Repentance: A Biblical Concept

In Hebrews 6, the apostle Paul wrote of seven fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith and the Church of God. In verse 1, he indicated that one of the basic principles of Christian belief is “the foundation of repentance from dead works.” Several decades before Paul recorded the book of Hebrews, John the Baptist had preached in the Judean wilderness of the need to repent (Matthew 3:2). Even when Jesus Christ began to preach, the first thing He said was “Repent…” (Matthew 4:17). Christ indicated that repentance is a vital part of the gospel message (Mark 1:14-15). On the day of Pentecost in 31 AD, when the assembled crowd was “cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37) by Peter’s message, they asked what they should do. Peter told them to “repent…” (Acts 2:38).

Repentance is a topic that participants in mainstream religions really do not know much about or what to do with. If you are cut to the heart by Bible statements and ask a good evangelical what to do, you will probably be told to “give your heart to the Lord.” It’s unlikely that you will ever hear the message that Christ and the early apostles brought – a message that urges us all to repent. Most Americans likely have no real understanding of what repentance really means. If they did, it would turn their belief systems upside down and they would have to admit that their cherished teachings are false and empty.

What does it mean to repent? The American Heritage Dictionary gives the following definitions:

repent

1. To feel remorse, contrition, or self-reproach for what one has done or failed to do; be contrite.
2. To feel such regret for past conduct as to change one's mind regarding it: …
3. To make a change for the better as a result of remorse or contrition for one's sins.

“repent." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Answers.com 04 Aug. 2007. http://www.answers.com/topic/repent

Repentance is about human misconduct and bad behavior. It is about the full process that a person goes through when he comes to realize that his behaviors or thoughts are in error and that a change is needed. Biblical repentance is about changing from ungodly or sinful behavior to living as God Himself lives.

The words “repent” and “repentance” appear 68 times in the NKJV of the Bible. Only 10 of those are in the Old Testament. By examining several of these Old Testament passages, we can learn that repentance is not just a New Testament concept, but one that humans have been urged to put to practice since ancient times. Old Testament passages also instruct us that there are three facets to repentance.

Mental Awareness

Many feel that they are pretty good people and never see that there is anything they are doing wrong or that there is anything they need to change. They are like the Dave Matthews’ character in the movie “Because of Winn-Dixie.” Matthews’ character cannot fully understand his woeful condition for, he says, “I am not a bad man.” If you don’t feel you are doing anything bad, you certainly will see no reason to change or repent.

King Solomon made the following statement about repentance at the dedication of the newly constructed Temple in Jerusalem.

1 Kings 8:46-53

46 "When they sin against You (for there is no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captive to the land of the enemy, far or near; 47 yet when they come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of those who took them captive, saying, 'We have sinned and done wrong, we have committed wickedness'; 48 and when they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies who led them away captive, and pray to You toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name: 49 then hear in heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause, 50 and forgive Your people who have sinned against You, and all their transgressions which they have transgressed against You; and grant them compassion before those who took them captive, that they may have compassion on them…

This passage indicates that all humans sin and that there are penalties for sin. Solomon realized that if the Israelites sinned and would not change, God would be forced to deliver them into the hands of some enemy nation to get their attention. Being taken captive would help them come to themselves; it would open their minds to their problem and help them realize they needed to repent of the sins they had committed and the wrongs that they had done. Verse 47 indicates that when a person is repentant, he first becomes mentally aware of his sin. There is a mental realization that something is not right. How does that realization come? Too often, it seems that we must suffer punishment or trial to be made cognizant of our problem. Solomon realized the need for God’s intervention to help bring about repentance. His statements indicate that he understood the New Testament teaching that it is God who grants repentance (2 Timothy 2:25; Acts 11:18; Romans 2:4). God is the one who has to help us come to ourselves and see that we have done wrong and committed wickedness.

