What Is Repentance? (Part 1)

By Liu Shuo

At a meeting of co-workers, Wang Wei, Ma Tao and Hu Zhi sat engaged in Bible study.

Wang Wei smiled and spoke to the group, saying, “Co-workers, let’s begin by reading a couple of verses of scripture. The Lord Jesus says, ‘Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’ (Matthew 4:17). ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent you, and believe the gospel’ (Mark 1:15). We can see from the Lord’s words that, if we want to enter God’s kingdom, then we must confess our sins to God and repent. We’ve believed in the Lord for years, however, and although we often confess our sins to Him, we are still capable of committing sin and we live within a vicious cycle of confessing and sinning. It seems as though we still don’t understand what true repentance is, and so we are not yet free of sin. Therefore, being clear on what true repentance is is extremely important to our ability to enter into the heavenly kingdom. Today, let’s delve into this issue together.”

Hu Zhi then spoke contemptuously, saying, “I believe that so long as we wholeheartedly come before the Lord Jesus, pray to Him and acknowledge our sins, crying our hearts out, then that is true repentance. As long as we frequently confess and repent in this way, then we will be able to obtain the Lord’s forgiveness, and when He returns, we can then be raised up into heaven.”

Wang Wei frowned slightly and retorted, “But we’ve prayed and confessed in this way for so many years, giving a reckoning of our sins before the Lord and weeping bitter tears. But the moment we encounter something real, we still involuntarily commit sin and, moreover, we commit the exact same sins over and over. I really worry that we who often live in sin will be abandoned and weeded out by the Lord when He returns.”

Ma Tao nodded and said, “I’ve also contemplated this before. I think that frequently crying our hearts out in prayer and confessing to the Lord only demonstrates that we have the desire to confess and repent to the Lord. Whether it constitutes true repentance, however, depends on how we practice and whether or not we undergo real change. For example, when a thief gets caught stealing something, he will own up to his offense and will promise never to steal things belonging to other people again. But this doesn’t demonstrate that he really has turned over a new leaf and will never steal again. Most of the time, in order to evade taking temporary responsibility for his offense and to avoid legal punishment, he has no other choice but to admit his offense, but this doesn’t mean that he will not want to steal again in the future. If he is able to refrain from stealing under any circumstance, then this is the only thing that will prove that he truly repents. Are we not like this as well? Although we often confess our sins to the Lord and our confessional attitude appears sincere, after a while we commit sins in the same old way, and we neither abhor our sins nor disdain them in the slightest. Praying and confessing in this way is, in reality, us trying to cheat God, and we do it to evade God’s temporary discipline, and to seek the forgiveness and pardon of the Lord. And yet we make no plans to thoroughly change ourselves, so how can this be true repentance?”

Wang Wei listened earnestly to Ma Tao’s fellowship, and thought for a moment. Then he said, “Having listened to Brother Ma’s fellowship, King David suddenly springs to mind. In order to forcibly take Bathsheba for his own, David planned to have Uriah killed, and he committed adultery and murder. Jehovah God sent Nathan the prophet to speak to David, to make David aware of the sins he had committed and that he would be punished. From that time on, the sword would never depart from his house. David knew that he had violated the commandments proclaimed by God and had offended God’s disposition. After realizing his evil deeds, David became extremely remorseful and he abhorred the sins he’d committed, and he therefore sincerely prayed to God, confessed his sins and repented. When he grew old, David greatly disliked the cold, and so his attendants chose a virgin girl to warm his bed, but David did not have sexual relations with her. From the matter of David’s repentance, we can see that he possessed a God-fearing heart, and that not only did he feel true repentance and abhorrence for his sins, he also underwent real change—only this is an expression of true repentance.”

Ma Tao nodded and said, “Yes, and the testimony of the people of Nineveh’s true repentance to God is also recorded in the Bible. When the king of Nineveh heard the prophet Jonah relaying God’s words, saying ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown’ (Jonah 3:4), he believed it and obeyed. He laid aside his kingly status, removed his kingly robes, and led the people of the city of Nineveh to confess and repent to God in sackcloth and ashes, just as it is recorded in the Scriptures, ‘For word came to the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God: yes, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from His fierce anger, that we perish not?’ (Jonah 3:6–9).”

Source From: A Guidebook for Faith

Bible Questions and Answers section includes the questions and answers about the Lord's return, casting off the bondage of sin and entering the heavenly kingdom, wise virgins welcoming the Lord, etc., helping solve your problems and confusion in faith.