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Abundant Life in the Son: A Study of Salvation

of sin. True repentance begins the process of bringing together a loving,
holy God and sinful people. The sweet and gentle moving of the Holy
Spirit brings people to repentance.

The Nature of Repentance

In Chapter 1, we saw that God provided salvation for every person.
Through Christ’s atoning work, He made a way for them to come to
Him. The salvation He offers meets every spiritual need and provides
abundant life, great peace, supreme joy, and eternal life. But for the
wonderful process of salvation to begin, one must respond to God’s
offer, and this response begins with repentance.

Repentance is the beginning of spiritual life, and it produces change.
To some people, the term repentance suggests an uncomfortable change
because they want to continue in their own self-centered ways. To
others who are without hope and purpose, the light of the gospel offers
a refreshing change: peace of mind, freedom from fear, and boundless
hope. If people are to know the grace of our Lord Jesus that can change
the hopeless, shake the careless, and produce changed lives, then
repentance must be preached. As Luke 13:2–5 states, repentance is
an absolute condition of salvation. Repentance combined with faith
produces conversion.

The Definition of Repentance
One boy defined repentance in this way: “It is being sorry enough to
quit.” Repentance, like a coin, has two sides:

1. It is the act in which one recognizes and confesses sin to God.
2. It is more than just feeling sorry for sins—it means to leave them
completely.

Repentance includes the ideas of feeling pity, suffering grief for sin,
and “turning back, changing a course of action.” In this sense, repent
indicates a change of mind or purpose.

Explaining God’s Repentance
As you study the concept of repentance, you will notice some
Scriptures which say that God “repented” of some action. Let’s examine

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