Repentance, Part 4

The concept of repentance is so common in our language and so integral a part of our concept of salvation that the meaning of the word has become blurred and even skewed from its original meaning.

In the second article of this series on repentance I wrote about things that repentance does not mean. In the last article, I ended by stating that the focus of repentance is not our sin, but Christ.

In this article, I will try to put these ideas into a common thread in an attempt to help understand the meaning and the purpose of repentance.

Old Testament

In the Old Testament, there are two words which are most often translated repent. The first of these (nacham) is a word that is most often translated “comfort.” When it is translated as repent, the primary meaning is of regret for past actions or decisions. Very many of these are references to God, who never needs to repent of sin since He knows no sin.

1 Sam. 15:29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent (have regret, ESV; change his mind, NIV): for he is not a man, that he should repent.

(The study of the use of the word repent in relationship to God is another whole study that would merit some space, but since that is not the object of this lesson, I will defer it to another time.)

The second word used for repent (shoob) in the Old Testament means to turn or to turn back. It also may mean a change of heart. The word is used three times in the following text from 1 Kings, but translated three different ways. This is part of a prayer Solomon prayed for the dedication of the newly completed Temple.

1 Kings 8:46-49

46 When they (the people of Israel) sin against you – for there is no-one who does not sin – and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to his own land, far away or near; 47 and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their conquerors and say, “We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly”; 48 and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you towards the land you gave their fathers, towards the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; 49 then from heaven, your dwelling-place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.” (NIV)

Another example of the multiple use of the word shoob is found in Ezekiel 18:27-32.

Though the sample is admittedly small and the study brief, we can safely come to the understanding that the meaning of repentance is not that we repent of something, but that we turn from something. We are not instructed in Scripture to repent of our sin in the sense of calling attention to it and confessing it. Instead, we are called to turn from our sin as a result of a changed heart.

New Testament

In the New Testament, the words translated as some form of the word repent are all related to the word metanoia. The word is a compound word. The first part (meta)addresses location or direction. It “denotes a change of place or condition.”  The second part refers to the mind. It means “to exercise the mind, think, comprehend.” Together, the word metanoia indicates a change in the direction or focal point of the mind. (Zhodiates 1992, 969)

To carry this a little further, the prefix meta implies “motion (in pursuit of or following) after a person or thing.” When used in a compound word, the prefix implies fellowship, partnership, participation, proximity, motion or direction after, transition, and change. (Zhodiates 1992, 966)

Based on this brief study, one immediately realizes that there is so much more implied in the word repent than simply expressing sorrow for sin or even turning from it in abhorrence, even though these are critical elements of the process.

Repentance is coming to a realization of the error of one’s plans and purposes and experiencing a turn in an opposite direction from the path regularly followed. For there to be a turning from something, there very naturally has to be a turning to something else.

In the context of the plan of redemption, that “something else” that we turn to is in actuality someone else – the person of Jesus Christ.

This is where we have gone wrong in our understanding of repentance. We have understood somewhat the idea of sorrow for our sins. As we reflect upon our sinful behavior, we may even experience abhorrence and revulsion of the sin. The problem is that with time our revulsion weakens and we never truly turn away from those sins.

And even when we attempted to turn away, we are typically unsuccessful because we never completed the process. We may have turned away from our sin for a season, but we never turn toward Christ.

Repentance means that we turn to Christ in fellowship, relationship, and obedience. He becomes the focus of our lives.

Look back at Mark’s version of Jesus’ first sermon. In Matt. 4:17, the sermon simply said, “Repent.”

But Mark added, “…repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)

Several times the New Testament mentions these two aspects of salvation together. That is because the process of repentance is not ended by turning from sin, but by believing in Christ as Savior.

That is the subject for the next lesson.

Proverbs & Discipleship

If you are following the lessons on repentance, please continue to visit. Another lesson is soon to follow. But for now, I felt that this lesson was more appropriate for the moment.

Because of the proliferation of leadership books and church growth books, most people are very familiar with Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

The verse has been misused on so many occasions that we have lost sight of its real meaning. While it may not be readily apparent, we should realize that this verse is actually a verse about evangelism and discipleship.

Let’s begin with one of the most well-known verses and arguably one of the most evangelistic verses in the Bible.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (KJV)

John 3:16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. (HCSB)

There is so much to say about the first two parts of this verse, but for the moment, I want to concentrate on those last few words, “will not perish but have eternal life.”

Most people know this verse and are familiar with the promise that God gives eternal life through Christ. But not so many are as familiar with the fact that, in His high priestly prayer of John 17, Jesus defined the term eternal life.

John 17:2-3 …you (God, the Father) have given him (Jesus Christ, the Son) authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

In verse 3, Jesus very clearly defines the meaning of eternal life as the knowledge of the only true God and of Jesus Christ.

Now, substitute this definition into John 3:16.

John 3:16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have the knowledge of the only true God and of Jesus Christ.

Notice that there is a direct correlation between perishing and the knowledge of God in John 3:16 just as there is in Prov. 29:18. From John 3:16 we learn that people are rescued from perishing by the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ. Yet not everyone is saved from perishing. The only ones who are saved are those who believe.

Belief is the verb form for which faith is the noun. Thus believing means to exercise faith.

Yet faith is a gift from God (Eph. 2:8). It does not exist in the human heart until it is placed there by God. That’s why Jesus was authorized to give eternal life only to those whom the Father had given Him (John 17:2).

How does this happen? How does this gift of faith find its way into the human heart where it eventually blossoms into believing? The Apostle Paul explained this for us in his letter to the church at Rome.

Rom. 10:17 …faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (ESV)

Earlier in that same chapter, Paul explained the process of hearing.

