“From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” – Matthew 4:17

Repentance is a common theme throughout scripture. It is essential in the life of a Christian and is essential for salvation. The word “repent” means to choose or do something different. When Jesus was on the Earth, He traveled from town to town preaching that people should, “Repent, for God’s kingdom is near."

In the gospel, repentance relates to how we choose to live and is motivated by our relationship with God. It is changing our minds and turning our hearts away from pleasing ourselves through sinning and toward living rightly. Before we accept salvation, we choose to live the way we want to regardless of whether it is sin or not. Through repentance, we choose to obey God and reject sinful living. It’s important to remember that the citizens of a kingdom are those who accept the authority of the king.

“So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.” (1 Peter 1:14, 15)

Repentance is something that we choose and need to choose regularly. This is part of an ongoing process that Christians go through called “sanctification”. Sanctification is choosing to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us and make us more like Jesus. Even though we choose repentance, it is only by yielding to the Holy Spirit that we can live a life that demonstrates repentance through right living.

“So all of us who [have been given a clear mind] can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Sometimes, people who haven’t chosen to repent experience God’s kindness. Because of that, they can assume they are already in good standing with Him and don’t need to repent. This can be accompanied by the idea that they are doing ok, because they are a “good person”. However, no human effort can meet the standards of God’s perfect nature so no one can gain good standing with God without submitting to His Spirit.

“Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. He will judge everyone according to what they have done.” (Romans 2:4-6)

Other times, people can experience God’s kindness and assume that because they haven’t been struck by lightning, God either doesn’t care or doesn’t exist. The truth is that if God responded with instant judgment anytime someone sinned, there would be no one left to find relationship with God. It isn’t God’s desire to bring punishment on everyone everywhere who has ever lived. Instead, He shows everyone kindness and patience, so they have a chance to avoid eternal punishment. While He knows that many people will reject Him, He wants as many as are willing to choose Him.

“The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise (to bring judgment to the world), as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” (2 Peter 3:9)

One of the difficult things for Christian believers is understanding the balance between repentance and grace. The good news of Jesus shows us that we are saved by God’s grace. Grace is being given something we didn’t earn, so in the context of salvation we are not saved because we have earned it. Because grace is not earned, then the thinking sometimes goes that “it’s ok to sin if I want to because God’s grace means I’m still forgiven”. However, deliberately choosing to live in continual sin because “God’s grace will mean I’m forgiven” is not repentance. Repentance isn’t knowing we should behave differently; repentance is behaving differently.

Refusing to repent from or acknowledge our sin means we haven’t accepted God’s authority over our lives. It’s tempting to acknowledge God with our mouths by claiming to be Christians but continue to pursue sinful living. However, anyone who does that has rejected the gospel of Jesus and will experience the consequences of their sin. Doing what is right doesn’t earn us salvation, but it is evidence that we are saved.

We don’t find full repentance when we choose to do what’s right because we have to, but when we allow God’s Spirit to remake us so we do what’s right because we want to. That doesn’t mean that we always want to do what’s right, because our human nature is always pushing us to do wrong things. The good news is that if we stumble, but still pursue doing what’s right, God’s grace offers us His forgiveness.

“Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is. Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God.” (1 John 3:4-9)

Again, the scripture above isn’t telling us that believers are perfect, but that our hearts and minds don’t excuse, willfully pursue, or hold any fondness for sinful living. The sanctification process of becoming like Jesus is one that takes time, so every day, a true child of God is a little more like Jesus and a little less like the devil. We should all seek to repent like the Old Testament king, prophet, and song writer, David did when he humbly prayed, “Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Do not banish me from your presence,
and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you.” (Psalm 51:7, 9-12)