Mark 1:15, Acts 2:38, 2 Corinthians 7:10
The First Word of the Gospel
Jesus' first recorded sermon is five words in Mark: "Repent and believe in the gospel." (Mark 1:15). John the Baptist's message was "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matthew 3:2). Peter's response on the Day of Pentecost to the crowd who asked what they must do: "Repent and be baptised." (Acts 2:38).
Repentance is not a peripheral element of the gospel message — it is the entry point. There is no genuine faith without genuine repentance; there is no genuine repentance without genuine faith. The two are inseparable.
What Repentance Is Not
Not mere regret. Regret is feeling bad about the consequences of sin — being caught, facing judgment, losing something. Regret is self-focused. Judas Iscariot regretted betraying Jesus (Matthew 27:3) — but he did not repent in the biblical sense. He felt remorse without turning.
Not mere emotion. Repentance is not primarily a feeling, though it will involve emotion. A person can weep about their sin without genuinely repenting; a person can repent without dramatic emotional expression.
Not penance. Repentance is not earning forgiveness through suffering or good works. It cannot undo the past — only God's grace can deal with that. Repentance turns to receive that grace, not to merit it.
What Repentance Actually Is
The Greek word metanoia means a change of mind — a complete reorientation of thinking. But it is bigger than an intellectual shift. True biblical repentance involves:
A change of understanding — seeing sin as God sees it: genuinely offensive, genuinely harmful, genuinely deserving of judgment. This is what Paul calls "godly grief" (2 Corinthians 7:10) — sorrow for sin because it is sin, not merely because of its consequences.
A change of will — the genuine desire to turn from sin, not merely to reduce its consequences. This is the "turning" that the Old Testament prophets called for: "Turn back, turn back from your evil ways." (Ezekiel 33:11).
A change of direction — a turning toward God. Repentance is not merely turning away from sin — it is turning toward God. It is the prodigal son's "I will arise and go to my father." (Luke 15:18). The turning away and the turning toward are two sides of the same movement.
Repentance as an Ongoing Practice
Initial repentance at conversion is the beginning, not the whole. Luther's first of his Ninety-Five Theses: "When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said 'Repent,' he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance." The Christian life is a life of ongoing repentance — a continual turning from sin and toward God.