I know that thou canst do every thing,
and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
Who is he that hideth counsel
without knowledge?
therefore have I uttered that I understood not;
things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak:
I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear:
but now mine eye seeth thee.
Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent
in dust and ashes (Job 42:1-6)
Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye. (Ezek 18:30-32)
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. (Matt 3:1-3)
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent:for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matt 4:17)
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:38)
And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. (Acts 17:30-31)
Repentance is a cardinal doctrine in the Bible. (Heb 6:1) For both John the Baptist and Jesus it was their first message. The goodness of God leads men to repentance (Rom 2:4), Godly sorrow leads men to repentance (2Cor 7:10), and God desires all to come to repentance (2Pet 3:9). In repentance, one turns from the wrong way, renounces it, and cleaves to the right way. One acknowledges failure and gives it up to receive from God the righteousness of Jesus.
God the Father is calling men to come to receive new life in Jesus, they can be baptized for the remission of sins and made a new creation by a miracle. (2Cor 5:17) It is in Jesus that all receive newness of life.
A penitent heart does not require sin, it requires an acknowledgement of God as supreme and his mercy as perfect. It recognizes that only in Jesus is there life forever. Only because of God's mercy were we not all destroyed (Lam 3:22), and only because of that mercy can we stand before him at all. Job saw this clearly, and though he had spoken right he saw that his right was nothing compared to the glory of God which he now saw.
How much more should we repent for any sin, for any evil spoken! Recognize that only God can see and correct that which is wrong and correction is a blessing for the believer. (Heb 12:7). As David cried out, Search me Oh God. (Ps 139:23) A Penitent life is one not of self examination, but of submission to God's examination. The Holy Spirit, the word of God and the gifts of God to his church all speak forth that which is right, calling men to right living.
Repentance acknowledges that all righteousness is from God; It is God who makes righteous, not man who earns righteousness. (Ezek 33:13; Rom 10:3)
We can live, in the new life we have been given by the Father, in Christ Jesus, sealed by the Holy Ghost; completely submitted to the fulness of all that God has freely given to those who will believe. A Penitent heart is essential, therefore, Repent.
