“Produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8).
Because God is holy, perfect, and just, repentance is an appropriate and regular spiritual discipline for repeat sinners like you and me. But repentance is far more than feeling sorry or bad for what we’ve done. Repentance is far more than saying sorry.
The Greek word for repentance is metanoia. It certainly means to repent, but the English word repent doesn’t capture the totality of change that repentance speaks of. metanoia has in mind a complete change of mind and heart more than it does merely feeling sorry and apologizing.
That’s why, when speaking about repentance, Jesus speaks about producing fruit that is keeping with repentance. So what are the fruits that are keeping with repentance?
Glad you asked. Corrie ten Book tells us that there are four fruits or marks of true repentance:
- An acknowledgement of wrong
- Willingness to confess it
- Willingness to abandon it
- And willingness to make restitution
Imagine a world where wrong was acknowledged, confessed, abandoned, and restitution made. Wow. That kinda sounds like what the Kingdom of God might be like!
Praxis: Faith in Action 