Q. How should a Christian repent? What are the steps involved for a Christian to repent? Where does the Bible teach that Christians need to repent? Also, where does the Bible teach what is the purpose of Christians repenting?
In the New Testament, the term for “repent” is the Greek word metanoia. It indicates a change of mind. The English word “repent” comes from a Latin word from the same root as “penalty,” and so it indicates recognizing that something one has done is deserving of a penalty, in other words, that it was wrong. This implicitly suggests a change of mind, since the person presumably did not think the action was wrong before doing it or when doing it. This is a realization that came afterwards. But it would also apply to any future occurrences and hopefully prevent the person from doing it again.
In other words, the “change of mind” is that previously the person would have said, “It’s all right for me to do this.” Afterwards, the person would say, “It was wrong for me to have done that, and I won’t do it again.” So implicitly the idea is not just that the person thinks differently, but that the person also acts differently. This is what John the Baptist meant when he told the crowds who came to hear him preach that they needed to “bring forth fruits worthy of repentance.” Repentance is not credible unless a person’s conduct changes. If a person says, “From now on, I’m going to believe that things are wrong if God says they are wrong and that things are right if God says they are right,” but that person continues to do things that God says are wrong, then we have no evidence that they have actually changed their mind.
To answer your questions specifically, the gospels tell us that John the Baptist came preparing the way for Jesus by “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin” (Mark 1:4, Luke 3:3). John was saying that to get ready for the Messiah, people should repent of their sins (acknowledge that they were wrong and stop doing them) and be baptized to show publicly that they had done this, and God would forgive their sins. In his gospel, Matthew summarizes the teaching of Jesus himself by saying that he preached, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 4:17). Jesus was telling the crowds to do the same thing that John the Baptist was telling them to do. The apostles preached a similar message. Peter told the crowds in Jerusalem, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out” (Acts 3:19).
In all of these places, an initial repentance is in view. It changes people from living for themselves, without regard to God, to living for God, carrying out a commitment to do carefully what God says is right and not do what God says is wrong. But the New Testament also speaks of repentance as an ongoing process for those who have already made this commitment. Paul wrote to the Romans, “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). So Christians who are already committed followers of Jesus need to have an ongoing metanoia, an ongoing change of mind, by which they recognize more and more what God considers to be “good and acceptable and perfect.”
In terms of the steps involved in repentance, I would say that they are: an active seeking to understand better and better how God wants us to live; a recognition of those ways in which we have not been living like that; telling God that we are sorry and asking for and receiving God’s forgiveness; and then living more and more in the way that God does want. This should be an ongoing aspect of life for all followers of Jesus. In some Christian traditions, the process also has a more formal component, and it can help ensure that repentance does happen on a regular basis. For example, a person might go to confession, tell a priest about sins, express contrition, and receive absolution. Or in a worship service, there might be a unison prayer of confession, followed by silent individual prayers of confession, and then an assurance of pardon spoken by the minister.
I must say that as a pastor, I always loved to give the assurance of pardon, and even now as a “civilian” in the congregation, I always love to hear it. I believe it represents what God wants us to know about how he receives our sincere repentance. For example, I used to say (and still love to hear) something like this: “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and rich in mercy. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. In the name of Jesus Christ, I declare, ‘You are forgiven!'”
Good Question 