Lessons #55 and 56
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New American Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ HCSB = Holman Christian Standard Bible +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
+ 4. Text is based on 1984 edition of the NIV +
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Inevitability of God’s judgment (Rom 2:3-6)
3 So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 God “will give to each person according to what he has done.”
The section that we are considering concerns Apostle Paul’s discourse on judgment for hypocrisy, stubbornness, and lack of repentance. Consequently, the message of this section as we stated in our previous study is You can avoid God’s judgment by not being a hypocrite and by embracing His goodness through repentance. This message, we stated, will be expounded by examining three points the apostle intended to convey to believers from this passage. The first point that we have examined is that God’s judgment is inescapable by a hypocrite. The second point is that God’s goodness provides a way out of His judgment through repentance. Our use of the word “goodness” is primarily due to the second rhetorical question do you show contempt for the riches of…? We indicated that the word “riches” is translated from a Greek word (ploutos) that means “wealth,” that is, “abundance of something.” We argued that when the apostle used the Greek word that he realized that it needed to be explained. His explanation of the word is that it consists of two or three attributes of God that are really part of His goodness. The first the apostle listed is “kindness” with which we ended our last study. So, we proceed to consider the rest of the attributes of God the apostle gave in our passage as what hypocrites despised or looked down on.
The second attribute of what constitutes God’s wealth or goodness as He deals with us is given in the word of Romans 2:4 tolerance/forbearance. The word “tolerance/forbearance” is translated from a Greek word (anochē) that outside the NT Greek meant “a holding back, delaying” but in the NT in its two occurrences, in our passage and in Romans 3:25, the word means “self-restrain, forbearance, tolerance.” It is “a good-nature tolerance that delays enforcing rights or claims or privileges.” The hypocrites that Apostle Paul focused on despised or looked down on this “good-nature tolerance” of God that delays His punishment.
We have used the phrase “two or three attributes of God” that describe what constitutes God’s goodness in the passage we are considering. We do so because of the next attribute of what constitutes God’s wealth or goodness as He deals with us is given in the word of Romans 2:4 patience. The word “patience” is translated from a Greek word (makrothymia) with the basic meaning of “patience.” However, there are two nuances to this meaning of patience. It can refer to a state of remaining calm while waiting an outcome of something so that it means “steadfastness, endurance.” It is in this sense of “patience” that our Greek word is used to describe those who in the past inherited what God promised as stated in Hebrews 6:12:
We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
Another nuance of “patience” is a state of emotional calm or self-control in the face of provocation or misfortune and without complaint or irritation. It is in this sense that the word is used by the Apostle Paul to encourage Timothy and so all pastors in their function that involves teaching the word and so rebuke believers, as we read in 2 Timothy 4:2:
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
In our passage of Romans 2:4, the word means “patience” in the sense of being “in a state of being able to bear up under provocation.”
The issue that leads to our use of the phrase “two or more attributes of God” depends on how one understands the Greek word translated “patience” in relationship to the one translated “tolerance/forbearance.” If a person understands the Greek word translated “patience” as being identical to the one translated “tolerance/forbearance” then we have only two attributes of God in the passage, we are considering. However, if a person interprets the two Greek words as not being related, we have three attributes of God. It seems to me that the apostle mentioned only two attributes of God in the passage we are studying. He described God’s delaying of judgment with the Greek word that is translated “tolerance/forbearance”, but he added or emphasized the concept or further explained the first Greek word by using the second Greek word translated “patience.” When the apostle spoke of God’s delayed judgment as it pertains to our sins, he used our first Greek word although it is translated “forbearance” in Romans 3:25:
God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—
The phrase his forbearance conveys the same concept in this passage if the word “patience”, that is, the second Greek word is used, leading to the phrase his patience. In fact, this sense of “patience” is conveyed in such English versions as the CEV, the NCV, and the TEV. That aside, when the apostle wrote of delayed judgment of God as he discoursed the doctrine of election, he used the second Greek word in Romans 9:22:
What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction?
