Repentance (a term related to ), in Christianity, refers to being sorrowful for having committed sin and then turning away from sin toward a life of

holiness Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

. In certain Christian traditions, such as Catholic theology, Lutheran theology, Orthodox theology and Anglican theology, repentance plays a key role in confession and absolution. It can specifically refer to a stage in Christian salvation in which an individual gains awareness of

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

's standard, acknowledges their past or present wrongdoings, and deliberately turns away from sin toward God; its numeration as a stage in the '' ordo salutis'' varies with the

Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...

, with the Reformed theological tradition arguing it occurs after

faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

. Christian denominations that adhere to the liturgical kalendar, such as Catholicism, Lutheranism, Moravianism and Anglicanism, focus on repentance during the season of

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

, while emphasizing its importance in the life of the believer throughout the year.

Origins

In the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' T. C. Mitchell, 'Repentance' ''New Bible Dictionary'' (Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press, 1996): 1007–8. David Lambert believes that "It is in the writings of rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity that it attains the status of a technical term, a basic item of an emerging religious lexicon". In the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

called for repentance during his speeches.

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

also called for repentance when he proclaimed the gospel for

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

. It was a focal point in the preaching of the apostles Peter and Paul. In the New Testament, '' metanoia'' () can mean remorse but is generally translated as a turning away from sin ( Matthew 3:2). Theologically, 'repentance', the turning away from sin is linked to a corresponding turn to faith in

Emanuel Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg (; ; born Emanuel Swedberg; (29 January 168829 March 1772) was a Swedish polymath; scientist, engineer, astronomer, anatomist, Christian theologian, philosopher, and mysticism, mystic. He became best known for his book on the ...

and Jonathan S. Rose explain how repentance in the church as a whole is used to take away the serious evils that God cannot overlook; Swedenborg and Rose explain how "acts of repentance include any and all actions that result in our not willing, and consequently not doing, evil things that are sins against God." For repentance to be achievable one must think of it using their will or real self and the thinking must be done by their will. Swedenborg and Rose refer to John the Baptist to describe how he was performing baptism of repentance. John the Baptist would preach repentance along with the other disciples and the Lord himself along with performing the baptisms. If people repented then their sins were forgiven and they were welcomed into the church.

Theology

Catholicism

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

theology repentance is fundamental to forgiveness. This is elaborated on by bishop George Hay, who in his catechism answers the question, ''What are the principal parts of which true repentance is composed?''

The principal parts of true repentance are these three: (1.) A sincere regret and sorrow of heart for our having offended so good a God by sin. (2.) A firm and determined resolution of never offending Him again, followed by an effectual change of life and manners. (3.) A voluntary punishing of ourselves for the sins we have committed, in order to repair the injury done to God by sin, and to satisfy, in some measure, His offended justice."

For Catholics, where there is mortal sin, use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation must follow.

Protestantism

Lutheran

The Augsburg Confession (known in Latin as ''Confessio Augustana'') is the primary confession of faith used in the Lutheran Church. It is one of the most important documents of the Protestant Reformation. It divides repentance into two parts: * "One is contrition, that is, terrors smiting the conscience through the knowledge of sin;" * "The other is faith, which is born of the Gospel, or of

absolution Absolution is a theological term for the forgiveness imparted by ordained Priest#Christianity, Christian priests and experienced by Penance#Christianity, Christian penitents. It is a universal feature of the historic churches of Christendom, alth ...

, and believes that for Christ's sake, sins are forgiven, comforts the conscience, and delivers it from terrors."

Reformed

In the Reformed tradition,

John Calvin John Calvin (; ; ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French Christian theology, theologian, pastor and Protestant Reformers, reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of C ...

wrote that repentance "may be justly defined to be a true conversion of our life to God, proceeding from a serious fear of God, and consisting in the mortification of the flesh and of the old man, and in the vivification of the Spirit." He further said that "it will be useful to amplify and explain the definition we have given; in which there are three points to be particularly considered".

In the first place, when we call repentance 'a conversion of the life to God', we require a transformation, not only in the external actions, but in the soul itself; which, after having put off the old nature, should produce the fruits of actions corresponding to its renovation....

In the second place, we represented repentance as proceeding from a serious fear of God. For before the mind of a sinner can be inclined to repentance, it must be excited by the knowledge of the Divine judgment.

It remains for us, in the third place, to explain our position, that repentance consists of two parts—the mortification of the flesh and the vivification of the spirit.... Both these branches of repentance effects our participation of Christ. For if we truly partake of his death, our old man is crucified by its power, and the body of sin expires, so that the corruption of our former nature loses all its vigor.... If we are partakers of his resurrection, we are raised by it to a newness of life, which corresponds with the righteousness of God." uotes from ''A Compend of the Institutes of the Christian Religion'' by John Calvin edited by Hugh T. Kerr, The Westminster Press-Philadelphia 1939./blockquote>

Methodism
In Methodist theology: Repentance is part of Christian life and the process of
sanctification Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...
.

Free Grace theology
Free grace theology approaches repentance in a different way than most other Christian traditions; Free Grace theologians have generally held one of three views on repentance: A major number of Free Grace theologians have taught that repentance (''metanoia'') should be treated as a change of mind not as a turning from sin or sorrow for sin. Thus, in this view repentance is viewed as a synonym for faith. A second view was suggested by Zane C. Hodges in which repentance is defined as turning from one's sins, but repentance is not a requirement for eternal life, only faith in Christ. Zane Hodges presented this view in his book "Harmony with God", where he argued that repentance is not a condition of salvation, but is a condition of fellowship with God and sanctification. However, repentance may be preached to unbelievers, in which case it makes one more disposed to faith in Christ. In this view, passages such as ''Luke 13:3'' are viewed temporarily and corporately, Zane Hodges argued that Jesus is warning the nation of Israel of the destruction of Judea by the Romans. Joseph Dillow taught instead that repentance refers to remorse or regret for sin, in his view being a necessary pre-condition of faith. However, Dillow rejected the view that repentance should be viewed as commitment to Christ.

Nondenominational Christianity
In
Nondenominational Christianity Non-denominational Christianity (or nondenominational Christianity) consists of churches, and individual Christians, which typically distance themselves from the confessionalism or creedalism of other Christian communities by not formally ali ...
, especially such churches aligned with
evangelicalism Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
, repentance is held to be necessary for salvation and new birth.Robert H. Krapohl, Charles H. Lippy, ''The Evangelicals: A Historical, Thematic, and Biographical Guide'', Greenwood Publishing Group, USA, 1999, p. 169 It is the subject of special invitations during sermons and services.

References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Repentance (Theology) Repentance Christian soteriology Christian terminology