More often than not, many believers have a difficult time defining exactly what repentance or forgiveness is. Perhaps this is due to the fact that most have never truly repented from sin or forgiven others of their trespasses. If you were to ask the average believer to define the word repent, you might hear that to repent means to be truly sorry for committing a sin, or as any dictionaries state, “to have a change of mind (heart); however, very few believers, if any, are taught to recognize why they should be sorrowful and have a change of mind. Sin is not only the transgression (breaking) of the law of God – I John 3: 4, but our sins have separated us from God; there-fore, we should repent from trespassing against his commandments – Isaiah 59: 2.While most people that come to Christ have a desire to repent, they are unaware of the steps that are needed to repent. In order to fully repent, you must first come into the complete knowledge of Christ. For example, going from being an atheist to a believer is a start. We can repent from ever denying the Son because we now understand not only is it wrong, but there is no chance of eternal life without accepting the son. Accepting Christ but not accepting all of the teach-ings of Christ( Apostles doctrine) will still cause you to be in sin.
“For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”-2 Corinthians 7:10
What, then, is re-pentance? And is repentance neces-sary for salvation? Below, the Bible points out that there is a difference be-tween “godly sor-row,” and “the sorrow of the world.” In so doing, it suggests that the sorrow of the world is not true repentance, for it is often based upon the embarrassment of being caught in a wrongful act, but godly sor-row, worketh repentance being based upon the knowledge that the wages (payment) for it is death, the true believer stops the practice of sin. Anyone who expects to be forgiven for their transgressions against God or man, must, at the very least, be willing to forgive those who transgress against them. Too often, believers have convinced them-selves that they will re-ceive the blessings of promise from God de-spite their failure to re-pent from their sins against God, but they are sadly mistaken, for believers have been ad-monished to “forgive the trespasses of those that have wronged them, if we expect our trespasses to be forgiven by God.
STEPS TOWARDS REPENTANCE
1. Forgive those that have wronged you.
14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespass-es, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14-15
2. Learn of his true ways.
There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. –Proverbs 16:25
3. Repent & be baptized in his only sacred name.
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Yasha’ Mashiykah (Jesus Christ) for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. –Acts 2:38 (also see Acts 4:12)
4. Continue in the true Apostle’s doctrine.
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowsh