What Is Repentance?

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” ―Matthew 4:17

Jesus Christ says to repent. Who says we don’t have to repent? Jesus gives us the best definition of repentance:

to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’ (Acts 26:18)

Repentance is turning from darkness to light. We turn from Satan (who is darkness) to God (who is light) to receive the forgiveness of sins.

For you are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness. (1 Thessalonians 5:5)

Let’s listen to Jesus again:

I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should remain in darkness. (John 12:46)

When we believe in the Light, we turn from the darkness, that is, wrongdoing. When we believe, we repent, which is turning to the Lord. Let’s use the following scripture as an example:

And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. (Acts 11:21; see Acts 3:26)

We must repent for the forgiveness of sins:

and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Luke 24:47)

In this scripture, some Bible translations say repentance “and” forgiveness of sins. This is incorrect. The Greek word for and is kai, as we see in verse 46. In verse 47, the Greek word eis is used, which is a primary preposition, to or into. It doesn’t mean and. So, for a more accurate reading of the text, we can use the word for, but we can use the word to if we want to be literal. In the following scripture, the Greek word eis is used after the word repentance:

John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (Mark 1:4)

Most Bible translations get this scripture correct. We should use the same English words for the same Greek words. Let’s verify that we must repent for the forgiveness of sins with the following scripture. Here’s the apostle Peter:

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, (Acts 3:19; cf 10:43)

Here’s Jesus Christ:

“The time is fulfilled,” He said, “and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in the gospel!” (Mark 1:15)

Jesus says to repent and believe, not simply believe and go our own way. In Matthew 4:17, the first scripture we read in this teaching, Jesus says repent; he doesn’t even say believe. Repentance is believing:

And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” (Acts 19:4)

We not only have to believe, but we must repent and walk in obedience to Jesus Christ, and his commandments aren’t burdensome. Jesus is calling sinners to repent:

I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Luke 5:32)

Some who teach in error say that repentance is simply a change of mind. The Greek word for repent is metanioia. The following definition is from Wikipedia:

Metanoia, a transliteration of the Greek μετάνοια, is “a transformative change of heart; especially: a spiritual conversion.”^[1] The term suggests repudiation, change of mind, repentance, and atonement; but “conversion” and “reformation” may best approximate its connotation.

With this in mind, let’s look at the following scripture:

Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts. (Revelation 9:21)

Do you see how this scripture uses the word repent? Repentance is more than just changing our mind, it’s a conscious decision in stopping sinful behavior and doing an about face. Here’s the apostle Paul:

I am afraid that when I come again, my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of their acts of impurity, sexual immorality, and debauchery. (2 Corinthians 12:21)

We must repent of these acts. Once we’re born again, our past sins are forgiven from the former life we led out of unbelief and ignorance. Here’s the apostle Paul:

I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man; yet because I had acted in ignorance and unbelief, I was shown mercy. (1 Timothy 1:13)

After Jesus saved Paul and showed him mercy, did Paul continue to blaspheme or persecute Christians? No, he repented in his heart, and his violent behavior changed. So too, our sinful behavior should change once we’ve repented. Jesus Christ shed his blood on the cross for the forgiveness of our past sins in which we walked in ignorance. Let’s use the following scripture as evidence:

But whoever lacks these traits is nearsighted to the point of blindness, having forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. (2 Peter 1:9)

Future sins are not automatically forgiven once a person believes. This false teaching might lead some to believe they can continue to deliberately sin. Here’s the apostle Peter again:

As obedient children, do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance. (1 Peter 1:14)

We have to repent of sinful behavior, and God grants us repentance as part of his grace. Here’s Paul:

Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:4)

In repentance, we turn from our former way of life in which we walked in darkness. The following scripture shows us that a sinner is one who has not repented:

In the same way, I tell you that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who do not need to repent. (Luke 15:7)

So “righteous ones” are those who have repented. Those who remain sinning are unrighteous.

Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. (John 9:31)

Here’s the apostle John:

No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him. (1 John 3:6)

We have to practice righteousness. Let’s continue:

7 Little children, let no one deceive you: The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as Christ is righteous. 8 The one who practices sin is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:7-8)

So, we’re either practicing righteousness or we’re practicing sin. If practicing sin is of the devil, and Christ was revealed to destroy the works of the devil, then sinning is of the devil. Let’s go to Hebrews:

Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith in God, (Hebrews 6:1)

We repent from dead works, which are acts that lead to death. Here’s Peter again:

The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)

We can imagine God like a good father. He is patient, forgiving, loving, and kind. If we rebel and run away, God will look for us, and he’ll patiently wait for us to return. But if we stay in rebellion, he will stop looking for us and let us go, and if that happens, there’s no coming back. We won’t even want to come back. God will peacefully hand us over to the desires of our hearts. He’ll give us what we want. If we should lose our life in a state of disobedience and unbelief, we face eternal condemnation along with the rest of the world. There’s no reason to believe we would be saved at all. We must return home like the prodigal son in Luke 15. The following scriptures from Ezekiel are the same principle as the gospel message. Let’s listen to God:

21 But if the wicked man turns from all the sins he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. 22 None of the transgressions he has committed will be held against him. Because of the righteousness he has practiced, he will live. 23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Lord GOD. Would I not prefer he turn from his ways and live? 24 But when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same abominations as the wicked, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness and sin he has committed, he will die. 25 Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is it My way that is unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust? 26 When a righteous man turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, he will die for this. He will die because of the iniquity he has committed. 27 But if a wicked man turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life. 28 Because he considered and turned from all the transgressions he had committed, he will surely live; he will not die. 29 Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Are My ways unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust? 30 Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so that your iniquity will not become your downfall. 31 Cast away from yourselves all the transgressions you have committed, and fashion for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death, declares the Lord GOD. So repent and live! (Ezekiel 18:21-32)

In verse 30, God says that he will give to each according to his ways. Here’s Jesus:

For the Son of Man is about to come in the glory His Father, with His angels, and then He will give to each according to his deeds. (Matthew 16:27)

God “will repay each one according to his deeds.” (Romans 2:6)

Deliberately sinning isn’t good. Jesus and the apostle Paul tell us to stop sinning because it’s for our own good. Breaking with sin isn’t overnight, and God knows this. As we grow spiritually from infants to maturity in Christ, our sins should become less and less, and we should never deliberately sin (see Hebrews 10:26-27). Every wave of temptation to sin that we let pass strengthens a little for the next wave. This is how we build endurance. The more we resist, the stronger we get. If we sin from human weakness, we go to Jesus to ask for forgiveness as it says in 1 John 2:1-2. We can also ask the Lord to help us in our struggle with sin. When we are mature in Christ, we’ll be strong against sin’s temptations. Let’s look at this scripture:

And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. (1 Corinthians 15:17)

But Christ has been raised, so our faith is not futile; we’re not in our sins. Let’s break with sin because we love the Lord and want to do what’s pleasing in his sight, and that’s doing what’s just and right. In the following scriptures, Paul tells the Corinthians to test themselves to see if they’re in the faith:

5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Can’t you see for yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you actually fail the test? 6 And I hope you will realize that we have not failed the test. (2 Corinthians 13:5-6)

What is this test to see if we’re in the faith? Let’s read verse 7:

Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not that we will appear to have stood the test, but that you will do what is right, even if we appear to have failed. (2 Corinthians 13:7)

The test of faith is not doing anything wrong and doing what is right. Sinning is doing what is wrong. Let’s pass the test of faith, and let’s rule over the sin in our lives by living to righteousness.

30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30-31)

In these last days, let’s accept Jesus Christ as Lord and savior and turn from wrongdoing. Let’s receive God’s promise of eternal life and avoid the fate of hell. Let’s continue to do our best in a fallen world, and whatever we choose to do, let’s stay in prayer and be thankful. Peace to all.