Apostle Peter wrote of God’s delayed judgment of the flood using the second Greek word that means “patience” in 1 Peter 3:20:
who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,
The clause when God waited patiently in the days of Noah is more literally when the patience of God waited in the days of Noah.
Later, Apostle Peter implied that God’s delayed judgment is intended to lead the elect to salvation using the second Greek word as we may gather from 2 Peter 3:15:
Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.
Hence, there is no perceptible difference in the two Greek words Apostle Paul used to describe God’s attribute in Romans 2:4. It is probably that the apostle used the second Greek word to emphasize or explain the first since it is the second word that He used in other of his epistles in connection with God. He used the word translated “patience” to describe an aspect of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
The 2011 edition of the NIV used the word “forbearance” instead of “patience.” By the way, in this passage of Galatians 5:22, we should note that the apostle used the two words “kindness” and "patience” together as in Romans 2:4. This notwithstanding, the apostle used the second Greek word to describe the patience of the Lord Jesus Christ shown to him prior to his salvation as stated in 1 Timothy 1:16:
But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.
Anyway, we contend that there is no perceptible difference between the Greek word translated “tolerance/forbearance” and the Greek word translated “patience” in Romans 2:4. It is also worth noting that even the English dictionaries do not clearly differentiate the word “forbearance” and “patience.” For example, the Concise Oxford English dictionary defined the word “forbearance” with the word “patience” since the dictionary under “forbearance” defines it as “patient self-control.” The point is that the second attribute of God that is part of His goodness that is mentioned in our passage of study is His patience or forbearance.
All the same, Apostle Paul was certainly concerned to provide the purpose of God’s goodness towards the hypocrites he had in mind. This purpose, the apostle said, is so that they would repent. It is this that is given in the last clause of Romans 2:4 not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance? The 2011 edition of the NIV adds the verbal phrase is intended that is not in the Greek, but it is added probably for clarity.
The clause not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance is subject to at least three possible interpretations in relationship to the action of despising or looking down on God’s goodness since the Greek involves a participle. The clause may be saying to hypocrites that they despise God’s goodness when they are uninformed about its purpose or by not being informed about its purpose or because they remain uninformed about the purpose of God’s goodness towards them. It is difficult to be certain which of these three interpretations the apostle meant. Perhaps all three interpretations are necessary to convey what the apostle meant to convey in the clause we are considering.
We use the word “uniformed” because the expression “not realizing” is translated from a Greek word (agnoeō) that may mean “to fail to understand”, that is, “not to understand” as it is used to describe the inability of the disciples to comprehend what the Lord Jesus said about His betrayal into the hands of men as, we read in Luke 9:45:
But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.
It is a word Apostle Paul used several times to communicate information or doctrine that believers should be aware of. He used it to convey to the Corinthians of his desire to dispel any ignorance regarding spiritual gifts as we read in 1 Corinthians 12:1:
Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.
He used the word with the meaning “to be uninformed” to convey to the Corinthians that he did not want them to be ignorant of his and his team’s suffering in the province of Asia as he asserted in 2 Corinthians 1:8:
We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.
The apostle used the word with the meaning “to be unaware” to assert that he and others were not ignorant of the designs or schemes of Satan in 2 Corinthians 2:11:
in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
He used the word to communicate to the Thessalonians about the fate of believers who died so that they should not grieve like others, presumably unbelievers, as stated in 1 Thessalonians 4:13:
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.
In our passage of Romans 2:4, the word has the sense of “to be uninformed about” or “to be uncomprehending,” that is, “to be or become lacking the capacity to rationally understand.” So, it is probably the hypocrites that are in view because they are uninformed of the purpose of God’s goodness to them that it can be said whenever they remain uninformed about God’s goodness, they are indeed despising or looking down on His goodness.
