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What is Repentance?

There are two main Hebrew words in the Old Testament that mean “to repent.” The main word is shoob (“turn, turn back, return”) and the other is nacham (“comfort”). This shows that the “Comforter”—the Holy Spirit—was sent to bring repentance, a change of direction, a turnabout in one’s life.

The Word Shoob

Genesis 3:19 says,

¹⁹ By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return [shoob] to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return [shoob].

Again, we read in Psalm 85:4 KJV,

⁴ Turn [shoob] us, O God of our salvation, and cause Thine anger toward us to cease.

Here we see the psalmist praying that God would cause us to repent, so that His anger may cease. The implication is that God’s anger ceases when we turn from our wicked ways, and that God Himself is the Source of our repentance. Without some action from the Holy Spirit, we will not be turned.

Lamentations 5:21 KJV confirms this, saying,

²¹ Turn [shoob] Thou us unto Thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned [shoob]; renew our days as of old.

The Word Nacham

Both shoob and nacham are connected to each other in Jeremiah 31:19,

¹⁹ For after I turned back [shoob], I repented [nacham]; and after I was instructed, I smote on my thigh; I was ashamed and also humiliated because I bore the reproach of my youth.

The prophet says that he “turned back” and then found comfort through the great Comforter (John 16:7 KJV). Strong’s Concordance defines nacham:

“properly, to sigh, i.e. breathe strongly; by implication, to be sorry, i.e. (in a favorable sense) to pity, console or (reflexively) rue; or (unfavorably) to avenge (oneself):—comfort (self), ease (one's self), repent(-er,-ing, self).”

The word nacham means to “breathe strongly.” The Hebrew word for breath (ruach) is also the word translated spirit. Hence, nacham points to the Holy Spirit, and this is seen more clearly when Jesus spoke of the Comforter (KJV). The NASB uses the term “Helper” in John 14:26, 15:26, and 16:7, which, though accurate, breaks the Holy Spirit’s connection to nacham that is used throughout the Old Testament. For this reason, I prefer the KJV’s use of “Comforter.”

In Isaiah 40:1, which twice uses the word nacham, even the NASB reads,

¹ “Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.

This verse introduces the second half of Isaiah, representing the New Covenant restoration of the House of Israel. It is noteworthy, then, that this is the work of the Comforter (nacham), which was sent on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:1, 2. The work or responsibility of the Comforter is set forth in the gospel of John.

The Comforter Brings Repentance

John 14:26 KJV says,

²⁶ But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

The Comforter is the great Teacher, or Revelator, who “instructed” the prophet in Jeremiah 31:19 (quoted earlier). Without such instruction, how could the prophet turn and repent? One must know the problem in order to correct it. Hence, repentance comes when we receive the revelation of the law. The law defines sin and righteousness, but if we do not know the law, we naturally adopt the moral standards of our culture, many of which run contrary to the nature of God.

Those who forsake the law and desire only to be led by the Spirit seem to forget that the Holy Spirit was given to instruct us in the word of God. Such revelation is designed to change our minds and turn us in a new direction. Any lack of repentance shows a lack of the Holy Spirit in this matter of instruction.

John 16:8 says,

⁸ And He, when He comes, will convict [elengkho, “convict, rebuke, refute, correct, admonish”] the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment [krisis, “justice”].

Here Jesus told His disciples that the responsibility of the Comforter was not merely to make people feel good about themselves but to “convict the world.” In other words, the Holy Spirit comforts us by pointing out the things in our lives that we need to repent of. When we repent, we then come more into agreement with the nature of God and are thereby comforted.

Repentance is Required

When we first came to Christ, we repented of our sins as best we could. However, we lacked the full revelation of the word. God accepted us in spite of this, imputing righteousness to us on account of our faith, as if we were already perfected. After a brief time of rejoicing and of marveling at the grace of God, we then settled into a long-term walk with God. The Holy Spirit then began His work of changing our way of thinking, our lifestyle, and our direction in life.

In other words, the Comforter began to train us as the children of God, bringing discipline into our lives, so that we might grow up as fully mature sons who could be trusted with the power of spiritual gifts and the authority of our calling. Some have chafed under this, and many have even resisted the Holy Spirit, thinking that this is no way to “comfort” us.

Nonetheless, Hebrews 12:11 says,

¹¹ All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

Discipline is a mark of sonship. When the Holy Spirit works in our hearts, His discipline is designed to produce “the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” It is the equivalent of pruning the vine or tree, which Jesus mentioned in John 15:2,

² Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.

John the Baptist put it another way in Matthew 3:11, 12,

¹¹ … He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. ¹² His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up chaff with unquenchable fire.

There are many metaphors that speak of the work that the Holy Spirit, pruning our trees and burning up our chaff, that causes us to repent.

Comfort and Vengeance

Recall the definition of nacham from Strong’s Concordance, quoted earlier, especially the last part of the definition:

“… or (unfavorably) to avenge (oneself):—comfort (self), ease (one's self), repent(-er,-ing, self).”

The Hebrew word for “avenge” is naqam, which is a homonym that sounds very much like nacham, “comfort.” When the Comforter works in our hearts, He takes vengeance against all lawlessness and unrighteousness. Godly vengeance is not like the vengeance of men. God’s vengeance has a positive effect; men’s vengeance brings a negative result. When believers do not understand the difference, they run into all sorts of strange ideas, especially when interpreting Isaiah 61:1, 2,

¹ The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me… ² To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance [naqam] of our God; to comfort [nacham] all that mourn.

The inability of men—even believers—to administer proper “vengeance” is why God says in Deuteronomy 32:35, “Vengeance is Mine.” Paul enlarges on this, saying in Romans 12:19-21,

¹⁹ Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ But [quoting from Proverbs 25:21, 22] if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Paul had learned the biblical definition of vengeance from Proverbs 25:21, 22 and was explaining to the church how God defines and applies vengeance. He overcomes evil with good. Man’s vengeance overcomes evil with greater evil.

Godly vengeance is seen every time the Holy Spirit baptizes anyone with “fire.” It is seen when the chaff in our life is burned. It is seen when believers are pruned. His vengeance always has a good result in the end. The “end” may be a long way down the road in the ages to come, but we know that all of God’s judgments spring forth from His Love-nature and are ultimately redemptive.

Hence, divine vengeance brings justice to all and causes the unrighteous to repent, to bow their knees to Christ, and to draw from their tongues a profession of faith and “praise to God” (Romans 14:11). The Comforter is not only ABLE to bring repentance; He WILL do this, for it is the New Covenant promise of God. The Holy Spirit can no more fail than God Himself could fail. Failure is not an option, because failure is sin (khawtaw, “to fail to reach one’s goal”).