LOST and FOUND
What is Repentance?
What is Repentance?
I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God
and faith in our Lord Jesus
Acts 20:21, HCSB
and faith in our Lord Jesus
Acts 20:21, HCSB
We have been taught that we need to repent and ask God for forgiveness every time we sin. This raises questions: What if I commit some “minor” sins today and I don’t repent over them because either I’m blind to my own errors or they slipped my mind when I prayed?
What is repentance? Repentance means “change of mind” (Greek metanoia; meta meaning change + nous meaning mind), not the emotions. We could contrast this with the word paranoia, ‘beside-mind’, out of your mind.
Although the word is commonly associated with behaviour, a ‘re-considering’ of our sins accompanied by pain and sorrow, yet it is primarily a faith issue, a gospel issue, rather than ‘my sins’ issue. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15) Jesus was saying to unbelievers “change your unbelieving mind and believe me - the good news.” The preaching of Jesus and the apostles speaks to the ‘nous’ and when a man changes his mind at the preaching of the gospel, he has experienced metanoia.
Turning from behavioural sins may make you a moral person - like the Pharisees - but it won’t make you righteous. On the other hand, turning to God once-for-all-time, away from the sin of unbelief in Christ, means a receiving of Christ’s righteousness – one placed “in Christ” and Son focused (Heb 10:2,10-14). This avoids the obsession with sin and perpetual ‘guilt trips’. Daily thereafter, as we read Scripture and the Spirit enlightens our hearts, our minds will be renewed, transformed into a greater knowing of Christ (Rom 12:2).
