Q3. Repentance

[Aleezah]

1). Nebuchadnezzar needs to humble himself, repent, turn from his wicked ways, and turn to God. 2). I need to deny myself, pick up my cross, and blindly follow Christ. 3). It means to be merciful, as well as giving to charity. The Bible states, "the poor we will have with us always." 4). Yes,it is within my ability. 5). I do not believe God's decrees to be conditional nor negotiable.

[Jen]

Q3. (Daniel 4:27)  What must Nebuchadnezzar do to demonstrate that he renounces and repents of his sins? What must you do to demonstrate that you repent of your sins? For us, what does it mean to be kind to the poor? That was certainly within Nebuchadnezzar's ability to accomplish. Is it within your ability? In what way can God's decrees be conditional?

 

I like the verse in Micah 6:8  He has showed you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

It is in all of us to be kind to the poor.  Everyone is to be treated with respect for God is not a respecter  of persons.

 

If we turn from our wicked ways, say we are sorry, ask God for forgiveness it is possible He will act on our behalf.

 

God Bless!

Jen

Numbers 6:24-26

[Commissioned]

Q3. (Daniel 4:27) What must Nebuchadnezzar do to demonstrate that he renounces and repents of his sins? What must you do to demonstrate that you repent of your sins? For us, what does it mean to be kind to the poor? That was certainly within Nebuchadnezzar’s ability to accomplish. Is it within your ability? In what way can God’s decrees be conditional?

 

To demonstrate that he renounces and repents of his sins, Nebuchadnezzar must now acknowledge to himself and publicly that God is sovereign over all and he must also get down of his lofty throne and humble himself and become generous to the poor in his kingdom.  We to must repent of our sins and publicly declare that Jesus Christ is Lord of our lives.  As we live in the commandments of God we will follow His admonishment to be kind to the poor.  This was indeed within Nebuchadnezzar’s ability to accomplish and with God's grace to provide for us, we too can be generous to the poor. God’s decrees be conditional when we repent of that which would otherwise bring judgment.

[Old Jerry]

Nebuchadnezzar must start treating people right in order to demonstrate that he renounces and repents of his sins. We must confess our sins and change the ways that we are going. For us to be kind to the poor means to help them in any way that we can. It is in my ability to accomplish this one person at a time. God has always had do us things so that we can help ourselves. If we do them then He is there helping us.

[Frangena]

Q 3.

• Nebuchadnezzar should confess his sins and break away from his past sinful ways - repent.

 

• I should cease to live like I did before coming to Christ and show by my works  of mercy and compassion that I am a new creation and a born again Christian.

 

• For us to be kind to the poor means that we should try by all means to assist those who are less fortunate than ourselves.

 

• Actually that is what I am doing now by assisting the orphans in a near by orphanage.

 

• God's decrees may be conditional when we hear his caution and turn back from the sin we were doing, humbling ourselves and acknowledging that He is our Almighty God in control of our lives.

[haar]

Q3. (Daniel 4:27)

 

Q. What must Nebuchadnezzar do to demonstrate that he renounces and repents of his sins?

 

A. He must humble himself, return to the Lord, stop sinning and do what  is right.

 

Q. What must you do to demonstrate that you repent of your sins?

 

A. We must do as stated above for the king.

 

Q. For us, what does it mean to be kind to the poor?

 

A. Help the needy with our substance and regard them in their low esteem as children of God. Don't maltreat them.

 

Q. That was certainly within Nebuchadnezzar’s ability to accomplish. Is it within your ability? In what way can God’s decrees be conditional? 

 

A. Yes. The need to return to Him in humility and stop doing wrong is sometimes expected by god before He forgives us or grant our requests.

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[PeteD]

Lesson 4 Question 3

I believe that to repent the king is asked to break off from his previous actions - to be sorry for what he did and to stop doing it. Additionally, is asked to administer justice by treating the poor and unfortunate fairly. We too when we repent must not only be sorry within ourselves for what we've done, but we must be ready to plan and execute the plan to rectify what we have done and to demonstrate by our actions that we are truly repentant.

To be kind to the poor for us is to administer justice - to treat them fairly and to possible help rectify the problems that they find themselves in. It may be impossible for us to rectify the situation, but we must strive to find ways to comfort and encouraged.

