What is repentance?

You know, as we preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, proclaiming the grace of God independent of man's goodness, many questions are asked. Two major questions  are, 'Shall we sin that Grace may abound?' and 'What about repentance?' To the first, the answer is clear: No. Why? The one under grace is dead to sin. The second is what I am giving full attention to in this post. I believe that the subject of repentance has been grossly misunderstood today. I'll start by saying that repentance is not a change of act but a change of heart. Jesus thought so too in Matthew 23:26, ' Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.' The word, 'repentance', comes from a Greek word, 'metanoia'. It means, 'a change of mind'. For many, it's to stop doing the wrong thing. Well, not necessarily. If our stopping of bad deeds was the repentance God was looking for, then the work of Jesus was unnecessary. - Galatians 2:21. Repentance is a change of heart towards God. Scripturally, Faith is repentance. Because Faith is believing on God, while not trusting self. That believing is what makes you a slave of righteousness who is the only man who can only live right -Romans 6:17-18. John the Baptist's ministry was to call people to repentance. Let's look at the prophecy given concerning him in Luke 1:17, '.... to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people..' Notice that he said, 'to turn...the disobedient to the wisdom of the just'. The word, 'disobedient' in the Greek is 'apiethes' which means, 'unpersuadable, unconvincable, unbelieving'. The wisdom of the just is Faith. Therefore, John was to  turn unbelieving folks to Faith. Romans 4:5 tells us that the one that has faith independent of works is justified before God. Therefore, repentance can not mean to stop doing wrong. That a man stops doing wrong doesn't make him right. Jesus told his disciples in John 15:3, 'Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.' How did he know? What act did they do to prove they were clean? He knew the efficacy of his Word. Only a man who has repented can do right, not the other way round. 'Christianity, from start to finish, must be lived in utter dependence on Christ'- Watchman Nee. Repentance is necessary, as we must continually look away from ourselves unto Christ's efficacious work. As the Israelites looked away from trying to help themselves from the venomous serpent bites unto that which God provided, the brazen serpent, so also must the believers look away from self effort, unto who God lovingly provided, Jesus; only then will the power of sin be literally broken and we can function as what we really are, God's righteousness! #TheVision #Pleroma