“I’m (truly) sorry”
But how can you know for sure? Is it a genuine apology? This is a heavy topic, and my heart aches for the relational brokenness you may be walking in today.
For the next few weeks, this mini-series will address the following questions:
Does something as deeply internal as repentance have noticeable external characteristics?
If so, what demonstrates true repentance in my own life and in others’ lives?
First, it’s necessary to lay a foundation by defining two Greek terms that go together like fraternal twins; they’re not identical, but they are meant to arrive one after the next as a package deal:
*Confession: (Homologeo) “to say the same thing; to agree with; not to deny, not to refuse”
When we confess sin, we uncover it. We align ourselves with God’s definition of the sin, as understood from His Word, and we agree with His viewpoint on it.
*Repentance: (Metanoeo) “to change one’s mind; to think differently afterwards; heartily to amend with abhorrence for one’s past sins”
When we repent of sin, we do a 180 degree pivot, no longer justifying the sin as we once did, or shifting the blame like we had before. We abhor the sin to the point of making amends to the offended party, changing our actions as a result of a changed mind.
Confession and repentance in the New Testament build on Old Testament concepts. For example:
“People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.” Proverbs 28:13
“[They] must confess the sin they have committed. They must make full restitution for the wrong they have done, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the person they have wronged.” Numbers 5:7
The dual response of confession and repentance become visible in a life, and next week we’ll see what genuine repentance looks like in the Gospels.
*from Thayer’s Greek Lexicon
