What Must I Do?
What Must I Do?
We continue our lesson about repentance from sin and the attitudes and actions that accompany it and make it genuine.
Not only must we acknowledge sin, but also be willing to ask forgiveness. Jesus taught us to pray, "Forgive us our sins..." (Mtt 6:12). Peter told Simon the sorcerer to repent and pray for forgiveness (Acts 8:22).
Of course one can request forgiveness and still lack repentance. The unmerciful slave asked forgiveness, yet he obviously had not repented (Mtt 18:23-35). So one can ask forgiveness without having repentance, but one cannot have repentance without going on to ask forgiveness.
An important part of repentance is the willingness to make restitution where possible. Of course one can make amends without having repentance. The courts might force a graffiti vandal to clean off the paint, but the vandal may not have repented. Also, the act of making amends is not itself repentance.
Zacchaeus, for example, had already repented of sins, and salvation had already come to him, but he had not yet actually made the amends that he had promised. Nevertheless the genuine intention to right his wrongs was necessary to the repentance that saved Zacchaeus (Lke 19:8-9).
John the Baptizer told the Pharisees, "Bring forth fruits in keeping with your repentance" (Mtt 3:7-8). Peter said, "Repent and be converted that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts 3:19). So we should not think of repentance as a loophole for dodging responsibility for the consequences of our wrongdoings. Rather, repentance includes a commitment to a changed way of life which includes trying to undo and make up for the wrongs we have done.
The things we have discussed are not genuine unless accompanied by repentance, and there cannot be any genuine repentance if not accompanied by these things. But what is repentance itself? Repentance is giving up the intention to do evil, and deciding to do the will of God.
Note that repentance is "toward God" (Acts 26:20). Also note that the Greek for repentance is metanoia meaning a change (meta) of mind (nous). So we see repentance to be a change of intention such that one no longer intends to do evil, but intents to do God's will.
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