Over the last deade or so, there has been a lot of confusion regarding repentance. One popular teaching, especially among those who seem to think that repentance is nothing more than the confession of sin, is that, since Christ bore the cross for the forgiveness of all sin, a believer no longer needs to repent after their initial salvation. They cling to the greek word "metanoa" which is defined as "to change one's mind".
However, Christianity was birthed out of Judaism not Greek philosophy. The Hebrew word for repentance is "shub" (pronounced SHOOV) which means "to turn away from" and / or "to return to" both requiring a literal change in direction. To sum it up, repentance means turning from one thing (sin) by turning to another (God).
Repentance is not something a believer does once. Rather, it is something a believer should do every day of his or her life. It is a lifestyle of turning away from sin & self by turning to God. It implies both intimacy with God and complete reliance on God on a daily basis, resulting in victory over sin & self. Both acknowledging one's sinfulness and confessing one's sin is but the first step on the path which leads to Godliness.
For more information regarding this lifestyle of repentance, please turn to Matthew, chapters 5 - 7, where Jesus Himself goes into detail in what is now ccommonly referred to as His "Sermon on the Mount".
However, Christianity was birthed out of Judaism not Greek philosophy. The Hebrew word for repentance is "shub" (pronounced SHOOV) which means "to turn away from" and / or "to return to" both requiring a literal change in direction. To sum it up, repentance means turning from one thing (sin) by turning to another (God).
Repentance is not something a believer does once. Rather, it is something a believer should do every day of his or her life. It is a lifestyle of turning away from sin & self by turning to God. It implies both intimacy with God and complete reliance on God on a daily basis, resulting in victory over sin & self. Both acknowledging one's sinfulness and confessing one's sin is but the first step on the path which leads to Godliness.
For more information regarding this lifestyle of repentance, please turn to Matthew, chapters 5 - 7, where Jesus Himself goes into detail in what is now ccommonly referred to as His "Sermon on the Mount".