Repentance from Self-Centeredness + Self-Righteousness

1. Repentance Toward God, Not Toward Self (Acts 20:21).

• Repenting towards God means that we need to repent because of a fear of God (Acts 17:30-31, Proverbs 16:6), and to love God (Matthew 22:37-40), not merely to improve ourselves or have a better life. 

  • To repent, we must see that sin is a personal offense against God (Psalm 51:4), and that a restored relationship with God is what we need (Romans 5:10-11).

  • And because our sin hurts God, Jesus died to save us from God's wrath for our sins (1 Thessalonians 1:10, Romans 5:8-9). We need to repent not just because of the natural consequences of our sin, but because of the wrath that will come if we don't.

  • Remember, you are saved by God, from God, for God. 

    • By God's grace (Ephesians 2:8-9)

    • From God's wrath (Romans 5:9)

    • For God's glory (Ephesians 1:12, 2:7)

• Contrarily, many people are turning away from sin, with a religious front, but it's only for themselves (they are the focus of their repentance). They are wise enough to realize that sin isn't good for them, so they want to quit, but merely to live better, feel better, or look better. Without fear of God, people repent only for their own self-improvement or self-exaltation, not actually to serve or love God (Matthew 6:1-18). And that's not true repentance. Know the difference.

  • People who repent for self also often can be self-righteous...

2. Repentance from Self-Righteousness. How to repent from self-righteousness?

• Do not think you're a good person (Romans 3:9-23). Confess to having sin (1 John 1:8-10, Luke 18:9-14).

• Do not think you can overcome sin by yourself. You need the Holy Spirit's help (Romans 8:7-9, Galatians 5:16, Philippians 2:13).

• Do not think your own good works will get God to save you. No amount of good works can make up for our existing sin and its impending punishment. Only Jesus' death and resurrection can forgive and save (Acts 4:12, Titus 3:4-5, Romans 3:24-25).