We just finished the section of the story of Joseph in which the brothers confessed their sins and were reconciled to Joseph. But for some, the story is missing a key ingredient: the brothers never said the "magic" word. If the absence of this word bothers us, then perhaps we do not understand true repentance. In this first of two parts on repentance, we look at three questions.
What is repentance? The Bible consistently uses the terms "turn" or return"–turning away from sin and returning to the Lord—changing our minds about who God is and who we are. Although there are many types of sins from which we must repent, the Bible consistently ties repentance to the sin of idolatry—a root of sin.
How do we repent? The Lord graciously leads us to repentance by his goodness, including material and relational blessings. The most significant expression of God's goodness, however, is that which leads us to repentance: the work of the Holy Spirit, convicting us of sin, opening our eyes, shedding light in our hearts that we might understand the Gospel. He places us in a position, by his grace, to obey his command to repent.
What are the characteristics of repentance? Heidelberg Catechism question 89 gives us the answer: "Heartfelt sorrow for sin; causing us to hate and turn from it always more and more." Sorrow is the first characteristic of repentance that Paul lists in 2 Corinthians 7:10-11, "For godly sorrow produces repentance…." If you do not weep and mourn for your sins, then you do not understand the gospel. But Paul warns us that there are two kinds of sorrow. One that is genuine and one that is counterfeit. We will examine godly and worldly sorrow in our next lesson.
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Kurt Snow serves as a ruling elder at Covenant Reformed Church of Sacramento (RCUS). He served as a member of the Board of Governors of City Seminary of Sacramento from 2000 to 2020.
