Theology Thursday: What is repentance?

Welcome to Theology Thursday! Theology is the study of God, his relation to the world, and our relation to him. I hope these newsletters help enhance your faith and deepen your love for God and his people, the church.

Today's question:
What is repentance?

Pastor Brady's thoughts:
Repentance is a major theme throughout the Bible. The basic meaning of repentance is to turn from sin and return to the Lord. This turning and returning is described, urged, and even commanded in many contexts. Here’s just a partial list from the Old Testament: 

Ezekiel 18:30–32 – “Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin… For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live.”

Joel 2:12–13 – “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.”

Isaiah 55:6–7 – “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way… let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him.”

2 Chronicles 7:14 – “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven…”

And here’s a few examples from the New Testament: 

Matthew 3:1–2 – John the Baptist: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Mark 1:14–15 – Jesus begins His ministry: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Luke 13:3 – Jesus: “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Acts 2:38 – Peter at Pentecost: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins…”

Acts 17:30 – Paul in Athens: “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.”

Acts 26:20 – Paul: “…that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.”

2 Peter 3:9 – “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise… but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

Revelation 2–3 – Jesus repeatedly commands the churches to repent.

From these passages and others we see that scripture presents the act of repentance as a requirement for anyone who desires to follow God; indeed, it is a necessary and essential component of the salvation process: belief that God is who he says he is, confession of faith in Jesus as savior and Lord, repentance of sin, baptism for the forgiveness of sin and the gift of the Holy Spirit, and faithful followership. 

When we look at the full presentation of this idea of repentance in the Bible, we come to understand that it means more than just a personal resolution to “stop doing bad things.” Likewise, repentance may be accompanied by remorse or sadness for sins and their consequences, but it is not merely an emotion. Repentance is not “feeling sorry” for your sins; it is a decision. 

As one author writes: “The truly repentant man grieves that he has offended God and hates the sin he has committed. The sinner may feel dreadful or empty. He may have caused much damage or little, but he refuses to despair. They turn from heinous sin to a gracious God. They know God is merciful. They also know true repentance entails a constant endeavor to walk with God in obedience. The repentant turn from sin once for all, yet we also turn to Jesus daily for mercy and for healing.”

To “turn from sin once for all” does not mean we never sin again. It means we are permanently declaring war on sin, we are committing to allow the Spirit to lead us away from sin and help us combat sin, and when are promising God, ourselves, and the church that when we do sin we will recognize it as such, acknowledge it publicly (to at least God and the person(s) we sinned against), ask for forgiveness, and resist the temptation to fall again in the future. 

Maybe a good way to look at it is like this: we repent, and we are repentant. It is both a moment - like baptism - and an ongoing, daily devotion to say no to the world and its invitation to sin and darkness and say yes to God and his invitation to grace and light. 

Eugene Peterson says repentance is “deciding that you have been wrong in supposing that you could manage your own life and be your own god; it is deciding that you were wrong in thinking that you had, or could get, the strength, education, and training to make it on your own; it is deciding that you have been told a pack of lies about yourself and your neighbors and your world. And it is deciding that God in Jesus Christ is telling you the truth. Repentance is a realization that what God wants from you and what you want from God are not going to be achieved by doing the same old things, thinking the same old thoughts. Repentance is a decision to follow Jesus Christ and become his pilgrim in the path of peace.”

We sometimes miss this part of the faithful life: saying yes to God means - it must mean - saying no to everything that is not from God or of God. This means an active and stalwart rejection of sin in our lives. We cannot have Jesus and the sin that required his sacrificial death. Sin is so bad, God the Son came to earth as a human and died to save us from permanent, spiritual death. Sin creates death, but Jesus made a way - the only way! - for us to experience life again, and it comes when we choose him and put sin behind us, forever. 

There’s another component of repentance I think is important to understand: repentance is both vertical and horizontal. Salvation is personal, but the fruit of salvation must have a communal effect. In other words, God saves us individually upon our repentance (including baptism; see Acts 2:38), but his desire is not just that are reconciled with him, but that we are reconciled with his people, too. 

Consider, briefly, the story of Zaccheaus - a despised tax collector - in Luke 19:1-10. Jesus welcomes him, despite Zaccheaus’s shady occupation and poor public reputation (due to his sins and the sins of others in his profession). The interaction leads to Zaccheaus changing his heart and his ways, and declaring an intent to right his wrongs, make amends, and reconcile with his community.  

Bible scholar and professor Darrell Bock writes that “The biblical term for repentance, turning, has one unified goal: bringing people back to God while also bringing them back to one another. The Lord’s Prayer includes the request to “forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.” I am to learn an approach to relationships that mirrors what God did for me when I did not deserve it.”

God desires unity - with us, and us with each other. Repentance is how he makes both possible.
 
TO KNOW GOD AND TO MAKE HIM KNOWN!
- Pastor Brady

Have a question for Theology Thursday? Send an email to office@minierchristian.org and we'll respond, or we'll include in a future Theology Thursday Buffet.