This may seem like a strange question for a Christian to be asking other Christians. But I hope that there are those reading this devotional who are not of the Christian faith. Meaning that we all have a chance to grow in our knowledge of God. But back to my original question, what is repentance? The Christian church harps pretty big on this word. We preach and call people to “repent” of their sins! We call people to “repent” and believe in the Gospel! But what does this word mean?

In the New Testament of the Bible, repentance is mentioned over 75 times throughout the scripture. In Mark 1:15 Jesus said, “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

We know that “good news” translates to Gospel. But what does “repent” translate to in our Christian tradition? The literal translation of this word may surprise you. The word for repent in the Bible is metanoeo which means, “to think differently or afterward, i.e. reconsider (morally).” What Jesus is saying in this passage is “Rethink your current moral situation and believe in my message, for the Kingdom of God is at hand!”

When the Bible calls us to repent it is calling us to completely rethink our lives, our actions, our words, and our thoughts. It is a constant state of introspection in which we live in a community of people seeking to rethink their lives into the message of the Gospel. When Jesus issues a command in scripture, we must immediately reevaluate our lives and thoughts in how it applies to us at the moment. When Jesus says, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” We must immediately repent! That means we must immediately rethink and examine how this command authoritatively impacts our lives in the instant.

Repentance is much more than a pronouncement or recognition of one’s sins (though that indeed can be part of it), it is a call to reform our lives to mimic the calling or command of Jesus. That is where we both “repent and believe” in the Gospel. We repent of our old ways because we have found, through reexamination, that they are not in line with the teachings of Jesus (the Gospel).

Let us not minimize this calling of Christ into a mere regurgitation of one’s past mistakes or a listing of one’s failures, instead let us embrace repentance as a call to intimate introspection and redirection guided by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ.

Repent and believe in the Gospel brothers and sisters.

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Pastor Mike McVey
First United Methodist Church, Fairfield TX
ASC Chaplain – United States Coast Guard
Chaplain – Texas Game Warden Service
Email: pastormike@fumcfairfield.org
Cell: 919-935-2513