Repentance
In my study of repentance in the word of God I find there are 3 definitions that make ALL the times the word is used, to make sense. Context will always determine the definition. Like many words in our bible, the word repent has more than one meaning, as I will show you in the following. This is how I see it.
To repent means:
1. To change one's mind
Mark 1:15 KJV And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Matt 21:29 KJV He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
From not believing to believing is a changed mind, repentance.
2. To be grieved
Gen 6:6 KJV And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
2Cor 7:9 KJV Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
Another use of the word repent is to grieve or have sorrow.
3. A change of action (not necessarily sin)
Jonah 3:9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
Ezek 14:6 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.
Rev 16:11 KJV And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
If someone repents (just changes his mind), but then continues in the action he repented of, did he really repent? People imply that repentance is from sin or evil only. This is not always the case. When God repented, it wasn't from sin and it wasn't always just a changed mind. It didn't stop there, He took action or refrained from action He was going to take before He repented of His deed.
True repentance many times had proper action to confirm the change in mind. I see this in Israel's program or doctrine of repentance. This is why Paul never speaks about repentance in his epistles with regards to how to get saved and be in Heaven, And that is why repentance is not required to be saved today. Only believe the gospel of the cross and put our trust in that alone. If you want to call just going from not believing the gospel to believing it, repentance, I have no problem with that. That is not a work.
Jer 18:8 If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.
Jer 26:3 If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.
Ezek 14:6 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.
Ezek 18:30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
Jonah 3:9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
Acts 26:20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
While to repent may mean for some, just a change in mind, the above verses tell us it always seemed to be accompanied by some change of action, otherwise no mind/heart change has taken place. At least under Israel's program. And that it is not always related to sin, seeing God repented.
The verse used in II Cor 7 is talking to believers to repent and change their ways. Even Paul said he repented in vs 8. It had nothing to do with getting saved. Vs 9 is equivalent to "work out your own salvation" not to get saved, but live holy. If repentance is necessary for us to be saved, (changing our mind or changing our actions or both) I believe Paul would have made that very clear in his salvation message throughout his 13 epistles. But he did not.
Paul not once mentions repentance as a requirement for salvation. The problem, I believe is that people say repentance is needed for salvation, when it is not. Because repentance does seem to require a work to prove it's true repentance. And it is clear we are not saved by works of any kind. When you look at all the verses dealing with repentance you will see almost always, an action is involved. This is not part of our gospel. The gospel of the grace of God is simple. Hear, believe and trust the death, burial and resurrection and faith in His blood, this is what saves us today. Eph 1:13, I Cor 15:1-4
Paul only speaks a very few times about repentance, and that is when he is dealing with sanctification - our walk after we are saved, not our justification - how to get saved. Scripture seems clear, if action/work is not done then repentance was not real. If someone, repents and does nothing to show his change of mind, does he really repent - did he change his mind? I would say no. That is why the work of repentance is not part of the grace gospel for us today, because we are saved by grace through faith and not of works of any kind. I think the following verse makes it clear that by one of the definitions I listed above, that with true repentance, works follow a true changed mind.
Acts 26:20 KJV But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
CONCLUSION:
Israel's way of repenting was to turn from the evil they were doing or to change their mind and believe the gospel of the kingdom. Either way, it would seem to be to repent for Israel was to get saved, to be right with God or to receive God's blessings.
For us, the body of Christ, our repentance only comes after we are saved to change our mind, to be sorry or to change our actions, in our walk with Christ, our sanctification. We are already blessed with all spiritual blessings and being in Christ we already have God's favor, and are right with God by being in Christ the moment we are saved. Finally, our salvation is based on our faith and trust in Christ's DBR, not turning from evil or changing our mind.
Someone put it something like this:
Biblical meaning of repent is both mental and behavior. The present day meaning of repentance is behavioral (work oriented). But biblically we must mentally repent (change our mind) in order to see a need for a savior to be saved. After that, I think behavioral repentance takes place in our walk in Christ. Keeping in mind, Israel needed both to be right with God, we do not.
Study it for yourself. Read every verse that mentions the word repent, and decide for yourself.