What is Real Repentance?

“Then if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, if they will pray and seek me and stop their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven. I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land.” – 2 Chronicles 7:14

Have you been truly sorry for something you have done? Maybe you have done the same thing over and over again or even more times than you would like to admit. Most likely we will continue to do the same sinful things. If or when we do, God wants us to go to Him and ask Him for forgiveness. This is part of the repentance process. By no means will it be easy since pride, self-denial and sin can affect our ability to see the wrong we do. It has been a struggle for humans since the fall of the first humans in Genesis 3.

God is gracious and is willing to forgive and forget our sins (1 John 1:9). Second Chronicles 7:14 describes what real repentance looks like for us. If we go to God in prayer and humility, ask Him for forgiveness and stop living a sinful lifestyle or doing what the Bible says is wrong, He will hear our prayers and forget what we have done. When we do these steps, He will start working to heal and change our lives. He will begin by changing our old ways of thinking and living so we can live in accordance with His holy character and to be more like Jesus.

Real repentance also involves confessing Jesus as Lord and Savior. It was God’s idea to send Jesus to save the world from sin since God does not want anyone to perish but come to repentance (John 3:16). He had to send Jesus to save sinners because we could not do it alone or save ourselves. Therefore, anyone who does not confess Jesus as their Savior will suffer the consequences of their sins. The consequence of sin is death (Romans 6:23). The Bible states that when a person dies without being repentant, their punishment will be eternal separation from God (Hebrews 9:27-29).

Prayer of the day:

Dear heavenly Father,

Please help us to turn to You for repentance. Repentance is hard without You. It takes Your power for us to be truly sorry for sin. Sin can control our hearts and our lives. That is why we need Your help. Thank you for allowing us to follow You and be Your people. All honor and glory belong to You. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!