Repentance is something we hear A LOT about, but it’s often poorly understood. What is repentance, and how does it play out in our lives?
Before Jesus began His ministry on earth, there was John the Baptist.
Many of you know of John the Baptist. He was a simple person who lived only for the Kingdom of God. Scripture paints a clear portrait of his life, saying,
In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
make his paths straight.’”
Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
"I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” (Matthew 3:1-12).
From this, we can gather that he was a fiery person. He had a single-minded devotion to furthering God’s Kingdom. He was “sold out” for God. He was the prophet spoken of in Isaiah, the one who would come before the Messiah and announce the good news of salvation.
But notice his message: repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
John the Baptist wasn’t only preaching the arrival of Jesus and the salvation of sinners; he was also preaching repentance.
If you read further down into the text, you’ll see where he goes deeper into this idea of repentance.
All throughout the Gospel, we also hear Jesus calling those who would follow Him to repent. This is seen in verses such as Matt. 4:7, Luke 5:32, and Luke 13:5.
In fact, the term repent (or a derivative form such as repents or repentance) is mentioned no less than 53 times in the New Testament (ESV).
Clearly, repentance is important. It is a foundational principle of the Christian life. Our relationship with Jesus and even our salvation are heavily dependent upon it.
As Christians, we need to know what repentance really is.
What is Repentance, Exactly?
To get right to the heart of the matter, let’s take a look at Luke 5:32.
I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.
Jesus is the one speaking in this passage. Now, the language in which this book was originally written was ancient Greek. In the original Greek, the word for repentance is this:
μετάνοιαν (written in Latin letters as metanoian).
Metaonian is a derivative of the base word metanoia, which simply means (according to Strong’s Concordance) to have “a change of mind.”
Quite simply, repentance is having a change of mind.
If you believe one thing and then you change your mind, you have “repented” of that thing.
In the Bible, the term “repentance” is almost always associated with sin.
To repent, therefore, is to “change your mind” about sin. You are turning away from it. You’re declaring your separation from it. For lack of a better term, you’re “breaking up” with your sin.
Your sin no longer defines you.
This is what Jesus (and John the Baptist) were preaching about throughout the Gospels. Turn away from your sin. It’s killing you. It’s not God’s will.
An Often-Overlooked Part of Repentance
Unfortunately, many Christians stop at the understanding that “repentance is a turning from sin.”
Truly, it is. Repentance does involve turning away from your old lifestyle of sin. But it’s more than that.
Repentance is also a turning towards God.
You see, if you truly repent of your sins – that is, you turn from them – then you will also be turning to God. It looks something like this:
It’s a necessity. To “repent” without turning to God is not really repentance at all. It’s just a way to cover up a life that is still based in sin.
What example of this do we see in the Bible? The Pharisees.
The Pharisees had a righteousness that was very pronounced. They were respected in the community and beloved by all. They were adored and touted for their knowledge and their ability.
They kept the rules. They knew the Law. They read and memorized Scripture.
But they did not truly know God.
It is possible to live a very self-righteous life – a life filled with rule-keeping and religion and church attendance and judgement of others – and still never truly turn to God and know Him. Such a lifestyle is VERY dangerous, as it lulls those who keep it into a false sense of security.
True repentance is a turning away from sin and a turning towards righteousness. But that isn’t all it is. True repentance is a turning towards God Himself. It’s a surrender to Him.
It results in a love for Him.
Repentance is NOT about stopping your old sins – your alcoholism, lying, stealing, cheating, gossiping, laziness, sexual immorality, etc. – and turning to a life of rote obedience. It isn’t about rule-keeping. It isn’t about going to church on Sundays because that’s what you’re supposed to do.
Repentance is about taking on a new life. It’s about being truly alive in the Lord.
It’s about being free in Christ.
Repentance: It’s a Lifestyle
Another common misconception that people have about repentance is that it’s a one time deal. You repent, get baptized, and that’s it.
Right?
Not exactly.
You see, repentance is a process. It is a lifestyle. The repentant man or woman is someone marked by a constant pattern of obedience towards God.
As we saw in the image above, to be repentant is to have changed the direction in which you’re walking. You were walking towards greater and greater sin, but now you’re walking towards greater and greater holiness.
This is marked by a lifestyle of repentance.
It is marked by a lifestyle of continuous turning from sin.
The longer you walk in repentance, the more sensitive you grow towards sin. In a way, the knowledge of your brokenness increases as time goes on.
Can repentant people have seasons of backsliding? Absolutely. Everyone goes through times of difficulty and times where we aren’t feeling as close to the Lord as we would like.
Can repentant people still sin – even knowingly? I believe the answer is yes. The repentant person is still living in a fallen body and interacting with a fallen world. Temptation still visits. Repentance does not mean that you’re always going to be walking with a skip in your step and a smile on your face.
Yet the overall picture of a repentant lifestyle is one of growing holiness and decreasing sinfulness. We will never completely shed our sin this side of heaven, but we will grow more and more holy as time goes on. We will love God more and more. We will continue to turn further away from sin and grow nearer to our Lord.
Repentance is a lifestyle, not just a one time action.
What is Repentance? A Conclusion
Repentance is both very simple and incredibly complex all at once.
We might define it as, “A lifestyle marked by a turning AWAY from sin and a turning TOWARDS God.” These are two parts of the same whole; they’re two sides of the same coin.
If you have one, you have the other. If you don’t have one, you will not have the other.
Repentance is vitally important to the life of a Christian. It’s necessary to enter the Kingdom of God and have salvation. It is absolutely central to our status as children of God.
All of those who are children of God will – in some way or another – be repentant.
Furthermore, repentance is a lived-out-lifestyle, not just a one-time deal. It’s continuous. It’s constant. A repentant follower of Christ may have his or her seasons of backsliding, or even times when God seems distant and silent and uninvolved. But the overall course of the life of a repentant Believer is that of a casting away of sin and a clinging to our Savior.
Today, dear reader, if you have not yet received Jesus as your personal Savior, I do invite you to do so. If you have not yet repented and entered the Kingdom, I invite you to do so.
To read more about this, please see this resource.
The moment you first repent – the moment you first truly receive the Gospel and make Jesus the Lord and Savior of your life – you will have eternal life.
Life will still offer its troubles. You will still have sin. You will still battle against your flesh all the days of your life, and you will have your seasons of doubt and backsliding.
Being a Christian, quite simply, is not easy. It’s tough. It’s hard to do. It’s difficult.
But it’s worth it.
Following Christ is certainly not the easiest thing to do, but the decision to follow Him – and follow Him in a lifestyle of repentance that will last until your death – is the single best decision you will ever make.
God bless.