The Way of Deliverance: Personal Repentance & the Helmet of Salvation
- Anchored In Christ
- Feb 23
- 7 min read
Updated: Mar 4
Throughout the Bible, the Lord has often called his people to repentance. TRUE REPENTANCE occurs when there is a change of mind and heart on a particular thing or action we engage in.
TRUE REPENTANCE is not a one-time thing. It is a lifestyle that we ought to cultivate because sometimes we sin against the Lord in so subtle ways (e.g., lack of faith, stubbornness, lack of humility in our hearts) that we don't even realize it. Sinning goes beyond the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19 & Proverbs 6:16-19). It takes grace to recognize attitudes and mindsets in us that do not honor the Lord.
TRUE REPENTANCE is also a weapon against the enemy because repentance brings salvation (Isaiah 30:15) and salvation is our helmet, one of the weapons of warfare that the Lord commanded us to take on.
You cannot go to war without a helmet. Your head is the first thing the enemy will attack because when he gets you there, you are sure to die.
No human being can survive without a head. Your head carries your mouth (which God can use to speak to nations), your eyes (which God can use to show you things), your nose (for you to smell in the spirit), and your ears (for you to hear the Lord). People lose their limbs but still go onto to thrive because the head is still functionning. But if you lose the head and your heart is still beating, you will not survive. You will die in the wilderness.
Salvation, which you can only obtain through Repentance, is your helmet. TAKE IT ON.
This article explores why we need personal repentance and how we can position ourselves for repentance and engage in repentance. It also discusses what the believer gains from repentance and provides key prayer points as you journey through it.
NOTE: All verses used are from the NIV version unless otherwise specified.
WHY THE NEED FOR PERSONAL REPENTANCE
Repentance is needed for multiple reasons:
We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God: The Bible tells us about the falling of the first man and how sin entered the world through Adam, and death entered through sin (Romans 3:23 & Romans 5:12).
The devil accuses the children of God every day: Revelation 12:10 states that the accuser of our brothers and sisters accuses them before our God, day and night. The enemy thrives when we live sinful lives because he uses that to accuse us before the Father. That is why the bible says we have an ADVOCATE, Jesus Christ, before the Father. With his blood, the Lord Jesus can stand on our behalf before the Father and ask for mercy. 1 John 2:1: “But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.”
Our iniquities separate us from God, leaving us at the enemy's mercy: The Bible tells us in Isaiah 59:2 “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” When the Spirit of God departed from Saul, he was left at the mercy of an evil spirit that regularly tormented him (1 Samuel 16:14).
Sins bring death unto our souls: Ezekiel 18:20 states that the one who sins is the one who will die. Living a sinful life causes God’s protection to be removed from us, keeps us in the bondage of fleshly desires, and is at the mercy of the enemy.
Disobeying God’s instructions willfully brings death or perversion unto our spiritual and physical gifts: Repeatedly committing willful sins can end up in the Spirit of God departing from us. Although Romans 11:29 tells us that God’s gifts are irrevocable, when the Spirit of God leaves, those gifts he placed inside us remain 1) DIE or 2) BECOME PERVERTED. For instance, when the Spirit of God left Samson, he lost his supernatural strength and could no longer defend himself before the Philistines (Judges 16:20-21). When the Spirit of God, on the other hand, departed from King Saul, his gift to serve as a leader was corrupted because he could no longer utilize his gift to lead by example (1 Samuel 16:14). Rather, he used that gift to persecute David and to consult mediums.
Thankfully, Hebrews 4:15 states, "[W]e do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”
THE WAY OF REPENTANCE
True repentance comes from the heart. In Matthew 15: 8-9, the Lord states how his people worship him in vain because they honor him with their lips, but their hearts are far from him. So, true repentance is not about doing religious acts without really intending to change on the inside.
In the days of the prophet Isaiah, the Lord revealed that true fasting is not just about fasting. It’s about changing one’s heart during fasting and not choosing the way of wickedness. Isaiah 58: 3-4 : “‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’” ‘Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.’
We can see another example of what it means to repent in the New Testament. In the days of John the Baptist, many Pharisees and Sadducees were coming to get baptized by John, but they were unwilling to change their hearts. Matthew 3: 7-8 “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” John's admonishing them means that the act does not matter and cannot save us if we continue with our old lives.
ENGAGING IN PERSONAL REPENTANCE
2 Chronicles 7:14 “. . . if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
We engage in the way of repentance by:
Humbling ourselves by recognizing our mistakes
Praying and seeking God for forgiveness and mercy
Turning away from our wicked or sinful ways: Isaiah 1:17 states “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”
Forgiving those who have offended us: Matthew 6:15 states that “But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Confessing our sins: 1 John 1:9 states that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Believing in God’s grace to forgive us: Hebrew 4:16 states “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Very often, the Lord, in his mercy, forgives our sins, but the enemy keeps us thinking that we are not forgiven, overwhelms us with shame, and magnifies the effect of our past sins. But the Lord is merciful. Psalm 103:14 states, “[F]or he knows how we are formed; he remembers that we are dust.” Hebrews 4:15 also tells us that we have a high priest before the Father, the man Jesus Christ, who can empathize with our weaknesses because he himself was tempted in every way but did not sin.
Applying the Blood of Jesus: we have the assurance that our sins will be forgiven through the blood of our savior Jesus. Ephesians 1:7-8 states, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.”
WHAT WE GAIN THROUGH REPENTANCE
Personal salvation: Isaiah 30:15 ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation. . . .’ In the Bible, the Lord forgave those who repented sincerely.
David repented for killing Bathsheba’s husband and taking her in as a wife, and the Lord forgave him and spared him from the grave consequences of his sin. 2 Samuel 12:13-4 “Then David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ Nathan replied, ‘The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.’”
King Hezekiah, whose heart was full of pride, also repented before the Lord, who forgave him. 2 Chronicles 32:26 “Then Hezekiah repented of the pride of his heart, as did the people of Jerusalem; therefore the Lord’s wrath did not come on them during the days of Hezekiah.”
The Apostle Peter, known for denying Jesus three times, repented of his sin, and the Lord showed him mercy. Luke 22:61-62 “Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.” His repentance came from the heart because he regretted his actions and wept bitterly. Although the Bible does not explicitly state that the Lord showed him mercy, we know the Lord did because the Apostle Peter went on to serve as one of the greatest apostles of all times and one of the most powerful instruments used by God in his generation.
Forgiveness of our sins and iniquities: Isaiah 53:5 "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
Reconciliation with God: 1 Peter 2:25 “For ‘you were like sheep going astray,’ but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”
Our prayers are heard, and God delights in them: Proverbs 15:29 “The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.”
We receive clarity of vision and the grace for its accomplishment because the Spirit of Counsel of the Lord is with us.
Restoration and healing: Psalm 103:2-3 “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases . . . .”
Gaining Righteousness in Christ: Romans 5:9 “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!”
Destruction of limitations and strongholds & Deliverance from oppression: Exodus 23:22 “If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you.”
If you would like to repent and return to Christ or live a life of continual repentance, please see our article PRAYERS FOR PERSONAL REPENTANCE. May the Lord keep and bless you!
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