Luke 15 Lesson

REPENTANCE 

Repentance is one offive matters of salvationthat are listed in the Bible:

1. Believing in Jesus (Acts 16:31),
2. Confessing our belief in Jesus (Romans 10:10),
3. Repenting of our sins (Luke 13:3),
4. Being baptized (1 Peter 3:21, Mark 16:16),
5. Obeying God’s commandments (Mathew 7:21).

To repent means, “To turn away.”  

And for Christians, repentance means turning away from our sinful, self-serving behavior, and turning toward God.  

A repentant soul focuses on serving God and others, not themselves.  

Sometimes we may repent of our sins right away.  

For other sins, the process may take years.  

Even though God is patient, we do not want to wait too long to repent once we become aware of our sins and the role that repentance plays in our salvation.

REPENTANCE, BAPTISM, AND CONFESSION

There is an important relationship that exists between repentance, baptism, and confession, as outlined in the following two scriptures:

1. “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgivenessof your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” - Acts 2:38,  
2. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." – 1 John 1:9.

BIBLE VERSES ABOUT REPENTANCE 

The words, “Repent,” and, “Repentance,” appear more than one hundred times throughout the Bible.  

For today’s lesson, we have highlighted the following six scriptures:

1. “Therefore repentand turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.” -   Acts 3:19,
2. “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” - Mathew 4:17,
3. “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent.” - Acts 17:30,
4. “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” - Romans 2:4,
5. “When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentancethat leads to life.” - Acts 11:18,
6. “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” - Luke 13:3.

THE PRODIGAL SON AND REPENTANCE

When we make the decision to repent and turn away from sin, we please God and bring Him joy!  

That is the point that Jesus makes in the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32).  

In this parable, the younger son asks for blessings from his father and receives them.  

Instead of honoring his father with what he has been given, he goes off to a far country and squanders everything with prostitutes and other sins of the flesh.

When adversity struck in the form of a famine, he became poor and desperate.  

Luke writes about how the Prodigal Son decided to return to his father.  

He humbly approached his father asking if he could be a servant.  

The son believed that he had sinned so badly, that the only way his father would accept him back was in a working capacity.  

He said to his father:  

• “Father, I have sinned against Heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.” – Luke 15:18-19.

There are three things that the Prodigal Son did in this parable that we can learn from:

1. He accepted responsibility for his actions,
2. He turned away (repented) from his sins,
3. He returned to his father.

What happens next in this parable shows us that God is filled with joy every time somebody repents of their sins.

It also shows us that there are no sins too big for our Father to forgive if we repent and turn away from them (except for blasphemy of the Holy Spirit).

Luke writes:

• “So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and feltcompassionfor him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.  And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against Heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.” – Luke 15:20-24.

CONCLUSION

God is full of mercy and compassion!  

If we have given in to sin and gotten lost along the way, we should take comfort in knowing that God is waiting for us to return to Him with open arms! 

In the same way that the Prodigal Son’s father rejoiced when he repented and returned, the heavens rejoice over every soul that repents and returns to God (Luke 15:7). 

We will end today’s lesson with the following scripture from Peter’s second epistle. 

It shows the patience of God, and how He is waiting for all of us to make the soul-saving decision to repent of our sins and live a life focused on Him.

• “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.” –2 Peter 3:9.