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Matthew 3:1-8, Mark 1:15
By J.D. Griffith

The Lord’s Prayer has a phrase, "Forgive us our debts" (or trespasses). We all know that we sin, and are separated from God because only He is Holy. Jesus died to take all our sins with Him in death so that we could be forgiven. Many children don’t truly get what a tremendous gift this is.

Mark tells us in the Bible that the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel. Repenting is a rational decision that we make when we follow Jesus. This is necessary for God the Father to forgive us daily. It does not have to be an emotional wailing of our failings. (Although sometimes it can be emotional when stricken by our conscience after doing something wrong.)

Many people agree that repenting is the right thing to do. Often they do not understand that this also means they are not to repeat the sin. Some are so nonchalant to what it means to repent that they think they can repeat the same sin again, over and over. "I’ll repent and be forgiven, so what’s the big deal?" they’ll say.

The big deal is that true repentance is not like a "Get out of jail free card". When someone repeatedly continues in the sin, that is a conscious decision. And the sin is intentional. The original Greek word for repentance is metanoeo. This compound word comes from the word nous meaning "mind" and meta, which means "change". To repent means to literally change your mind.

Some believers repent by confessing their sin, then wallow in their guilt as a type of penance. This is not Biblical, nor is it honoring Jesus’ death on the cross. Repentance is a willful decision to act by changing one’s mind. This dramatic turnaround is not emotional. It is deliberate. And this glorifies our Father by honoring His Son when Jesus died for our sins.

The next time you witness someone in the act of repenting, and that person seems to look sorrowful or remorseful, don’t believe it’s a true repentance. Take a second glance at that person’s life. You should see a difference in that person’s action, attitude or habits. Instead of trusting emotions, trust evidence of a changed life.

While we’re checking other’s changed lives, let’s make sure our lives change after repenting of our own sins.