The first command in Jesus’ public ministry was not “Praise!” or “Love!” or “Grace!” Of course, all of these ideas are central to the Gospel message, but if we are going to be Gospel-Christians, then we certainly cannot skip that initial command of Jesus—“Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15). To talk of love, forgiveness, grace, salvation and never to talk about repentance, is to fail to talk about the Gospel as Jesus Himself did.
In today’s culture, this is hard. Of course, the outside world does not want to hear the message of repentance—they do not want sin exposed, error addressed or betrayal revealed. The world’s rejection of the notion of repentance makes sense. But, even within the church (perhaps, especially within the church), there is likewise a hesitancy to listen well to that first of Jesus’ commands, the command to repent. All too often the message of the Gospel is tweaked to sound like: “God loves you so much that you can do whatever makes you feel good, except, of course, do not be a mean person.” The call to repent is rarely, if ever, mentioned.
Repentance is not ancillary to the Gospel. It is not some added benefit or option that one can take. It is not something a Christian can eventually “get around to.” Repentance is intimately linked to our salvation in Christ. Now, it is true, that our repentance does not in some way trigger Christ’s redemption, as if He is forced to save us once we repent. Repentance is not a prerequisite to our salvation, it does not make salvation happen, but it is inextricably bound up with our salvation.
Repentance is not easy—perhaps that is why the church tends to avoid it. In the Scriptures, in our ministries and in our worship, we are exposed to our sin. We are reminded that Christ’s death has paved the way for our redemption, that in Jesus Christ we are forgiven. But having been reminded of our sinfulness, we are then invited, nay, commanded, to “Repent!”
Relatively speaking, to feel sorry for your sin, to shed tears of regret, to mourn and feel shame, is easy. One only needs a bit of self-reflection, a modicum of sensitivity, to recognize the destructive power of our sin, and to regret, mourn and lament it. But, true repentance is not simply feeling sorry for an action; true repentance goes far beyond anything so trivial. When Jesus commands us to repent, He is seeking a heart-felt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, a sincere commitment to forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ. Repentance is hard work, the hard work of recognizing the gravity of our betrayal, a determination to change, and the fortitude to move forward in a new direction.
The Greek word for repentance is metanoia, from “meta” (change) and “nous” (mind), and signifies a radical change of mind, a turning away from a life focused on self and towards a life focused on God. Repentance is so much more than sorrow, than a feeling, it is a deep-seated commitment to change.
Perhaps this is why Jesus links repentance and the heavenly Kingdom so frequently—“Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand!” You see, we are born into an earthly kingdom, one ruled by the “spirits of the air”. We are naturally citizens of the kingdom of darkness and are beholden to its lord (John chapter 8). Salvation is not simply being freed from our sin, but it is changing our allegiance from death to life, from sin to righteousness, from self to Christ. This “changing” is not a matter of feeling, but a commitment to be radically different from now on. This is repentance.
In preparation for worship this week, read I Samuel chapters 5 and 6. We will focus mostly on chapter 6, but chapter 5 provides necessary background.
- The Philistine priests (whom we assume are not followers of God) nevertheless speak of returning the Ark with a “guilt offering” (verse 3). What can we assume about their view of their own actions if they are offering a “guilt” offering?
- The suggested guilt offering is five golden tumors and five golden mice. God had previously sent a plague on the Philistines which included tumors and mice. What can we deduce from the nature of the offering?
- The offering was “to give glory to the God of Israel” (verse 5). How so? How does the offering accomplish this?
- The Ark was sent back to Israel on a cart pulled by cows who had never pulled a cart before. The Philistines set this up as a “test”. Why do you think the Lord “answered” their test?
- Where do you see repentance in this story? What elements of repentance are evident?
By Henry Knapp