What’s your first thought when someone says, “You need to repent”?
Every once in a while, I see a video online of a preacher, worked up into an emotional frenzy, or perhaps feeling the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, (sometimes I’m not sure which), shouting to his listeners that they need to repent, all the while waving their arms like they’re fighting off a swarm of bees.
You can hear cries of Hallelujah and Praise God from the audience.
This kind of preaching is not really the style of sermon I am used to, but I know some people love it. I’ve often wondered how effective this kind of preaching is in the long run to help all those in the congregation change and reform their lives. Of course there’s no way for me to know, since I’m not there and haven’t talked to anyone in the audience.
But it seems that if a preacher was actually helping people to know what repentance is and how to go about it, he wouldn’t have to keep repeating this message every week.
Now, I realize that might sound a little judgmental on my part of these preachers, and you’re probably right. I do try to give them the benefit of the doubt. But what I’m really interested in is what repentance means in the fullest sense of the word. And many of these preachers, from my perspective, seem to be missing part of its meaning.
And just to be clear, I’m not claiming to completely understand totally the meaning of the word repent in its fullest sense, but there are elements that are missing in some sermons about it.
The need to repent
Now you may be thinking: Hey James, I may not listen to this whole episode. I really don’t think I need to repent any more. I’ve already done that and I’m good on that score.
Well, that’s great, but I hope you’ll keep listening because there may be someone you know who doesn’t really understand the fuller meaning of what repentance is and the blessings it brings. Sharing this episode with them could make all the difference in their life.
So, what does it really mean to repent?
In many of the sermons I’ve been talking about, and this is the meaning I always thought of growing up and probably for 25-30 years once I got serious about my faith, repentance is all about feeling regret and remorse for something you did wrong, admitting to yourself and sometimes others that you’ve sinned, and trying to be better in the future.
As important as all these things are, they’re only a small part of what it means to repent. There’s so much more to it.
The word repent in Hebrew, šû, relates to a person repenting of his evil ways. It means to turn, to turn back to, as in turn back to God and obedience to Him.
Here’s an example of this in
Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Ezekiel 18:30, 31 NIV
What it means to repent
Full repentance doesn’t just mean you regret and are sorry for what you did wrong. It includes getting rid of the things inside you, the ways of thinking and acting that caused you to sin in the first place. But you can’t stop there. You need to get a new heart and a new spirit. You need a new way of thinking and acting deep inside yourself.
If you just focus on feeling sorry you did something wrong and trying to stop that behavior without changing the way you think, you’ll just keep making the same mistakes and committing the same sins. To stop sinning, you need a new heart and a new spirit.
But to just tell someone they need to repent and stop sinning is not enough. It doesn’t work; it doesn’t give them the tools they need to fully repent and stop sinning.
Some theologies insist that we are all miserable sinners. Even once you believe in Jesus, you’re inclined to sin because it’s part of who you are, part of your identity.
I’ve shared this story before but it’s a good example of what I’m talking about. Years ago I went to church one Sunday with my cousin. At the beginning of the sermon, the pastor asked the congregation if they were sure they were saved and going to heaven. About 80-90% of them raised their hands. The pastor then went on to preach about all the ways they might be sinning without realizing it.
There was a call for repentance and it hung heavy in the sanctuary. At the end of his sermon the pastor again asked who was sure they were saved and going to heaven. Only 20-30% of the people raised their hands.
It looked to me like the pastor was pleased with what he had accomplished. But from my perspective, he had burdened his people with sin instead of showing them how to quit sinning and fully repent by changing the way they think and act and by embracing a new heart and a new spirit as that verse from Ezekiel says.
Your need to repent
Feeling bad that you sinned, realizing you made a mistake is the easiest part of repentance, although I know some folks who never even take that step.
The Greek word for repentance, metanoeō gives us a little more depth to what the word means.
It means literally to rethink, think differently, to reconsider (morally, feel compunction), to think again, to change one’s mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one’s past sins.
When John the Baptist preached, he called for repentance.
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. Matthew 3:2 NIV
The context seemed to be more focused on people admitting what their sins were and being baptized to symbolize God washing away their sins and guilt.
