Do believe a person can repent for the wrong reasons...

[imperfectchristian]

...or does it not matter as long as a person repents?

If it does matter, what is the right reason?

"many a man has overcome cowardice, or lust, or ill-temper by learning to think that beneath his dignity—that is, by Pride. The devil laughs. He is perfectly content to see you becoming chaste and brave and self-controlled provided, all the time, he is setting up in you the Dictatorship of Pride." - C.S. Lewis

 

[zaksmummy]

I thing you need to start off by understanding what repentance is.

It is asking Gods forgiveness for sin, yes, but it is so much more. It is turning around from the sin and going in Gods direction. The fruit of repentance is humility, this can be brought about by going and making restitution with the person you have sinned against - not an easy thing to do, but trust me, it makes you humble and you know that you are free from the sin.

I believe this is what Jesus is talking about when he says "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or
sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to that person; then come and offer your gift." Matt 5v23-24

 

[imperfectchristian]

I thing you need to start off by understanding what repentance is.

It is asking Gods forgiveness for sin, yes, but it is so much more. It is turning around from the sin and going in Gods direction. The fruit of repentance is humility, this can be brought about by going and making restitution with the person you have sinned against - not an easy thing to do, but trust me, it makes you humble and you know that you are free from the sin.

I believe this is what Jesus is talking about when he says "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or
sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to that person; then come and offer your gift." Matt 5v23-24

The question was...can you repent for the wrong reasons?

 

[Jakihe]

No, I do not believe there can be a wrong reason for repentance as long as that repentance is sincere. For example, if someone repented out of fear rather than seeking God; as long as you are sincere, God will accept.

 

[SageTree]

I think anything can be done for selfish gain.

The intention in seeking forgiveness is where the balance's fulcrum lies. And I believe that is why 'humility' was touched upon in the reply.

And I agree and believe sincere is a really good word or adjective to put on that intention scale.

 

[Mess]

I think there are only two reasons why people repent, either they are scared of consequences and they just say Oh please Lord I'm so sorry, which really is no repentance at all. And there is the true repentance that comes from a sorrow in your heart that you have gone in against God's will, and you acknowledge and agree that He is right and you are wrong.

 

[Jakihe]

I think there are only two reasons why people repent, either they are scared of consequences and they just say Oh please Lord I'm so sorry, which really is no repentance at all. And there is the true repentance that comes from a sorrow in your heart that you have gone in against God's will, and you acknowledge and agree that He is right and you are wrong.

I think a person can be scared AND truly repentant.

 

[Mess]

Yes but true repentance isn't about just being scared, and then falsely say you are sorry because you are scared. True repentance goes alot deeper than that.

 

[SageTree]

Sometimes fear has healthy elements of respect in them, however I understand where you are coming from.

 

[Jakihe]

Yes but true repentance isn't about just being scared, and then falsely say you are sorry because you are scared. True repentance goes alot deeper than that.

Yes, you're right. You have to be sincere

 

[KleinerApfel]

The word used in the NT for "repent" doesn't mean "be sorry" but in fact goes right to the heart of the matter - it means a deep change of one's mind, and in context this means a change of heart towards God, truth, righteousness, peace and so on.

With that in mind, I'd say it is impossible to be insincere in repenting, because that would require a person to hold two frames of mind simultaneously.
Therefore I don't think it is possible to change your mind for the wrong reason. If your mind is turned towards God, then the reason for the change did it's work and thus became a good reason!

Of course, just saying sorry is an entirely different matter, and can be done for both right and wrong reasons.

 

[zaksmummy]

The question was...can you repent for the wrong reasons?

Obviously I wasnt explicit enough - no I dont think you can repent for the wrong reason because true repentance is about humbling yourself and putting Gods ways before your own.

 

[Ajax 777]

If there were a wrong reason for turning from sin,
and hating the wicked thing one has done...
What could that be? Repentance by definition
is not just an outward show, but an inner decision.
It's impossible to fake before GOD. He sees the heart,
laid bare before HIM. If its motives are wrong,
how can it be called repentance?

 

[lismore]

...
If it does matter, what is the right reason?

I'm not sure!

Jonah went to Nineveh and preached '40 more days and the city will be destroyed'.

Perhaps the people repented because of this fear of destruction.

The Assyrians certainly didn't seem to turn to the Lord because of the incident! The Assyrians remained pagan to the end of their Empire.

But the Lord accepted their repentance and didn't destroy the city!

Maybe doing what is right is right, why you are doing what is right is maybe a valid but secondary consideration.