Rom. 10:14-15 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? (NLT)

Now let us return to Prov. 29.18.

By taking some liberties and borrowing from several translations and commentaries, the verse might be written in a longer, explanatory form.

Prov. 29:18 Where there is no prophetic vision, no redemptive revelation of God, no revelation of God's will made through and by the people of God to the culture in which they live, the people of the culture are deprived of moral restraints, run wild, become ungovernable, and cannot be reined in.[i]

Here is a simpler paraphrase:

When the servants of God (individual Christians) fail to participate in evangelism and discipleship – in actively making God known to all of the people – then the people lose their moral compass, cast off all moral restraints, and everyone basically does what is right in their own eyes – in other words, they perish.

When the people of God are faithful in fulfilling the Great Commission, people are rescued.

When the people of God are not faithful in evangelism and discipleship, we get the society that we live in today.

And we wonder what’s wrong with the world! Could it be that we who call Jesus our Savior and Lord simply do not believe that the biblical process of making disciples is a sufficient way to change the world?

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[i] The additional words and commentary used in this expanded version came from the ESV, the NLT, the Amplified Version, Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary, and The Pulpit Commentary.

Repentance, Part 3

I apologize in advance for the technical nature of this lesson. My goal is to teach a correct doctrine, and to do that sometimes requires unteaching previous learning. If you continue through this entire series on repentance, I believe you will agree with one of the closing sentences in the previous lesson: The Bible never uses the phrase “repent of your sin.”

Such a statement may cause consternation among the faithful, but I believe you will understand the statement more once you have read through the steps of my study of the word repentance.

1.    I did a word search in the Online Bible [1] for the word repent and found 112 uses of the word in its various forms in 105 verses in both the Old and New testaments. [2]

2.    I found only 13 verses in both testaments that include both a form of the word repent and a form of the word sin

Furthermore, when a form of repentance is used in direct conjunction with a form of the word sin, the form of the word sin relates to a person, not an action. For example…

Luke 5:32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

In none of these verses is the word repent directly related to the word sin. And in none of these verses, or in any other biblical verse, are we commanded to repent of our sin for salvation in the sense that it is most commonly taught.

3.    There are nine verses in the Bible that use the phrase “repent of” followed by some object or objects.

Five of these verses refer to the actions of God, not to those of a person. [3]

In 2 Cor. 7:10, the phrase “repented of,” as used in the KJV, should better be translated as “regretted” or “without regret” (See almost any other translation other than the KJV).

In the remaining three verses (2 Cor. 12:21; Rev. 2:21,22), the word repent is followed by words related to sin. However, these verses are not calling for the sinner simply to sorrowfully acknowledge their sins, but to turn away from them in abhorrence due to the nature of the sin. (More on this later.)

4.    As shown above, in the majority of cases, the word repent (in whatever form) is seldom ever used in the same context as the word sin. There are too many examples to list them all, but here are some examples of the use of the word repent apart from any reference to sin.

Ex. 32:14 And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.

Certainly the word repent in this verse does not mean that God acknowledged His sin and was sorry for it. The actual meaning of this verse is a discussion for another context, but it should be clear that since God is perfect in holiness and righteousness, He is not required to repent of sin.

When God freed the Hebrews from Egyptian captivity, the shortest route to the Promised Land was a week’s journey through the land of the Philistines, but God would not let them go that way “Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt.” (Ex. 13:17)

Obviously, God was not concerned that the people would recognize their sinfulness and express their sorrow for their behavior. He knew that upon the first encounter with an enemy, the people would change their minds about freedom and desire to return to Egypt.

In the New Testament, according to the gospel of Matthew, when Jesus began His public ministry, His first sermon was “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 4:17) Jesus did not say, “Repent of your sin.” He simply said, “Repent.”

5.    Finally, the word “of” is a tiny word, but understanding its meaning is very important when understanding how a verse should be interpreted. The word did not originally refer to possession but to source of origin. [4]

For example, in the KJV version of John 15:15, Jesus says, “…all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” In the NKJV and the ESV, the statement is more clearly translated as “…all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”

Now go back and reread 2 Cor. 12:21 and Rev. 2:21,22, substituting the word “from” in the place of “of,” and I believe you will agree that the intent of the verses is more clearly understood.

In summary, there is no biblical reference that says that we must repent of our sins in the sense of naming them or simply acknowledging them. That is confession, which is an aspect of repentance, but which alone is insufficient for salvation.

When we think of the word repent, typically our next thought is of sin. We say or hear things like “Repent of your sin” or “If you want to go to heaven, you must repent of your sin” or “Salvation requires men to repent of their sins.” Yet there is a weakness in such an understanding of repentance.

The weakness is that we are focusing on the wrong thing – ourselves and our sin. We tend to think that we are lost because we have done bad things, therefore, we must do something good to deserve the salvation of God.

The truth is that we have done nothing to be lost except to be born in a sinful condition, which is evidenced by our immediate participation in sin. But our sins do not make us lost. We sin because we are lost.

Since we did nothing to be lost, we can do nothing to be saved. Our salvation is the decision of God by the agency of Christ through the work of the Holy Spirit. The focus of repentance is neither us nor our sin.

The primary focus of repentance is the kingdom – that is, the person of Jesus Christ.

More on this critical understanding in the next lesson.

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[1] Click here to review or to download a free version of the Online Bible by Larry Pierce.

[2] Click here for a complete listing derived from the Online Bible of all verses in the Bible using a form of the word repent.

[3] Ex. 32:12, 14; Jer. 18:8, 10; Jonah 3:10

[4] Click here for a study of the use of the word “of” by Burton Scott Easton.