When Jesus came down the mountain after the temptations in the wilderness, He said, “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand.” (Matt 4:17) This is quite important for him to make it the first statement. It’s not a “oh, by the way” statement. This is a command.

Repenting is not feeling sorry. Repenting is not feeling bad. Repenting is not “wishing it weren’t that way.” Repenting is letting go of anything that does not align with God and his Word. Repenting will remove the weight of guilt and shame that sin brings.

There are four common waysq of getting out of alignment with God.

• Commission: What we do that is not according to God’s character.
• Omission: What we fail to do when we know what we should have done.
• Mind: How we think and hold attitudes that are contrary to God.
• Heart: What we harbor in our hearts that is displeasing to God.

Too often we only consider sins of commission or what we have done. How often we ask, “What did I do wrong?” We can do everything correctly and still be standing in sin if our mind and heart are holding bitterness, resentment, anger, and unforgiveness. We can also be in sin if we know the right thing to do but keep looking for other options more to our liking. Neglect is just as big a downfall as doing something wrong. Failing to pay bills on time, not meeting deadlines, and refusing to respond to invitations or requests hold equal possibility of judgment.

Apologizing to God is not repenting. “God, I am sorry I lost my temper at my boss.” God does not want you to apologize, He wants you to repent. Apologies are verbal expressions only. Repenting is heart changing. Don’t expect God to effectively help you change your behavior if you don’t repent.

Asking forgiveness is not repenting.   “Mr. Smith, please forgive me for losing my temper.” When we ask for forgiveness, we are asking someone else to do something while we don’t necessarily have to do anything. Whether or not Mr. Smith forgives me, does not set the stage for my change of behavior. Repenting does.

Sin needs to be owned and confessed before the Lord. “Lord, I confess that I dishonored my boss when I lost my temper and yelled obscenities at him. I repent of holding anger, bitterness, and resentment in my heart. I now give them up. I repent of losing self-control. I take ownership of my own actions.”

When we repent, we can trust that He will forgive unconditionally removing that sin from our lives. If it were conditional, that forgiveness is based on future behavior. Unconditional forgiveness means future sin stands on its own and not connected if we did the same thing again. We step into His righteousness each time we repent. Jesus is my righteousness.