REPENTANCE
BY
SHELBY G. FLOYD
The Preaching of Repentance
In preaching there must be one all engrossing topic in every address; and in the preaching of Jesus and his disciples, the prominent topic of almost every sermon was the subject of repentance. They preached repentance wherever they went. In attestation of this, we shall notice the preaching of repentance under the commission of John the Baptist, of Christ, of the twelve and. of the seventy.
John the Baptist Preached Repentance
First,
let us notice the preaching of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus
Christ. Among the very first words recorded of John the Baptist, we read that
he was involved in preaching repentance to the people in the area of Jerusalem
and Judea.
“In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'” (Matthew 3: 1-3.)
In preaching repentance,
as in every other duty laid upon us by Christ, there must be the proper motives
brought to bear upon the hearers to induce them to repent of their sins. The grand
motive which John presented to the people urging them to repent was the fact
that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. In other words, the kingdom would soon
be established, and the people should repent of their sins and turn to
righteousness, in order that they might be prepared to enter the kingdom and be
subjects of the Lord. That this is true, one only needs to notice what John the
Baptist said to many of the Pharisees and Sadducees which came to be baptized
by him: “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where
he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to
flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. (Matt. 3:
7-8.)
Many people have confounded repentance with a reformation of life. It is true that where there is genuine repentance, reformation of life or conduct will surely follow as the day follows the night. There cannot be one without the other; but that is not to confound the two, they are distinct ideas. The Pharisees and Sadducees that came to John’s baptism claimed to have repented of their sins, but the only way their assertions could be proved to be genuine would be by bearing the fruits of a penitent life. Therefore they were to match their alleged repentance by a change of conduct in their life. This was to be done in view of the fact that the kingdom of heaven was near or at hand. Since the kingdom of heaven was to be a spiritual kingdom, the Pharisees and Sadducees would only understand the nature of that kingdom, and be ready to be a subject in it by turning from their sins to righteousness which the gospel of Jesus Christ demands.
John further said upon this same subject, “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (Matthew 3:11.) John demanded that they not only repent, but also bear fruits of repentance before he baptized them. Having baptized them, he stated that he was baptizing them unto repentance. Repentance is not an isolated act that is done just once in a person’s life. Faith is not just an isolated act that takes place once in our lives, but faith continues all the days of our life while we walk on the earth; so it is with repentance. Repentance is coextensive with our faith. So John not only demanded that they repent before they were baptized and bear the proper fruit, but he was baptizing them unto a life of repentance. So every Christian must continue to repent of his sins all the days of his life.
Mark, in his biography of Jesus Christ, summarized the work and preaching of John by stating: “And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” (Mark 1:4.) Therefore, John was a great proponent of repentance. His baptism was founded upon a life of repentance, and it looked forward to a life of repentance. Therefore, repentance in gospel preaching is very important; inasmuch, as the man who prepared the way for the Lord preached repentance in practically every sermon to the people of Jerusalem and Judea.
Jesus Christ Preached Repentance
Secondly, we notice the preaching of Jesus Christ. It is especially worthy of notice in this investigation that in the first and last communications of the Lord, we find, an imperative command to repent. The first words recorded concerning the public ministry of Jesus Christ involved his preaching repentance: “From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matthew 4:17.) Jesus presented the kingdom of heaven as the same grand motive to bring men to repentance which his predecessor John used in his preaching.
After John had been arrested and put in prison by Herod, Jesus continued to preach that men should repent and believe the gospel. “After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:14-15.) From the collocation of the words repent and believe, some have drawn the conclusion that repentance precedes faith, but this is an intellectual impossibility. They already believed in God and they were to repent of their sins toward God, and then they were to believe the gospel of Jesus Christ with a corresponding repentance from everything that was wrong. Therefore, faith precedes repentance in the gospel order of things.
On one occasion when Jesus had been condemned because he associated with sinners, he stopped their mouths by likening himself to a physician who would not go to those who were well, but to those who were sick. Then he said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Mark 2:17.) Even in the cities of the Galilean Lake where Jesus did most of his preaching was not exempt from his upbraiding because they had not repented at his preaching. (Matt. 11:20-24) Among the very last words which Jesus spoke before he ascended back to the Father in heaven, he emphasized upon his trained ambassadors who would later be inspired that they should preach repentance to all the nations: “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24: 46-49.) Therefore we find that the first and last words of Jesus Christ involved the preaching of repentance.
