The Forgotten Word In Our Christian Vocabulary

The Forgotten Word In Our Christian Vocabulary

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Matthew 4:17

There seems to be a forgotten word in our Christian vocabulary. The word? Repentance. The call to repent is strangely absent today. Some think it should be relegated to some tent service in the country, yet it was the message of all the prophets. It was the message of John the Baptist as he preached in the wilderness (Matthew 3:1–2). It was the message with which the Lord Jesus commenced His ministry (Matthew 4:17). It was also the message with which He concluded His ministry (Luke 24:46–47). It was the message of the apostles as they preached and later scattered throughout the known world (Mark 6:12). It was the message that birthed the church at Pentecost (Acts 2:37– 38). It was the missionary message of the apostle Paul (Acts 17:30). And, in the last book of the Bible, it is the message of John the Revelator on Patmos to the churches of Asia (Revelation 2:5). In fact, this call to repent is woven throughout the tapestry of the entire Bible on almost every page.

Repentance is not only one of the forgotten words of our time but also one of the most misunderstood. What really is repentance? How is it applied to our lives? These are legitimate questions that deserve a definitive response in a Christian world that, in some places, is more concerned about being “seeker friendly” than biblically literate and legitimate.

JESUS’ PERSONAL MANDATE COMMANDS IT “Repent”

This call from the lips of our Lord is not offered as an option but as a command. And that command gives rise to two important questions: What is repentance? and Where is repentance?

What is repentance? First, note what it is not. Repentance is not remorse. It is not simply being sorry for our sin. The rich young ruler went away “sorrowful,” but he didn’t repent (Luke 18:23). Repentance is not regret, or merely wishing that the deed had not happened. Pontius Pilate, who betrayed the Lord, washed his hands in regret over his turning Christ over to the crowds (Matthew 27:24). Repentance is not resolve. It is not like a New Year’s resolution where we resolve to take on a new set of moral standards. And repentance is not reform—it’s not just turning over a new leaf. Judas Iscariot reformed. He took the thirty pieces of silver, the payment for his betrayal of Jesus, and flung them down the corridors of the temple. Judas reformed, but he did not repent (Matthew 27:3).

Repentance comes from a Greek word that literally means “to change one’s mind.” It is a change of mind that affects a change of will and, in turn, brings about a change of action. This process is beautifully illustrated in the old and often repeated story of the prodigal son in Luke 15. After finding himself broke and broken, in the company of a bunch of hogs in a pig pen, the son “came to himself” (v. 17). This change of mind brought about a change of volition, a change of will. In the next verse he exclaimed, “I will arise and go to my father.” Once he had changed his mind and changed his will, his actions were sure to change as well. Thus, in verse 20 we read, “And he arose and came to his father.” Repentance is a change of mind. That is it. And how do we know if we have truly come to a change of mind? Our volition will be changed as well, and our changed actions will follow.

Where is repentance? That is, where is repentance in salvation? Does repentance precede faith? Or does faith come before repentance? Repentance and faith are both gifts of God’s grace. They are different sides of the same coin. Charles Spurgeon, author of the classic devotional Morning and Evening, says they are “Siamese twins . . . vitally joined together.” Repentance and faith are inseparable. Repentance alone will not get you to heaven, but you cannot get there without it. Jesus’ personal mandate commands it: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

JESUS’ POSITIVE MOTIVE COMMENDS IT
“for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”

There is a phenomenon in America referred to as bumpersticker evangelism. Messages are placed on the bumpers of automobiles signaling the desired message of the driver. I once saw one that read, “Turn or Burn!” However, I wonder if fear of God’s punishment should be the primary motivation for calling people to repentance. Jesus used a different approach. He said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” This positive motive commends the call to repentance: Jesus emphasizes the goodness of God’s grace.

Paul was right on target when he said, “The goodness of God leads you to repentance” (Romans 2:4). Once, when our daughters were small, we rented a house for a week, deep in the Smokey Mountains. The first night in that strange place was “blacker than a hundred midnights down in a cypress swamp,” as James Weldon Johnson, the great African American author, put it in God’s Trombones. My wife and I were awakened in the night by the cries of our little seven-year-old at the top of the stairs. I bounded up the stairs where I found her disoriented by the darkness. Taking her by the hand, I led her downstairs into the security of our bed where she soundly slept the night away. Similarly, our dear Lord finds us in the dark, often disoriented by the issues of life, takes us by the hand, and, as the Bible says, His goodness “leads [us] to repentance.”

When all is said and done, what difference does it make if we drive a luxury car, eat vitamin-enriched foods, wear expensive designer clothing, sleep on a name-brand mattress, live in a mansion on the water, and are buried in a mahogany casket in a cemetery as lovely as a botanical garden . . . only to rise up in judgment to meet a God we do not know? Jesus still calls to us, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And it is His goodness that leads us to repentance. Jesus’ positive motive commends His call to us to repent.

As you memorize this verse, meditate on what repentance is not . . . and then on what it is. Remember that it is the goodness of God takes you by the hand and leads you to repentance.