Total Sessions: 4 Video Sessions
Total Time: 7 Hours
Overview: This series teaches the fundamentals of rebuke (correction) and repentance. After completing this Bible study participants will:
- Understand fundamental principles regarding the importance of rebuke and repentance.
- Understand how God has given us rebuke and repentance as lifelines.
- Understand the the importance of repentance and the difference between conviction and condemnation.
- Understand how to correct a fellow believer using God's outlined instructions.
Session Topic: The Blueprint For Repentance
Focal Text: 2 Samuel 12:1-24
Biblical Figure Focus: King David
Objective: To provide an understanding of the importance of Godly correction [rebuke] and our response of repentance.
Key Words
- Rebuke - From the Greek word, elegchó, which means ‘to expose or discipline’. The Hebrew word, musar, means ‘discipline, chastening, or correction’.
- Repent - From the Greek word, metanoia, which means ‘change of mind’. The Hebrew word for repentance, shubh, means ‘to turn’ or ‘return’.
- Refine - From the Greek word, puroo, which means ‘to set on fire, full of fire, or ignited’, ‘purify by fire’, or ‘to be inflamed’. The Hebrew word, tsaraph, means ‘to smelt, refine, or test’.
- Conviction - From the Greek word, yakach, which means to decide, adjudge, chasten, correct, or judge.
- Condemnation - From the Greek word, katakrima, which means penalty. The word specifically implies the exact sentence handed down after due process [judgement establishing guilt].
Text Background
The book of 2 Samuel records the history of the reign and life of King David. While the author of the book is unknown some of the writings in the book are from the prophets Nathan and Gad (1 Chronicles 29:29). Some suggest that the book was authored by Nathan’s son, Zabud but this is not explicitly stated. Throughout the book we are privy to the successes and shortcomings of King David. The book places emphasis on kingdom development, leadership, success, influence, justice, sin, and consequences.
In our foundational text, Nathan the prophet of God, addresses the sins that King David had committed. King David was supposed to be at war but instead was walking on his rooftop when he saw Bathsheba bathing. She was the wife of Uriah, one of David's men. David summons her to the palace and he sleeps with her. Bathsheba becomes pregnant and sends a message to David. He replies back with a ‘put that on everything Usher confessions voice’, and does what any other person does naturally, attempts to hide the sin.
David summons Uriah back from battle hoping that when he gets home he will sleep with wife. He even sent Uriah home with a gift. This plan is foiled because Uriah is so committed to the cause that he gets home and refuses to sleep with Bathsheba while the others are at war. Uriah literally slept at David's door and didn't even go home (2 Samuel 11:9-11). David got him drunk, he still did not go home. After the second night, Uriah returns back to the battlefield.
Once it became clear that plan A was not going to work David goes for the next obvious plan, kill Uriah. He sends a letter to Joab the military leader and tells him to place Uriah on the battlefield where the fight was fiercest and then pull back so he will be killed. This left Uriah exposed and he was killed. Bathsheba mourns her husband's death and then marries David and gives birth to a son. God is displeased with David and sends Nathan the prophet to rebuke the King.
For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. ~Romans 3:23 NLT
By definition repent simply means to change one’s mind and to turn. True repentance is marked by refinement or transformation of that person.
Because sin severs our fellowship with God, repentance is the lifeline that allows us to return back into fellowship with God. The enemy has caused many of us to think that we do not need to repent but because all of us sin and fall short of the Glory of God we are all called to repent.
The term repent or repentance is mentioned over 100 times in the Bible, implicating the importance of repentance in our relationship with God.
We can go to church every week, sing on the worship team, and God still be displeased because we have sinned against Him and not repented.
Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. ~Psalm 51:4 NLT
What's Required For Repentance?
Revelation
Revelation is the unveiling of or uncovering or something. It is also defined as making something plain.
Revelation comes through being in relationship with God through Jesus Christ and via the Holy Spirit.
It is important that we are constantly seeking God in prayer and in His word especially when it comes to asking Him to reveal areas of our lives that are not like Him. The Bible tells us that if we ask God for wisdom He will give it to us freely. We must ensure that we don’t become prideful and so desensitized to sin that we are unaware of its presence in our life and its devastation on our relationship with God.
In our foundational text, David was confronted by Nathan with a parable. David was so caught up in his sin that he was desensitized to the fact that he had sinned against God. Many of us are in the same boat. When we sin we must understand that it is not simply a slip of the tongue, but it is something that we are willfully committing against God.
Repentance Requires A Submitted Heart
True repentance requires that you remove pride associated with your position, the selfishness associated with your perceived status, and the clout that you think comes with your calling. Far too often when we are called to repent we are prideful and refuse to take responsibility or take heed to the conviction of the Holy Spirit or the rebuke of our wise counsel.
