Definitions: Repent
A favorite tactic of the enemy is confusion. It's very easy to make a suggestion that is close to accurate, but is actually inaccurate. Repentance has been mistaken for confession and to stop committing a particular sin. Confession leads you into repentance and once you've repented, you can stop committing sin. So what is repentance?
The root word of repentance is repent and is defined in the New Oxford American Dictionary (NAOD) as to feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one's wrongdoing or sin; to view or think of (an action or omission) with deep regret or remorse. The Hebrew word for repent is nâcham and the Greek word is metanoeō.
The NOAD definition is closer to the Hebrew. Nâcham is translated as to be sorry, console oneself, repent, regret, comfort, be comforted. The Greek however, provides a different dimension for the term. Metanoeō is translated as to change one's mind, i.e. to repent; to change one's mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one's past sins. This is the repentance Jesus and John the Baptist preached.
The command to repent is one to acknowledge that we have done wrong and then change our mind about the wrongdoing. The ability to stop sinning comes when we change the way we think about that sin. For example, if I lie constantly, I will not be able to stop lying until I acknowledge that it is wrong, feel remorseful about that wrong, and commit to change the way I think about it. To heartily amend with abhorrence means to strongly hate the sin.
“The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Acts 17:30-31
The root word of repentance is repent and is defined in the New Oxford American Dictionary (NAOD) as to feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one's wrongdoing or sin; to view or think of (an action or omission) with deep regret or remorse. The Hebrew word for repent is nâcham and the Greek word is metanoeō.The NOAD definition is closer to the Hebrew. Nâcham is translated as to be sorry, console oneself, repent, regret, comfort, be comforted. The Greek however, provides a different dimension for the term. Metanoeō is translated as to change one's mind, i.e. to repent; to change one's mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one's past sins. This is the repentance Jesus and John the Baptist preached.
The command to repent is one to acknowledge that we have done wrong and then change our mind about the wrongdoing. The ability to stop sinning comes when we change the way we think about that sin. For example, if I lie constantly, I will not be able to stop lying until I acknowledge that it is wrong, feel remorseful about that wrong, and commit to change the way I think about it. To heartily amend with abhorrence means to strongly hate the sin.
“The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” Acts 17:30-31
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