 

[Cassidy]

No I don't think you can repent for the wrong reasons. For if they were the wrong reasons then it wouldn't be true repentence would it.

Like a murder who is not sorry for murdering but awfully sorry for getting caught - ya know.

 

[Always in His Presence]

The question was...can you repent for the wrong reasons?

No, plain and simple no. True repentance cannot happen for the wrong reasons, because true repentance is a change of heart.

No purity of heart - no purity of motive - no repentance.

 

[nephilimiyr]

...or does it not matter as long as a person repents?

If it does matter, what is the right reason?

Yes I do believe a person can attempt to repent for the wrong reasons and it stems from the way of the world, the religious system.

I was listening to a preacher preach on grace on line and he gave this story.He was in another church, not his own, and was preaching the grace message. A lady from that church had called him about a month later complaining to him and telling him that he must come back and undo all the damage he had wrought. He's asks, "what did I do"? She said that after he had given his message on God's grace her husband, who had always liked viewing porn but had stopped for almost a year, had gotten back into it all over again and it was all because of that grace message. But the preacher on the other end of the line gleefully and loudly exclaimed "PRAISE THE LORD!!

Well the lady was mortified by this and asked how he could be so happy and joyful about this. He explained to her that her husband had odviously only stopped viewing porn out of the belief that modifying his actions was what pleased God. He then got back into porn because that is what he always wanted to do, not repent. He explained that now he can start placing his faith and trust in God so that God can truely make the changes in his heart that are needed so that he doesn't want to view porn, and those are heart changes that only God can perform.

Faith is the only thing that pleases God, not our own behavior modification, and behavior modification was all her husband was doing because he believed that was what would make him a better person. He repented, or at least it seemed as he did, because he had changed his action but his heart was still there in the porn world and all he needed was an excuss to get back into it. His desires to view porn were still always there with him but he thought he was great and special because he thought he had changed himself, all with the belief that God must be really impressed with him and pleased with him but even during those days that he was not viewing porn God was not impressed or pleased because the man was not useing faith and letting Him take care of it.

So if you are repenting, even successfully, but doing so with a religious belief that your own behavior modification is pleasing to God, I say think again. There's a place in the heart for every sin you committ, it's the heart that needs cleaning out, not your outward appearance and God is the one who has to clean it out for you.

 

[imperfectchristian]

Yes I do believe a person can attempt to repent for the wrong reasons and it stems from the way of the world, the religious system.

I was listening to a preacher preach on grace on line and he gave this story.He was in another church, not his own, and was preaching the grace message. A lady from that church had called him about a month later complaining to him and telling him that he must come back and undo all the damage he had wrought. He's asks, "what did I do"? She said that after he had given his message on God's grace her husband, who had always liked viewing porn but had stopped for almost a year, had gotten back into it all over again and it was all because of that grace message. But the preacher on the other end of the line gleefully and loudly exclaimed "PRAISE THE LORD!!

Well the lady was mortified by this and asked how he could be so happy and joyful about this. He explained to her that her husband had odviously only stopped viewing porn out of the belief that modifying his actions was what pleased God. He then got back into porn because that is what he always wanted to do, not repent. He explained that now he can start placing his faith and trust in God so that God can truely make the changes in his heart that are needed so that he doesn't want to view porn, and those are heart changes that only God can perform.

Faith is the only thing that pleases God, not our own behavior modification, and behavior modification was all her husband was doing because he believed that was what would make him a better person. He repented, or at least it seemed as he did, because he had changed his action but his heart was still there in the porn world and all he needed was an excuss to get back into it. His desires to view porn were still always there with him but he thought he was great and special because he thought he had changed himself, all with the belief that God must be really impressed with him and pleased with him but even during those days that he was not viewing porn God was not impressed or pleased because the man was not useing faith and letting Him take care of it.

So if you are repenting, even successfully, but doing so with a religious belief that your own behavior modification is pleasing to God, I say think again. There's a place in the heart for every sin you committ, it's the heart that needs cleaning out, not your outward appearance and God is the one who has to clean it out for you.

Excellent Neph!

 

[Always in His Presence]

So if you are repenting, even successfully, but doing so with a religious belief that your own behavior modification is pleasing to God, I say think again. There's a place in the heart for every sin you committ, it's the heart that needs cleaning out, not your outward appearance and God is the one who has to clean it out for you.

Here's the rub - you cannot possibly repent (biblically), by just modifying your behavior or actions.

Religious repentance is turning from sin so God will love you.

True repentance is turning from sin because God loves you.

True repentance is placing more value on pleasing God than the pleasure you find in sin.

You can't do that with wrong motives.