Matthew 4.17
“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
“Confess and repent” are old school words, and they are thoroughly biblical. When we repent, we change our mind and turn away from our wrong behavior. We stop doing what we shouldn’t do, and we start doing what we should do.
Repentance is at the heart of The Path to which Jesus calls us. The Greek term is metanoia, which is a word that literally means “changed thinking.” The biblical meaning of metanoia is to change the way you think and change the way you behave.
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 55.6-7)
The message is clear: Transformation happens from the inside out. The Lord calls us to change our way of living by first changing our way of thinking. This means acting with faith in response to God by doing three things:
- Recognize and confess you are apart from God because of sin.
- Recognize that Jesus died on the cross as the sacrifice for sin.
- Repent of your sin and receive Jesus as savior and king of your life.
Repentance is not something you do only at the time of salvation; it should be an ongoing mental discipline for every Christian on The Path. Pay attention to your thought patterns and behavior patterns. If you find your thinking or action drifting off-path, stop and repent. Trust God and turn away from wrong thoughts and wrong behavior.
“Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” (Acts 3.19)
Coram Deo
