So what does it really mean?

In Mark chapter one, and at the beginning of other gospels too, John the Baptist preached in the desert and called the people to repentance. Repentance isn't a fashionable word nowadays, and it's possible that plenty of people are not really sure what it means.

In Hebrew thought, repentance meant a change of direction (an about turn) that was evidenced by a change in people's actions. In Greek thought, it involved a new way of thinking. John was Hebrew, but the New Testament account is preserved for us in Greek, so which meaning is intended here? How can we know if we have truly repented?


The answer is that both are true and both are needed. Change needs to begin in our thinking, in our beliefs and attitudes (which is why Paul wrote to the Romans concerning the need for the renewing of their minds/thinking. See Romans 12: 2) But that change of thinking needs to work itself out in our behaviour, or no meaningful change will happen in our lives (which is why James wrote to the early believers that faith without actions is dead. See James 2:20)

And so our more modern translations of the Bible, instead of using the word "repentance," sometimes use a phrase that seeks to convey these two interlinked meanings of the word:
Change your hearts and lives.
Change your attitudes and behaviour.
Show by your actions that you have turned from your old way of thinking.
These are some of the ways that this radical change of thinking and lifestyle is expressed in the gospels.

If people try to change their behaviour without changing their core beliefs, it won't be lasting, and they will revert to their old ways when the heat is on. If they change what they think, but don't allow that to change the way that they live, they are simply making themselves more accountable, more guilty when the time comes for judgement. (As James writes in James 4: 17, it is a sin to know the good you should do, and not to do it.)

So, how do we know if we are living a life of repentance? We will see the daily fruit in our lives of being willing to give up our old ways of thinking and dearly held beliefs, and we will be intentional in making our lives measure up to the new revelation that we receive from the Word of God. That's what is really meant by repentance.

Read on below for a modern day example of how hard it can be to change our thinking and our habits.