By: Bruce Higdon (Murfreesboro, TN)
We have looked at examples and teaching concerning repentance. As both the Old Testament and New Testament affirm, repentance from sin is absolutely necessary for the sinner to receive salvation and be put in the right relationship with God. This applies to both the one who has not obeyed the gospel, living in sin, and the one who has been baptized and has fallen away, again.
The opening of the New Testament begins with John, preaching repentance and baptism, preparing the way for Christ, who would teach the same thing. “Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, . . . ” (Lk. 3:8a) As the kingdom is established on the day of Pentecost, His disciples begin preaching the same doctrine. “But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.” (Acts 26:20; also see Acts 2:38)
Note that Jesus and Paul said the indication that repentance was taking place would be seen in the fruits, or an individuals actions and behavior Repentance is sometimes one of the most difficult things for us to do. Sometimes we really haven’t repented, we’re just taking a break from sin.
In all the six steps of becoming a child of God, repentance is the hardest. When we hear the word, we are presented with eyewitness testimony of words, commands and deeds. We can weigh the evidence and decide to believe, or not. We see the world, the heavens, the sea, and all that is within and without, and we see the proof of a Creator. As we study and prove each account of Christ, our belief, or faith, grows strong enough to make confession that Christ is the Son of God. Such faith will also produce the desire to fulfill the commandment of Him, to be baptized in water baptism.
But, in order to receive salvation, baptism must be preceded by repentance. Repentance, as we have studied is a complete change in man’s thinking, attitude, will, and desire. This total change does not always take place, and sometimes, it takes a long time for changes to show themselves.
We ought to, first, remind ourselves of what repentance is. Already, we have noted that it is a turning, or changing back, away, from sin and towards God. Vines gives us a little deeper understanding of the word as used in New Testament translation:
“Verb, metanoeo: lit., ‘to perceive afterwards’ (meta, ‘after,’ implying ‘change,’ noeo, ‘to perceive;’ nous, ‘the mind, the seat of moral reflection’), . . . always, in the NT, involving a change for the better, an amendment, and always, except in Luke 17: 3, 4, of ‘repentance’ from sin….
Verb, metamelomai: (meta, as in No. 1, and melo, ‘to care for,’ is used in the Passive Voice with the Middle Voice sense, signifying ‘to regret, to repent oneself,’ Matt. 21: 29, RV, ‘repented himself;’ Matt. 21: 32, RV, ‘ye did (not) repent yourselves’ (AV, “ye repented not’); Matt. 27: 3, ‘repented himself’ 2 Cor. 7: 8 (twice), RV, ‘regret’ in each case; Heb. 7: 21, where alone in the NT it is said (negatively) of God….
Noun metanoia: ‘afterthought, change of mind, repentance…’ is used of ‘repentance’ from sin or evil….As regards ‘repentance’ from sin, (a) the requirement by God on man’s part is set forth, e.g., in Matt. 3: 8; Luke 3: 8; Acts 20: 21; 26: 20; (b) the mercy of God in giving ‘repentance’ or leading men to it is set forth, e.g., in Acts 5: 31; 11: 18; Rom. 2: 4; 2 Tim. 2: 25. The most authentic manuscripts omit the word in Matt. 9: 13; Mark 2: 17, as in the RV…. In the NT the subject chiefly has reference to ‘repentance’ from sin, and this change of mind involves both a turning from sin and a turning to God. The parable of the Prodigal Son is an outstanding illustration of this. Christ began His ministry with a call to ‘repentance,’ Matt. 4: 17, but the call is addressed, not as in the OT to the nation, but to the individual….” (W. E. Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words).
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Again, we have already studied that the Word of God is instrument that produces godly sorrow which leads to repentance. Through His Word, we see His Goodness towards us which convicts us of our sins. (Acts 2:14-41; Jas. 1:14-17; and Jn. 3:16)
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Understanding those two points, how do we know repentance has taken place in our lives? As noted in the beginning, we repent when we begin producing fruits worthy of demonstrating and strengthening our repentance as we begin walking toward the light.
The apostle, Paul, mentions several of these fruits in II Cor. 7:11. The first of these is diligence. Webster’s defines diligence as a “constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; persistent exertion of body or mind.” The idea of constancy and earnestness also implies a need for speed in accomplishing this change in order to bring the matter into correctness.
