The following article was written by Phil Drysdale. I hope that you will read it and be enthralled by the amazing biblical definition of repent. I've highlighted few key ideas in bold. Phil's latest work may be found for purchase here: http://www.phildrysdale.com/book
It's only $6.99!
This is quite interesting. There are two connotations here in the English language. The first suggests that we must feel deeply sorry and regret our past actions or sins. The second suggests that we must then do something about them to make some form of penance.
This lines up pretty well with what I was taught in the church growing up. However, there is much more to this topic than our English definition.
Let's look a little deeper at the word. Our English word repentance comes from the Latin word "repoenitēre" - from the root word "poenitēre" which means to feel regret.
The Latin translation of the Bible was written well over 1500 years ago. So the word repentance has primarily revolved around the concept of feeling bad about one's sins and doing something to make up for it for a very long time.
Let's go one step further and look at the word in the language of the original text. The Greek word which we translate as repentance is metanoia. This word comes from two root words, meta and nois.
The word meta means "to change". This is probably not surprising to you as we still use meta in a lot of our English language, think for example metamorphosis. The word nois simply means "mind". Nothing more, nothing less.
Once we see what these two words mean it should come as no surprise to us that the word metanoia means, "to change your mind".
This definition of repentance should probably concern you. It certainly concerns me! You see, when most people read the word "repent" in their Bible, their tendency is to associate it with feeling bad about their sin and wanting to change what they do in order to get right with God. And surely you could forgive them for that, given that that is what it means in English. This is by no means the only word in the Bible that is grossly mistranslated, however it might be the most important one.
I know I don't have to convince you that repentance is important. We all know that, right? Over and over again the Scriptures state the importance of repentance. Our biggest problem is that over and over again we associate it with feeling bad and changing our actions to get right with God.
So, repentance is not about changing your actions, nor is it feeling bad about your sins. It is simply changing what you believe, changing your mind. Feeling bad about sin and changing the way you live are not bad things, but they are not the focus of Christian living, they are one fruit of Christian living.
The focus of Christian living is what we believe. What we believe shapes our whole lives.
Romans 12:2 states that we "are transformed by the renewal of our mind." This sums up repentance beautifully. As we focus on the renewal of our mind, we are transformed. As we believe what God says about us, we start to experience that reality.
We are not becoming saints or becoming righteous, we are saints and we are righteous. Our journey is merely a journey of discovery, as we discover who we are and choose to believe it, we start to walk in it.
If this concept of repentance is new to you and you're struggling to see where I'm coming from, I'd encourage you to watch this video on repentance over on my website: http://www.phildrysdale.com/work/true-repentance/
Grace=Peace,
Jeremy
Repent! by Phil Drysdale
For well over 1000 years now, many in the church have believed repentance is to cry, and wail, and convince God that we are sorry and will never act the same way again.
Let's have a look at the word repentance in the English dictionary*:
For well over 1000 years now, many in the church have believed repentance is to cry, and wail, and convince God that we are sorry and will never act the same way again.
Let's have a look at the word repentance in the English dictionary*:
1) remorse or contrition for one's past actions or sins
2) an act or the process of being repentant; penitence
2) an act or the process of being repentant; penitence
*Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition. HarperCollins Publishers.
This is quite interesting. There are two connotations here in the English language. The first suggests that we must feel deeply sorry and regret our past actions or sins. The second suggests that we must then do something about them to make some form of penance.
This lines up pretty well with what I was taught in the church growing up. However, there is much more to this topic than our English definition.
Let's look a little deeper at the word. Our English word repentance comes from the Latin word "repoenitēre" - from the root word "poenitēre" which means to feel regret.
The Latin translation of the Bible was written well over 1500 years ago. So the word repentance has primarily revolved around the concept of feeling bad about one's sins and doing something to make up for it for a very long time.
Let's go one step further and look at the word in the language of the original text. The Greek word which we translate as repentance is metanoia. This word comes from two root words, meta and nois.
The word meta means "to change". This is probably not surprising to you as we still use meta in a lot of our English language, think for example metamorphosis. The word nois simply means "mind". Nothing more, nothing less.
Once we see what these two words mean it should come as no surprise to us that the word metanoia means, "to change your mind".
This definition of repentance should probably concern you. It certainly concerns me! You see, when most people read the word "repent" in their Bible, their tendency is to associate it with feeling bad about their sin and wanting to change what they do in order to get right with God. And surely you could forgive them for that, given that that is what it means in English. This is by no means the only word in the Bible that is grossly mistranslated, however it might be the most important one.
I know I don't have to convince you that repentance is important. We all know that, right? Over and over again the Scriptures state the importance of repentance. Our biggest problem is that over and over again we associate it with feeling bad and changing our actions to get right with God.
So, repentance is not about changing your actions, nor is it feeling bad about your sins. It is simply changing what you believe, changing your mind. Feeling bad about sin and changing the way you live are not bad things, but they are not the focus of Christian living, they are one fruit of Christian living.
The focus of Christian living is what we believe. What we believe shapes our whole lives.
Romans 12:2 states that we "are transformed by the renewal of our mind." This sums up repentance beautifully. As we focus on the renewal of our mind, we are transformed. As we believe what God says about us, we start to experience that reality.
We are not becoming saints or becoming righteous, we are saints and we are righteous. Our journey is merely a journey of discovery, as we discover who we are and choose to believe it, we start to walk in it.
If this concept of repentance is new to you and you're struggling to see where I'm coming from, I'd encourage you to watch this video on repentance over on my website: http://www.phildrysdale.com/work/true-repentance/
The renewal of the mind is not a cool phrase for Christians to throw around. Rather the renewal of the mind is repentance. If you as a believer are looking for a way to mature and grow into who you are in Christ - this is it. Repentance is the process of discovering what God says is the truth and aligning your faith with His.
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