Consider the “Two Kingdoms” Gospel summary:

Here is a truth I have come to know.  God created the world as His Kingdom, and all was very good. But Satan rebelled, desiring worship that only God deserved. He set up his own kingdom, at war with God’s kingdom of light. The first man and woman, deceived by Satan, chose to rebel also. Since then, all of us have joined that rebellion against our rightful king.

Satan’s kingdom is the kingdom of darkness. He deceives people, saying, “You don’t have to serve me, just serve yourself!” Yet as we serve ourselves, we end up destroying all that is good, even all true pleasure. That is Satan’s goal.

God’s kingdom of light has overcome the kingdom of darkness. For God sent Jesus to earth to live as man should live. Jesus then died on a cross, suffering to pay the penalty we deserve for our rebellion. But God raised Him from the dead, showing that Jesus has authority even over death and the kingdom of darkness. Jesus will reign forever and ever.

God commands all men to turn from their rebellion against Him. He invites all of us to leave the kingdom of darkness and to become citizens of the Kingdom of light. We must turn from our selfish ways and acknowledge that Jesus is our rightful King. We must let Him tell us what to do. By God’s mercy on account of the cross, we can receive His forgiveness and escape from the kingdom of darkness, gaining love, joy, and peace in the Kingdom of light forever.

We live in this little bubble called life for 70 to 80 years. When it pops, we join whichever king we served for all eternity. Which king are you serving?

In a series of blog posts, we are examining in more detail topics raised in this summary of the Gospel. Previous topics are our rebellion, the consequent destruction of pleasure, and the defeat of the kingdom of darkness. Today: Repentance.

Jesus said that calling sinners to repentance was central to His earthly ministry (Luke 5:32). He began this ministry by saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). When responding to a local tragedy that had killed several people, He stated that we should not infer that these people died suddenly on account of their sins, but we should rather see this tragedy as a warning about judgment to those who do not repent: “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. (Luke 13:3). After His resurrection, Jesus made repentance central to the proclamation that His followers are to make to all nations (Luke 24:47).

What, then, are the elements of biblical repentance? Here are six:

1) Repentance begins by admitting your sin

King Solomon describes such repentance in his prayer for the dedication of the temple:

If they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ if they repent with all their mind and with all their heart . . . then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you (from 1 Kings 8:47-50).

The people do not hide their sin. They do not excuse their sin. They do not belittle their sin. They admit both what they have done and the wickedness of those acts. That is repentance.

2) Repentance includes turning away from sin and turning towards God.

The link between turning and repentance is strong. In the “Two Kingdoms” Gospel presentation, the word “turn” (underlined above) is used twice in place of “repent.” This link is grounded in Scripture. For example, Solomon notes says in the passage above: “If they turn their heart . . .” Consider also how God speaks through Ezekiel:

“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 18:30-31, emphasis added)

When we sin we are turning away from God as the source of joy and turning to some other object. We think that by disobeying God we will get or achieve something He won’t give us. This is the essence of sin: Doubting God’s goodness toward us. When we repent, we reverse the turning: As Ezekiel says, we turn from our transgressions, and turn our new hearts toward God.

3) Repentance results in a changed life.

Turning our hearts to God is not simply internal. That turning must result in changed behavior. John the Baptist tells those who are coming to him, “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Luke 3:8) – and then goes on to tell his listeners to be generous givers, to be content with their wages, and not to misuse their authority.

Similarly, when Paul looks back at his own ministry, he describes it as calling all types of people to “repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance” (Acts 26:20). Repentance results in a changed life.

4) Repentance is a command of God

We have seen that Scripture tells us that repentance is for our good. That is one motivation to repent. But repentance is also a command of God. As the Apostle Paul tells us when preaching in Athens:

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30).

He commands us to repent. He commands all of us to repent. We are thus obligated to repent. To refuse to repent is to add that obstinate sin to our record of rebellion against our loving and merciful God.

5) Repentance is a gift of God

So God commands repentance. But He also enables repentance. We see this in the story of Peter and the Roman centurion Cornelius. After Peter reports on Cornelius and his household coming to faith in Jesus, his listeners:

glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.” (Acts 11:18, emphasis added)

Similarly, the Apostle Paul instructs Timothy to correct his opponents with gentleness, for:

God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 2:25, emphasis added).

This is our hope – for ourselves as well as for those we are witnessing to: God is able to break through to the hardest heart and grant repentance. We must therefore pray for God to tear down the walls that separate those we love from Him, to grant repentance, and to save them by His grace.

6) Finally, repentance leads to joy in heaven.

Repentance results not only in our salvation. And repentance results not only in our changed lives. Repentance also results in a great celebration. Jesus says:

Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. (Luke 15:7)

We have already seen that God calls all people to repent. There is no such thing as a righteous person who doesn’t need repentance. So every individual can be that one sinner whose repentance leads to a heavenly celebration. Indeed, your repentance can lead to such joy in heaven.

So turn. Repent. Pray for God to grant repentance. Bring about that great joy in heaven. And then live a changed life – to the glory of God.