The thing the hypocrites in view remained uniformed about is the purpose of God’s goodness to them given in the clause of Romans 2:4 God’s kindness leads you toward repentance. The word “kindness” is translated from a different Greek word that is translated “kindness” in the first part of verse 4 in the phrase the riches of his kindness. The second use of the word “kindness” is translated from a Greek word (chrēstos) that is related to the first. The word may mean “easy” as it pertains to that which causes no difficulty. It is this meaning of our Greek word that is used to describe the yoke the Lord Jesus mentioned in Matthew 11:30:
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Yoke here is a symbol for submission so that Jesus is saying that to submit to Him is easy. Of course, some interpret yoke as a reference to Jesus’ interpretation of the law which implies that His interpretation of it is easier than that of the teachers of the law. Another meaning of our Greek word is “fine” in the sense of that which meets a relatively high standard of value as it is used in Jesus’ saying in Luke 5:39:
And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’”
The sentence the old is better is literally the old is just fine! Another meaning of our Greek word concerns being morally good and benevolent. Still another meaning associated with being morally good and benevolent is “kind, loving”, as it is used to describe God’s attitude toward the wicked in Luke 6:35:
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
In our passage of Romans 2:4, the word means “kindness,” that is, the quality of doing good” or “the quality of being warmhearted, considerate, humane, gentle, and sympathetic.”
This kindness is associated with God, and it has a purpose or an intended result of bringing the hypocrite to repentance as in the sentence of Romans 2:4 God’s kindness leads you toward repentance. The word “leads” is translated from a Greek word (agō) that may mean “to lead” in the sense of “to bring along” as it is used for Lord Jesus bringing believers in heaven with Him in His second coming as stated in 1 Thessalonians 4:14:
We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
The word may mean “to lead” in the sense of to guide as it is used of the Holy Spirit guiding the believer as Apostle Paul used it to state that believers who are guided, that is, under the control of the Holy Spirit are not under the law as stated in Galatians 5:18:
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
In our passage of Romans 2:4, the word has the sense of “to direct towards something” that in our passage is described with word “repentance” as in the sentence God’s kindness leads you toward repentance. The word “repentance” is an important word that we need to review completely, with some additional information, what we studied in the past (over 17 years ago) about the subject of repentance because of the problem it poses for believers and for those who preach or teach the word of God.
Repentance
The preaching of repentance seems to have fallen into disfavor at the present time. By this we mean that there seems to be very little preaching of repentance today probably because of attempts to make the gospel very attractive to the modern person. You see, the modern person does not like the negative, so it seems that some of those who preach or witness about Jesus Christ do not like the idea of speaking of repentance because they are uncomfortable with the concept of sin. Another reason the preaching of repentance is neglected in some Christian quarters is probably due to a lack of understanding of the subject. Still, there is perhaps another reason the preaching of repentance seems to be out of favor with many. It is because of failure to understand that repentance and faith are inseparably united in the matter of salvation. Therefore, many, because of the passages that focus on faith with respect to salvation, ignore the concept of repentance. One such passage that probably causes this kind of imbalance is John 20:31:
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
On a surface reading of this passage, it may appear that it has nothing to do with repentance because the word “repent” is absent, but it really does. For you see, before a person can believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God there has to be a turning away from erroneous concept that one has about Jesus Christ. Hence, there is implied in this passage the concept of repentance.
In any case, the preaching of repentance is an essential component of the preaching of those who preceded us in “the faith.” We can demonstrate this by considering the examples we have in the Bible. John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus Christ, preached repentance as a necessary prerequisite to the entrance to the kingdom of God as we read in Matthew 3:1-2:
1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
Jesus’ preaching had this component of requiring repentance for entering the kingdom of God. Matthew in his gospel record, informs us that when Jesus began to preach, His message included the command to repent as we read in Matthew 4:17:
From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
In the same fashion, Mark in his gospel record, indicates that the good news that Jesus preached included an invitation to repentance and faith as we read in Mark 1:14-15:
14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"
When Jesus sent out His disciples to preach to Israel during His earthly ministry, their preaching included the concept of repentance as Mark informed us in Mark 6:12:
They went out and preached that people should repent.
