What is Repentance? Examples of Repentance From the Bible

T he Bible tells sinners to repent and believe, but what examples in the Bible show us what true repentance is?

The Prodigal

The Bible tells sinners to repent and believe, but what examples in the Bible show us what true repentance is? When the Prodigal Son thought, “I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you” (Luke 15:18), so his first step in repenting of his squandered money and ungodly living was that he repented of his evil and wasteful life. He stopped doing what he was doing and turned around (repent or turn) to go the other direction…toward his father and ask for forgiveness. That’s what sinners do; acknowledge they’ve sinned against God, but they go to Him and ask for forgiveness. And there is forgiveness in trusting in Christ. Interestingly, the father had been watching and waiting for his son to return. It’s almost as if he was expecting him, and he was. When the father saw the son, “his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20b), rejoicing that “my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found” (Luke 15:24). The father made the first move as God did with us (1 John 4:19). The son had repented (turned away from the pigpen of the slavery of sin) and turned toward his father to ask for forgiveness, which he immediately gave. That’s the fruit of repentance…turning and forsaking sin and turning to God if faith.

The Adulterer

When a woman who was caught in adultery was brought before Jesus, they immediately wanted to have Jesus approval to stone her, but my first question is: Where is the man? Doesn’t it take two to commit adultery, but anyway, Jesus asked that those who have no sin cast the first stone, and of course, no one could. Only Jesus had that right, but instead, Jesus asked, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you” (John 8:10), at which “She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more” (John 8:11). Again, there is forgiveness but the woman was told to turn from her sin and sin no more. To “sin no more” means the woman is to turn from that sinful lifestyle of adultery and then turn to God, so the woman regretted her adultery and turned to it no more but instead followed Jesus.

That None Should Perish

God has never sought or enjoyed the death of the wicked. He takes no pleasure in seeing the wicked destroyed (Ezekiel 18:23, 32, 33:11). Neither should we. In fact, it should grieve us that over 150,000 people will die today, most without Christ forever and in eternal torment. The Apostle Peter, in referring to the saints, knew that “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Only if God grants them repentance (John 6:44) can they come to Christ, so we pray for the lost that “God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim 2:25). That verse refers to God’s granting us repentance in the first place, and since He doesn’t wish any to perish, none will perish (John 6:37-39, 10:28-29), but if it was God’s will that all would be saved, then all would be saved, however we have absolute certainty that God’s will is always accomplished. Since we know that many are called, but only a few are chosen (Matt 22:14), then clearly God has not chosen to save all. Personally, for me, it’s amazing He chose to save anybody! That’s because none deserved it (Rom 3:10-12, 23; 5:6-10).

The Command to Repent

The Apostle Paul told the Greeks that “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30), so this is not just a great idea…repentance is commanded by God. It is not optional for the Christian. Jesus Himself began proclaiming the gospel, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). Those are verbal, imperative commands…we must repent and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15). If there is no fruit bearing repentance, then repentance has never occurred, and thus, regeneration may have never occurred. Jesus did say you can know them by their fruits (Matt 7:15-20).

Humble Ourselves

God spoke to Solomon in a dream one night (1 Chron 7:11) and said to him, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chron 7:14). That means when we live in obedience, or when we repent from our wicked ways, God will hear our prayers and will heal the land; perhaps meaning others will be brought to repentance and faith in Christ in the land. Solomon could have asked God for riches or power but instead, He pleased God in asking for wisdom…the wisdom from above, and that takes humility, just as it takes humility to repent and confess our sins and forsake them and turn to Christ.

Repentance

The term metanoia comes from the Greek word, ετάνοια, changing one’s mind, and is often translated as “conversion” or “repentance,” Repent is a compound word formed from “meta”, which means “amid” or “with,” and “noeo,” which means “to exercise the mind” or “change the mind.” Thus, the word literally means, “accompanied by an exercise/change of the mind,” or “with understanding.” So it is a change of mind…changing your mind about your former sins and turning from them and turning to God. It’s not being sorry for your sins only…but avoiding the former sins because now you’ve got a new mind (1 Cor 217) and are a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). You must humble yourself before you repent; we cannot come to God without confessing our sins and putting our trust in Christ, and we need to repent more than once, not just after conversion, because we sin dily after conversion (1 John 1:8, 10), thus repentance and confession of sin should be ongoing and a part of every believer’s daily life.

Conclusion

I pray you have put your trust in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If that has not happened yet, my friend, you are in real danger of hell fire. And I mean, in immediate danger. You’re one breath, one heartbeat…one accident away from eternity when it will be too late to repent. Today is the best day to believe (2 Cor 6:2) since tomorrow is no guarantee. If Jesus Christ came today, here is your fate (Matt 7:21-23). This is why I plead with you as you read this, repent today…and I mean right now. Put your trust in Jesus Christ. If you do not, you will face God’s judgment after death guaranteed (Heb 9:27) or at Jesus Christ’s appearance (Rev 20:12-15), which could happen at any moment.

Here is some related reading for you: Is Repentance Necessary for Salvation?

Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^® (ESV^®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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