Man’s repentance is the result of the Spirit’s sanctifying work. When the Spirit comes to enlighten man, seek man, and convict man concerning sin, concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment, He causes man to repent and turn to God.
The Greek word for repentance means to have a change of mind issuing in regret, to have a turn in purpose. Therefore, to repent, as taught in the Bible, is to have a change of mind. It is not to improve or reform oneself nor to forsake the evil and turn to the good, as people generally believe. Since the fall of man, man’s mind has been turned against God and directed toward many persons, things, and matters other than God. Furthermore, man is controlled by his mind, doing the desires of the thoughts (Eph. 2:3). The desires of man’s thoughts, whether they are good or bad, are always contrary to God and are directed toward persons, things, and matters other than God. Because of this, man also behaves himself in a way that is contrary to God and is thus directed toward persons, things, and matters other than God. Therefore, man should repent and have a change in his mind so that his conduct and behavior may also change accordingly.
Man’s repentance is also his turning from things other than God to the kingdom of God. Repentance in the preaching of John the Baptist, as the opening of God’s New Testament economy, was to have a change of mind and repent for the kingdom of God (Matt. 3:2). The Lord Jesus continued His forerunner’s preaching of the gospel of the kingdom of God (Matt. 4:17). This indicates that God’s New Testament economy is focused on His kingdom. For this we should repent, change our mind, have a turn in our pursuit and purpose of life, turning from persons, things, and matters other than God to the kingdom of God, that we may live under the ruling, the reigning, of God.
Man’s repentance is also his turning from all things to God Himself (Acts 26:20; 14:15b; 1 Thes. 1:9b). Originally man’s mind was toward all things outside of God; hence, under its direction, all of man’s behavior and actions were also against God. Under the control of his mind, fallen man is against God in all things. Just as man’s committing sins and doing evil are contrary to God, so also are his doing good and practicing justice. When man commits sin and does evil, he is turned toward evil and not toward God; in the same manner, when he does good and practices justice, he is turned toward goodness and justice and not toward God. When a man is stingy and loves money, he is turned toward money and not toward God; when he delights to do good and give to the needy, he is turned toward doing good and giving to the needy, not toward God. Man’s pursuit is toward many things and not in any way toward God. Every thought and every action of man has a goal, but none of these goals is God Himself. Man wants everything except God. Therefore, man needs to repent and turn to God. He must have a change in his mind; then his outward conduct and behavior will also be changed accordingly. Eventually, his life and his entire being will be turned toward God.
If a man’s repentance does not issue in his turning to God, it is a repentance that the world approves, but not the repentance that God desires. The repentance that God desires is that man would have a change of mind and turn toward God. Such a repentance is not only to correct man’s wrongdoings; it is even more to correct man’s condition of rejecting God and being turned away from God. It is not only to change evil into good; it is even more to turn the mind from things other than God to God. Therefore, even those who are considered to be right and good in the eyes of men also need to repent in this way. They need to have a change of mind, turning from the right and the good to God. A person’s repentance is nothing less than his change from rejecting God and being turned against God to desiring God and being turned toward God. Real repentance should be a repentance unto God (Acts 20:21), a turning in reality from all things to God.
The Lord’s gospel causes man to repent and to receive forgiveness of sins (Luke 24:47; 3:3; Acts 2:38). In order to give man the grace of forgiveness, God must first give him the heart of repentance (Acts 5:31). Unless a man repents of his sin of being against God and turns to God from within his heart, he will neither believe in the Lord Jesus nor be able to obtain God’s forgiving grace. If a man wants to be forgiven, he must repent. He must repent of his dead works (Heb. 6:1) and turn back to God.