What Is Repentance?

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If you have made it to this page, we are hoping that you have now professed belief in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and you are ready for the next step. It is time to repent. But what is repentance?

Repentance is a willful change of behavior in response to authentic faith born in one's heart after hearing the good news about Jesus. Simply stated, repentance is the renouncing of sin! It is your desire and resolve to give up every evil thing by waving the white flag of surrender, which puts an end to the war between you and God!  As Isaiah the prophet declares, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him;"... - Isaiah 55:7. Repentance lays the groundwork for the forgiveness of sins. It begins with a heartfelt admission that you have hurt God by the way you are living your life and that you are genuinely sorry. Recognizing that you have grieved the God who created you and loves you inspires a change of mind about how you are going to live your life going forward. This change in your heart and mind is so strong that it produces an actual desire to live a life that is now pleasing to God and that reflects His character. The result now and over time is a change in your thoughts, actions, and deeds, or what the Bible would call a transformed life.  Is repentance required for the forgiveness of sins and a relationship with God?  Let's take a look at what Jesus, His Apostles, and John the Baptist preached regarding the requirement of repentance.

We will start with John the Baptist who prepared for the arrival of Jesus and His ministry by calling his audiences to repent. 

“In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!’” - Matthew 3:1-2

When John's audience asked him what they should do after hearing his message of repentance, he replied with the following.

“What should we do then?” the crowd asked.  John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”   Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than what is appointed for you.”  Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, “And what shall we do?  So he said to them, “Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.” - Luke 3:10-14

Notice above that John the Baptist’s example of repentance includes a change of action/behavior, a change of heart (intent), and a change in thought (seen in his reference to contentment).

More importantly, let’s take a look at Jesus Himself. From the very beginning of Jesus’ teaching ministry, He placed the same emphasis on repentance.

Jesus said, "...repent, and believe in the gospel.” - Mark 1:15 and “unless you repent, you too will all perish.” -  Luke 13:3  When His twelve disciples went out to preach throughout the region, "they went out and preached that men should repent." - Mark 6:12

When speaking about the wicked city of Nineveh, Jesus said that Nineveh repented when the prophet Jonah preached to them.  When you read the book of Jonah in the Old Testament you will see that the people of Nineveh turned from sin - this represents an actual change in their behavior.

"the people of Nineveh believed God... then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them..." - Jonah 3:5,10 

After Jesus rose from the dead, He told his disciples to preach the message of repentance to the entire world because it was the key that opened the door for forgiveness to take place:

"and He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins [emphasis ours] would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem." 

- Luke 24:46-47

Later we find the Apostle Peter preaching to the same group of men who had crucified Jesus. Once they realized that they had put to death the Son of God the men were convicted and they asked Peter what they should do. The first thing that Peter tells them is that they should repent! (see Acts 2:38) We then see this same message preached by the Apostle Peter again at the temple to a large group of people. 

"Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord". - Acts 3:19

Having been imprisoned for his belief in Jesus, the Apostle Paul defended his faith in court to the King of Judea. Paul understood the importance of preaching repentance throughout the known world as seen in his defense before the king.

“So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision,  but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance [emphasis ours]." - Acts 26:19-20

We read again from the Apostle Paul in the book of Acts on two more occasions where he preached repentance to his listeners.  

"Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent [emphasis ours], because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man [Jesus] whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” -  Acts 17:30-31

"I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ [emphasis ours]." - Acts 20:20-21

As you have seen, scripture clearly teaches that a relationship with God requires both faith in Jesus Christ AND repentance towards God.  There is no forgiveness of sins without them! So what might repentance look like when you have put your faith in Jesus? Repentance always requires a confession of wrong, a request for forgiveness, and a resolve to never repeat your sin. In essence, all sin is first and foremost a sin against God and initially you should repent of all known sins to Him. After you have confessed your sin to God and asked for His forgiveness, you also need to ask for forgiveness and provide restitution to others who have been wronged or hurt by you. Phone calls or letters of confession may need to be written.  An example would be that if you had stolen an item from someone that you would return the item that had been stolen and ask for forgiveness. Another example could be that you have lied to someone. You would need to go to that person, confess to them that you have lied and that you are truly sorry, and ask for their forgiveness.

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to make things right with the person(s) that you have offended.  Maybe you have lost touch and there is no way to find them, or maybe they are no longer living or they refuse to see you. Perhaps the sin that requires repentance doesn't even involve another person at all but is a direct sin only between you and God. In this case, you will need to confess these things to God and ask for forgiveness from Him alone.  As you begin to walk with God and follow His ways there will be the need for ongoing repentance when a wrong is done on your part.  The apostle John tells us, "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you will not sin [emphasis ours]. And if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ." - 1 John 2:1  John further clarifies a few verses later and tells us, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." - 1 John 1:9   John makes it clear that we are not supposed to continue in sin, but if we do stumble again in the future we may still receive forgiveness by our faith in Jesus and a confession with godly sorrow. Having an advocate in Jesus is not a license to continue in sin. We are told in the book of Hebrews that "if we go on sinning willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins". - Hebrews 10:26  To deliberately continue living a perpetual life of sin is an insult to God and results in judgment, not forgiveness.

Notice also that some scripture references say to perform deeds appropriate to repentance (see Acts 26:20 above) or to bear fruit worthy of repentance (see Matthew 3:8).  As you repent you should be resolving to overcome and do away with the sin in your life, but at the same time your life should also begin to reflect the Spirit of God living in you.  Virtues such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control should begin being developed in you as an outflow of your love for God. 

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The Apostle Paul tells us that "godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation..." - 2 Corinthians 7:10 Repentance leads to salvation!! So if you have believed in your heart that Jesus is your Lord and Savior, but you have not yet repented it is time to fall on your knees, confess your sins, and ask your Father in heaven for forgiveness.  Once you have believed and repented, a relationship with God is now possible and you have been led one step closer to the fullness of salvation. Your salvation now hinges on giving your allegiance to Christ which will fully be explained next.