The
Nature of Repentance
Inasmuch, as God has commanded all men everywhere to repent of their sins, it is necessary for all men to understand what is required of them. No one would deny that there are many popular misconceptions concerning the nature of repentance. Therefore, it is necessary that we define our term in words which everyone can understand.
What then is the import of the word repent or repentance? The English verb repent, and the noun repentance, is together found about sixty-four times in the New Testament. Since the Bible does not give us a formal definition of the term, it is necessary that we study the meaning of the word itself, as well as its usage in various passages of scripture.
The Term Defined
J. W. McGarvey, one of the great scholars of the restoration movement, gave this very fine definition of the term repent.
“The etymological meaning of metanoeo is so apparent as to strike every mind at all acquainted with Greek. Compounded of meta and noeo, it signifies to perceive afterwards, and supposes its subject to think differently from what he did at some former time. It indicates, therefore, a change of mind, and to change the mind is the best expression in English of its primary meaning.” (J. W. McGarvey, “Repentance,” Lard’s Quarterly, Vol. 1, pg. 173.)
In this sane essay McGarvey says, “Repentance is a change in the mind. It is produced by sorrow for sin, and it leads to a change of conduct. Now the only change of mind which sorrow for sin does produce, and which, in turn, leads to reformation, is a change in the will. No change of a moral character takes place which does not immediately spring from the will; and sorrow for past misconduct can effect no reformation except by changing the will which controls all action. To be philosophically accurate, therefore, we must define it as a change of the will produced by sorrow for sin and leading to reformation. This definition is accurate; for it definitely locates the change of mind. It is complete; for it indicates both the cause to which the sacred writers attribute it, and the efforts by which its reality is tested. It is free from redundancy; for a change of will produced by other considerations than sorrow for sin, or one which failed to produce a change of conduct, would certainly not be the repentance of which the apostles spoke.” (J. W. McGarvey, “Repentance,” Lard’s Quarterly, Vol. 1, pgs., 176-177.)
Popular
Misconceptions about Repentance
Having therefore defined repentance to be a change of the mind, and more specifically, a change of the mind to the extent that the willpower of man is brought into subordination to the will of God, it is appropriate at this point to notice some of the popular misconceptions of what repentance involves.
Repentance is not Sorrow or Regret
First, many people have the idea that repentance is simply sorrow or regret. All repentance involves sorrow, but not all sorrow involves repentance. There can be sorrow without repentance, as in the case of Herod Antipas who beheaded John the Baptist, when he was required to keep his word by the daughter of Herodias his brother Philips’ wife. The Bible says: “And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her.” (Mk. 6:26.) Herod Antipas was sorry that he had made a vow to the daughter of Herodias; yet, he did not repent, but had John the Baptist beheaded. Therefore, sorrow is involved in repentance, but unless there is enough sorrow to move a person’s willpower to be changed, then there is no repentance, as in the case of Herod Antipas.
Repentance is not Sorrow and Confession
Many
others are under the false impression that repentance is to be equated with
sorrow and a confession of one’s sins. This is false as one can see from the
case of Judas Iscariot: “Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw
that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces
of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have
betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is
that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the
pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.”
(Matt. 27:3-5.)
Judas repented himself, that is, he regretted having done what he had done, but it was not a godly sorrow, but rather the sorrow of the world which leads to death; hence, Judas hanged himself. He did not repent of his sin in the gospel definition of that term. The term translated repented in this particular text is not the same word which is laid upon all men as a duty in the gospel of Jesus Christ; it is the word metamelomai. Concerning this word Alexander Campbell stated that etymologically and in common usage it,
“Intimates mere
regret or concern for something done, without respect to a change of the
affections or the conduct of the individual, is never found in connection with
faith, or any of the gospel facts reported in the Christian records. In the
case of Judas it is found, but in such a connection of things as clearly
intimates its proper sense. In that case, all agree that it indicated neither a
change of heart nor a change of life. Nor is it in all the Christian scriptures
found in the imperative mood. God never commanded any person to repent in the
style of Judas, of whom it is said, he repented and afterwards hung himself.”
(Alexander Campbell, “Repentance Unto Life,” Christian
Baptism, pg. 77.)
Therefore when it is said of Judas that he repented himself, it only means that he regretted that he was condemned. His regret was not to such extent that it changed his willpower in reference to the sin which be had committed. Therefore, Peter says that, “Judas went to his own place,” which definitely was not the place that Christ has prepared for those that love him.
