Repentance: A Word Study
The word “repentance” has a slightly tarnished reputation with many of those who call themselves believers. There are many reasons for this. I will briefly address two of them, and then propose an alternative that will encourage you to pursue repentance. Yes, it’s true – repentance is something we should pursue. The truth of the matter is one of those gems hidden in plain sight, waiting for each beloved child of God to discover it, in every generation until the Lord returns.
We’ve all met sincere brothers and sisters who are often more comfortable invoking the “it’s all under the blood” shibboleth rather than engaging in an honest appeal to the Lord to search and try their hearts. Defenders of this position might argue that such things are dead religious rituals that deny the power of the finished work of Christ on the cross. This position diminishes the joy of experiencing the fullness and depth of the Holy Spirit’s ongoing work of sanctification in the life of the believer. It compromises a vital lifeline to God, which leads to atrophy in the human soul and spirit and accusations of being part of “the frozen chosen.”
Conversely, throughout the centuries, some denominations and movements in the Body of Christ have constructed elaborate rules and rituals of repentance. Beads, candle lighting, confession booths, self denial through extreme fasting and physical punishment are but a few examples of this sincere but misguided belief. The result for many adherents has been a legacy of shame and humiliation. When the burden has become crippling, many have fallen away from the faith. Shame does not produce liberty and life, no matter how well intended the rituals.
Frozen in spiritual arrogance or crippled by shame – no wonder people cringe when they hear the dreaded “repentance” message. Who wants to serve a God who treats His people like that? That’s what the world says. But, what does scripture say? If we examine the Hebrew and Greek usage of this word, treasure
awaits – the kind that has eternal value.
According to Strong’s Concordance, repentance appears twenty-six times in scripture, once in the Old Testament and twenty-five times in the New.
The Hebrew reference number is 5164.
The Greek word used twenty-four times in the New is Testament 3341. Only one other time is a different Greek word used. That number is 278.
The first use is in Hosea 13:14. “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.” KJV. In this verse, God is speaking.
Starting with Strong’s 5164 for this verse, we find that the word in Hebrew means” ruefulness, i. e., desistance.” In looking at 5164 (Nacham), we learn that it comes from 5162. Here is the direct quote from some of the discussion in Strong’s for 5162. The text speaks for itself.
“A primary root; to sigh, i.e., breathe strongly; by implication to be sorry, i.e., (in a favorable sense) to pity, console or (reflexively) rue; or (unfavorably) to avenge (oneself).
Continuing on with 5162 (nacham – with an accent mark over the first ‘a’), Strong’s says: “Nacham is translated “to repent” 41 times and “to comfort” 57 times in the Old Testament. (1a) To repent means to make a strong turning to a new course of action. (1a1) The emphasis is on turning to a positive course of action, not (1a2) turning from a less desirable course. (1a3) Comfort is derived from “com” (with) and “fort” (strength). (1b) Hence, when one repents, he exerts strength to change, to re-grasp the situation, and exert effort for the situation to take a different course of purpose and action. (1c) The stress is not upon new
information or new facts which cause the change, as it is upon the visible action taken. (2) Most uses in the Old Testament are connected with God’s repentance . . . Gen 6:6, Ex. 32:14, Jer. 18:8, Jer. 18:10, Joel 2:13.”
While Strong emphasizes that repentance in the Old Testament is connected with God’s repentance, his points are worthy of consideration. An honest inquiry based on just this small study compels one to consider how Christianity drifted so far from the original intent of repentance. Sadly, repentance, as many people understand it, emphasizes turning from the lesser, which leads to endless acts of penance where the sinner “gives up” something. Without the Holy Spirit, our flesh will keep us locked in an endless cycle, never grasping the positive action. This leads to many frozen or crippled sheep. This is not what God desires for His people.
The following link is for a site that includes the secular definition as well as a reference to the conceptual uses of “repentance” in the Greek from the New Testament. The reference number in Strong’s is 3341. A fuller discussion of 3341 is available in a version of Strong’s that includes commentary from Vine’s.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/repentance
Text from the site:
Repentance
1. deep sorrow, compunction, or contrition for a past sin, wrongdoing, or the like. 2. regret for any past action.
Text from the site for Easton’s Biblical perspective: Repentance definition
There are three Greek words used in the New Testament to denote repentance. (1.) The verb _metamelomai_ is used of a change of mind, such as to produce regret or even remorse on account of sin, but not necessarily a change of heart. This word is used with reference to the repentance of Judas (Matt. 27:3). (2.) Metanoeo, meaning to change one’s mind and purpose, as the result of after
knowledge. This verb, with (3) the cognate noun _metanoia_, is used of true repentance, a change of mind and purpose and life, to which remission of sin is promised. Evangelical repentance consists of (1) a true sense of one’s own guilt and sinfulness; (2) an apprehension of God’s mercy in Christ; (3) an actual hatred of sin (Ps. 119:128; Job 42:5, 6; 2 Cor. 7:10) and turning from it to God; and (4) a persistent endeavour after a holy life in a walking with God in the way of his commandments. The true penitent is conscious of guilt (Ps. 51:4, 9), of pollution (51:5, 7, 10), and of helplessness (51:11; 109:21, 22). Thus he apprehends himself to be just what God has always seen him to be and declares him to be. But repentance comprehends not only such a sense of sin, but also an apprehension of mercy, without which there can be no true repentance (Ps. 51:1; 130:4).
Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary
It is apparent that the Hebrew emphasis on turning to the positive rather than turning from or dwelling on the negative is not part of the secular definition, nor does the New Testament definition draw such a clear emphasis as the usage in the Old Testament. This may explain, in part, why both branches of the Orthodox denominations, replete with the mixture introduced by Constantine, seem to have propagated the concept of penance rather than repentance in their rituals of confession and granting of forgiveness, which are important functions performed by priests.
Easton’s discussion ends with reference to mercy, without which there can be no repentance. Mercy is wonderful, especially when God gives it, but what happened to the emphasis of “turning to a positive course of action” with emphasis on visible action rather than “information or new facts which cause the change”? Metanoia in the Greek does capture the sense of positive momentum as “a change of mind and purpose and life, to which remission of sin is promised.”
Interestingly, the Hebrew concept of repentance emphasizes leaving the bad for good – solely for the sake of doing the better thing or being a better person; the Greek embodies a quid pro quo – make a change and the bad is forgiven. The Jewish traditions nourish tikkun olam, leaving the world a better place than when you found it; this includes doing a mitzvah, something good, when given the
opportunity. One does good because it is the good and right thing to do, no quid pro quo. Is that simply a cultural difference between Jews and Gentiles? This is not to say that one religious tradition is better than another is however there is an opportunity for contemplation about the distinction.
Consider the various repentance movements. Where is the emphasis? When the meeting is over, what is on the hearts of the people as they leave? Have they been moved to return to their lives to exert “strength to change, to re-grasp the situation, and exert effort for the situation to take a different course of purpose and action” as the Hebrew definition directs, or do they merely feel contrite and regretful as they clutch their handouts with check lists of new things to do?
Something needs to change in the church’s attempts to effect change through large-scale calls for repentance. I don’t have a bullet list of answers, but I do know this one thing: change starts with one heart at a time. The Bible tells us the Lord is the one who searches the human heart. David said: “Search me, O God, and know my heart,” Psalm 139: 23. That might be a good place to start – with a group of people whose hearts have been searched and touched by God. No massive crowds, not a web site with millions of hits – not unless their hearts have been prepared. Otherwise, the result will be an even larger army of the frozen or crippled.
