worker shelves an item incorrectly, it is a mistake, but not a moral wrong. So, his mind may acknowledge the mistake and even regret the mistake, but the conscience does not activate a sense of moral guilt.

The Bible tells us about a good conscience and a bad conscience.

A good conscience works correctly. It identifies good things as good and bad things as bad. It judges decisions and behaviors properly. In the Bible a good conscience is also called a clean, pure or blameless conscience.

In contrast, a bad conscience does not work properly. A bad conscience might consider something that is morally wrong and identify it as good or right. In a similar way a bad conscience might consider something that is morally good or right and identify it as wrong. A bad conscience is also called an evil conscience.

As an example of a bad conscience…

I had a friend in junior high who invited me to go to the elementary wing of our school during lunchtime so we could ‘push the little kids around.’ My friend said it would be fun. My friend’s conscience was bad; it approved of bullying. (I went a different way that day. )

A stark description of an evil/bad conscience is found in the Bible in Proverbs 1:8-19.

So, what about a ‘clear’ conscience? In reality, a clear conscience is most often a bad conscience because it is morally indifferent. When a clear conscience responds to something that is morally wrong, it does not call it wrong (or right).

The clear conscience is worthless in guarding the soul. The voice of the clear conscience says, “I don’t see anything wrong with that” or “I didn’t violate my conscience; I feel no guilt.”

For example: A boys punches another boy in the nose. He then justifies himself saying, “He deserved it.” There is a subtle admission that it was not right to fight, but that he felt justified by the circumstances. So, he feels no guilt; his conscience is ‘clear.’

The conscience operates at two key moments:

• Before you decide/speak/act its role is to evaluate by giving you approval to continue or by warning you to stop. It guards your soul against sin.
• After you speak/act its role is to evaluate by approving or causing guilt feelings.

A good conscience is good because it conforms to the standard that is defined by the character of God which has been revealed in Scripture. The Bible teaches us to follow our conscience. 

Make sure yours is a good conscience.

Mark Stinnett
October 13, 2019

Love Is Really Unfair

Have you ever thought about how unfair love is?

We all want to be loved. We might not expect everyone to love us, but we would really like someone to love us.

Love is one of those words that means so many things to so many people that its meaning gets blurred: 

     I love chocolate; 

     I love my dog; 

     I love my wife.

Yet, the way we use the word tells us what we really mean. I’m thinking about the “I love my wife” kind of love. 

True love requires sacrifice, and that is costly. 

Sacrifice is not about doing what you are supposed to do as a father or mother or child or Christian. Rather, sacrifice is giving up something that you value highly for something of greater importance. 

Parents may sacrifice their personal desires and dreams for their children. That’s love. 

People may sacrifice financially for a worthy cause by cutting out spending in an important area of life. That’s love. 

Children may sacrifice their time for an activity or event that is meaningful to their parents. They give their time as their own choice and with a good attitude, not by force. That’s love. 

True love forgives, and that is costly. 

Forgiveness accepts the pain caused by another without holding them accountable. 

A wife humiliates her husband by telling something personal that becomes public. He patiently accepts the shame and later embraces her without making her suffer. That’s love. 

A friend borrows a tool but returns it broken. Without an angry word you quietly replace it at your own expense and still consider him your friend with no hard feelings. That’s love. 

It’s the people at work/school. They don’t understand my religious convictions, so they say things and even pull pranks. I’m the but of their jokes. I just go my way and let it go. It drags me down, but I know that they don’t understand. I don’t hold it against them. That’s love.

Do you think you deserve to be loved?

Deserve means that you are worthy, fit or suitable for receiving a reward. Parents are supposed to love their kids. Husbands and wives are supposed to love each other. Christians are supposed to love one another. 

Are any of us deserving...really deserving?

Love sacrifices.
Love forgives.

A baby is born and the parents are immediately filled with love for that child. It doesn’t make sense. That child has made no contributions to the family, provided nothing of value, deserves nothing. Yes there is affection, strong affection, but there is also sacrificial love and, in the future, undeserved forgiveness.

I can read all the definitions of love, approximate its meaning with illustrations, and even study it as a Bible topic. Yet, the words of Jesus still mystify me. I understand the words, but I don’t think that I can ever completely grasp...

For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son….

Love is so unfair...He sacrificed His Son...for me.
Love is so unfair...He has forgiven...me.
Love is so unfair...He has given life...to me.

A person begins to sound all high and mighty when he says that things are unfair. But do you know what is unfair? 

Love is really unfair!

Mark Stinnett

October 6, 2019

Who Helped You?

He glared straight at me as he publicly thanked individuals in the congregation by name for visiting him while in the hospital. I had not visited him, no doubt the reason for the glare-stare.

I know that I was supposed to be embarrassed, after all, I was the preacher and preachers are supposed to visit everyone in the hospital. The trouble was, his public ‘show of gratitude’ was the first I had heard of his trip to the hospital.

Have we misunderstood how the church functions? I would have to shout, “Yes!”

I personally think preachers are largely to blame. Many preachers, not all, but many really like being in the spotlight. They want to be the sage-on-the-stage Bible-answer-man, leader and promoter of all programs, building supervisor, Sunday School superintendent, church counselor, music man, information gateway, and the keeper of the calendar. (Perhaps I exaggerate, but you get the point.)

Without exaggeration, a spotlight on the preacher fosters an unhealthy view of the church and a skewed view of the role and responsibility of the members of the church.

When a check is sent from our congregation to support a missionary or assist fellow Christians in a disaster, we ALL participate. Even if none of us are able to leave town to help, we participate through our finances.

The Apostle Paul expressed joy for the Christians in Philippi for their “participation in the gospel.” They had not accompanied him to the mission field, but had sent him some sort of assistance, probably financial. It is worth noting that he credited the entire church for their assistance. ALL had participated.

If you needed someone to give you a ride, you wouldn’t expect everyone to give you a ride. Let’s take it a step further. What if the preacher was not the one who helped you; what if it was not one of the elders, or one of the deacons? Does it count only if someone ‘official’ gave you the ride? (That’s silly, but you get the point.)

Paul described the way the different members of the church function in the context of spiritual gifts. He said that the Spirit of God distributed spiritual gifts according to God’s will. He went on to use the human body as an illustration saying that the foot is no less a part of the body just because it does not function as a hand. Likewise, the ear is no less a part of the body just because it is not an eye. 

My friend was upset with me for not visiting him, yet several others had visited. That was as silly as my injured hand feeling neglected because my ear did not tend to it.

Here are two things Paul wanted us to know about the way the body of Christ functions:

God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.
Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.
—1 Corinthians 12:18, 27 (NASB95)

We must understand that when any fellow Christian helps us in a time of need, it is Christ extending assistance through His body, the church. While it is proper to show gratitude to an individual, don’t just thank the ‘hand’ that helped you, thank the head of the body, Jesus Christ in whom we are all connected.

And when you are the helper, remember, it is Christ providing help through you (unless you covet the spotlight). So, give Jesus the credit.

We’re in this together; keep focus on Jesus.

Mark Stinnett

September 29, 2019