And Peter said to them, “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.” ACT 2:38
From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” MAT 4:17
Driving a car in the wrong direction on a one-way street is foolish and dangerous. Some drive the wrong way out of ignorance; others out of rebellion. There is a spiritual parallel. Whether out of ignorance or rebellion, we are all on a dangerous one-way street that will ultimately lead to eternal separation from God. Until we turn around (repent) and begin following Christ, every step we take is a step in the wrong direction—a step away from God.
Repentance, grief, and fruit
Real repentance begins when we are truly sorry for our sins. This godly grief makes no excuses, takes full responsibility, and never places blame on people, society, or circumstances. It acknowledges that our sin is primarily against God. Godly grief produces true repentance and a changed life.
I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. PSA 32:5
Rashi
I acknowledged my sin to you always. This is a present tense. For I said, It is good that I should confess my transgressions to the Lord, and now that I confessed and said to Nathan the prophet, “I have sinned” (as in 2Sa 12:13).
You forgave the iniquity of my sin as the matter that is stated there (verse 13): “The Lord also has put away your sin, etc.”
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 2CO 7:10
13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.
Rashi
My punishment is greater than I can bear—This is a question: You bear the worlds above and below. and is it impossible for you to bear my punishment? (Bereishit Rabbah 22:11).
14 Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
Rashi
Whoever finds me will kill me—This refers to cattle and beasts, since there were then no human beings in the world of whom he might be afraid except his father and mother, and he did not fear that they would kill him. He, therefore, said, “Until now the fear of me was upon every beast—as it is written (Gen 9:2), ‘The fear of you etc.’—now, however, because of my sin the animals will no longer fear me and will kill me.” God immediately set a sign for Cain, viz., he again made the animals be in fear of him.
15 Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. GEN 4:13-15
Rashi
Not so! If anyone kills Cain . . . !—This is one of the verses that speak briefly and give only a suggestion and do not fully explain. “Not so! If anyone kills Cain” is a threat. So shall be done to him, or such-and-such shall be his punishment, but it does not delineate his punishment.
Vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold—I do not wish to take vengeance on Cain now. At the end of seven generations I will execute my vengeance upon him, that Lamech, one of his descendants, will arise and slay him. The end of this verse which states, “in the seventh generation vengeance shall be taken on him”—which is the vengeance taken on Cain for Abel—teaches us that the first part of the verse is a threat made in order that no creature might injure him. A similar elliptical expression is the following (2Sa 5:8): “And David said, ‘Whoever would strike the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft’ ”—but it does not explicitly state what would be done to that person. Scripture, however, here speaks by a suggestion only, meaning, “Whoever would strike the Jebusites and reaches the water shaft,” and reaches the gate and conquers it, “and the blind, etc.,” meaning slaying also them (the blind and the lame) because they said, “David shall not come into the midst of the house”—he who strikes these, I shall make him chief and commander. Here (2Sa) it abridges the narrative, but in 1Ch 11:6 it explicitly states, “He shall become chief and commander.”
And the Lord put a mark on Cain—He inscribed on his forehead a letter of his name (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 21).
On the other hand, worldly grief only produces excuses. While godly grief is having a broken heart when we realize we have offended a holy God, worldly grief is being sorry we got caught, or being sorry we have to suffer the consequences of sin. The ultimate difference between godly grief and worldly grief is the fruit. Worldly grief never produces the fruit of a changed life; it only produces spiritual death.
Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. MAT 3:8
16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
Rashi
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean—Voweled with a “patach,” the imperative form, since it is derived from רְחַץ, but רָחֲצוּ, in the past tense, is voweled with a “kamatz” because it is derived from רָחַץ.
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove, learn, seek, correct, bring justice, plead, go—Ten exhortations of the expression of repentance are listed here, corresponding to the ten days of penitence and to the ten verses of kingship, remembrances, and shofaroth in the musaf service of Rosh Hashanah.
Cease to do evil—Desist from your evil deeds.
To do evil—Heb. הרע, like לְהָרֵע, to do evil. Rashi explains this because the preposition is absent in Hebrew. Scripture does not have to write מֵהָרֵע, desist from doing evil, for so does the Biblical language treat the expression of חֲדָלָה, stopping, e.g., “and he failed to make (לַעֲשׂוֹת) the Passover” (Num 9:13); “until he ceased to measure it (לִסְפֹּר)” (Gen 41:49). That is to say, the counting ceased, the making failed, here too, stop the evildoing.
