Repeatedly, the New Testament calls us to repent. This theme is first communicated by John the Baptist, followed by Christ in the gospels. Later, Peter in Acts and Paul in the Epistles tackle the subject. Finally, Apostle John caps off the teaching on repentance in Revelations. What I find odd is that Revelations is the only New Testament book that refers to repentance as a cleanup act from bad behavior. Dig into it on your own with a concordance and you’ll find that that every other New Testament reference just tells us to repent – just do it – assuming we know what “it” is. Check out the Revelation passages:
Rev 2:21 And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent.
Rev 2:22 Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds.
Rev 9:20 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands,
Rev 9:21 And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
Rev 16:11 They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and did not repent of their deeds.
I bring this up because the original Greek usage of repentance is tied to the Greek word “metanoeo”. This word is a compound word of “meta” (which literally means ‘after thought’ or ‘re-thinking’) and “noeo” (which means to exercise the mind, to comprehend, to understand). Put together, metanoeo means a complete change of mind from one thing to another in which two positions are mutually exclusive. It is a total reversal from one’s previous beliefs.
QUESTIONS SCRIBBLED ON MY HEART’S WALL
1. Traditionally we think of repentance as getting our act cleaned up – a behavioral turning from bad disgusting behavior. But the original sense of repentance had little to do with behavior and had everything to do with the inner cognitive dimension of humanity. What might this suggest about the relevance of current mainstream preaching when it comes to repentance?
2. Let’s say that repentance has to do with the cognitive (thinking) dimension of our lives. If true, this helps me to understand Paul’s teaching in Romans 12:1-2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Paul said to be “transformed” where? How? Answer: “by the renewing of your mind”. This is a cognitive, thinking, gray-matter thing. It’s all about my attitudes, my beliefs, my thinking, and my emotions – all powerful elements that impact and influence my behavior. In fact, Paul discourages us from being “conformed” to the world. Of course this means to not play follow the leader in a world of corruption, but I think it also means to not simply play follow the leader in the world of religion and piety. Conforming is when a square peg decides to reshape itself on the outside to become a round peg so that it will fit through a round hole, but inside it is still a square peg – and eventually it will evolve back into the shape of a square peg. If repentance is merely conforming, the repenter and everyone around him will forever be frustrated. But if repentance is a transformation that begins deep inside the mind, heart and soul, then Paul says that this sort of repentance will prove out that which is good and acceptable and perfect when it comes to the will of God. Jesus put it this way "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.” (Matt 23:25-26)
3. All this considered, then why did the Apostle John in Revelations link repentance so strongly to behavior? He uses the same Greek word as Jesus, Peter and Paul use in the New Testament, but the sense is different in that he is the only one who forecasted destruction to those who did not “repent of their deeds”. So what gives? Is John in contradiction with others in the Bible? Let’s not rush judgment here. Consider that Revelations is the last book of the Bible. It talks about last things. Genuine repentance, albeit it starts inside the cup must eventually in the end progressively play itself out toward the outside of the cup. John’s focus is on last things and the end game. Even Christ repeatedly spoke about the end game when he taught about the fruit of repentance and forecasted trouble when such fruit did not, in the end, bear out (Luke 13:9).
4. This brings us to the hard questions of self-reflection. Answer them for yourself. If I have resorted to repentance being a “clean-up” act, to what degree am I allowing that change to really take root in my mind, so that the new “round peg” stays a “round peg”? What areas has my spiritual journey merely been an act of outward conforming, an act that is still resisted inwardly and in conflict with mind? What areas have I found real liberty in as change was initiated deep within and eventually worked its way outward in how I have related to the world around me? Finally, what areas have I copped out spiritually by convincing myself that a change has happened inwardly but by compromising outwardly with the suggestion that outward change really isn’t necessary. What areas does the outward need to be reconciled with the inward, and the inward reconciled with the outward –as the whole of being human, inward and outwardly, is being reconciled daily with the Savior.
