What is Repentance?

Romans 2:4–5 (NKJV) ⁴Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? ⁵But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

It is great that God’s kindness leads to repentance, but what is repentance?  The Greek word used for “repentance” in this passage means “a change of mind and purpose and life”.  Before regeneration one is living for themselves and ultimately Satan, but salvation changes who we serve and therefore gives us a new purpose, focus of thought, and life.  

Easton’s Bible Dictionary defines these elements of repentance in the life of a believer:  A true sense of one’s own guilt and sinfulness, apprehension of God’s mercy in Christ, an actual hatred of sin (Ps. 119:128; Job42:5,6; II Cor. 7:10) and turning from it to God, and a persistent endeavor after a holy life of walking with God in the way of His commandments.

This guilt when brought about by the conviction of the Holy Spirit reveals to us how wretched we truly are.   God’s mercy in not giving us what we deserved and His grace in giving us what we didn’t deserve should point us back to God in repentance (Rom. 2:4).

But how is this turning from sin and endeavoring to live by God’s commands actually accomplished?  It involves the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, but it also involves “renewing your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Rom. 12:2)  Considering the context of this passage from what are we repenting?  This causes us to look back to chapter one and the long list of sins that Paul shared.  In seeing the sins of pride or boasting we would confess this sin to God and ask for forgiveness for the times when we have been proud and spoken openly revealing this pride.   In an endeavor to remind ourselves periodically of the need to live in this manner we may write a resolution to review.  The resolution may read something like this, “I resolve to put off thoughts and words which express my pride and will strive to put on humility as Christ (Phil. 2:5-8), and work to not boast in anything except “understanding and knowing” the LORD (Jer. 9:24).   The pronouns were mixed here.  You could go the other way just as well, but you need to be consistent.

Jonathan Edward wrote over 100 of these  resolutions and then daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly tried to evaluate His life with the help of the Holy Spirit to see if he indeed was walking in the way of repentance.

Though I may be encouraged and challenged by others resolutions I must submit to the leading of the Holy Spirit and the truth of God’s Word in setting the standards for my life.  To simply submit to someone else’s ideas without listening to Scripture or the Holy Spirit leads to legalism and a false spirituality.

May we all know the peace of walking daily in fellowship with God.