17 learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow’s cause. ISA 1:16-17
Kiddushin 53a:10
Rabba bar Rav Sheila said: What is the verse from which is derived that ḥamtzan means one who snatches? The verse states: “Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and grasping man [ḥometz]” (Psa 71:4). Rabba said: It is derived from here: “Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression [ḥamotz]” (Isa 1:17), i.e., restore property stolen from victims of theft.
Rashi
Learn—It is punctuated “raphe,” weak, without a dagesh. This is from the form לָמֹד, learn to do good. One who teaches himself is of the “kal” form. Therefore, its imperative plural is voweled with a “chirik” like אִמְרוּ, שִׁמְעוּ, but one who teaches others is of the form of the “heavy conjugation” (pi’el) with a “dagesh,” and if one comes to command a number of people, the word is voweled לַמְּדוּ. And so, דִּרְשׁוּ, from the form דְרשׁ, but אַשְּׁרוּ in which the “shin” has a “dagesh,” is from the “heavy conjugation,” and from the form אַשֵּׁר; therefore, the imperative plural is voweled with a “patach” like בַּשְּׂרוּ, סַפְּרוּ, דַּבְּרוּ.
Correct oppression—Heb. אַשְּׁרוּ חָמוֹץ. This is a Mishnaic term, אֲשַׁרְנוּהִי, “we have verified it” (Ketubot 21a); “if I had strength (אֲיַשֵּׁר)” (Gittin 30b); “May your strength be strengthened (יִישַׁר)” (Shabbat 87a). Another explanation is: Lead him in the path of truth to acquire what rightfully belongs to him. An expression of (Job 23:11): “My foot held its steps (בֲּאֲשׁוּרוֹ)”; (Pro 23:19) “And go (וְאַשֵׁר) in the way of your heart..”
Oppression—Heb. חָמוֹץ, similar to (Psa 71:4) “from the hand of the unrighteous and the robber (וּמְחַמֵּץ).”
Bring justice—So-and-so is innocent and so-and- so is guilty.
Plead the widow’s cause—Endeavor in their quarrel to plead for her, for she cannot go out to pursue her opponents.
Sanhedrin 35a:6
Rabbi Haninah said: The verse states prophetically concerning Jerusalem after the destruction of the first temple: “She who was full of justice! Righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers” (Isa 1:21). The verse associates lodging, or waiting overnight, with justice. And Rava says that these matters are derived from here: “Learn to do good; seek judgment, correct [ashru] oppression [ḥamotz]” (Isa 1:17). This is interpreted: Praise [ashru] the judge who delays [meḥametz] his verdict before he pronounces it.
. . . but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. ACT 26:20
Repentance and forgiveness
The parable of the prodigal son in Luk 15:11-24 is a beautiful picture of true repentance. The wayward son came to his senses, turned his back on his folly, and returned to his father. He made a 180-degree turn, walking away from his former life of sin and rebellion. His father forgave him for his offenses and received him back. In the same way, our heavenly Father is faithful to forgive us when we turn to him and repent of our sins.
19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,
20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus . . . ACT 3:19-20
Ever had a stain on your shirt that you couldn’t wash out? Imagine a stain remover that would not only remove the stain, but would make a shirt just like new again. That’s what happens when we repent and receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. He not only cleans sin’s stain of guilt and shame from our hearts, he gives us a new heart.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1JN 1:9
The importance of forgiving others
Just as we have received forgiveness from God, we are now commanded by God to forgive those who have sinned against us.
21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”
22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” MAT 18:21-22
But if we refuse to forgive, the Bible says that we will be defiled by a root of bitterness, which causes trouble.
See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled . . . HEB 12:15
No regret
Repentance is turning away from sin and turning to God. It means we stop trusting in our own good deeds and religious activity and start trusting in Christ alone. We were going in the wrong direction; now we are going in the right direction. We were running from God; now we are walking with him. Repentance is the starting point of a new life. Repentance takes us off the treadmill of a self-centered life and puts us on the fast track of God’s glorious purpose for our lives. Turning to God means no looking back and no regrets.
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. 2CO 7:10