How to repent-what does the Bible say?

But some may ask, What is repentance? Let us turn to scripture to find out. It is not a mere change of mind on certain points (this will confound it with faith); but the Lord preached, "Repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15). It is not simply a conviction of having done wrong; for, when the multitude were pricked to the heart, Peter exhorted them to repentance (Acts 2:38). It is not sorrow for sin, "for godly sorrow works repentance to salvation not to be repented of" (2 Cor. 7:10). Nor is it synonymous with conversion; for Peter tells the Jews to "repent and be converted" (Acts 3:19). But it is a change of mind, a judgment of self, ways, and sins, which is evidenced by a change of life. It is God's gift (Acts 11:18; 2 Tim. 2:25) bestowed by the risen and ascended Christ (Acts 5:31). It is fruitful; for there are works meet for (worthy of) repentance (Matt. 3:8; Acts 26:20). It gives God His right place in the conscience of His creature, so it is "towards God" (Acts 20:21); and it is "to life" and "salvation" (Acts 11:18; 2 Cor. 7:10).

224 Practical repentance then is the estimate a man forms of sin, of his own ways as a sinner, on reflection, through the light of God penetrating into his soul, with some sense of goodness in Him, and setting up withal divine authority there. This may be through divine warnings as in the case of Jonah, or the lamenting of a John Baptist announcing that the axe is laid to the root of the trees. It is always mercy. He gives repentance to Israel, grants repentance unto life: His goodness leads us to it. That is, instead of visiting sins according to man's desert, He opens the door to return to light and grace through grace. Hence, when grace is fully announced, when the truth is there, repentance is on the footing of God's perfect revelation of Himself in grace, in Christ. I Repentance was to be preached in His name, and remission of sins. In coming to God it is always the first effect in the soul when it is real, and the turning of the will to God, and faith in the redemption and forgiveness the gospel announces comes after. Hence it is said, "Repent and be converted," "Repent and believe the gospel." But this just shews us how faith is the only and necessary source of repentance. It is by the testimony of the word it is wrought. Be it prophets, or Jonas, or John, or the Lord Himself, or the apostles, who taught that men should repent and turn to God, it was wrought by a testimony of God, and a testimony believed. Now, this testimony is the testimony to Christ Himself. Repentance, as well as remission of sins, was to be preached in His name. It is by the revelation of God, whether in judgment or in grace, grace in any case working in the heart, that repentance is wrought. When the prodigal came to himself he repented; he is converted when he said, "I will arise and go to my Father;" the gospel is realized when he meets his Father and gets the best robe. But he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him; and there is always in true repentance some sense of goodness. "How many servants of my Father's have bread enough and to spare." There would be no returning if there was not hope, it may be very vague, but still a hope of being received, and goodness trusted to. Even the Ninevites say, "who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?" In the gospel the full grace of God is made the very ground of a call to repentance, still in view of judgment. "Now he calls all men everywhere to repent, seeing he hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained." Goodness leads to it, the door to flee is open, but to flee from the wrath to come, to flee to God, who assures of forgiveness in coming through the perfect work of Christ.

I should turn him to Acts 3:19: "Repent, and be converted." I should urge him, in true repentance, to turn to the Saviour. I should also read Acts 16:31 to him: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." A repentant sinner, who truly believes in Jesus and trusts Him for salvation, is converted. He has turned to the Lord from his sins.

Repentance is a change of mind, a complete reversal of one's inward attitude towards self, towards sin, to wards God, towards Christ and towards the Gospel. It is to give up one's own mind and opinion and to accept God's mind as revealed in the Gospel. One may think that he is a Christian because he has tried to live a good life, belongs to a church, has been baptized and does religious works. Yet none of these and kindred other things will ever make one a born-again Christian, so there must be a change of mind about all this. One must come to God as a repentant sinner and believe on Christ as his Savior to become a Christian.

"Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ," were largely preached by the apostle, Paul. When telling the story of his conversion to King Agrippa, he says: "Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision: but showed first to them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance" (Acts 26:19-20). This thought goes all through Scripture. It is very simple. I get the light of the testimony of God, I believe it, and then judge myself and my ways, and lead a new life. I hear of a testimony with regard to judgment. I bow to it. It may be, on the other hand, testimony as to the work of Christ. I bow to it. And as I bow I see my need: I believe the love that seeks my blessing, and I judge myself. The prodigal son was brought to repentance. He says, I am perishing, and there is goodness in the heart of my father. How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough to spare, and I perish with hunger. "I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee," that is confession, "and am no more worthy to be called thy son," that is repentance — He judges himself. That causes joy in heaven, for when man repents heaven rejoices.

There will always be sorrow for sin in the heart of the one who repents, but repentance is more than sorrow for sin it is a complete change of mind, that turns the whole man as the helm turns the ship. The Thessalonians repented when they turned to God from idols. Saul of Tarsus repented when he cried out to Jesus, whom he had hated, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" A young man whom I met repented when he said to me, "I've had a look into eternity and I want to be saved." Repentance comes when the light shines into a man's heart and he becomes honest to God and confesses the truth, and casts himself upon God's mercy. When the publican stood afar off and would not so much as lift up his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast saying, "God be merciful to me a sinner," he repented, and there was joy in heaven over him and he went down to his house justified. But repentance does not save the sinner, it is God that does that. "It is not thy tears of repentance or prayers, But the blood that atones for the soul."

Since Jesus then has proved that all men have an entirely wrong mind about God; yea, since Jesus has manifested undeniably the love of God to sinners, God now commands all men to repent, or change their minds towards Him. Hence, if there be real faith by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the Lord Jesus, there must be an entire change of mind toward God. The one implies the other, and where there is this wondrous change of mind about God, by the Holy Ghost, not a mere change of notions, there is the utmost certainty that this will produce the fruits of repentance, sorrow for sin, forsaking sin, serving God from the heart, loving God, joy in God; yea, an entire change of life.

Their true conversion is just what is described here in these verses. He declares, "They show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivered us from the wrath to come." What a summary you have of the work of God. How much is summed up in those few words for us. There is true repentance shown in turning to God. The order there, you have often noticed, is most suggestive, most powerful. You tell a sinner to give up his sins, to turn from this and that sin, and he hesitates, he has not the power to do it. You present to him God and the claims of His grace, and if the word takes hold on him and he turns to the living God, he will turn away from sin. There is just that difference; it is not turning from sin to God but to God from sin. There is power in that.

Paul sums up his gospel by saying he preached "Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). Repentance is the confession toward God of our lost and ruined condition. Faith is the acceptance of the good news concerning Christ. One has said, "Repentance and faith are inseparable where there is reality; … as there is no genuine repentance without faith, so there is no faith of God's elect without repentance". Repentance is more than sorrow for having done wrong, or the shame that mere natural conscience may feel. Repentance is the change of mind in regard to self, produced by the knowledge of the grace of God. It is the consciousness and confession of my true condition before God. Repentance toward God is the acceptance of what God says about myself. Faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ is the acceptance of what God says about Christ. Peter repented when he said, in the presence of the Lord, "I am a sinful man". The publican repented when he said, "God be merciful to me the sinner": the prodigal repented when he said in the presence of the father, "I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight": the thief repented when he said, "We receive the due reward of our deeds". There may be different measures of repentance, even as there are different measures of faith. With some repentance may be deeper, and faith more distinct and simple than in others; but, wherever there is a work of God in the soul, there these two things will be found.

Nor are repentance and faith to be viewed as things done once for all. Repentance deepens the more we have to do with God, and faith continually goes out toward our Lord Jesus Christ. It has been truly said of repentance that it "will, in one sense, deepen all one's life, as the knowledge of God grows"; and of faith, the same servant of God said, "Although faith in the work of Christ is necessary in order to possess peace, yet His Person ever remains as the object of the heart — the Christ who has loved us, Who is now glorified at the right hand of God, after having borne our sins, and submitted to death and the curse for us, but ever living for us now" (J. N. Darby).

What marvellous depth and power in those words! To repent is to see the utter ruin of self. To turn to God, is life, and peace, and everlasting salvation. We discover self and we loathe and abhor it. We discover God and turn to Him with the whole heart, and find in Him all we want for time and for eternity. It is all divinely simple and unspeakably blessed. Repentance and conversion are inseparably linked together. They are distinct, yet intimately connected. They must neither be separated nor confounded.