What is repentance?
2 Chronicles 7:14“If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.”
Proverbs 28:13People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.
Jeremiah 25:5“Each time the message was this: ‘Turn from the evil road you are traveling and from the evil things you are doing. Only then will I let you live in this land that the Lord gave to you and your ancestors forever.’”
Jeremiah 35:15“‘Time after time I sent you prophets, who told you, “Turn from your wicked ways, and start doing things right. Stop worshiping other gods so that you might live in peace here in the land I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you would not listen to me or obey me.’”
Ezekiel 18:27“If wicked people turn from their wickedness, obey the law, and do what is just and right, they will save their lives.”
Matthew 3:2“Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
Matthew 16:24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.”
Repentance involves being grieved for our sin against a holy God and making a commitment to live a new life in service of God. It means turning from a life ruled by our sinful nature and turning to God for a new nature, which comes when God’s Spirit begins to live in us. When God forgives our sins, we have a new sense of hope for the future.
Luke 19:8Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”
Repentance is made complete by changed behavior, showing others and God that our lives are truly different in a positive way.
Exodus 9:33-34So Moses left Pharaoh’s court and went out of the city. When he lifted his hands to the Lord, the thunder and hail stopped, and the downpour ceased. But when Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had stopped, he and his officials sinned again, and Pharaoh again became stubborn.
Repentance that produces no lasting change is insincere and counterfeit. Repentance is not just intending to turn from a life ruled by sin but actually doing it.
Psalm 32:3-5When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. . . . Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.
Acts 3:19Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away.
1 John 1:9-10If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.
One of the first essential steps to repentance is confession, which means being humbly honest with God and sincerely sorry for our sins—the ones we know about and the ones we are unaware of. Confession restores our relationship with God, and this renews our strength and spirit. When we repent, God removes our guilt, restores our joy, and heals our broken souls. A heart that truly longs for change is necessary for repentance to be genuine.
