Godly Repentance

From that time began Jesus to preach, and to say, "Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," (Matthew 4:17).

The Scriptures make it very clear that God has called all persons everywhere to repent (cf. Acts 17:30). What does it mean to repent? Why is repentance so important in Christianity? Let us explore these questions now.

In English, "to repent" is "to feel sorrow, regret," according to Webster's dictionary. When one has an attitude of repentance, one expresses great sorrow for what one has done. This is certainly one aspect of Biblical repentance, but the idea of repentance in the Bible goes further than simple sorrow.

The Greek term that is often translated as "to repent" is metanoeo, defined by Thayer's Greek Lexicon as "to change one's mind, to change one's mind for the better". Sorrow, then, will certainly be part of repentance, but the Bible demands not just a display of sorrow but the mental determination to do better.

The importance of true and godly repentance can be seen in the contrasting examples of Acts 2 and Acts 7. In both Acts 2 and Acts 7, the Gospel is preached to a group of Jews (Acts 2:16-36, Acts 7:2-53). In both Acts 2 and Acts 7, the Jews were "cut to the heart" (Acts 2:37, Acts 7:54). In Acts 2, however, the Jews responded by asking what they were to do because of what they had done, and therefore became obedient servants of God (Acts 2:37-47), while in Acts 7, the Jews responded in great anger and ended up stoning Stephen (Acts 7:53-60). The Jews in Acts 2 were repentant; the Jews in Acts 7 were just angry. Paul contrasts this "godly repentance" from "worldly sorrow" in 2 Corinthians 7:8-11:

For though I made you sorry with my epistle, I do not regret it: though I did regret it (for I see that that epistle made you sorry, though but for a season), I now rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye were made sorry unto repentance; for ye were made sorry after a godly sort, that ye might suffer loss by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation, a repentance which bringeth no regret: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold, this selfsame thing, that ye were made sorry after a godly sort, what earnest care it wrought in you, yea what clearing of yourselves, yea what indignation, yea what fear, yea what longing, yea what zeal, yea what avenging! In everything ye approved yourselves to be pure in the matter.

When we repent in a godly way, we realize that we have done wrong and we need to humble ourselves and seek God's path (Romans 6:16-18). We realize that following our own way leads to death (Romans 6:23, Proverbs 14:12). When we repent, we determine to change the way we think, with the goal of taking every thought captive to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). We cannot think that we can just change our actions and such is enough; if we do not change our mind, our actions will not truly change. When we change how we think, our actions will follow (cf. Matthew 12:34).

Repentance is a major part of ceasing to serve sin and self and turning to serve Christ and gain eternal life. Repentance is critical if we are going to be "crucified with Christ" (Galatians 2:20). Let us repent and bear fruit keeping with repentance!

Ethan R. Longhenry
evangelist@norwalkchurch.org

Being Thankful People

The Thanksgiving holiday will soon be upon us, and millions of Americans will come together around dinner tables and eat plenty of food. The intent of the holiday, nevertheless, was to take an opportunity to give thanks for all the blessings which we have received.

It is important that we be thankful people; as Americans, all of us have blessings that billions of people for thousands of years have desired. Freedom, opportunity, relative wealth-- we too often take it all for granted.

In the end, we must truly be thankful to God who is the Source of all our blessings (cf. Hosea 2:8, Galatians 1:4). God gave us His Son that we may have eternal life in His name (1 John 5:11). The gift is open for all, including you, and we would encourage you to be thankful to God and to accept His gift. You can then live a life of thankfulness, constantly thanking God for all of His manifold blessings toward us, and understand what it means to have a truly contented life. In Christ Jesus, we can learn to do well whether in much or in little, for Christ will supply us (Philippians 4:11-13). Let us be thankful people!

Ethan R. Longhenry
evangelist@norwalkchurch.org

The church of Christ in Norwalk, Ohio

Thank you for reading the electronic version of our bulletin, Good News for Norwalk. If you live in Norwalk or happen to be traveling in the Norwalk area, we would certainly love to have you visit one of our assemblies!

Our location:

386 North Edgewood Drive (just off US 250 just north of Norwalk's city limits)
Norwalk, Ohio 44857

Our assemblies:

Sunday morning assembly: 10:30am
Sunday evening assembly: 6:00pm

Our Bible studies:

Sunday morning Bible study: 9:30am
Wednesday evening Bible study: 7:00pm

For More Information

If you have any questions or comments about anything you have read here, or desire more information, please contact our evangelist, Ethan Longhenry, at evangelist@norwalkchurch.org.

Please click here to return to the 2006 archive of Good News for Norwalk, or click here to return to the main page of Good News for Norwalk. Thanks!