Revelation 3:19 ‘Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. (NASB1995)

◦ How are we to take this concept of God’s love? Does He reprove and discipline everyone? (“those whom I love I discipline”; and “For God so loved the world”). So, is repentance a requirement for all those with whom He does deal in order to continue to be loved of God? There is a reason for asking these questions. What we find in scripture is that there are severe consequences for not repenting. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. This mentions nothing about repentance but is it understood? It certainly mentions perishing.

Here is another verse where repentance is tied in with the concept of salvation. Does it also tie into Gods love?

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. (NASB1995)

So repentance seems a key here to salvation, and salvation is the only means of ever realizing God’s love. Those who perish will perish separated from God’s love.

What is His promise? If you read what leads to this statement the promise is Jesus’ Coming, but it’s more than the event itself. It’s our accompanying promise of resurrection and everlasting life when He comes. So is repentance linked to eternal life and God’s love?

Revelation 9:20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; 21 and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts. (NASB1995)

Repentance and God’s offer of His love and forgiveness for salvation on the one hand seems to be universal. Why do I say that. This Scripture above is speaking of those possibly even worshiping the Antichrist in Revelation 9. Had these repented would they not have escaped the lake of fire that we later see them being thrown into? But they would not repent when God offered it. He had offered it in Revelation 9 and they would not repent. But He is offering repentance to the Church:

Revelation 2:5 ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place–unless you repent. (NASB1995)

Here the failure to repent had consequences even as it did in:

Revelation 2:16 ‘Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth. (NASB1995)

And in: Revelation 2:21 ‘I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality.

The consequence is not the lake of fire, but certainly unwanted.

Revelation 2:22 ‘Behold, I will throw her on a bed [of sickness,] and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. (NASB1995)

The way to remain among the loved of God:

Revelation 3:3 ‘So remember what you have received and heard; and keep [it,] and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. (NASB1995)

If Jesus comes to them as a thief and they are likened to those who are without knowledge of His coming then they are among those in darkness:

1 Thessalonians 5:7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. 8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, (KJV)

It would seem that all men have this obligation to repent turning from the world and their old ways toward God’s means is salvation, who is Jesus and desiring His righteous ways. Listen:

Revelation 16:9 Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory. (NASB1995)

Revelation 16:11 and they blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores; and they did not repent of their deeds. (NASB1995)

Repentance involves two things: our attitude toward God and our attitudes toward the World.