After Jesus’ resurrection, He instructed the disciples to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins in His name as Luke records in Luke 24:47:
and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
The disciples, no doubt, complied with this instruction. Consequently, Peter in his preaching on the day of Pentecost, included this element of repentance as we read in Acts 2:38:
Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Peter’s instruction to repent implies belief in Christ, for otherwise, it will not make sense to say to the unbeliever to be baptized in the name of Jesus. Baptism in the name of Jesus would only be possible if a person believes in Him. Hence, although Peter used only the word “repent” he implies that repentance is linked to belief in Christ. On another occasion, following the healing of the crippled man Peter preached to the people and again he included the command to repent as we read in Acts 3:19:
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
Apostle Paul preached also the necessity for repentance. In reading the only sermon of the apostle that is given in full details in Acts 13, one would not easily get the idea that the apostle preached the importance of repentance, but a closer examination of that sermon would reveal that his preaching recorded in Acts 13 contains the element of repentance as part of his preaching. To ensure there would be no confusion as to whether Apostle Paul preached repentance as Jesus Christ instructed, the Holy Spirit through the pen of Luke makes it very clear that the apostle’s preaching included the idea of repentance as it is evident from Acts 26:20:
First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.
Therefore, one gets the point that the apostles preached the necessity of repentance during the preaching of the gospel although sometimes it may not be that obvious, but they preached repentance. When a person understands the meaning of repentance, the individual would preach the concept without so much as use the word “repent” or “repentance” but imply it in the person’s preaching of the gospel. So, we have to ask the question what is repentance?
To understand what repentance is, it will be necessary to examine the Hebrew and Greek words that convey the concept of repentance. There are two Hebrew words that express the concept of repentance. The first is the Hebrew word (nāḥǎm) that experts think that the root meaning is “breathing deeply” so involves display of feelings. It is a word that is concerned with emotion, decision, and action. The word is used for being in a state of sorrow or regret over a person or event hence “to be grieved.” It is in this sense that it is used mostly in connection with God and creation of humans as we read, for example, in Genesis 6:6:
The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.
The word can be used to indicate a cessation of a particular course of action, usually with a focus on gracious attitude of the subject, hence the meaning “to relent.” It is in this sense that the word is used to indicate that Yahweh did not go forward with judgment of Israel in Exodus 32:14:
Then the LORD relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened.
When a wrong action is involved, the word means “to repent,” that is, “to be in a state of sorrow and regret about a wrong, implying a true understanding about a wrong and desire to change a thought or behavior.” It is in this sense that the word is used by Job after God appeared to him to end his trial. Job realized that the things he said were improper so when God appeared to him, he repented as we read in Job 42:6:
Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."
Interestingly, this first Hebrew word (nāḥǎm) is not regularly used in the OT in connection with humans in the sense of “to repent.” Instead, there is a second Hebrew word that is more commonly used to convey the sense of repentance as far as humankind is concerned. It is a Hebrew word (šûḇ) that may mean to turn away from sin and to turn to God. This word was used by Solomon when he dedicated the temple and asked God to have mercy on His people, Israel, if they sinned and then repented, as recorded in 1 Kings 8:47:
and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their conquerors and say, 'We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly';
The word “repent” is literally “turn back.” Since the idea here is that if the Israelites change their mind and repudiate their sins then the use of the word “repent” is appropriate.
When we come to the NT, there are two major Greek verbs used to express the concept of repentance. The first Greek verb (metamelomai) used may mean “to change one’s mind about something.” It is this word that is used in the parable of our Lord Jesus where a father had instructed a first son to go to work in his vineyard. He refused but later changed his mind and went to do what his father had instructed, as we read in Matthew 21:29:
"'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
The expression changed his mind could alternatively be rendered he repented. In the same passage, Jesus used the word in a negative manner to indicate that prostitutes and tax collectors responded to John the Baptist’s message while the Pharisees did not repent so as to believe according to Matthew 21:32:
For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
Similarly, the word is used in a negative fashion in connection with God’s oath with respect to Jesus Christ’s position as our high priest in Hebrews 7:21:
but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: 'You are a priest forever.'"
