The concept of repentance is used throughout the scriptures…and well it should be.  Repentance in the heart is truly necessary before one can trust Christ as their savior. The Lord looks for, “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 20:21).  The Lord desires that everyone repent, as we read in Acts 17:30, “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.”  The heart of the Lord is revealed in His desire that we realize we are sinners, repent of those sins, and put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.  We read in 2 Peter 3:9 that, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

So…let’s look at what repentance is and how one can properly repent.  The first cry for us to repent in the New Testament is from John the Baptist in Matthew 3:1-2, “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, REPENT ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  The word repent comes from the Greek word, “metanoéō” and is defined as: to think differently, or to reconsider.  In the New Testament, this word is ALWAYS translated as repent or repented.  The thought is that we think differently about ourselves.  We see ourselves as God sees us, which brings about conviction in our hearts.  So, the cry goes out concerning the importance of repentance.  We MUST stop trying to justify our sinful hearts and ways.  We MUST allow the Lord to show us how we truly are.  Jeremiah 17:9 tells us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”  Then, we MUST agree with God.  That is true repentance.  One has said that true repentance is when we take God’s side against ourselves.

So, to truly repent is to allow the Spirit of God using the Word of God to change our minds about ourselves and see ourselves as God sees us…as sinners.  As we saw a moment ago, repentance is the first half of the story.  It is “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 20:21).  True repentance will lead us to put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  When we finally acknowledge that we are sinners, we can then trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and His death on the cross, as the savior we need.  We read the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  Repentance will cause us to feel the burden of our sins.  Faith will bring us to Christ to have our burdens removed and find rest.

Dear ones, have you repented of your sins and trusted Jesus Christ as your savior?  Do you realize you are a sinner in need of salvation?  Remember the verse we previously read, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9).  The Lord wants to save you…and He absolutely will save you if you will “take God’s side against yourself” and put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior.  Romans 10:9 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”  (CC)  (683.4)