Repentance is not Godly Sorrow
Many people labor under the false idea that repentance is godly sorrow. Godly sorrow produces repentance and precedes repentance. Paul said to the Corinthians, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10.) Godly sorrow then is the cause of repentance, but it is not to be confounded with repentance itself.
Repentance is not Reformation
Many other men have the idea that repentance is simply a reformation of life. Reformation of life is the fruit of repentance. John the Baptist told those that came to hear him preach to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance. (Matt. 3: 8.)
There must follow a change of conduct or life. By way of illustration, the magicians in the city of Ephesus, when they repented of their sins, changed their conduct, and as evidence, they burned their books of magic which came to a price of 50,000 pieces of silver. (Acts 19: 18-19.) The burning of their books was not repentance, but it was the fruit of their repentance, therefore a change of life.
Repentance is not Restitution
Sometimes
people confound repentance with restitution. Like reformation of life,
restitution follows repentance: it is the fruit and effect of repentance. A
good illustration of this is seen in the case of the Philippians’ jailor. The
Philippians’ jailor gave evidence that he repented of his sins when he tried to
undo, as far as humanly possible, the wrong that had been inflicted upon Paul
and. Silas: “And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their
stripes.” (Acts
John the Baptist, in his preaching, not only taught that men should reform their lives as a result of their repentance, but they should also make restitution for the wrongs which they had inflicted. He said,
“Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do
not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as
our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for
Abraham. The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does
not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."
"What should we do then?" the crowd asked. John answered, "The
man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has
food should do the same." Tax collectors also came to be baptized.
"Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?" "Don't
collect any more than you are required to," he told them. Then some soldiers
asked him, "And what should we do?" He replied, "Don't extort
money and don't accuse people falsely—be content with your pay." (Luke
3:8-14.)
The man of little stature, Zacchaeus, gave evidence that he had repented because he tried to undo the wrongs which he had done by making restitution as far as it was possible. We know that Zacchaeus truly repented of his sins because he promised the Lord that he would make restitution as far as possible:
“But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord,
"Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and
if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the
amount." Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house,
because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of
Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19: 8-10.)
The True
Meaning of Repentance
Having pointed out the popular misconceptions concerning the meaning of repentance, we are now prepared to understand the true meaning of repentance, not only from a formal definition of the terms, but from the incidents, illustrations and statements in the Holy Scriptures.
The Men of Nineveh Repented
The Ninevites repented at or into the preaching of Jonah. According to the word of Christ:
“The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with
this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching
of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.” (Matthew 12: 41.)
The people of Nineveh repented into the benefits and the effects of Jonah’s preaching. What did they do when they did this? In. the book of Jonah, the scripture says, “And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.” (Jonah 3:10.) They changed their mind in reference to their former way of life; and having changed their minds in reference to sin; they turned from their evil way, and turned unto God. Therefore, their repentance consisted in a change of their mind which resulted in a change of life.
The Parable of the Two Sons Illustrates Repentance
The parable which Jesus described of two sons being invited into the vineyard illustrates well the meaning of repentance. (Matthew 21:28-32.) The one son was in the habit of saying, “I will not.” Later he regretted what he had said to his father to the extent that he changed his willpower and went and did what his father asked him to do. The other son did just the opposite. The first son represents the publicans and the harlots which repented by changing their minds, and therefore their manner of life, and were ready to go into the kingdom of God when it was established. The scribes and the Pharisees represent the second son, while claiming to be religious and penitent did not change their lives and therefore were not ready and prepared to enter the kingdom.
Esau Could Not Get His Father to Change His Mind
Another good illustration of the meaning of repentance is seen in the life of the profane Esau. Esau found no place for repentance or a change of mind in his father, though he sought it bitterly with tears.
“See that no one is sexually immoral, or is
godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the
oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he
was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the
blessing with tears. (Hebrews 12:16-17.)
When Esau came in from a hunting trip one day he was tired and hungry, and his brother Jacob bargained with him for his birthright, which he sold for a bowl of soup. Afterward, when his hunger had been gratified, he regretted having sold his birthright; and he besought his father, even with tears, that he might change his mind in reference to his birthright. But he could not find a place for a change in. mind; what his father had done could not be changed. Therefore, we see the literal and root meaning of the word repentance simply means a change of mind. Copyright © 2006 All Rights Reserved