Internal and external transformation is a wonderful sign of a believer who has genuinely repented. True repentance is possible only by the Holy Spirit convicting a sinner. Many people profess to be Christians, but their lives show no transformation. These people have no internal relationship with Jesus, and therefore, they show no external transformation. Without the Holy Spirit, man is prone to think of himself as good and moral enough. Only the Holy Spirit can convict a sinner of his depravity and cause him to repent. Only the Holy Spirit can cause a sinner to bear the fruit of repentance.
There were certain people who were drawn to John the Baptist’s message of repentance. They were convicted and questioned him, “What then shall we do?” to which John replied with instructions to repent. How would we characterize those who are changed to bear spiritual fruit?
They realize the power, presence, and dirtiness of sin.
Before the Holy Spirit convicts a man, he is unable to sense anything wrong with himself. We are naturally prideful and crooked. But when convicted, we begin to see that Jesus is the only way to solve our problem of sin. Those who are changed by the Holy Spirit know the presence of sin within them, as well as its power. They detest the sinfulness of sin and wage relentless war to mortify every sin within them.
They realize the wrath of God is real and vivid.
Those who are changed know that hell is real and is an unimaginably dreadful place to go. Believers should not avoid the topic of hell in evangelism. It may be offensive, but it is necessary for sinners to realize the immense wages of sin.
They renounce religious rituals and family ancestry as a means of salvation.
Those who are truly convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit know that there is no way to be forgiven but by repentance. God promises forgiveness to those who repent and put their faith in Jesus Christ. Being raised in a Christian family is good, but it does not mean you are saved. Repentance is the only way to handle sin.
They meet the real Jesus, which leads to transformation.
True repentance leads you to Christ. Those who know Him as their Savior and Lord love Him and want to be like Him, which leads to their sanctification. Those who truly repent have the life of Christ. They love Jesus personally and put Him before all things.
There are many false christs. How do you know your Jesus is of the Bible? The real Jesus hates sin, whereas the world creates a Jesus who is successful, tolerant, healthy, wealthy, and easy to follow. We must love and seek the Jesus of the Bible.
They can hear the voice of Christ.
Many believers are driven by their circumstances, but we must instead listen to the voice of Jesus every day by living by the Bible. The Bible is Jesus’ voice, offered to us by the Holy Spirit. We must not only hear Him from the Bible but we must respond with obedience and fear. Paul counted everything as rubbish because Jesus alone was his Lord. Do you regard Jesus as God the Father regards Him? (Phil 2:9-11)
We can examine ourselves by asking this question- What is your burning passion right now? Is it to survive this pandemic? Is it to attain your personal goals? Paul forsook everything he once valued because his passion was Christ alone. His passion was continually fueled by faith, which was increased and sustained by prayer and the Word. If you have not truly repented, you do not know the true Jesus. And without the true Jesus, there is no faith or fruit. This is the power of biblical repentance.
BIBLE COMMUNITY CHURCH 
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