Late last week, I put up a blog talking a little bit about the biblical word "repent." In there, I talked a bit about how this word can be used in two different sense. The first one is an application toward specific thoughts or behaviors. If you like to speed, and then come to a realization that it is not only wrong, but that it endangers others, and you decide to stop speeding, you have repented. You have turned your back on a specific behavior.
Maybe it shouldn't be a surprise that this word doesn't perfectly fit that description every time it's used in the Bible. Take, for example, John the Baptist. It tells us in places like Mark 1:1-8 that John was baptizing, and that his baptism was of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. At other times, we have uses of it like in Matthew 4:17, where Jesus is telling the people to repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repent of what? It doesn't seem to be anything very specific. Is there a particular behavior that He's talking about?
This is where the word "repent" has a much wider view than simply that of a particular thought or behavior. It speaks to a change in one's overall view of life. When Jesus tells people to repent, since the reign of God's kingdom is near, He means that the people are to change their source of trust and hope away from the things that they are looking toward, and to return their thoughts and hope to the LORD their God. They aren't to trust in things like their wealth, their status, their influence, or the like. They are simply to turn back to God as they look for the good in their lives.
In a sense, this wider view of the word "repent" can almost seem to be a call to stop believing in false gods and to return to the one true God. This kind of repentance draws us away from the things that we put our hope and trust in, things like our salary and retirement package, or the position of authority that we may hold. It draws us away from our self-reliance, and maybe away from our arrogance that we have the right way or the right approach to life. It pulls us back from everything that threatens to draw our hope and love and trust away from the God who made us, who redeemed us through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.
Of course, these two meanings are related. Both call for us to turn away from living our lives in the way that makes sense to us, and returning to the way that God designed for us to live among one another. Some of that turning involves major changes in the way we think. Some of that turning involves very specific actions or behaviors. And yet, the call of that word repent isn't to condemn us in God's eyes, but to remind us that God tenderly cares for His people and wants nothing more than that they discover that life under His will is a far better thing for us than life lived according to our own thoughts and will.
Maybe it shouldn't be a surprise that this word doesn't perfectly fit that description every time it's used in the Bible. Take, for example, John the Baptist. It tells us in places like Mark 1:1-8 that John was baptizing, and that his baptism was of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. At other times, we have uses of it like in Matthew 4:17, where Jesus is telling the people to repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repent of what? It doesn't seem to be anything very specific. Is there a particular behavior that He's talking about?
This is where the word "repent" has a much wider view than simply that of a particular thought or behavior. It speaks to a change in one's overall view of life. When Jesus tells people to repent, since the reign of God's kingdom is near, He means that the people are to change their source of trust and hope away from the things that they are looking toward, and to return their thoughts and hope to the LORD their God. They aren't to trust in things like their wealth, their status, their influence, or the like. They are simply to turn back to God as they look for the good in their lives.
In a sense, this wider view of the word "repent" can almost seem to be a call to stop believing in false gods and to return to the one true God. This kind of repentance draws us away from the things that we put our hope and trust in, things like our salary and retirement package, or the position of authority that we may hold. It draws us away from our self-reliance, and maybe away from our arrogance that we have the right way or the right approach to life. It pulls us back from everything that threatens to draw our hope and love and trust away from the God who made us, who redeemed us through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.
Of course, these two meanings are related. Both call for us to turn away from living our lives in the way that makes sense to us, and returning to the way that God designed for us to live among one another. Some of that turning involves major changes in the way we think. Some of that turning involves very specific actions or behaviors. And yet, the call of that word repent isn't to condemn us in God's eyes, but to remind us that God tenderly cares for His people and wants nothing more than that they discover that life under His will is a far better thing for us than life lived according to our own thoughts and will.
Scott, "In a sense, this wider view of the word "repent" can almost seem to be a call". That sentence needs to be rewritten. There is nothing about the word repent that almost means, or seems to be. It is a call to faith in God alone. One can not believe in God without repenting of false belief. One cannot repent of sin, without out believing in God. This is why we are called to repent and believe, because they are one and the same thing.
ReplyDeleteBror, I understand the point you are making. The way I'll defend what I wrote is that I was comparing the narrow and the wide view of "repent". At times, it seems to speak of a narrower view, and at other times, of a wider view. I'd agree that I would need to change the sentence if I were talking about belief in God and unbelief, as it could be construed to mean that it's not as demanding as it really is. But in the context of my comparison, I think it's still fitting. Thanks for your feedback!
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