What is the definition of the word "repent?"
Many think "repent" means "to turn from sin"; but this is not strictly true. It's certainly a result of sincere, faith-based repentance, but it is not the definition of "repent." In other words, stopping bad behavior and beginning good behavior is the evidence that we have repented.
But maybe it's as important to know what repentance isn't as it is to know what it is:
Repentance isn't cleaning up our act in order to be worthy of Jesus Christ (Eph 2:4-6).
Repentance isn't promising God we'll never sin again. God doesn't ask us to do things that are impossible. Paul faced the issue of his sin in Romans 7:14-24, but his response in the next chapter isn't a promise not to sin. It's
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord ... (Rom 7:25). There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus ... (Rom 8:1).And, repentance isn't a work necessary for salvation (Rom 4:5; Titus 3:5). We do have to trust, and that's our decision, but our ability to trust comes from God (Eph 2:8).
So, what does "repent" mean, then?
The Greek word
metanoeo, translated "repent" or "repentance", means lit., to perceive afterwards (
meta, after, implying change,
noeo, to perceive;
nous, the mind, the seat of moral reflection); therefore, it means "to think differently," or "to change one's mind."
In the NT repentance always (except in Lk 17:3-4) involves "thinking differently" or "change of mind" in reference to sin.
In the OT, however, repentance in reference to sin is not so prominent. Usually it refers to a change of mind, out of pity for those who had been affected by one's action, or in whom the results of the action had not fulfilled expectations. And this repentance is attributed both to God and to man (Gen 6:6; Ex 32:14).
In fact, the requirement John the Baptist proclaimed in the NT, that the people had to repent in order for the kingdom to be established, was completely new and became a stumbling block to them — they beheaded John and crucified Christ.
Therefore, to exhort people today to repent only shows we have failed to learn the lesson that God has demonstrated historically; that when given laws to keep we only break them, and when told to repent we only become angry. Only the goodness of God leads to repentance (Rom 2:4). People will think differently or change their mind about their sin, not because we tell them to, but because we preach the glory of Christ’s finished work and God’s love and grace, and the Holy Spirit opens their eyes to see it and their hearts to receive it.
So what is the connection between repentance and salvation, then? Obviously, a change of mind has to take place when we trust Christ. We have to believe that our sin has condemned us to hell and that we are incapable of doing anything about it on our own. We have to come to realize that faith in His death and resurrection is the only way we can be reconciled to God. We have to think differently about sin and ourselves and God because we are making the decision to stop trusting in ourselves or other things to save us and to trust in Him instead.
We have no power over sin before we make this decision, so we can’t stop sinning in order to be saved. But we do need to recognize that we’re sinners in need of a Savior.
Even after we trust Christ, we still live in sinful bodies in a sinful world, so we can't determine not to sin anymore. But, we do learn to lean on the Holy Spirit so sin no longer has dominion over us and the different thinking becomes easier. Every time we make the decision to follow God's will instead of our own, we are "thinking differently."
That's what it means to "repent."
