4 Keys to True Repentance
- Linden Baptist
- Jan 9
- 4 min read
1 Samuel 7:3 says, "Samuel told them, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, get rid of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths that are among you, set your hearts on the LORD, and worship only him. Then he will rescue you from the Philistines.” A couple of weeks ago I began to plan for the repentance service we had on January 5th. During my time of prayer asking God for direction on how the service would go and what the Biblical passages would be, God showed me this verse that outline clearly 4 keys to genuine repentance in the Christian life. Now, repentance is simply defined as turning from sin or an evil situation and completing a 180 and turning towards God. It is when we turn from something and turn to something else. It is important that we don't focus our efforts just on what we are turning from (sin), but also on who we are turning to (God). So, what are the 4 keys to true repentance taught in this verse?
The first is to return to the Lord with all of your heart. If you are truly seeking repentance, you will have no other option. No one can truly repent if they are half hearted about their repentance. In order to even begin the steps to genuine repentance, it takes a true, genuine, full heart. I'm sure we all have been in jobs or situations where we only participated or did the bare minimum because our hearts were not truly in it. If we try and come to repentance with half a heart, then our full heart will never truly repent!
The second key mentioned in the verse is "get rid of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths that are among you." The Israelites were longing for the Lord again (1 Sam. 7:2), but they still had sin in their lives they needed to get rid of. Often times, when we think of repentance, this is the only part most people think about. Most of the time we think of gettign rid of the sin and idolatry that is present in our lives. While it is important and is the biggest part of change that happens in repentance, it is only 1 of the 4 keys to genuine repentance mentioned here. But, we do still have to do this part! We have to get rid of the sin, which is anything that we say, think or do that goes against God's Word. It also could be not doing something that we should be doing (James 4:17). Only you and the Lord know exactly what the sin is in your life that you need to repent of. So, like David, pray for God to search your heart and show you if there is anything wicked in it that needs to go (Ps. 139:23-24). Also, get rid of idolatry, which is anything that takes the place of God in your life. What in your life is truly more important to you than God almighty? What sinful passions are taking you away from God to a false idol like an ashteroth pole? Get rid of it! To accomplish this, God has given us the ability to confess (agree with God) our sins (1 Jn. 1:9) and has given us brothers and sisters in the Lord to also confess our sins to (James 5:16)! Don't try and fight this fight alone! Take sin serious!
Then the third key mentioned is to "set your hearts on the Lord." Again, repentance is not just turning from sin, but is also turning to God. Once we recgonize, confess, and turn from our sin, we then turn our hearts to the Lord. This replaces the sin that was in your life. God has now become where your focus, where your heart is. Don't miss this part! This is what repentance is really about. Repentance isn't just to get sin out of our lives, but to refocus our lives on God almighty!
The fourth and final key to repentance is to "worship only him." This is moreso the result that takes place after going through the process of the previous two keys. Once God has set us free from sin, our natural response should and will be to worship him for setting us free! The Lord almighty has forgiven us and cleansed us of all unrighteousness! What an amazing feeling to return to the Lord and be set free from terrible sin in our lives. To be able to live honestly, fully and closely to the Lord! We should praise Him for what He has done in our lives and for still desiring a relationship with us even though we have sinned against him and will even fall short again. I am thankful for true conviction and repentance and I hope you are too!
This is a summary of the repentance Sunday service message. If you would like to watch the entire message or listen to it via podcast, here are the links for you to do so:
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