REPENTANCE, PART 2

As we saw last week, the message of repentance is prominent throughout the New Testament. John the Baptist, Jesus, Peter, and Paul all proclaimed the necessity of repentance. But just what does it mean to repent?

The word “repent,” or “repentance,” comes from the Greek word metanoia, which literally means to “change one’s mind,” or to “change one’s thinking.” It comes from two Greek words, meta (meaning “change”) and nous (meaning “mind”). In biology, the word “metamorphosis” is used to describe the process by which a caterpillar changes into a butterfly, and in geology, “metamorphic” rocks are those rocks that have undergone change due to intense heat and pressure. Hence, limestone is changed into marble, and shale is changed into slate. As in the scientific realm, so it is in the spiritual realm – both involve internal transformation. It is this internal transformation that occurs when an individual responds to what the Bible calls “Good News.”

And so, if God is calling us to repent, what is He wanting us to “change our minds” about? First and foremost, He wants us to change our minds about Him. Whatever we may think about God, we must believe that He exists, and that He abundantly blesses those who “diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). Probably the most-loved verse in the Bible sums it up, “For God so loved the world that He sent His only Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Repentance means that whatever we may have thought about God in the past, our thinking needs to change so that we understand and acknowledge the fact that God loved us so much that He sent His Son to redeem us from the penalty and power of sin, and that if we put our faith and trust in Him, He will forgive and cleanse us from sin, and grant us “life” that is eternal (1 John 1:9; John 3:16).

But we not only need to change our thinking about God, but about ourselves as well. Although we may have done, and continue to do, many good things, repentance causes us to realize that regardless of how good we may think we are, we are separated from God because of our sin. An attitude of pride says, “I’m good enough” and the accompanying attitude of independence follows up and says, “I don’t need God!” These attitudes of pride and independence prevent us from seeing ourselves as God sees us, a person who is separated from God and needs to be forgiven and released from the power of sin. Admitting our sin to God is the greatest barrier keeping us from experiencing the salvation that He came to give us. So how do we come to the point where we will acknowledge and “confess” our sin to God?

Now here is the interesting part – Neither you nor I can change our thinking by shear intellectual effort. Only God can do it! It’s a work that He does in our hearts when we are confronted with the message of God’s love and our need for a Savior. It is the Holy Spirit who changes our hearts and brings the “conviction” that leads to repentance when we come face to face with the realization that we have wandered far from God and desperately need Him (John 16:8). In other words, God changes the heart, and when our heart changes, so does our thinking. And that’s the essence of repentance!

But there is more to be said about repentance. Jesus felt that it was so important that He told a story about it, and next week, we will look at that story.