Repentance

REPENTANCE
A problem has arisen in the recent understanding of repentance. One reason for this problem is that Bible scholars have attempted to adopt a thoroughly Greek idea of repentance instead of finding the foundation for their doctrine in the Old Testament Scriptures. I am not merely arguing over the difference between Covenant Theology versus Dispensationalism, but rather the fact that all of the writers of both the Old and the New Testaments wrote from a Jewish perspective.

1. Repentance in the Old Testament.
Repentance was a common theme in the Old Testament. There were two basic Hebrew words that were associated with the idea of repentance.

Nacham (~x;n') is the most common word for repentance. It reflects the idea of sorrow and often includes with it a change of purpose. The origin of the word seems to reflect the idea of “breathing deeply.” This word can also be used of the comfort that takes place as a result of repentance. Genesis 5:29 uses this term to speak of how Noah would give “comfort” or “rest” from the toil of the cursed ground.

Shuv (bWv) is a more general word—it is the twelfth most used verb in the entire Old Testament (over 1050 times). It means “to turn” or “return.” It conveys the idea that you were going in one direction and you turned so that you headed in the opposite direction. There are over a hundred instances where it carries the idea of repentance (1 Kings 8:47; Ezekiel 14:6; Ezekiel 18:30).

One of the classic references to repentance in the Old Testament is found in the prophet Joel.

12 “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “Return [bWv] to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping, and mourning; 13 And rend your heart and not your garments.” Now return [bWv] to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness, And relenting [~x;n'] of evil. 14 Who knows whether He will not turn [bWv] and relent [~x;n'], And leave a blessing behind Him, Even a grain offering and a libation For the LORD your God? (Joel 2:12-14).

It will be observed that both these words are used both of sinners who repent of their sins as well as of God relenting of the calamity He had promised. As it refers to men, the concept of repentance sees man who has run from the presence of God pausing in his headlong flight and returning to the presence of the Lord.

2. Greek words for Repentance.
There are two primary Greek words used in the New Testament to speak of repentance. They correspond to the two Hebrew terms that we have just seen.

English|Hebrew|Greek|
Repent|Hacham — ~x;n'|Metanoeo —Metanoew|
Turn|Shuv —bWv|Epistrepho — Epistrefw| The Greek word evpistrefw (epistrepho) comes from a compound made up of the joining of the word evpi (“upon”) and strefw (“to turn”). It is used to describe the process of conversion. The Greek word metanoew (metanoeo) is a compound of two Greek words.

Meta (meta) is the preposition “with” or “after”

Noew (noeo) is the word for “mind.”

(Classical Greek used the word in a general sense of a change of mind, heart, or direction, including times when a person repented of doing something good to turn to a path of evil.) This origin has caused some to think that repentance in the New Testament is only a change of mind and nothing more, but that would be an inaccurate use of the language. Compound words are often more that the sum of their roots and metanoew as used in the New Testament involves more than a mere change of mind.

Luke twice uses the parallelism, “Repent and turn” (metanoh,sate kai. evpistre,yate - Acts 3:19; Acts 26:20). This parallelism is also found in the Old Testament LXX (Isaiah 46:8; Jeremiah 4:28; Joel 2:14; Joel 3:9).

Faith and repentance are essentially two sides of the same coin. Repentance focuses upon that from which you turn away; faith focuses upon that to which you turn.

3. John the Baptist Preaches Repentance.
Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 3:1-2).

John's command to repent was linked to his announcement that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. We must remember that John is announcing something that was promised from the Old Testament and therefore his command to repent is given from an Old Testament context. The repentance he demands is no mere change of mind, but demands a resulting change of life. This is made clear in Luke's account of John's preaching.

“Therefore bring forth fruits in keeping with repentance...” (Luke 3:8 a). When questioned as to what form such fruit in keeping with repentance ought to be, John painted a very vivid picture.

11 And he would answer and say to them, “Let the man who has two tunics share with him who has none; and let him who has food do likewise.” 12 And some tax-gatherers also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” 14 And some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.” (Luke 3:11-14).

John's focus was not merely upon a repentance that remained theoretical, but upon one which produced a changed life. As such, his baptism came to be referred to as a “baptism of repentance” (Acts 13:24; Acts 19:4).

4. Jesus Preaches Repentance.
All three of the Synoptic Gospels characterize the general preaching of Jesus as one of repentance (Matthew 4:17; Mark 1:15; Luke 5:32). The gospel of John is distinct in that it does not use the word “repent.” In its place is the word “believe.” This underscores an important point. It is that faith and repentance are two sides of the same coin.

5. Repentance in the Preaching of the Church.
From the very first sermon at Pentecost, the preaching of the early church was one of repentance.

Peter called for repentance and baptism, both in public sermons (Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19; Acts 5:31) as well as in private rebukes (Acts 8:22).

Paul declares repentance to be the program of God for all men of this age (Acts 11:16; Acts 17:30; Acts 20:21). He describes this repentance in terms of turning to God and performing deeds appropriate to repentance (Acts 26:20).

Repentance is directly related to and brought about through the agency of godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:9-10).

6. Elements of Repentance.
In his Systematic Theology, Louis Berkhof lists three elements of repentance. An intellectual element. Repentance involves a change of thinking, a recognition of the guilt of personal sin. An emotional element. We have already seen that a proper sorrow for our sins leads to repentance (2 Corinthians 7:9-10). In the same vein, Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). A volitional element. This is a change of purpose and direction as the sinner turns from his sin and directs himself to trust in and follow the Lord (Acts 2:38, Revelation 2:5).

7. Repentance is Granted by God.
In 2 Timothy 2:25, Paul speaks of those who are in opposition to the truth and say that “perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth.” The implication is that repentance is not something the pagan initiates in his own life. It is a work of God within him. In a similar way, the Psalmist prays, “O God, restore us” (Psalms 80:3). This pleas, found three times in this chapter (verses 7 and 19), uses the Hebrew word shuv (bWv), asking God to turn His people to Himself (see also Jeremiah 31:18 and Lamentations 5:21). The first church council in Jerusalem alluded to the fact that “God granted to the Gentiles also the full repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11:18).

Repentance and Judgment.
Most of the references to repentance are seen in a context of coming judgment. In addition to the passages already noted, we should add Revelation 2:5; Revelation 2:10; Revelation 2:21-22; Revelation 3:3; Revelation 3:19. Yet Paul points out that the kindness of God leads men to repentance (Romans 2:4).