What Is True Repentance?
In 2 Corinthians 7:9-10, Paul told the Corinthians that he was glad that he had made them sorrowful when he had written 1 Corinthians to them because that sorrow led them to repentance. But what is repentance? Sometimes the best way to identify something is to identify what it is not. When we look at the story of the Exodus, we find Pharaoh’s reactions to the various plagues God visited upon Egypt as good examples of what true repentance is not.
Moses showed up to Pharaoh and demanded that he let the people of Israel go into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to God. He threw down his staff to show the power of God. The staff turned into a snake. The magicians used their deceptions to appear to do the same thing, but Moses’ staff swallowed their staffs. How did Pharaoh react to God’s power? He didn’t. No reaction, no repentance. No matter how many times a week you go to church if you walk away unaffected, you have not repented.
Next, came the series of plagues which started with Moses being used of God to turn to the Nile River and all of the tributaries and streams to blood. All the fish died, and the land stank. How did Pharaoh react? In Exodus 7:23, “Then Pharaoh turned and went into his house with no concern even for this.” No concern, no repentance. Again, many people go into a church service and see others worship but are not affected themselves. They walk away with no concern for any prayer request made, tear shed, or life changed. They may have been there, but they did not repent.
Ext came the frogs that covered the land in Exodus 8. They covered the land and even went into ovens and kneading bowls. They were gross and they disrupted life. How did Pharaoh react this time? He sought relief from the Lord, but then still walked away with an unchanged heart. Many people will pray the “ten miles out of town on empty” prayer. They make promises to God in times of difficulty to get relief from their circumstances, but either God comes through for them and life goes back to the way it was, or God chooses not to, and they get mad and stop attending church. They wanted relief more than they wanted God. This is not repentance.
When the gnats came, Pharaoh had the advice of others to let the people go, but he did not. The magicians could not duplicate this feat, so they told Pharaoh this must be God, but he did not listen. Some people go to church and hear the preacher tell them to turn their lives over to God or to trust Him in an area of their lives. They have the advice, but no repentance.
Flies came next and Moses bargained with God. Like many of us, Pharaoh basically said, “If you will…, then I will…” (8:32) This formula is not repentance. It is a transaction. When the cattle died, Pharaoh saw the bad and acknowledged it was bad, but did not let the people go. Many people go to church and hear things like, Matthew 6:14-15 where Jesus said that if we forgive others, God will forgive us. If we refuse to forgive others, God will not forgive us. They hear this but walk away and refuse to forgive. This is not repentance.
The next one was hard to hear, but painful boils were sent on every person throughout Egypt. Even the magicians and Pharaoh had boils, but Pharaoh could not repent. Like Esau after losing his birthright and blessing and wanting to repent but finding it impossible, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened to the point that he could not repent. Some people attend church for so long while all the time having a hard heart towards others that they feel moved in a service but cannot quiet get to the place where they do any different because they have not cared for so long. They cannot repent so there is no repentance.
When the hail came, Pharaoh used religious words, but no repentance. When the locusts came, Pharaoh got mad at God, but no repentance. He even tried leaning on others’ experiences, but no repentance. When darkness came, Pharaoh tried to qualify his reaction. They could go, but only under certain conditions. Dictating to God is not true repentance. Even when his firstborn son died, Pharaoh was broken and sorrowful but did not repent because he let the people go, but then chased after them. Short-term reactions of spiritual response are not true repentance.
So, what is true repentance? 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 tells us that it is sorrow over our sins that bring us to the point of wanting to change and makes us desperate for God because we know that we cannot do it on our own and He is the only One who can and Who is worthy of our praise. With that definition of true repentance, have you truly repented? Have you placed your faith in Jesus Christ and asked Him to forgive your sins? Do you do this daily? Is it changing the way you think and act on a consistent basis? If so, that is true repentance. If not, what do you need to do?