Repentance is the changing of of ones's thinking, beliefs, and practices to the degree that ones's thinking, beliefs, and practices correspond with God's thinking, beliefs, and practices. We know what God thinks, believes, and practices by the revelation of His inspired Word. Therefore, true repentance does not exist apart from a turning to the Word of God with the intention of knowing and doing the will of God that is revealed in the Word of God. This is also a simple definition of genuine faith. Repentance is an integral part of genuine faith. Faith and repentance are not the same things, but genuine faith cannot be accurately defined apart from genuine repentance. Like the word believe, the command to repent is a verb. That means it is a word that describes an action. Repentance is one of the actions that define the words faith and believe.
Perhaps the best word that describes the ongoing action and attitude of repentance is the word separation. The repentant believer separates from sin, from worldliness, from theological error (false teaching and false teachers), and from any co-operation with others, even if they profess to be Christians, who fail the tests of correct doctrine and correct practice. The simple principle is that a person cannot be separated if he is not separated from those who fail to practice Biblical repentance or who holds to false doctrine. |