From our standpoint God always asks us to respond and obey his command to love our neighbor. In so doing he does provide the greatest reward, that is, to know that we belong to him and are loved by him.

[Stanley Tavaziva]

Q3. (Daniel 4:27)  What must Nebuchadnezzar do to demonstrate that he renounces and repents of his sins? What must you do to demonstrate that you repent of your sins? For us, what does it mean to be kind to the poor? That was certainly within Nebuchadnezzar's ability to accomplish. Is it within your ability? In what way can God's decrees be conditional?

 

Daniel pleaded with Nebuchadnezzar to change his ways, and God gave Nebuchadnezzar 12 months to do it. Unfortunately, there was no repentance in the heart of this proud king, and so the dream was fulfilled.

 

Man was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27; 5:1,3; 9:6). Mankind was created for fellowship with God. All of creation is a stage or backdrop for God and mankind’s interaction. God wanted His highest creation, mankind, to know Him, love Him, serve Him, and be like Him! Mankind’s loyalty was tested (Gen. 3) and the original couple failed the test. This resulted in a disruption of the relationship between God and humanity (Gen. 3; Rom. 5:12-21).

 

However, God requires a covenantal response. God decrees freely, gives and provides, but humans must respond and continue to respond in 1. repentance 2. faith 3. lifestyle obedience 4. perseverance

[linda bass]

What Nebuchadnezzar must do to demonstrate he has renounced and repented of his sins is, he has to show kindness and be willing to help the poor and needy in his kingdom..

What I must do to demonstrate that I have repented of my sins is, to turn away from the sins I have repented of.

We may not be rich like Nebuchadnezzar was, but we can still help those who are poor and needy. We can donate food to local food banks and give money to ministries that help feed the hungry like Salvation Army of Feeding America.. For the past several years the church I attend has taken part on Operation Christmas Child. We collect schools supplies, hygiene items, toys, books, etc to send to kids in need in other parts of the world.

God's decrees can be conditional when He has commanded us to obey them.

[joy irowa]

apart from repenting and renouncing verbally he must stop sinning, be kind to the poor and needy also recognise the sovreighnty of God.

 

 

i must stop the negative actions and be led by the Holy spirit

 

 

being kind to the is in giving, caring, serving  etc

 

God`s decrees can be conditional if we repent

 

 

 

 

 

[elizabeth kerr]

King Nebuchadnezzar could definitely have been merciful to those oppressed by him, his officials, and others in his kingdom, or at least  he could have tried.  If in doing so, he offended too many of his underlings, they might have revolted and overthrown him, replacing him with one who would have let them continue oppressing their fellow coutnrymen for their advantage.  Sadly, oppressors often think like Ayn Rand the novelist that only they, the most powerful and wealthiest people in the community, are valuable, and everyone else exists to be exploited, chewed up, used up, spit out, and replaced, for the benefit of the oppressors.  So, Nebuchadnezzar could have been merciful to the oppressed but it would have required a total change in his mindset and beliefs as well as in those of his officials who would have had to carry out his new commands.  He would have needed a lot of help from God!  And that was what God wanted from him:  a complete change in his beliefs that led to a change in his commands and actions AND a corresponding change in his officials for the sake of the oppressed.   It would have been a wonderful thing for all of Babylon.

 

God's decrees, both promises and threats, are often conditional:  If you disobey and sin, God will punish you, but if you sin and repent and cease sinning, God will not punish you or at least not so severely.  Examples:

1)  Jonah:  God sent the prophet Jonah to warn the people of Nineveh, Assyria, that their empire would be destroyed.  When the people and the king repented of their sins, God "relented" (changed his mind, some say) and did not destroy them.  I don't think God changed His mind; I think the complete message to Nineveh was " If you do not repent of your sins and change your ways,  I will destroy you, but if you do repent of your sins and change your ways,  I will not destroy you"  because that is exactly what happened.   God does not lie and God does not change His plans.

2)  2 Chronicles 7:13-14  In response to Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem, God promised that if the people sinned and He sent drought or a locust swarm or a plague to afflict their farmland and if they then repented of their sins, humbled themselves, stopped sinning, and turned to Him, He would forgive their sins and heal their farmland.  It can be inferred that if they did not repent of their sins, God would not heal their farmland and they would continue to suffer hunger.

