I cannot begin to count the number of times I have heard other Christians say that the confession of our sins followed by a fervent commitment to repent of those sins is part of the daily duty of each and every Christian.
Did you know of the use of the word repent in the Old Testament pertains to God being the one repenting? Clearly, God has no need to repent of His sins, does He?! What a ludicrous thought! God is without sin. Yet, we have consistently tied repentance and sins together like Siamese twins.
Here is want I would like for you to consider in regard to what the Bible means when it speaks of repentance: If a man has changed his mind about how righteousness is attained from God and maintained with God, which is not by any works on his part but through faith in Christ alone, then he has repented and believed the gospel.
Friend, God has not made it more difficult for man to be saved. He has made it as simple and accessible as the nose on our face. Do not work for righteousness! Do not work to keep yourself righteous! If any man thinks that he has either earned righteousness through your works or kept himself righteous through works, according to the Scriptures, he must change his mind.
--He must think again about what it means to repent.--
The most religious people in Jesus’ day had the 1st 5 books of the Bible memorized. Not only did they attempt to keep all 613 commandments, but they added to them to be sure. When the self-righteous Pharisees wanted to know how Jesus could possibly sit and eat with the tax-collectors and sinners, Jesus told them that He had "not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Matthew 9:13). What the blinded Pharisees could not see was that Jesus was talking to their need for repentance from their own self-righteousness. They were the sinners He was referring to who needed to change their minds about how God reckons a man righteous. He said there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine respectable people who do not need to repent.
When Jesus began preaching the gospel of the Kingdom to the Jews in Galilee he told them that "the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:15). Repent from what? From trusting in their own deeds for justification before God. And do what instead? Believe the gospel! And if they did not? Jesus warned them that "unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:5) NOT unless they clean up their act, perform at a higher level, or are even sorrowful over their transgressions of the Law, BUT RATHER unless they have a complete change of mind about how God brings a man into the Kingdom and trust Him, they will perish.
Are many who are part of the professing church today any different in their thinking than the Pharisees in Biblical times? Have we not to a large degree imposed the Jews religion upon the body of Christ? Are not many who name the name of Christ today zealous for God while at the same time seeking to establish a righteousness of their own? Can a man be double-minded, trusting both in his obedience and Christ’s obedience for righteousness, and still claim that he has truly believed the gospel?
So, what does it mean to repent? Biblically, it means to undergo a 180 degree change of mind whereby a man is convinced once-and-for-all that his works for righteousness are nothing but filthy rags before God. At the same time, he is equally convinced that justification only comes through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ…plus nothing.
We need to repent from what we think repentance is.
Legalism suggests we can get God to respond to us because of what we do. The truth is the Father acts in love towards us first and then we respond to Him. God’s goodness causes us to repent. We don’t repent to make God act good towards us. We repent because He HAS acted in goodness towards us.
The word ‘repent’ in the New Testament means “to think differently after taking a closer look at the matter”. The Bible says the love of Christ compels us. It does not say our love for Him does. The reason people in church are struggling is they think it all hinges on their ability to rehabilitate their behavior. Your effort is just another thing to repent of so you can rely that God’s effort towards you (through the Lord Jesus) causes the change that gives you 100% favor with Him. You have become aware of a new understanding and this realization IS repentance. This is far more good news than what we have been used to- the endless effort to pray more, confess more, rededicate more, “repent” more in order to feel right with God over & over again. It never ends, because it is a great deception to rob you of life in Christ!
Acts 11:18 shows repentance is a gift: “When they heard this they became silent. And they glorified God, saying, "So then, God has given repentance resulting in life even to the Gentiles."
