Repentance: Change of the Mind or Change of Action?

The word of God states in Ezekiel 18:30:
Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin.
In Matthew 4:17 Jesus says “ … Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” These are just a few of the many verses God speaks directly about repentance. God is very concerned about His people repenting of their evil actions, thoughts, and ways. This is a truth that, I believe, has fallen by the wayside in today’s Christian culture. I seldom hear Christians speak about repentance. I only hear, “believe and that’s all you need.” Is this a true statement? I would say yes and no.

I agree with Martin Luther and the reformers that your are saved by grace alone, through faith alone. Amen, hallelujah! However, we must remember the caveat that they place on this statement that is so often excluded: “I believe in faith alone, but not a faith that is alone,” – Martin Luther.

What did he mean by a faith that is not alone? At first glance, it appears that Martin Luther is merely contradicting himself. However, after careful examination, one sees that Martin Luther was speaking about a great paradox in the bible.

James says that faith without works is dead. Faith needs works to be alive or existent. You, however, don’t need faith plus works. They are invariably interwoven. If you have faith without works, then the reality is that you don’t have faith at all. See James illustrates this in 3:15-17:
¹⁵ If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good^[b] is that? ¹⁷So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Take note to what James is saying: that faith without works is like a man saying go in peace and be warmed and filled without actually doing anything for him. This is ridiculous. This is not true concern or charity. This “concern” or “charity” lacks consistency. There is no substance found within.

This is how faith without works is. It lacks validity. How can you say Jesus is Lord, and not do his will (works). How can you say Lord not my will but your will be done (works) and do only your own? You my friend have a dead faith, which will produce nothing.

Notice what Jesus says in Matthew 7:21:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven

What is Jesus saying here? He clearly states that not everyone who professes faith (Lord, Lord) is truly saved. It’s not the one who professes to have faith and has no works, but the one who does the Father’s will.

Can you do the Father’s will and not believe in him? Of course not. As Martin Luther said, “Faith alone, but not a faith that is alone.” How much works do you have to have? There is no such requirement given in scripture. If you truly have faith in Jesus Christ, you will be born again, and your new redeemed person will have works.

One of these works that will result from your new redeemed life is repentance. God will give you not only the desire, but also the power to repent of your former ways. Philippians 2:12 :
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

So who then is doing the work? Is it you or is it God? The Word of the Lord says it is God. So whether it is faith (Ephesian 2:8 …it is a gift from God…) or your work (Philippians 2:12 …it is God who works…) it all comes from the Lord. Therefore, if you are in Christ, you will have no problem doing Jesus’ command, “to believe and repent,” for both of these things will be given to you.

This is all, however, God’s perspective. Man’s perspective is that you need to believe and repent — work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). Don’t let any tradition of man rob you from the truth. It is not enough to simply believe. You must believe and repent, for this is true faith — the former will only get you to Matthew 7:21 “…Lord, Lord…” The latter will bring you to Revelation 21:1 “…a new earth and the new Heaven… “

Modesty

It isn’t easy, as a woman, to remain pure. We are surrounded by a culture that glorifies our immorality. Have you ever heard a man compliment a woman on her modest apparel? Or is it that you always hear a man complimenting a woman who is not so “covered up?” It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the girls who dress flashy are noticed, and the girls who dress modestly are ignored. It’s so extreme that our definitions of beauty revolve around our immodest dress codes. The girl wearing a tank-top and miniskirt is seen as beautiful, while the girl in an ankle skirt and sweater vest is just plain ugly. We are Christians living in the unbeliever’s world. To make things more complicated, our “main” goal as a woman is to get married and have a family (feminist movement will tell you otherwise- a whole different issue on its own).

How do we balance the finding of a mate with unappealing modesty? We all know the answer, we just don’t like to discuss it. As a woman, especially as a Christian woman, it is crucial to dress in a manner that will not cause a brother to stumble. There is something inherently disturbing about seeing a daughter dress promiscuously in front of her father. If it is an odd sight in this situation, shouldn’t it be considered even worse in public? If you are anything like me, you did not grow up with this modesty principal at all. My parents never governed my clothing choices, nor did they discuss that my body was a private matter. In the eyes of society I have been considered “normal” looking. My skin was covered; isn’t that the definition of being modest? It was too late for my parents to say anything as I grew older. Issues like this need to be instilled from the beginning. It was only by the grace of God that I was convicted on the subject of modesty.

How would I dress if I was going to stand before my Creator? All of a sudden my entire view on my wardrobe had been shifted. It isn’t just enough to have your skin covered. Are your clothes form fitting? This eliminates all of my jeans! Those form fitting “t-shirts” I bought from the mall are now out of the question. What about my big hoop earrings and my push-up bras? These things that were once so normal to me became an abomination.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that you have to be so plain that you can’t even stand to look at yourself in the mirror. It feels nice to look and feel feminine. For those of us with husbands, it’s advised that we should try to be attractive for them (but ONLY for them). If you are “on the market,” I wouldn’t say not to wear those stud earrings or that pretty necklace you like. Of course, anything that could potentially catch the attention of the lustful eye should not be worn. Why wear a push-up bra if you aren’t going to be revealing that area? Does the shirt you wear show the curve of your body? How about your pants? How far above your knees are your shorts? These are just some examples of questions to ask yourself when you are getting dressed for the day.

In my opinion, one of the biggest motivators as a single person to dress modestly is that the way you dress will attract certain men. If you dress like Mariah Carey, all the men that walk up to you are going to be lust-driven individuals. If they lust after you, they will lust after others while with you. Dressing in this way also is a signal to any “quality” guy to stay away. If you dress modestly, you practically filter out the secular men. The most important thing to understand -again, just my opinion- is that God is sovereign, and His will be done on earth. If He has called you to marry, you will be married regardless of how “ugly” you look. As far as guidelines go, take a quick look at our celebrities and dress the exact opposite of them.

–The wife
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God’s Word instructs far better than I can:

“Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.” (1 Peter 3:3, 4 NKJV)

“in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.” (1 Timothy 2:9, 10 NKJV)

“Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” (Proverbs 31:30 NKJV)