What does it mean to be unrepentant? Unrepentance is when we do not fully understand that nothing good can ever come from our former belief systems. That even the kind things we may have formerly done, had a hidden agenda and motive.
Proverbs 16:2 – All the ways of a person are clean in his own sight, But the LORD examines the motives.
Proverbs 24:12 – If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?
1 Corinthian 4:5 – Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.
1 Samuel 16:7 – But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Acts 1:24 – Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart…
Romans 8:27 – And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
1 Samuel 2:3 – Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.
Proverbs 21:2 – Every person’s way is right in his own eyes, but the Lord examines the hearts.
Jesus also confirms this:
Luke 16:15 – He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.
This is because whatever we did, we did not do it for God. When discussing the word of God, it is important to constantly watch ourselves to ensure that we are not calling the truth a lie. We do this when we reject the truth, label it as false and do not accept it. We usually do this because the biblical concept that we are reading (being presented) does not suit our beliefs. This happens when we are not fully repentant (unrepentant).
Whenever we do not accept God’s word because we don’t agree with it, we are rejecting the word of God. Accepting and rejecting God’s word, is done in the interpretation of His word. Not the actual rejection of the Bible itself. It is done through our evil interpretation which is based on our sinful desires and beliefs, and not based on the true interpretation. Whether it is through the Holy Spirit or a Holy Spirit filled believer, we reject God’s word when we do not accept the true interpretation of His word.
When we are unrepentant in this way, we are calling God a liar. We refuse to admit the truth and that our interpretation is sinful and full of lies. Through this, we do not want to follow/obey the truth. When we are unrepentant, we are claiming that we are right and that God is wrong.
1 John 1:8-10 – If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
Anytime we reject the word of God, we are calling the truth a lie, since it does not suit our own beliefs. This is what it means to be unrepentant. Ultimately, unrepentance always turns into blasphemy of the Holy Spirit which is an unforgivable sin.
Matthew 12:31-32 – And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
Mark 3:28-29 – Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”
Luke 12:10 – Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is the only unforgivable sin. So we should not just throw our salvation away like this on a whim. We should take our time when discussing or reading the word of God. We need to desperately try to understand what the Holy Spirit filled writer is saying in the Bible. Not just throw away our salvation over a disagreement because of our own evil beliefs. No belief of ours that does not come from Jesus, can ever be righteous.
Romans 3:10 – As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one;
No one on their own, without Jesus, can ever be righteous. No, not even one.
Psalm 51:5 – Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Proverbs 20:9 – Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin”?
Romans 3:23 – for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Job 14:4 – Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one!
2 Chronicles 6:36 – “When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near;
Once we understand this concept completely, we are then repentant and ready to accept the word of God as He meant it, and not how we wish to accept it. Even when we speak to a Holy Spirit filled believer, we must be careful not to reject what they are saying just because we don’t agree with it personally. We need to take the time to compare it with scripture to see if it is accurate and agrees with the scriptures, not our beliefs.
Unfortunately, the sad reality is that if a person is unrepentant, they will disagree with the scripture and the speaker, no matter how accurate it is. This is because they personally do not agree with the concept, based on their evil belief system. This is very dangerous! As soon as we disagree with a believer speaking the truth or a certain biblical concept, we are essentially disagreeing with God himself and not the speaker.
An open mind is needed. Which means to say that we need to constantly compare what we hear, read and learn to scripture. Not to what we have been taught in the past by our parents, grandparents, relatives, denominations, pastors, etc. We must always be willing to learn and change. The heart of every Christian should remain moldable and teachable.
Matthew 18:2-4 – He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
To humble yourself like a child is to become repentant and ready to learn, knowing that everything you formerly believed is evil. We must humble our own spirit within us so that we can accept the Holy Spirit and its teachings and philosophies.
Psalm 131:2 – But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.
Matthew 19:14 – Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
Mark 10:15 – Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
Luke 18:17 – Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
This is the spirit that King David asks for.
Psalm 51:10-13 – Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.
King David understood that the only way the Holy Spirit can be taken away is if we lose our repentance, making our spirit unrepentant. So King David is asking for a steadfast, repentant spirit so that the Holy Spirit will not be taken away from him.
Hebrews 6:4-6 – It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.
We need to fully understand how important repentance is to our salvation. There is no way of obtaining actual knowledge or wisdom about God or from God, without repentance. It is repentance that leads to the Holy Spirit which is eternal life.
Acts 11:18 – When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
2 Corinthians 7:10 – Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
John 4:13-14 – Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Acts 3:19-20 & 26 – Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus…26 When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”
When we do not accept the word of God and continue to believe in our own evil belief system, we are believing in a man made repentance. In the Bible, repentance is always signified by water.
Jeremiah 2:13 – “My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
We are meant to drink from the spring/fountain, meaning from Jesus’ teachings of the word of God. Jesus’ teachings are so perfect and without compromise, exceptions, justifications and rationalizations, that it will always bring about repentance if not manipulated. However, once we manipulate the teachings of Jesus with our own belief systems by adding exceptions and justifications, we have created a man made repentance. This is a worldly sorrow that only brings spiritual death.
This is what the scripture in Jeremiah means by referring to broken cisterns. These are man-made vessels that hold rainwater which will eventually run dry. Man’s repentance has too many justifications, exceptions, rationalizations, compromises and manipulations to be continuous and steadfast in repentance. It is only by believing and having faith in the unadulterated teachings of Jesus, that we can have a never ending spring of repentance within us. This repentance leads to the receiving of the Holy spirit, which is eternal life.
John 4:14 – but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 6:63 & 68 – The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life…Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. 69 We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”
Once we become obstinate, we become unrepentant and close to blaspheming the Holy Spirit, which is spiritual death. The truth in God’s word is oftentimes, difficult to hear and accept. Our natural, sinful selves do not agree with it. We as humans, who are imperfect and born in iniquity, cannot naturally agree with perfect concepts from the bible.
Psalm 51:5 – Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Therefore, we must anticipate this disagreement with the truth so that we can become better prepared to hear and accept the truth.
This is how we should prepare our hearts with repentance before we approach the word of God. The Jewish people would prepare themselves through ritual washing before they met God, which is a practical example of what we need to do, spiritually.
John 4:23-24 – Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
In the same way, we must wash ourselves with the waters of repentance before we read or meet to discuss the word of God.
Repentance means that we must not already think we know everything. In so doing, we shut our eyes, ears and mind to the truth. This is called unrepentance, which causes us not to understand.
Matthew 13:13-16 – This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ 16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.
The ‘eyes’ and ‘ears’ Jesus is referring to is repentance. It is repentance that causes us to be able to hear what Jesus, the word, the Holy Spirit or spirit filled believers are saying.
Jeremiah 5:21 – Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear:
Isaiah 42:40 – You have seen many things, but you pay no attention; your ears are open, but you do not listen.”
Ezekiel 12:2 – “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.
It is important to prepare ourselves with repentance each and every time we read the bible or meet to discuss the word of God. Our salvation depends on it. Before the Jewish people could receive the truth from the Messiah, John the Baptist was sent to prepare their hearts. He was warning them to repent from their old ways of thinking and prepare themselves for the truth, which would be shown to them by Jesus. Those who felt they already knew everything were unrepentant, and they rejected Jesus’ teachings about how to please God and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. By refusing to become repentant and accept Jesus the Messiah, they rejected Jesus’ teachings and committed blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
The major cause of unrepentance (and thinking that we already know the truth), is the belief in denominational teachings in place of solely believing in God’s word. Denominational beliefs cause unrepentance to the true teachings of Jesus.
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