WHAT IS REPENTANCE?
Repentance means to “change one’s mind”. In the scriptures, we see that true repentance is a change in one’s mind as to who the person of Jesus Christ is and what He has done. In Acts chapter 2, the Apostle Peter delivers a sermon to a group of non-believers in Jeruselum where he proclaims the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Upon hearing Peter’s sermon, the people of Judea ask in verse 37, “what then shall we do?”. Peter’s response in verse 38 is to “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Peter’s call here to “repent” is a call to the people of Judea who once rejected Jesus to change their minds and to believe that He is Christ and Lord.
In Mark 1:15 we see that the call of the gospel is to “repent and believe the good news.” It is important to note that repentance and belief are two sides of the same coin. One cannot believe that Jesus is Christ and Lord unless their minds are first changed as to who He is and what He has done. This is precisely the call of Peter in the book of Acts to those in Judea.
We see in the New Testament that genuine repentance will be followed by a change in one’s living. While the believer will never attain his or her own perfect righteousness, while the believer will never be sinless, the one who repents by the grace of God will turn from their sin to righteousness and they will turn from serving their own flesh to serving Christ. Acts 26:20 says to “perform deeds in keeping with repentance”. Luke 3:8 says to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” This in no way means that one’s repentance is determined by the deeds they may do or the fruit they may produce. It is actually the opposite! One’s deeds and fruit will be determined by their repentance. So then, the fruit is not the cause of one’s repentance but the evidence of one’s genuine repentance and faith.
Many misunderstand repentance as a work done by the individual in which through their own “change of mind” or “change of living”, they attain for themselves a right standing with God. However, this is not the case! In Acts chapter 11:18 we see that repentance is something that God grants to the individual. In the scriptures, we see that without God granting repentance, it is impossible for one to come to Him. Jesus says in John 6:44 says “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” Here we see that it is not the individual who is credited with the changing of their own mind or living, rather, it is God who in His grace grants true repentance.
