True Repentance - It’s more than just a change of mind

 Acts 26:20 - But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

When the Apostle Paul made his defense before Agrippa in Acts 26 he gave a history of himself as a Pharisee and then recounted how Jesus called him in that spectacular way on the road to Damascus. He explained the call that Jesus had put on his life and that his ministry, first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles, would be: To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me (Acts 26:18).


This wasn’t just a passive forgiveness of sins, but a wholesale turning of their lives from “darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God”. Jesus would not just clothe them with a “covering” of righteousness, He would radically alter their life course and change their direction. Paul went on to say that the response of those who received the Gospel would be: ….that they should repent and turn to God, AND DO WORKS MEET FOR REPENTANCE (Acts 26:20).


This call to “do works meet for repentance” echoes the charge and complaint that John the Baptist had against the Scribes and Pharisees when they came to him to be baptized. He said: O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance (Matt 3:7-8). John exposed them for claiming repentance, but not bearing the fruit of it. He went on to say: And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire (Matt 3:10). It is not true repentance if it doesn’t radically change the direction of the life and bear the fruit of it….In the end it is hewn down and cast into the fire.


There is a huge push in modern day Christianity to dumb down what repentance means to tickle men's ears and accommodate ongoing sin. Many teachers are now saying that repentance doesn’t involve actually having to change ones actions or behavior. They will say that the Greek word for repentance, ‘Metanoia’, simply means a “change of mind about who Jesus is and what He did” and that as long as you recognize and acknowledge that, that’s all that is required…..turning from sin and the old manner of life, though preferable, is not actually required as a fruit of salvation.


This is a grave error, the word ‘Metanoia’ means: Compunction (or contrition), WITH REFORMATION, by implication a reversal of decision. Yes, the first part of metanoia does imply first a change of mind about one’s sin and guilt before a holy God and the need for forgiveness and pardon in Christ, but the second part is the reformation of the life that follows, which means a change of actions or behavior away from sin and towards God. Biblical Scholars have said that metanoia comes from an old military term that means “about face” and march the other direction.


The Vines Dictionary has an excellent definition of it: Repentance, in the NT sense, is a change of mind followed by a change of actions. It is a turning from sin and a turning to God. The Prodigal Son is an outstanding illustration of it, he recognized his folly, did an about face and returned to the father. Repentance, recognizing something is wrong and sinful, without a change in actions and behavior and a turning from that sin is a textbook example of hypocrisy which is why John the Baptist rebuked the Scribes and Pharisees so strongly for it.


True godly repentance starts with a change of mind, but then results in a change of life direction or course. If repentance does not change the life and bear the fruit of turning from sin and following after Christ, then it is not true repentance.

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