Another meaning of this first Greek verb (metamelomai) is to feel sad about something one has done in the sense of wishing that the action could be undone, hence means “to regret,” “to be very sorry,” “to have remorse,” “to have second thoughts.” It is in this sense that the word is used to describe the attitude of Judas Iscariot after he had betrayed Jesus. He certainly felt remorse and wished there is a way to reverse what he did as implied in Matthew 27:3-4:
3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. 4 "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." "What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility."
Judas regretted his action, that is the reason he returned the money he received for betraying his master. Not only this, but he also admitted his sin to the wrong individuals. The word in the sense of “regret” is used negatively by Apostle Paul in his second epistle to the Corinthians to state his attitude towards his letter to them as stated in 2 Corinthians 7:8-9:
8 Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it — I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— 9 yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us.
Actually, the Greek verb in question is used twice – negatively and positively. The apostle expressed the fact that he had second thoughts about having written the letter to the Corinthians that caused them pain but on recognizing that their pain led them to repentance, he did not regret writing them such a tough letter. In any event, an interesting observation to be made is that this Greek word is never used as a command in NT. In other words, there is no passage in the NT where this word is used to command the action expressed in it.
A second Greek verb (metanoeō) used literally means “to change one’s mind or purpose.” The standard Greek English lexicon of BDAG adds the meaning “to feel remorse,” “to be converted.” However, the Greek Lexicon by Louw and Nida says that the meaning is to change one’s way of life as the result of a complete change of thought and attitude with regard to sin and righteousness hence means “to repent, to change one’s way.” The focus of this word in its semantic domain “is clearly behavioral rather than intellectual.” This Greek verb appears thirty-four (34) times in the Greek NT and there are interesting observations we need to make about the use of this verb in the Greek New Testament.
In general, it is not clear what the object of the verb is, or it is not very straight forward to determine the object of the verb in many passages in the NT. In other words, taking the literal meaning of the word in the sense of changing one’s mind, it is not always clear or easy to determine what the change of mind is about. For example, when Jesus told His audience that they will perish if they do not repent in Luke 13:5:
I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
It is not easy to know what the people should repent about. This observation is one of the reasons many do not fully comprehend what is involved in repentance as we would note later.
Another observation is that of the thirty-four times the word appears, ten of these are used in the imperative, that is, for issuing commands. However, when the verb is used in the imperative it is often with an explanation or an associated action. For example, John the Baptist while preaching in the Desert of Judea commanded the people to repent but he followed that command with an explanation as why they should repent as in the passage we cited previously, that is, Matthew 3:2:
and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
In the same manner, when Jesus commanded His audience to repent, He provided them the same explanation as John the Baptist stated in the passage we cited previously, that is, Matthew 4:17:
From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
On another occasion, Jesus commanded the audience to repent but then He added another action that should be associated with His command, which is to believe according to the passage we cited previously, that is, Mark 1:15:
"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!"
Peter preached a piercing message to the people on the day of Pentecost and in response they asked Peter and the disciples what they are to do. Peter replied with a command to repent but then added that they should be baptized in the passage we cited previously, that is, Acts 2:38:
Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
On another occasion, when Peter preached to the people following the healing of a crippled man, Peter commanded the people to repent but added they should turn back to God as we read in the passage we cited previously, that is, Acts 3:19:
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
Still, on another occasion, when he ministered in Samaria that resulted in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on believers, Simon who had formerly practiced sorcery but had believed, tried to bribe Peter so he would be able to do what Peter did. Because of his desire, Peter commanded him to repent but added that he should pray according to Acts 8:22:
Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.
Several years after Jesus went back to heaven; He commanded the church in Ephesus to repent but then added that they should do what they were used to doing. We know this because Apostle John recorded this command in Revelation 2:5:
Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
We have examined the two Greek verbs that express the concept of repentance but there is also the Greek noun that actually means repentance. It is the Greek word (metanoia) that is used in our passage of Romans 2:4 that the Greek English Lexicon of Louw and Nida defines as “a change of mind that results in a change of life (style),” hence “repentance.” However, the standard Greek English lexicon by BDAG in addition to the meaning “repentance” adds the meaning “conversion,” “turning around.”
