In 2 Timothy 2: 25b - 26 Paul goes on to state the second part of repentance in that it is a change of mind. In this verse he says, “… leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.” It should be obvious from the near context of verse twenty five that what Paul is describing is the result of God granting repentance. What has immediately preceded one’s coming to their senses is the acquisition of the knowledge of the truth as a direct result of the act of repentance. Simply put, as one is gifted by God with repentance the activity of this gift brings about a complete and total change of behavior based on an amended way of thinking and philosophical outlook. Repentance is not simply just the cessation of immoral or bad things. Rather, it is the complete renewal of one’s thought and belief process that is demonstrated in outward behavior. What drives this is the knowledge of the truth; the truth about one’s sinful condition, the truth about God’s righteous judgment on sinful rebellion and the truth about Christ’s work of salvation imputed to the one who believes. All these are part of the knowledge of the truth that is the necessary result of repentance but also leads one to come to their senses. The Greek word here translated “senses” is (ἀνανήψωσιν) which is a compound word meaning to be sober, specifically balanced, again. What is in play with this particular word is that one regains a sense of being in control and not out of balance in their thought processes. Obviously sin has affected these thought processes and caused the person to be out of control and unbalanced. The knowledge of the truth brought about by the enlightenment of regeneration clarifies one’s true state of spiritual “drunkenness;” that is delusion and incoherence leading to deception, at which point the sinner regains his balance by sober and right thinking. In this way, a complete change of mind, attitude and philosophy ensues and is necessarily part of genuine biblical repentance.
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