Ever give the word repent much thought? I heard my pastor use repent today, reading from Jeremiah, and it was as if I had never wondered what it meant. I preached about it, admonishing reprobates and backsliders to “repent from their wicked ways.” Well, not precisely in those harsh terms, but nonetheless, I called people to repentance. Even myself. At the time, I defined repentance as “turning and going back the other way.” That was a working definition I heard as a child from my pastors. I did not have to think about it; they did the thinking for me.
These days, a fresh desire inundates all my thinking to bring it in line with Biblical teachings. That is different from listening to a person’s teaching on the Scriptures. I need both. You do as well.
Anyway, I discovered that our English word, repent, is made of a prefix and a word. Of course, you are ahead of me and know what the prefix “re” means, “again.” The word part is a bit more interesting; it is also used in “penal” as in the penal system. It means “to make sorry” or about punishment by law.
That is our English word. In the New Testament, two Greek words are put together and mean to “come to an understanding afterward’. To have arrived at a conclusion and later come to a new supposition which preempts the old or previous. It means to say, “I have been wrong.”
In a New Testament sense, repentance is more than admitting to an action categorized as a sin. Repentance is reaching deeper into the mind and discovering what caused the destructive behavior; I was thinking wrongly about God and His love for me. As a result, I behaved incorrectly.
For many church-goers, repentance is coming back to agree with the rest of their church pew crew. Repentance is seen as a public self-humiliation and finally coming to agree with the faithful non-sinners. Not actually “non-sinners” but the “acceptable” sinners.
The summation of Jesus’ preaching was given at the beginning of his ministry in Matthew and Mark. Jesus came preaching, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven (i.e., God) is near!” (please see Matt 4:17 and Mark 1:15) I do not believe Jesus was telling those listening to begin reciting their individual sins, but confess, admit, declare their thinking about God has been and continues to be wrong. They were wrong in their thinking, and as a result, they acted wrongly.
Wrong thinking about God on earth began while Adam and Eve stood under “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Because Satan was there talking to them, this wrong thinking must have begun much earlier in the heavenly realms. At its simplest, wrong thinking about God is an authority issue. Who is in charge of my life, and who am I accountable to? This leads to the second issue, “Can God be trusted with my wellbeing?”
My guess is no one who reads this blog would outright declare, “God is a myth. A creation of our human insecurities.” However, I believe every one of us has modified our working understanding of God to accommodate what we desire God to be like.
Yes, repentance is about confessing what we have been doing wrong. But, there is more; it is my getting a fresh experience with God. It is absolutely a non-negotiable requirement. To know and experience God, we must be connected to Him on His terms. We must line our thinking about God to the revelation God has given us about Himself. He is not who we think He is. He is who He says He is!
If you think what you want about God, you will become what you want to be. If you think about what God says about Himself, you will become what He wants you to be. The first feels good. The second is good.
“Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2 CSV
“Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.” Proverbs 4:23 CSV
Photo – The picture was taken by my shepherd/veterinarian friend at his farm with his phone. Thanks David.
Baldwin Heirlooms 