There is a level of spiritual maturity that has to take place for you to objectively look at a situation and identify that you can be the villain in someone else’s story. Far too often, we like to justify rebuke as an attack from the enemy but understand that rebuke is an assignment that we have as believers. We talked about this in depth in our session on Godly rebuke. As a body, we are to help each other compensate. The Bible refers to it as the responsibility of bearing each other's burdens.
Be submitted to the fact that we all have room to grow.
And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. ~Philippians 1:6 NLT
Godly Sorrow
In 2 Corinthians 7:8-10 Paul discusses how Godly sorrow produces repentance. Of course I did a word study on this for clarity. In the Greek the type of sorrow that Paul is describing is an intense emotional distress that can seem to weigh a person down. This level of grief is not condemnation, but an intense conviction that troubles us when we sin against the God that we say that we love and dedicate our lives to
This is different from remorse. Remorse does not lead to repentance and is often marked by impulsive emotions (e.g., tears) but the root of those tears are less to do with the desire to change and more to do with the emotion attached to being caught in their sin.
The difference in this can be seen in how Saul was tormented by a Spirit but never repented to God after sinning against Him versus the response of David when he was confronted by the prophet about his sin.
Consecration
Consecration is setting something aside demonstrating it as holy. The Greek word translates to likeness to the nature of the Lord because of being different from the world. In the foundational text we see David consecrate himself through fasting.
Fasting is a spiritual discipline and results in us removing distractions and placing our focus on the Father. There are many benefits to fasting that we won’t divulge into today, but I highly recommend reading Matthew 17 where Jesus tells the disciples that some demons are only dealt with through prayer and fasting. Sin absolutely is a door for demonic oppression, soul ties, and things of the like so we should be prayerful and seek God on fasting in times of repentance.
Prayer
Prayer is our line of communication with the Father. When we repent we must be prayerful in seeking God’s forgiveness and His wisdom and instruction on how to proceed. Oftentimes, our sins result in consequences that if we attempt to navigate alone would lead to more sin and separation from God. Our prayer should be not only for God’s forgiveness, but for His instruction on how to proceed and navigate any consequences we may face as a result of our sin. Remember that forgiveness of sin does not eliminate consequence. This was true for David and is true for us as well.
Obedience
True repentance is identified by the changing or renewing of our minds which results in the change of our behavior. Repentance requires that we return to God and return to a relationship with God. Scripture reminds us that if we love God we will obey His commands (John 14:15). We are also reminded that not only is opposing God’s word troublesome, but sinning through willful disobedience places us right back in opposition of God.
Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me. ~Matthew 12:30 NLT
Blueprint For Repentance: Practical Application
Be Quick To Listen
James 1:19 says, Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.
Offense is one the enemy’s favorite tools to get you acting out of character and placing you in a position where you need to be repentant. Oftentimes, especially amongst righteous believers the offense is a misunderstanding. Be quick to listen and discern because you will find yourself in a position where you have sinned and moved yourself out of position. Furthermore, having that alt against another hinders our prayers (Matthew 5:23-24).
Objectively Consider What Is Being Said
Objectively means taking out your emotion. This can go back to that seed of offense. Looking at the facts, is there room for your improvement? We are called to pursue peace with all people (Hebrews 12:14). When looking at the facts, did your behavior reflect you pursuing peace or were you out there choosing violence? This goes back to what we talked about with being right vs being righteous. There have been many times in several capacities of my life from working in clinic, to my marriage, and just being in general relationship where I have to choose righteousness even when people are dead wrong. If at minimum you can identify where you can improve in this throughout your day, you have something to repent for.
Don’t allow your feelings to dictate the validity of what is being said. Write down the facts and seek God’s word about your role and the other person’s. This has really helped weed out foolish arguments in our house. Because now you are not arguing amongst one another, but you are trying to refute the Word of God which is dangerous.
Prayerfully Consider What Is Being Said
Take the situation to God and allow Him to reveal the areas or ways in which you acted or failed to act that did not reflect Him. Have Him reveal to you where you should improve. Do you need to apologize to the person? Do you need to repent? Very rarely are we without any fault in most situations. Even if the correction that you receive from God is to have better boundaries there is still an area of improvement.
Once You Receive The Instruction/Revelation From God Obey HIs Commands and Deal With The Consequences in A Way That Is Honorable To Him
- Forgiveness is not without consequence. If you murder, God will forgive, and you are also doing your time in prison. God is a parent and will discipline those whom He loves.
- David consecrated and wept before the Lord and still had to deal with the consequences of his actions. Nevertheless, he cleaned himself up and returned into a relationship with God via his worship.
- When you are dealing with consequences, don’t allow the enemy to allow the seed of offense to take root against God. This will lead to rebellion and you cycling deeper into sin.
Put Practical Boundaries Into Place To Avoid Falling Into This Same Pitfall Again Now That You Have Revelation
When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation. ~ Matthew 12:43-45 NLT