The word repent means to:

• think differently afterwards (regret)

• to reconsider. 

• To be sorry.

• To turn back to the starting point.

So to repent is to feel sorry, critical of yourself, or regretful for past conduct. A person who repents has regret or is conscience-stricken about a past action, attitude, etc. 

We need to repent 

The best thing a believer can do is to turn away from sin and turn to God. Repentance is a way of doing that. It means saying sorry for past sins and resolving to overcome them in the future before they take hold. 

The Bible says we must repent.

When you wash dirty hands, the results are immediately visible. But repentance happens inside with a cleansing that isn’t seen right away. So John used a symbolic action that people could see: baptism. Baptism was used as a sign of repentance and forgiveness. Repent means “to turn” which implies a change in behaviour. It is turning from sin toward God. A changed life with new and different behaviour makes your repentance real and visible. After baptism you must continue to repent and seek God. 

To survive sin we must continually repent of our sins. 

What are the benefits of repentance 

There are three main rewards from the decision to repent: 

Reward 1:  A clear conscience and freedom from guilt 

When Adam and Eve sinned they tried to hide from God because of their guilt. 

After sinning, Adam and Eve felt guilt. Their guilty feelings made them to try and hide from God. A guilty conscience is a warning signal God placed inside you that goes off when you’ve done wrong. The worst step you could take is to eliminate the guilty feelings without eliminating the cause. That would be like using a painkiller but not treating the disease! Those guilty feelings make you aware of your sin.

If you repent and ask God’s forgiveness then everything will be forgiven by God – he will not bring it mind. You have a clean slate and are starting afresh – the burden of sin and guilt is gone forever.

However, don’t forget to correct your wrongdoing so you don’t do it again! 

Reward 2:  Being more like God 

When we repent it brings a positive change in us.

Repentance involves rejecting sin and this is something which will make you different from those around you. They will notice you. Standing out from the crowd is a great way for believers to witness to people without God in their lives. By being godly, you show others around you what God is like. 

Changing the way you behave can be difficult but is worth it. You will replace sin with positive bahaviour such as generosity, love, peace and patience. 

Reward 3:  Eternal life and the opportunity to worship God forever. 

The scriptures say that it is worth giving up everything to receive the gift of eternal life, so it must be unimaginably great! However, you will only get this gift if you repent.

So in summary, God has made a offer:

If we repent and reject sin, are baptised, we will receive the promise of eternal life. 

Habitual sins 

Sometimes we have sins which keep on reoccurring despite our best attempts to stop them. An example might be anger and a temper. The solution would be to first pray to God and then seek support from your family, friends and fellow believers. They will give you encouragement to overcome this problem. 

Intentional sinning 

Some people do something wrong knowing that it is a sin. By deliberately sinning, you’re showing that you don’t love God and you don’t care. This must be very hurtful to God. Even deliberate sin can be forgiven – but you must change. If you don’t then at some point judgment will be given against you. 

In the time of Noah, he preached but no one repented and turned from their sins. It reached a point in time where God instructed the door of the ark to be closed and the unrepentant were destroyed. 

We need to repent now and not wait until a time when it may be too late.