A Sunday School Lesson On Repentance

Here is a Sunday school lesson or Bible study on repentance from Scripture.

The Time is Fulfilled

Mark 1:14-15 “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

When Jesus sent out the twelve disciples with the message “that people should repent” (Mark 6:12), this was new to them. They had always been taught to be strict adherents to the Law but we are not saved by works of the law by only by the free gift of grace (Eph 2:8-9). Before Jesus sent out the twelve, John the Baptist had much the same requirements to enter the kingdom as he came “preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 3:1-2). Repenting is turning away from sin and turning to God in Christ which is exactly what Jesus told the twelve that they should say (Mark 6:12).

Can you turn to God without turning away from sin?

Why did John say “the kingdom of heaven is at hand?”

Why did Jesus say “The time is fulfilled” just after John the Baptist was arrested?

Preaching Repentance

Mark 6:12 “So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent.”

What you read in Mark 6:12 and elsewhere in the gospels is not the gospel as it is presented today by many people. Rather than “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” and that the gospel message is both repentance and faith (or belief) (Mark 1:15), some would rather not be offensive and so they say things like, “Let Jesus unto your heart” or “Just accept Jesus” as if He needed our acceptance. Why would we let Jesus into our hearts since our hearts are evil and wickedly deceiving (Jer 17:9)? Why is “repentance and believe” mentioned so often together? It’s because that is the gospel. To repent means to turn away from and go the other direction. This means turning away from and forsaking our sins and then turning to Christ and putting our trust in Him.

You cannot have belief without repentance, can you?

Why is it that people should repent from?

Can you define repentance?

God’s Righteous Indignation

Psalm 7:12-13 “If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.”

What better evidence is there of an Old Testament Bible verse to show that repentance is not just a New Testament teaching by Jesus and the Apostles? The judgment has already been declared by the little word “if” as in “If a man does not repent” then “God will when His sword” because “God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day” (Psalm 7:11) against those who refuse to repent and believe. Jesus gives everyone only two choices; “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36) so “unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3).

What does “whet his sword” mean?

Is God angry at the sinner every day (Rom 2:5?

Is God angry with His children any more (Rom 5:9)?

God Grants Repentance

Second Corinthians 7:10 “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”

Most Christians understand that “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2nd Pet 3:9) and as He was patient with us, we must be patient with others, including those not yet saved. I say “yet” because who knows what God has planned for them. This I do know; people who preach that God is a God of love may be doing so to the exclusion of His holiness, His perfect justice, and that He will execute His righteous judgment someday against all the unrepentant sinners (Rev 20:12-15) but this verse also says that God is patient; God will fulfill every promise of His; and He desires all people to repent so the point is, there is a necessity to repent and God wants everyone to do that but God is the One Who grants repentance and “God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance” (Rom 2:4).

How might “God’s kindness” lead to repentance?

Is “God’s kindness” actually His leading someone to repentance?

What is the difference between worldly and godly grief (2nd Cor 7:9-10)?

Conclusion

I urge you in your study to look at all of the Bible verses and read them aloud in the class so that you can get the most out of this lesson on repentance. You may not hear much about repentance today but that is all you heard about from Jesus, the apostles, and the first century church. Anywhere they went they preached repentance and faith or repentance and belief and by the use of the word “and” as a conjunction, these two are two sides of the same coin or the two wings that fly us into the kingdom (repentance and faith), and there is no other way possible (Acts 4:12).

Can you have belief with no turning away from sin?

Can someone say they’ve repented but still live in sin?

What would you tell them?

What has changed in your understanding about repentance?

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.