Repentance (camp Meeting Afternoon Session) by Pastor Dolapo Lawal: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The Language of Repentance

Two Hebrew words carry the meaning of repentance in scripture.

The first is shuv — to turn back, to return. Jeremiah 3:12 uses it: "Return to me, backsliding Israel, for I am merciful." Isaiah 55:7 uses it again: "Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord." And you find it again in Acts 2:38 — "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins."

The second is nacham — to be sorry, to regret, to be comforted, or to relent. This is the word behind the Greek metamelitai, which appears in Matthew 27:3: "Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that he had been condemned, was remorseful."

These two words are not the same thing. One is a turning. The other is a feeling. Understanding the difference is the key to understanding repentance.

The Value of Checking the Original Language

The reason to study original language is not to sound learned — it is to understand what was actually said. Many who translated scripture were not believers. The spiritual character of the author cannot be understood from the outside.

The word "adoption" in Galatians 4 is not about taking a child from an orphanage. In the Greek world, the adopted son was a son sent out to a province who performed well and was recommended by governors to take his father's seat. So when Paul uses "adoption," he means the son who proved himself and was positioned as heir.

The word "redeem" in Hebrew is ga'al — to buy back a lost relative. When the Bible says God redeemed humanity, it means he never stopped seeing us as family. Redemption is not rescue of a stranger. It is a father buying back what is his own.

The word "mansions" in John 14:2: the Greek gives "moné" — dwelling places. And "house" is "oikos" — household. So what Jesus said is more accurately: "In my Father's household are many dwelling places." The imagery is not palatial real estate. It is family.

Sorrow Is Not Repentance

Cain was sorry when God showed him the consequence of killing Abel. He said, "This punishment is too grievious for me to bear" — and wept. But there was no repentance. He was sorry for the consequence of his action, not for the action itself. That is not repentance.

A man who verbally abuses his wife will cry and beg when she leaves. He goes to the pastor. He is at the door every day. For four months after she returns, there is no abuse. Then on the fifth month, he beats her badly enough that she is hospitalized. In those two weeks of begging, he had not repented. He was feeling the consequence of losing his family.

A selfish person will act kind if acting kind will restore what he lost. That is not repentance. That is strategy.

The same is true in any area of life. You can be sorry and not repent. Judas was sorry. He brought back the thirty pieces of silver and confessed, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." But there was no turning.

Elements of Genuine Repentance

2 Corinthians 7:10 — Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted. But the sorrow of the world produces death.

Godly sorrow is not the same as regret. Regret is being sorry you were caught. Godly sorrow is being grieved by the thing itself — not its consequences. And that godly sorrow is what produces genuine repentance.

The goal of this kind of teaching is not to produce guilt. It is to produce the fruit of repentance — a life others can read. Not a tongues-filled existence where people wonder who you are, but a life marked by warmth, kindness, the kind of presence that looks like Jesus walked through.

Grace Teaches

Titus 2:11–12 — For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.

Grace teaches. That is what grace does.

By grace, repentance is embraced — not because a person is trying to appease God, but because, by the Spirit, they are learning to please him. These are two different things. Appeasement is performed out of consequence. Pleasing him is a fruit of knowing him.

Supernatural is not only working miracles. Supernatural is refusing to do the natural thing. If someone is supposed to retaliate and they choose love — that is supernatural. There was a woman whose brother was stabbed 112 times. When she stood before the murderer in court, she said: "I want to lead you to Jesus first. I have forgiven you. But I want to make sure you go to heaven — and tell my brother I love him and he should wait for me."

That is what eternal life looks like. That is what repentance produces.

Father, by grace I embrace repentance. God is working in me and walking through me to live like Jesus. In Jesus' mighty name.