BOW: Repentance - Returning to the Covenant

Thoughts on Davidic Kingship.
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In this chapter, we’ll expand on repentance, which we saw was a call for Judah to return to the Law or the Covenant by John the Baptist. Gentiles who desire to be sanctified and enter the Kingdom of God and of Heaven can be adopted or grafted into Israel by entering into the law of the Covenant.​

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The Process of Perfection
Our Process of Perfection looks like this:

Individual Salvation

Born of the Blood Redemption ​

Born Again Sanctification Born of the Water > Born of the Spirit > Born of God

Judah and Returning to the Covenant
We have already established that repentance here means “to return to the law”.  In his book, The Tanakh, the Dictionary for the New Testament, Bradford Scott, wrote, “The comparable word [for repent] used in the [Old Testament] and the Hebrew culture is “teshuvah”. This word is generally translated “to return”, or “to go back”. “The very first word that we hear from [John the Baptist] is repent! To whom was he speaking this? To the nations? Of course not. The nations would not have a clue as to what to go back to! He was speaking this to the local Jewish leadership. [John] was pleading, on behalf of Jesus, for God’s covenant people to go back to the covenant. [Jesus’] first word to the Jewish leaders is repent!” (p. 75, 79, 80)

Gentiles (the Nations) Coming into the Covenant
Gentiles who come into covenant with Jehovah-Yeshua, accept the God of Israel as their god and enter into the same law and covenant as a descendant of Abraham - Lev. 24:22, Exodus 12:49.
 
“Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the Lord your God.”
 
These Gentiles - who many of them are really the mixed seed of Israel - repair what damage they did in their previous life according to God’s covenant and begin a new life as God’s Covenant People.

 
Repairing Our Old Ways
Turning to Yeshua does not absolve us of our previous life – He is not a get-out-of-jail-free pass. We must repair what damage we can from our previous life through the process of repentance.
 

Consequences of Sin
When we break God’s law and wrong our neighbor, they bear the consequences of our sinful actions. And it is our responsibility as sinners to restore them to a pre-offense condition.  Under divine law, justice requires restitution and reconciliation with God requires genuine sorrow.


Justice
Under Torah law, justice requires restitution by replacing that which was taken, which could include servitude until the debt was paid.  Intentional sins carried with them additional punitive penalties.
 
 
Mercy
However, mercy was also part of the Law - Proverbs 28:13. A person who was sincerely repentant and who could not repay the entire amount could be granted mercy where the victim of sin agreed to bear the balance of that that was lost.


The Atonement
For those who have exhausted their efforts to repair wrongs committed and to be reconciled with God, there is the Atonement.
 
Those who are baptized into Yeshua’s testimony can receive a remission of their sins through the Atonement – Matthew 26:28.
 
“For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
 
 
The Process of Repentance
We can summarize the process of repentance for those who are Born Again and Baptized into Yeshua’s testimony.

Returning/Turning to the Covenant

Abandoning Our Old Ways

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Repairing Our Previous Life the Best We Can ​According to the Law of God's Covenant

V                                                                                 V

Reconciling with God	Reconciling with Our Neighbor
​Confess Our Sins Against God Feel Remorse for Our Actions Forsake the Sin Petition God for Forgiveness	Confess Our Sins Against Our Neighbor Restore What was Taken Forsake the Sin Petition Our Neighbor for Forgiveness
Baptized into Yeshua's Testimony Invoke the Atonement for Full Reconciliation with God ​Receive a Remission of Sins	Obtain Forgiveness
V	V

Begin a New Life as an Initiate in God's Way

Repeat repentance until the transformation by the Spirit is received.

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​Born of God
Those who are Born Again overcome personal sin and become a new creation of the Holy Spirit. This condition John refers to being Born of God – 1 John 3:9.
 
“Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for the Holy Spirit remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
 
But to be Born of God, believers must pass through the Baptism of Fire or a trial of their faith. This trial of faith effectively is designed to break our will and submit to God’s will. The Baptism of Fire causes within us an internal changed that makes it possible to keep His law.
 
 
Summary
So this is how our summary looks.

Return/Turn to the Covenant. Repair our previous life through process of repentance. >

Baptized into Yeshua’s Testimony >

Repentance and receive Remission of Sins through the Atonement until the Baptism of Fire ​>

Receive an internal change through the Baptism of Fire. ​>

Are Born of God overcoming personal sin.