What does the Bible say about repentance?

from the old testament

• In the original languages of the Bible, the word "repent" paints a vivid picture that reveals its deeper meaning. In Hebrew, the word שׁוּב (shuv) means “to turn the other way,” especially in the sense of returning to the starting point (e.g., Ezekiel 18:30; Isaiah 55:7). Therefore, “repent” in Hebrew conveys turning away from sin and turning back to God, restoring the relationship to what it was in the beginning.
• In 2 Chronicles 7:14 God delineates what repentance looks like. First there has to be a humble attitude, an attitude that recognizes that God is holy, sovereign, and just, and that His ways are higher than mine (Isaiah 55:8–9). Humility is an agreement that I have failed to meet God's perfect standards. The next step God instructed for His people is to pray. In the act of praying to God, I turn my focus and attention away from myself and to God. Thirdly, I am to seek His face, to know God not only in His holiness, power, and glory, but also to know Him personally and intimately. Finally, after humbling myself, turning my attention to God, and encountering Him personally, God called me to turn from my wicked ways. Recognizing my own failures and limitations and experiencing God's power and love then enable me to walk away from my sin.
• In Ezekiel 18:30b–31a God called His people to "Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!" Knowing that as humans we are incapable of changing the sinful inclinations of our own hearts, God promised, "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules" (Ezekiel 36:26–27).
• King Solomon gave his people a model for repentance when the Ark of the Covenant was brought into the newly finished temple. In his prayer of dedication, he asked that when the people sinned against God and were carried away captive, "if they turn their heart … and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, 'We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly;' if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul … then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause and forgive your people" (1 Kings 8:47–50). Notice that the people were to "turn their heart" and their repentance was to be "with all their heart and with all their soul" (1 Kings 8:48). They were not just to turn but to turn to God and come to Him in prayer. Repentance is a whole-hearted humility that takes full responsibility for the ways in which we have sinned; repentance turns us toward God.
• David expressed this in his prayer of repentance in Psalm 51:3–5. Admitting this level of sin before a holy, perfect God can be intimidating, but Joel 2:12–13 assures us, "'Yet even now,' declares the LORD, 'return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.' Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster."
• God will respond to our repentance with love and grace, as seen in Ezekiel 18:32, "For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live." (See also 2 Peter 3:9).

from the new testament

• In Greek, the word μετανοέω (metanoeō) means “to think differently afterward, to reconsider and change one’s mind” (e.g., Matthew 3:2; Acts 3:19). In Greek, “repent” involves agreeing with God about the sinfulness of a past action or attitude and then living in a way that reflects this new understanding. In both languages, repentance is not merely feeling sorry; it is a decisive turning that affects both heart and behavior. It calls for a personal change that realigns our life with God’s will. Repentance restores fellowship with God and brings the believer into obedience and life that honors Him.
• God promised to put His own Spirit within us to empower us to walk in His ways (Romans 8:9–14, Galatians 5:22–25). If you have put your faith in Jesus, you have the indwelling Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13–14). Second Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."
• Paul wrote to the Romans that "God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance" (Romans 2:4). God is kind and merciful, eagerly awaiting our repentance so He can lavish upon us His love and grace.
• This call to repent and live is continued throughout the New Testament. John the Baptist, in preparing people for the arrival of the Messiah, Jesus, taught them "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2). Jesus, when He arrived on the scene, repeated this exact message (Matthew 4:17). During His earthly ministry, Jesus sent out His disciples who "went out and proclaimed that people should repent" (Mark 6:12). At the end of His earthly mission, after His resurrection, He told them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem" (Luke 24:46–47).
• When we repent, God has promised to forgive our sins (1 John 1:9), refresh us with His presence in the form of His empowering Holy Spirit, and give us the promise of Jesus' return to rule on earth.

implications for today

Forgiveness and healing are the result of repentance only because God "is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster" (Joel 2:13). God's mercy and justice have met at the cross of Jesus Christ. "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21). All who put their faith in Jesus are fully forgiven of their sin, adopted as children of God, and given the indwelling Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:3–14). We still struggle against sin and we still need to come to God in humility and repentance (1 John 1:8–10; Romans 7—8; Ephesians 4:17–32). When we do, He is faithful to cleanse us and to continue growing us up into maturity in Him (Philippians 2:12–13; Romans 8:28–30). Praise God for His forgiving character!