It’s interesting that Jesus says pretty much the same thing when he begins his ministry.
Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mark 1:14, 15 NIV
What was the difference? John was telling people to repent and to stop sinning. But he didn’t really tell them how to do it.
Jesus’s message: We need to repent
When Jesus said to repent, or think again, he also explained the basis for it, that the kingdom of God was come near. But then helped people to understand what that meant.
Imagine if you had been there and heard Jesus when he started preaching: Hey everyone, I’ve great news for you. The kingdom of heaven has come near, it’s here right now. But in order to see it and be part of it, you need to repent, to totally change the way you see things. You need a new spiritual perspective, to see that heaven is already here and not just way off in the future.
It’s very similar to what Jesus told Nicodemus:
Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. John 3:3 NIV
The phrase “born again” means to be born from above, to have a spiritual perspective of who you are.
When you stop to think about it, this is a major mindset shift. If you’re always thinking that the answers you need, the love you deserve, and the peace of mind associated with heaven are way off in the future, it stops you from experiencing those blessings here and now.
Jesus’s promise that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, requires a whole new way of thinking—that’s what repentance is—in order to see the good that’s already here.
Repentance is seeing what’s true in the kingdom of heaven
Try on this new mindset on for size. Say to yourself: The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
This is not wishful thinking. It’s the spiritual fact that Jesus revealed 2,000 years ago and it’s just as true now as it was then.
Saying, repeating, praying “The kingdom of heaven is at hand,” is not just some human mantra or wishful thinking. It’s a powerful prayer of affirmation, a declaration of spiritual truth that brings spiritual light into your life.
Imagine how your life would be different if you could look at everything that happens through the lens, the mindset, of: the kingdom of heaven is at hand. What if everything you thought, did, and said was based on what you saw as true right now in the kingdom of heaven?
It would completely change the way you see things. You would love everyone and yourself more than you thought was possible.
That’s the kind of repentance Jesus is asking of us.
How do I stop sinning?
So you may be wondering: Hey James, this sounds great, but how does it help me to stop making the same mistakes and committing the same sins over and over?
Let me ask you a question. Why do people sin in the first place? There are lots of reasons. Here are just a few. They’re afraid. They’re angry. They feel left out. They want something that doesn’t belong to them because they don’t think they have everything they need. They want to be or stay in control. The list goes on and on. But basically, they’re focused on themselves in one way or another.
What if you look at those same feelings from the perspective of what’s true in heaven right now. In heaven, no one is afraid. No one is angry. No one is left out. Everyone has everything they need and has no desire for something that belongs to someone else because they already have it themselves. They know God is in control and are delighted with that. They have no desire to be in control.
In heaven, there is no desire to sin. There’s a different mindset there from what most people have on Earth.
When Jesus tells us we need to repent and believe the good news that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, he’s telling us how to do it. To the degree you can see what is true about yourself and others in the kingdom of heaven, you’ll have the mindset Jesus did and have no desire to sin.
Repentance gets rid of bad thinking
Let’s say you find a giant rock buried in your garden and dig it out. There will be a giant hole in the ground. If you just put the rock by the side of the hole and don’t move it away, it might fall back in the hole if you accidentally bumped it.
Once you get the rock out, it needs to be removed from the edge of the hole, and then the hole needs to be filled in with good dirt. It’s not enough just to get rid of the rock.
This is what repentance is all about, getting rid of what is undesirable in your thinking and the way you live your life and replacing it with the awareness of what’s true right now in God’s kingdom.
Why some folks don’t feel the need to repent
So why do some people not want to repent or don’t think they need to? Here again, there are lots of reasons and here a just a few.
Frankly, some people just don’t want to admit they were wrong, or that they could ever be wrong. Other people however are so willing to admit they’re wrong, even when they’re not, that they need to repent of that attitude, but can’t. They feel comfort in admitting they’re wrong.
Sometimes people don’t want to repent because they don’t think it’s necessary. They’ve done it to some degree. They’re living their lives in obedience to God as best they can and they don’t want to revisit the past. It may be too painful, either because of what they did or what someone else did to them. They’ve moved on in their lives.