When we go back and read the many conversions in Acts, we do not see a hesitation to correct that which is out of order. The listeners on the day of Pentecost, Acts 2, wanted to know immediately what would put them right before God, and save them! The eunuch, in Acts 8, heard Jesus preached to him by Philip. As soon as he came to sufficient water for immersion baptism, did not want anything more to hinder him from receiving salvation. Saul, the jailor, Lydia, and all the others who gladly received the word, were earnest and persistent in their desire to change their situation from sinners far from God, to those who desired to put on Christ and be constant in their walk with Him. (Acts 2:41-47)
Secondly, Paul noted there is a clearing of one’s self. Clearing all that has cluttered our lives with the things that have kept us from God. It is also a clearing of the excuses that keep us from admitting our sins, as we talked about before. We must understand that “the devil didn’t make us do it,” other conditions, or people didn’t make us do it. We sinned as the result of our own opportunities, plus our desires, plus our actions. We must clear ourselves to recognize, and own up to the fact, that we have sinned, and in order to make that change, we must humble ourselves before God, confess our sins, and turn back from them.
This clearing may also mean clearing ourselves of “friends” and, sometimes, family. It may mean clearing away some of the awful things the flesh has an appetite for: internet pornography, gambling, alcohol, drugs, and all forms of uncleanliness. Those are hard to do, aren’t they?
Christ knows that. “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matt. 26:41) But, friend, Christ also knows the pulls and tugs of the world and relationships on the sinner who desires to obtain mercy and finally salvation: “Peter began to say to him, ‘See, we have left everything and followed you.’ Jesus said, ‘Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.’” (Mark 10:28-30)
Thirdly, Paul mentions indignation and fear. Indignation is a “righteous anger.” It is directed at that which has prevented you from receiving the good things of God, especially His Grace through Jesus Christ. Those whose lives have been wrecked by sin have no one to be mad at except Satan, and themselves. Satan, because he desires the very death of your soul by any means, and you, because you chose to fall for his trickery.
Indignation brings about the fear of continuing to live in sin. We are indignant towards sin, after receiving the truth, because it has shown us its temporary pleasure and its eternal destructiveness. The fear is that we might continue to sin, or that this awful burden might not soon be removed and forgiven by merciful God.
Finally, Paul told the Corinthian brethren that the repentant heart will have a vehement desire, and zeal to correct one’s life with a strong desire for vindication. That was the immediacy that was produced in all who received forgiveness through baptism, in the book of Acts. They knew spiritual death knocked on their doors, and they wanted vindication, or a readiness to do the right thing, immediately.
That is the point of godly sorrow leading one to repentance – when we realize that we have not been grateful to the Living God, who has had mercy on us, sent His Son to live and die among us, raised Him to conquer both sin and death, for our benefit, and offered us the opportunity to overcome our sins through repentance and baptism. That sorrow develops a mind of urgency and immediate desire to correct our rebellious, ungrateful nature, and humble ourselves before Him and confessing our sin.
In our first example we looked at David’s repentance. How did he get to the point of repentance? God sent Nathan to him to confront David on three points. First, he made an appeal to David of God’s Love. (II Sam. 12:7-8) Secondly, he revealed David’s sin. (v. 9) Nathan warned David of the consequences of his sin. (vs. 10-12)
That formula for understanding our relationship to God, and a need for repentance still rings true, today, through Christ Jesus:
The Appeal. “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? (Rom. 2:4)
The Revealing of Sin. “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Rom. 3:23)
The Warning. “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.” (Rom. 2:5-11)
Repentance, dear friend, is a change of heart and change of desire (Matt. 21:29). We become no longer in competition for temporary power, riches, or fame. Our heart and vision becomes one of overcoming the weight of sin to gain the untold richness of God’s Grace and Love for eternity. So, we humble ourselves before Him, and accept His Will instead of ours which leads to the course correction towards God. (2 Cor. 10: 5; Phili. 4: 
When one repents, one experiences change regarding sin. They no longer love darkness and error but love light and truth (Jn. 3: 19). They are willing to surrender their will to God and thus view God differently (Heb. 12: 28). They realize their own sinfulness and cease being selfish (Rom. 3: 23; 2 Cor. 5: 15). They respect the word of God and desire to obey it (Acts 2:37-42). Repentance produces change in how we view Satan, others, money, work, and life in general (I Pet. 5: 8; Matt. 7: 12; I Tim. 6: 10; Col. 3: 22, 23; I Pet. 3: 10, 11). Each of those produce sweet, refreshing, and strengthening fruits in our lives, daily.
How are you dealing with repentance? Are you truly making a change in your life, or are you just taking a break. Has you heart truly changed in your attitude towards the Truth, towards the world, towards your own self, and toward the Goodness of God? We would like to help you in your desire to repent. Let us know if we can study more with you, pray with you, or help you find Christians in your area to help you with your change from life in the dark, to a life in the Light.
