What does repentance look like?

Paul Carrington explains in this video that repentance brings about a change of mind leading to a change of life. You can’t have a changed mind and not change the way you live. Repentance involves the wholesale exchange of one lord for another. It is an exchange of your earthly citizenship for a heavenly citizenship.

Repentance is a gift that God has given to us. We, over a period of time, begin to be more conformed to the image of Christ as we behold Him more and more. Christ becomes more to us. We increasingly love Him and His ways.

Mark 1:15 (NKJV) – “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

I define repentance as, well the word in Greek is metanoia and the idea really conveys a change of mind. I believe repentance can be defined as a change of mind leading to a change of life. In other words, you can't have a change of mind before God and it not actually changed the way you live and it'd be called repentance. And so it's to me when you when you look at it it's the wholesale exchange of one Lord for another. It's the exchange of your citizenship on earth for your citizenship in heaven.

I think it's one of the most impactful, probably the most important gifts that God gives us, at least to begin us on our journey and then to carry us all the way through. And that's why I think Paul makes reference to his own repentance. He talks about the fact that the man of God must be apt to teach and patient, instructing those that oppose themselves per adventure or per chance, God would grant repentance. It's a gift that God has given to us, but it does result in a change of life where we begin to walk in His ways, not instantly, but over the period of time we begin to change, we become more conformed to the image of Jesus Christ as we behold Him more and more. And so Christ becomes more to us, we love Him, we love His ways, and we want to please Him and walk accordingly.