 

So, warnings and promises from God come with two possible outcomes:  obey God and ... or disobey God and ....  I think that is because God allows us to choose or at least think we are choosing our response to His command and uses these either-or situations to demonstrate His character attributes of agape-love, compassion, mercy, and kindness on one hand and righteousness, goodness, purity, just-ness, and hatred of sin and evil on the other hand. 

 

Nebuchadnezzar found out the hard way that God always means what He says.  May we take God seriously and respond as He wants; it will be a blessing for us.

[Lionwolf]

Q3. (Daniel 4:27)  What must Nebuchadnezzar do to demonstrate that he renounces and repents of his sins? What must you do to demonstrate that you repent of your sins? For us, what does it mean to be kind to the poor? That was certainly within Nebuchadnezzar's ability to accomplish. Is it within your ability? In what way can God's decrees be conditional?

Nebuchadnezzar must renounce his sins and start doing what is right. We must accept Jesus. We must help the poor and not forget them. As Nebuchadnezzar was given a prophetic dream Daniel advised him to repent of his sins. Daniel advised that God may relent if Nebuchadnezzar follows his advice. If Nebuchadnezzar has humbled himself before God the result might have been different. 

 

[Clelie]

Question 3 
To prove the repentance of his sins , Nebuchadnezzar must show it by his actions.

To show repentance of my sins, stop doing them by my actions eg forgive my enemies, stop lying, do what God tells  me to do, bless those who hurt me etc 

Be kind  to the poor is to help those in need, whether financial, social, spiritual or physical. 
All help mentioned above Is possible for those who desire to do by the help of God. 
 

God accomplishes  His promises to those who are faithful to Him in their walk . 

 

[Krissi]

People tend to both exaggerate as well as denigrate the power of words. But when God spoke, he simultaneously created ... words are very important in the Bible. They create realities. Furthermore, we do much "in His name." But, having said this, it's also the case that it's easy to say a few words and do nothing, and far more costly to serve/love without words. 

To prove to ourselves that our repentance is sincere, we often look for signs of change -- this means "actions." If I say I love you but do not show or demonstrate my love for you, it is probably the case that my love is insincere. If Nebuchadnezzar says he repents, but didn't change his behavior, the sincerity of his repentance would be in doubt.

I know that religious pollsters use two basic parameters: beliefs and behaviors. If a person claims to believe all the right stuff, but doesn't pray or tithe or do whatever his particular church requires, the pollster determines that his faith is not "salient" or heartfelt. 

Most evangelicals take repentance too lightly. I know I feel that God forgives me when I ask for forgiveness, though I'm more certain of His grace toward me if my asking is done in anguish and tears. Perhaps I should "prove" to Him my sincerity by changing my behavior every time I ask to be forgiven. I do have persistent sins ...

To be kind to the poor means to regard them as equal in every way. Ditto with social class, educational achievements, etc. As a king, the huge disparity between his own wealth and that of his poorest subjects must have seemed unbridgeable, but still Daniel suggested to Nebuchadnezzar that he treat the poor more kindly. Of course this was within his ability, though it may have required checking his words/acts and changing the way he thought.

--

This is what interests me the most in this passage -- God's decrees being conditional. I wonder if there are different levels of decrees. We certainly treat some decrees as unchangeable and eternal such as statements about the divine nature and the possibility of our own secure salvation. But other decrees seem less weighty, even changeable. Such was the decree that Nebuchadnezzar had made. 

But, in my faith, do I expect God to pivot after my prayers? Not really. Many times I feel condemned by my own mistakes. I have done things (marriage and divorce) that were simply stupid, not only spiritually, but emotionally. Consequences have lingered. I don't think I've ever had a rhema=decree that I disobeyed, but if I did, I wonder if God would see my repentant soul and reroute the channel of history that normally would have been carved for me. To change His mind seems the same as erasing consequences. This could happen, but seems rare.

So I wouldn't and don't expect God to decree conditionally. I expect him to continue down the same channel/course He had originally pronounced. Perhaps this is the case only in my life, but frankly, I'd do almost anything to get Him to erase the past and wipe the slate clean IN THIS LIFE ON EARTH.