Further, Solomon indicated that repentance requires that we must confess our sins to God. We have to admit that we are wrong, that we are in error. That confession comes from the mental realization that our behaviors are causing us difficulties and that we are weak and deficient before God. To confess our sins, we have to know what they are. Knowledge of our wrongdoing is the first step towards repentance.

Emotional Reaction

Repentance also involves a turning – a movement from sin to God. That movement comes because of our emotional response to the realization of our error. Jeremiah gave the following instruction:

Jeremiah 31:19

Surely, after my turning, I repented;

And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh;

I was ashamed, yes, even humiliated,

Because I bore the reproach of my youth.'

To repent, you have to be instructed in what you need to repent of. That instruction and mental awareness produces an emotional reaction. Jeremiah indicates that a repentant person feels ashamed and humiliated when he realizes his actions and feels fully the shame and disgrace coming from the wrong done. Job had an even more heartfelt response.

Job 42:6

6 Therefore I abhor [despise, RSV, NIV] myself,

And repent in dust and ashes."

He abhorred and despised himself. The Hebrew word for “abhor” indicates that Job rejected what he was with contempt. He was revolted at his behavior and his inherent weaknesses. The Hebrew words show that he strongly desired that his natural man be cast away and totally disappear.

OT:3988 ma'ac (maw-as'); a primitive root; to spurn; also (intransitively) to disappear: KJV - abhor, cast away (off), contemn, despise, disdain, (become) loathe (some), melt away, refuse, reject, reprobate, utterly, vile person.

(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)

Some people shed a lot of tears for the wrong they have done. They demonstrate tremendous emotion and sorrow. Many wife beaters are filled with remorse and tears after an episode of violence, yet they never change. Something more is needed; an emotional reaction is not enough.

Will and Action

Ezekiel records God’s instruction on what must occur next to be fully repentant.

Ezekiel 14:6-7

6 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Repent, turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations. 7 For anyone of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who separates himself from Me and sets up his idols in his heart and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, then comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning Me, I the LORD will answer him by Myself.

Repentance involves will and action. The Israelites were instructed to turn away from idols and turn their faces from their abominations. The mental awareness of the need to repent and what to repent of accompanied by deep heartfelt sorrow and shame leads to a desire and will to turn and change. We must “bear fruits worthy of repentance” (Matthew 3:8). Ezekiel infers here that we need to remove from our presence those things that cause us to stumble into sin. We will never repent if we keep company with those things that help us fall back into our old wrong behaviors. He further shows that we must remove the idols, or sin, from our hearts. If the sin stays in our heart, if we still have a desire for the behavior, we will constantly be falling back into the same old rut from which we came. Repentance means our hearts, our basic motivations, must be changed. Behavioral action must occur if we are to have a change of heart and mind. Modern brain research indicates that continued practice of changed behaviors helps rewire the brain. Psychologists have discovered an effective process that helps individuals suffering from brain malfunctions that contribute to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The behavioral changes taught actually help rewire the brain and enable the person to lead a normal life. When we actively change our behaviors and do the right thing, we are in effect rewiring our brains to enable us to lead a more fulfilling life. In effect, we are changing our fundamental nature.

Fundamental Change

That fundamental change is one that God wants all of us to make. In another passage, Ezekiel wrote of this need for a fundamental change in our nature.

Ezekiel 18:30-32

30 "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways," says the Lord GOD. "Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord GOD. "Therefore turn and live!"

We are urged to cast away or throw out all our transgressions and to get a new heart and a new spirit. Godly repentance means that we must change in every aspect of our being.

These scriptures show that the Old Testament preaches the same message of repentance that Christ and the apostles preached. That message indicates that we need to be mentally aware of what sin is and where we are coming up short. When we see ourselves as we really are, we will feel deep shame and a heartfelt desire to throw out all the wrong we have done. That mental awareness and heartfelt desire will lead to a determination to take action and remove all causes of sin from our lives. We will make every effort to fundamentally change our very nature and get a new heart and new spirit. That is repentance