What is Repentance?

Weekly Update – October 24th, 2024

In Luke chapter 3 we are introduced to the ministry of John the Baptist.  He is the miraculous son, born to Zechariah and Elizabeth in their older age (Lk. 1:13), who is now in the wilderness preaching a “baptism of repentance” (Lk. 3:3).  He is said to be the forerunner of the Messiah, preparing the hearts of all who will “see the salvation of God” (Lk. 3:6) through Jesus Christ. But as people hear him preach, there is a bit of confusion over what repentance means.  Can’t they merely be baptized and consider themselves clean?  Or is there more?  This is what John the
Baptist answers for them and for us in Luke 3:7-14.

Before we consider what true repentance is though, lets take a look at what some common displays of false repentance are. We talked about this a bit on Sunday morning, but I want to highlight them again for you so that you can see the contrast.  Therefore, here are four common displays of false repentance:

First, mistaking confession for repentance.  Many think that simply saying they are sorry and then moving on fixes whatever situation they are in.  What is even more popular is to not even acknowledge the sin but to confess a mistake, saying things such as, “oh, I misspoke, I’m sorry” or “I gave you misinformation, I’m sorry.”  This isn’t even really confession. Actual confession is good and is a part of repentance, for we must acknowledge our sin, but confession alone will accomplish nothing.

Second, mistaking worldly sorrow for repentance.  The apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 7:10 that there is a worldly sorrow that does not lead to repentance because it merely acknowledges guilt but does nothing to change. Instead, often what worldly sorrow or worldly grief leads to is penance, or a desire to do something good to make up for the guilt within.  Judas is a prime example of worldly sorrow gone wrong to the extreme, as he ends up hanging himself (Matt. 27:5), instead of repenting of the sin of betraying the Son of God.

Third, mistaking excuses with repentance. When caught in a sin, it is easy to simply say, “oh, that is just who I am.”  Some might say, “I’m naturally an angry person, so you will have to excuse my outbursts.”  Or “My enneagram or personality type means that I typically react in ways that others don’t.”  Others might even say, “I tend to act the way I do because of my past, or because of my parents, or because of the stress in my life.”  Many of us might have legitimate issues in our lives that greatly affect us, but at the same time, none of them are excuses for sin. 

Fourth, mistaking general comments with repentance.  Often when confronted with something wrong in their life, many will say, “well, nobody is perfect” or “we all make mistakes.”  What is worse is when we fail to even acknowledge a mistake and say something like, “please forgive me for anything that I said that may have offended you.”  Here you have just a general statement that is trying to smooth over a situation. The problem with this is that though confession alone is not repentance, repentance without confession isn’t repentance either. 

It is for these reasons listed above that John the Baptist begins his preaching by saying, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”  Those coming to John knew that they had done something wrong, but they were trying to fix their consciences without true repentance.  They were right to seek refuge from the wrath of God to come, for God’s wrath will come upon all sin on the day of judgment (Heb. 9:27), but they were looking to themselves and some sort of work for the solution.

The problem here though is that false repentance will only lead to false confidence in yourself.  What we need is true repentance displayed, not merely through a few actions or some coverup for our sin, but through a change in our minds, a change in our heart and desires, followed by a change in our behavior and our actions.  This only occurs through a turning away from sin and a turning to Jesus Christ. We can’t merely be looking to “flee from the wrath to come.”  We have to be looking to Jesus Christ, longing to please him, and desiring a relationship with God through him.  Only then will we begin to see a true, specific confession that not only acknowledges a mistake, but sin, as we in our godly sorrow, long to be transformed through Jesus Christ. 

Serving Him with You,
Pastor Michael Nelson