What repentance is NOT
Sometimes it’s easier to understand something by first discovering what it is NOT!
Perhaps you feel that you, or someone else, has SUFFERED enough…
But suffering is not repentance…
Suffering come from RESISTING the repentance process fully.
Perhaps you feel you, or someone else, has been PUNISHED enough…
But punishment is not repentance…
Punishment is the consequence for disobeying.
Perhaps you feel you, or someone else, has CONFESSED everything!
But confession is not repentance…
Confession is when you recognize what you have done wrong, and you bring it into the light.
Perhaps you feel you, or someone else, is filled with SORROW or REMORSE!
But sorrow/remorse is not repentance…
Sorrow/remorse is what you feel because you have done wrong.
Some or all of these things you may experience while repenting, but they are not repentance alone.
Suffering ends when you allow yourself to be changed by the Lord’s loving guidance.
Punishment ends when you start obeying.
Confession may feel scary at first, but afterwards you may feel relieved of a heaviness you carried alone.
Sorrow and remorse surfaces periodically as you continue the repentance process, but does not need to be your constant companion.
Repentance is a process, let the process unfold.
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Since we know what repentance is NOT, let’s now discover what it is…
During my studies of repentance, I have come across the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin ‘translations’ of this word…
A closer study of these has given me more clarity to what repentance really is and what it looks like in my life.
The Old Testament was written in Hebrew,
And the Hebrew concept for repentance means “to turn.”
For example, we “turn from” sinful behavior, and we “turn back to” Jesus Christ and more Christlike behaviors.
What a beautiful idea it is to “turn away” from anger or resentment and “turn to” Christ for understanding, relief, patience, and help.
We can turn our thoughts, feelings, and actions away from sin (negative patterns of behavior) and towards the Savior.
The New Testament was written in Greek,
And the Greek word for repentance is metaneoeo…
Meta meaning “change”, and neoeo meaning “mind, thought, thinking, spirit, and air”
I love this because it gets to the root of all actions – your thinking.
Repentance in Greek means, to “change your thinking,” to “change how you feel (spirit),” and to “change the words (air)” in your life…
The best way to affect your behaviors or actions is to change the way you think or feel about the circumstance.
Both translations give us a much better idea of what repentance really is and how it might look for someone to go about repenting.
Recently I learned the Latin translation for repentance… and it seems to have warped the actual meaning…
From Greek to Latin, the word means punish, penance, and penitent…
No wonder we have come to avoid and even fear repentance.
The true meaning of repentance isn’t a punishment at all, it’s a call to turn to Christ and to change our lives so we can receive more blessings. It is quite a loving gift!
–What did you learn as you read through this today?
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The Savior’s Role in Daily Repentance
Without Jesus Christ, as our Savior and Redeemer, repentance wouldn’t even be a possibility…
One of the steps of repentance is to restore or payback what was taken.
If you have taken an item from the store, returning it to the store would satisfy this process…
But often things are “taken” from us that cannot be restored so easily…
Such as trust, virtue, confidence in a person, or even life.
Since you cannot restore it, the Savior steps in and helps…
His payment will satisfy justice, IF you will only repent.
“True repentance on your part, including a change in your lifestyle, will enable Jesus, in mercy, to transfer your debt to him… Justice now requires that you repay” Him. –Theodore Burton
How do we repay Christ?
By helping Him with His mission… which is…
“To bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of men.” –***
In other words, help bring more people to Christ so He can bless them with eternal life.
And how do we “help bring more people to Christ?”
By serving others with love.
If your habits and patterns of living are to complain, lie, yell, blame others, or gossip — you will not bring souls to Christ.
Thus, a change in thinking may be required so you can work towards developing attributes such as patience, love, compassion, and understanding.
This may require a change in lifestyle also, such as the music you listen to or shows you watch.
If it doesn’t not teach you better ways to love yourself and others, it is not likely worth your attention nor is it teaching you helpful thinking and behavior patterns.
Christ is not only willing to take the debt, but He is also willing to help you become a new person who no longer desires sin. He is willing to step into that messy place, with patience, as you learn how to live more joyful, one step at a time.
OUR part is to be humble and allow ourselves to be changed by His love and taught in His way of living, until it becomes our way of living also.
–If you are struggling to do YOUR PART, message me and we’ll talk. I can help with that!
