Repentance: Change of Mind or Change of Motivation?
I have heard oodles and oodles of talk about repentance over the years. Most of the definitions are based on a denuded, bare-bones explanation of the Greek word μετάνοια (metanoia). Literally this word means “ a change of mind, a change in the inner man ” (Alexander Souter, “A Pocket Lexicon to the Greek New Testament,” 157). The way this gets played with is at times quite drab and disappointing. For example, “ Repentance is from a Greek word meaning “to change one’s mind.” When it is applied in a biblical sense, it doesn’t mean changing your ways (or else!). It means that you recognize God is God and you aren’t. It means that you don’t get a vote on what is right and what is wrong. It means that when you recognize God’s authority, you go to God sand tell him so. In short, repentance is knowing who you are, who God is, and what you’ve done or haven’t done, and then going to God in agreement with him and his assessment” (Steve Brown, “Three Free Sins: God’s Not Mad at You,” 38). ...