But that’s kind of like thinking you don’t need to clean out the spoiled food in your refrigerator because you’re always putting in fresh food and using it before it goes bad. It’s good that you’re not letting the current food go to waste, but you do need to get rid of those rotten carrots in the bottom drawer that’s one step away from becoming compost.
Repentance is facing everything from the past and not pretending it doesn’t matter.
And sometimes someone has repented over and over, or tried to, but they can’t stop sinning. They’re still making the same mistakes and committing the same sins. They’ve basically given up on the idea of repenting and quit trying.
True repentance brings blessings
In all these cases, these folks have a very limited concept of what true repentance is and the fullness of its blessing. They think repentance is getting their nose rubbed in their sins, to remind them of all they’ve done wrong, and to make them feel guilty.
But full repentance is about being conscious of the presence of the kingdom of heaven. And by the way, it’s not a one-time event. It’s a way of thinking and living. It’s a lens to look through.
Repentance is a mindset, not of beating yourself up for the mistakes you’ve made, the sins you’ve committed, and the harm you may have caused. Repentance is about always turning away from what the world is telling you to looking at things from a spiritual perspective. It’s changing the way you think from a self-focused, material, limited view of life to looking at, thinking about, and seeing things from a spiritual, heaven-based perspective.
The blessings that come when you have a repentance mindset, are more than the human mind can conceive of. It’s a mindset of rethinking, thinking again, turning away from what the world is telling you and looking at things from the perspective of what is true right now in the kingdom of heaven, Spiritually, you are always able to perceive and accept all the glories of this heaven at hand.
This fuller sense of repentance allows you to participate in the kingdom of heaven right now. God’s love and supreme power no longer feel like some unachievable goal or way off in the future.
My need to repent
Many years ago, when I was in high school, before I got really serious about my faith, I cheated my little brother out of a special coin he had. I knew it was worth a lot of money and I tricked him into trading it to me. When he finally agreed and handed it to me, I told him how much it was worth and was really rude in the way I gloated over it. I can still remember the look of victim-hood on his face.
I felt a little bit bad for what I did, but I was so glad to have that coin, and I soon forgot about it. But it was there, just like a bag of old carrots rotting in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator.
Years later, I was praying one day and asked God if there was anyone I needed to make restitution to or anything I needed to repent of. This incident immediately came to mind. I knew exactly where that coin was. I took it, with a few others of similar value, to my brother.
He was totally surprised. And I felt so free. I had repented of the sin I committed against my brother. But I didn’t just tell him I was sorry, or confess to God what I had done wrong. I made it right.
And there was such a blessing in my heart because I did this. I truly felt the presence of heaven with me. I felt God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness. I felt redeemed and purified.
I hadn’t thought about that coin I cheated my brother out of for years, but the minute I asked God in sincerity if there was something I needed to correct from the past, it came to me instantly what I needed to do.
If you’d like to hear more about this story with my brother, I went into a little more detail way back in Episode 15 of the podcast, How to Stop Fighting Your Brother and Love Him Instead.
Your need to repent?
Is there something in your life that needs to be repented of in this deeper spiritual way? Ask God and He will reveal what you need to do or say and give you a vision of what is true in the kingdom of heaven that will empower you to do what you need to do here on Earth.
Why do you need to repent? Because it frees you to experience more of God’s love for you. And if you’re one of those folks who has committed your life to helping others it will empower you to help them on a much deeper level. That’s what Jesus was talking about when he said
…first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:5 NIV
Repentance gets rid of the rotten food in your refrigerator. It gets rid of the big rocks buried in your garden. It’s like taking a bunch of rocks out of your backpack and being able to walk with more freedom.
But most of all, repentance lets you taste the kingdom of heaven here on earth, today and every day, and share it more freely with others.
Photo credit: Elin Tabitha
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James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and church mentor. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by learning to think, pray, and love like Jesus. Contact him here.
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Bible References
Ezekiel 18:30, 31 NIV
30 Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall.
31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit.
Matthew 3:2 NIV
2 Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.
Mark 1:14, 15 NIV
14 Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.
15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
John 3:3 NIV
3 Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.
Matthew 7:5 NIV
5 first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
