Repentance

Dear Victorious,

I know that Christians are supposed to repent of their sins, but frankly am not sure what this looks like. I suspect is is more than just saying you're sorry. What does appropriate repentance look like in a Christ-follower?

Tia M. - Prosper, TX

Dear Tia,

You're right, repentance is more than just saying you're sorry. The dictionary defines it simply as deep sorrow for the sin committed. But for a Christ-follower, the Bible actually provides a significantly broader definition of true repentance for sin. Here are some components of repentance to keep in mind.

1. Agree with God that what you did was wrong. Understand that God was grieved by your sin. You should love God so much that you want to please Him, and are therefore grieved by your sin as well.

2. Confess the sin to God.

3. Confess the sin to another individual who is at least as spiritually mature as you are, and ask them to pray with you about the matter. Specifically pray for God's leadership in helping you avoid that sin in the future and for God's guidance on how to go about making things right.

4. If you have harmed someone else with your sin, even unintentionally, do whatever you can to make it right. This could range from a simple apology to actually paying restitution for material damage.

5. Demonstrate a pattern of behavior that reflects your own effort to avoid this sin in the future. Even if it is a habitual sin and you're not able to quit "cold turkey," true repentance means you should be doing it less and less as time goes on.

If a Christ-follower is truly repenting of any sin, the above five (5) steps will always be followed. If any of them are missing, I would seriously question how sincere the repentance is.