What Is Repentance?

To the sinner God asks:
"Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God; and not that he should return from his ways, and live?" (Ezekiel 18:23)

Why should anyone choose wickedness and death-when they can choose to repent and live? The original Greek word for "repentance" means "to change one's mind." Repentance is not an emotion that we feel, but a decision. When we truly repent, we change our our mind, our attitude, and purpose about sin. We turn around on the inside and the outside.
Christ and all His apostles commanded "all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30)

Once our minds are changed, our whole life becomes rearranged. True repentance totally changes us. Apostle Paul's call from God sent him to the Gentiles: "To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me....that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance." (Acts 26:18, 20)
Repentance is much more than any emotional display of tears, weeping, and groaning. Although the emotions may be effected, true repentance goes much deeper. We acknowledge that our actions and attitudes have not only hurt others, but we have offended God!

As this truth unfolds, we are deeply concerned about our relationship with God. Sin appears ugly as He sees it. Our wrong doing has insulted God's Holiness and love.

A beautiful example of repentance is found in Christ's parable of the prodigal son. A proud, independent youth left his father's home and traveled to a distant land. There he foolishly wasted his entire inheritance; but when he finally came to his senses, alone and in extreme poverty, he make his decision: "I will arise and go to my father." That decision was promptly acted upon and "he arose, and came to his father."

First is the decision to commit our life to Christ and allow Him to be our Lord and master. Then follows the act of turning back to Father and Home.

In this natural, sinful condition, every person born into this world has turned his back upon God, his Father, and Heaven, his home. In this condition, each step takes us away from God's plan to a frightful eternity of torment.

Every person traveling toward destruction just: stop, change his mind, turn around, and face the opposite way toward God. This essential act is the sinner's first move to be in harmony with God's plan.

Why is repentance so important? Because God insists that we realize the grave problem caused by sin. When Adam's sin severed his relationship with God, death took dominion over man.

Our Next step is to make things right with others. We call this "restitution". Where possible, we restore what has been wrongly taken from others. The gospel teaches that restitution is part of repentance: "And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold" (Luke 19:8).

Wounded relationships must be repaired. Hurt feelings toward family members, friends, and others should be cleared from the conscience. Our relationship with God will never be right unless our relationship with people is equally right. Paul stressed the importance of a clear conscience: "And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward men" (Acts 24:16).

We prove to God our intentions by forsaking all sin. True repentance is turning away from everything that we know displeases God. All former habits are broken. In fact, we sense a genuine hatred and disgust for the things once loved. "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy" (Proverbs 28:13).

Because of the prevalence of both cults and the occult, it is very important that all false teachings be renounced. A cult is any teaching that denies that Jesus Christ was God manifested in the flesh. Such cults as fortune-telling, extrasensory perception, astrology, rock music, sorcery, witchcraft, spiritualism (communing with the dead), must be forsaken. Ask for God's forgiveness, then in the name of Jesus bind and cast out any spirit connected with wrong teachings.

After we have completed the act of repentance, we must continue our salvation by being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of our sin, Christ then promised to fill us with the gift of the Holy Ghost. "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:38).