Now, that we have considered briefly the Hebrew and Greek words involved in the concept of repentance we return to the question: what is repentance?
Some scholars because of the observation we mentioned previously, that is, that it is not always clear what the object of the word “repent” is in the NT, define repentance as “a change of mind about God or Christ.” Others define repentance as “voluntary change in the mind of the sinner in which he turns from sin.” Each of these definitions is incomplete but when we combine them, we get a more complete definition of the term “repentance” that is faithful to the data of the Bible. Therefore, repentance is a change of mind about God that stems from a state of sorrow about one’s sin that leads to a resolution to turn away from sin. We need to expound this definition.
It is our assertion that repentance involves a state of sorrow about one’s sin or failure. There are several situations that confirm this assertion. When God confronted Job towards the end of his suffering, he realized that he was wrong in some of what he said, so he was overwhelmed, no doubt, with a state of sorrow that led to his repentance. Let’s note what Job said in a passage we have previously cited, that is, Job 42:6:
Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."
Job said that he despised himself. The word “despise” is translated from a Hebrew word (māʾǎs) that, no doubt, means “to despise,” “to reject.” But according to the Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semitic Domain, the word also means “to be in a state of having feelings of aversion or great displeasure.” Job must have been in a state of sorrow for his failure towards God before he repented. This sense of sorrow in repentance is evident in Jeremiah’s description of the repentance of Ephraim as recorded in Jeremiah 31:19:
After I strayed, I repented; after I came to understand, I beat my breast. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth.'
The sentence I beat my breast is an expression of extreme grief therefore extreme grief is associated with repentance.
Another indication of sorrow involved in repentance is with the audience that Apostle Peter addressed his sermon on the day of Pentecost. You recall that the apostle had commanded them to repent and be baptized as we cited previously in Acts 2:38. But why did Peter command them to repent? Is it not because the people have come to a state of sorrow about how they rejected Jesus Christ? We know this because of what is recorded in Acts 2:37:
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
The sentence they were cut to the heart is an idiom for acute emotional distress. The audience was in state of sorrow about what Peter had preached concerning their rejection of Jesus Christ. It was because Peter realized that they had actually come to this state of sorrow that he commanded them to repent, which is a logical result of being in a state of sorrow with respect to sin or failure.
The passages we have cited indicate that repentance is connected with sorrow, an emotion, so someone may argue that these passages do not directly assert that there must be sorrow or some form of emotion before there is repentance. If you are one of those who think that way, let me show you that there is a connection between sorrow and repentance. The Holy Spirit tells us this through the pen of Apostle Paul as he wrote to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 7:9-10:
9 yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
The apostle indicated that the sorrow experienced by the Corinthians led them to repentance. But then, he asserted unequivocally that “godly sorrow” brings repentance. The expression “godly sorrow” is a difficult one to translate as evident in how many of our English versions translated it. This is because the word “godly” as an adjective does not appear in the Greek text. In fact, a more literal rendering of the Greek expression is either in accordance with God or corresponding to God. The sense is either that the sorrow involved is according to God’s will or that it is a sorrow that is sincere and approved by God instead of that sense of remorse that is used to impress people. Furthermore, what the apostle wrote indicates that there is a wrong kind of sorrow that is associated with the world. The sorrow that is associated with true repentance would be directed towards God but that associated with the world produces a useless result. In effect, we have to be careful to remember that having sorrow does not mean that one would be saved. A person may have sorrow and so commit suicide. This is an implication of the clause of 2 Corinthians 7:10 but worldly sorrow brings death. Judas Iscariot is an example of a person who had the wrong kind of sorrow since his sorrow led him to commit suicide.
One other fact to remember is that the true sorrow that is associated with repentance leads a person to do things that would imply a change in behavior. It is this understanding that is reflected in what Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 7:11:
See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.
There is more to the subject of repentance, and we will continue with the subject in our next study. However, let me end by a reminder of the message of the section we are considering, which is You can avoid God’s judgment by not being a hypocrite and by embracing His goodness through repentance.
10/11/24