Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

REPENTANCE

A biblical concept ranging from regret or remorse (Heb. nāḥam, “to pant, sigh, or grieve”) to a complete change of mind or behavior (šûḇ, “to turn”).

Heb. nāḥam usually refers to God’s repenting, rather than that of people, although occasionally it refers to human grief over sin (Exod. 13:17; Job 42:6; Jer. 8:6; 31:19). The term typically describes God’s gracious response to human repentance, in which God relents from punishment.

In the OT the basic idea of human repentance is represented by šûḇ. It implies turning from sin to righteousness, often with accompanying sorrow. A clear example of this religious sense of the term appears in 1 Kgs. 8:47, where Solomon entreats God to hear the prayers of a repentant people who return to God. Repentance often involves reverting from idolatry to true worship of Yahweh and its corresponding moral behavior (Isa. 1:10-17; Ezek. 14:6; 18:30; Amos 4:6-11). In response to this repentance, God forgives and restores.

In the NT repentance primarily relates to the Greek words metanoéō and metńoia, meaning to understand something differently after thinking it over. This change of mind necessarily leads to changed actions, in keeping with the Greek view that the mind (noús) controlled the body. Repentance comprises a central theme in the preaching of Jesus, Peter, and Paul.

Jesus began his ministry with a call to repentance as the prerequisite for entering the kingdom of God (Mark 1:15; Matt. 4:17). Mark 6:12-13 summarizes Jesus ministry by saying that Jesus preached repentance, cast our demons, and healed sick people. At the conclusion of his earthly ministry Jesus commissioned his disciples to preach repentance and forgiveness to all nations in his name (Luke 24:47). A call to repentance characterizes the content of his preaching.

Peter, Paul, and the rest of the apostles proclaimed a gospel of repentance (Mark 6:12). Peter’s sermon at Pentecost instructed people to repent and believe in Jesus (Acts 2:38); later, he echoed this message before the Sanhedrin (Acts 3:19). Paul also condensed his gospel as a call to repentance and righteous living (Acts 17:30; 26:20). Because the Gospels emphasize the centrality of repentance in Jesus’ preaching, and both Peter and Paul taught that repentance was the correct response to the gospel, the importance of repentance to the theology of the NT cannot be overemphasized.

The early church fathers gave little attention to the doctrine of repentance, but by the 2nd century church tradition equated repentance with the act of baptism, leading to the difficulty of Christians gaining forgiveness for postbaptismal sins (Herm. Man. 4:1-3). Tertullian attempted to revolve this problem by positing a public confession of sins (exomologḗsis) to cleanse postbaptismal sins, but denied it to those who were guilty of adultery, fornication, murder, or idolatry.

By the Middle Ages the Church had developed the idea of public confession into the doctrine of penance. Repentant Catholics were to make confession to a priest at least once a year. Thomas Aquinas itemized penance into the elements of contrition, confession, satisfaction, and absolution. Abuse of indulgences provoked a rejection of the sacrament of penance among Reformation writers, although they discussed repentance in connection with the Calvinist/Arminian debate over free will. Calvinists regarded repentance as an absolute gift of God, while Arminians thought repentance involved human response to God’s initiative.

Repentance, faith, and election form a closely interwoven set of ideas which express the gospel. God’s elective call for people to enter God’s kingdom arises as a summons to repentance. Faith in the word of God initiates repentance (Rom. 10:11-17; Hos. 6:1-6; Joel 2:32[MT 3:5]). The person who repents repudiates the wickedness of sin, understanding it as serious and repulsive. The Holy Spirit generates life within human believers through repentance and faith. The elect accept the call to turn from their rejected status of not being God’s people, to those whom God claims as children (Rom. 9:25-26; Joel 2:25).

Linda Oaks Garrett

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

REPENTANCE

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)