How do I know when I am repenting?

I was asked the question once, "How do we know when we are repenting?", and that got me thinking pretty hard. First, I had to define repentance. If I want to know if I am doing something, then I need to know what that something is. Throughout Scripture, we see repentance as a change in the affections that leads to a change in behavior.

We can repent when we recognize that we have sinned against God. We realize it in our minds that what we have done is evil and against God's law, we realize it in our hearts as we have lost affections for God, and we realize it in our actions as we are performing evil deeds. Upon realizing we are in sin, we repent by turning away from sin and turning towards God with our mind's attention, our heart's affections, and a change in our actions.

When Jesus began His public ministry, He busted on the scene preaching "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."

Repent from immorality, repent from heresy and blasphemy, repent from believing in false gods, repent from believing in ourselves, repent and BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL!!!

What does it mean to believe in the Gospel??

John Piper puts it this way -

"If I believe that Jesus is the Son of God the same way that I believe that Vladimir Putin is the leader of Russia, have I fulfilled the conditions needed to be saved? Or is there more to belief than that?

We know that it doesn't fulfill the conditions, because the devil believes it. And we know that the devil believes it because when Jesus came into the world and began to confront the demonic powers of the Devil, they said out loud, "We know who you are. You are the holy one of God. You are the Son of God." So the Devil is absolutely orthodox in his belief in the incarnation of the Son of God in Jesus Christ. To believe in orthodox Christology is not to be saved. The Devil is very orthodox when it comes to his understanding of Christ.

So what is missing is not believing in the fact that Jesus is the Son of God but delighting in that fact, embracing that fact, and making Christ the treasure and the Lord of your life by surrendering to him.

In other words, "belief" is seeing him for who he really is, seeing him as infinitely valuable as the Son of God. It's not just acknowledging the fact that he is the Son but also seeing him as infinitely precious and valuable. Satan, on the other hand, does not view God as precious and valuable. He hates Christ and Christ is a threat to his own value.

But when the Holy Spirit begins to work in our lives we're not deceived like that anymore. We recognize that our value is nothing compared to Jesus' value. Instead, we just want to know him, be with him, enjoy him, follow him, and celebrate him. That transition—that change of heart, so that we are now looking away from ourselves to Christ and embracing all that God is for us in him—that is what faith is. That is what belief is. That is what saves."

By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

There is a change in the desires of our heart, a change in the realities of our mind, and a change in how we live. We surrender ourselves, all of us, all of our being to the Lordship of Christ. Apart from this absolute surrender, then repentance is not real. Apart from believing in the Gospel, repentance is not real.

Here are a few practical ways from the Scriptures that we can check to see if we are repenting.

1. 2Co 13:5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.

The first thing we want to do is a heart check. We need to ask ourselves this question. Are we banking on the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as our only hope for eternal life? or are we banking on our own righteousness? Many times, we will get so caught up in trying to repent, that we will focus on our progress in repentance and not on the finished work of Christ.

2. Joh 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Jesus, the night before He faces the cross, sits down with His disciples and tells them numerous things concerning what it means to truly be a Christian. He speaks of prayer, abiding in God's word, serving one another, having the Holy Spirit with us, suffering, obedience, and much more. We can look at these things Jesus said and examine our lives by them. The question here is, do I have joy in knowing Christ? Maybe I'm not always chipper. Maybe I have bouts with depression. Maybe life is hitting me too hard right now. But do I have joy in Christ? Do I have a deep and abiding satisfaction in knowing and being known by Jesus?

3. 1Jn 1:6-7 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

John writes to a group of suffering believers. Within their church, there is hypocrisy, heresy, blasphemy, and the government is trying to kill them. John reminds them of the Gospel and he says that through prayer, fellowship with other believers, confession, Bible study, honesty, loving relationships, and other practical implications of the Gospel, they can endure. Am I walking in the light? Am I allowing God to expose me for who I really am? or am I hiding from God and from people and pretending to be someone I'm not?

These are just a few practical ways to know if we are repenting, but there are many more. The main thing is - Are we satisfied in Christ alone? Our life will reveal if we are or not.