What does “repentance” mean?
We often ask people, “When were you baptized?” but it is quite rare to ask, “When did you repent?” Yet repentance and baptism are linked biblically and inseparable. How does one repent? Let take a look at Scripture meaning of repentance.
Exodus 13:17. Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, “Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.”
Jeremiah 4:28. (28) For this shall the earth mourn, And the heavens above be black, Because I have spoken. I have purposed and will not relent, Nor will I turn back from it.
Matthew 21:29. He answered and said, “I will not,” but afterward he regretted it and went.
Comment: In these three instances, the KJV uses “repent” to show the changing of the mind about a matter, its simplest meaning apart from spiritual implications. The NKJV uses “change their minds,” “relent” and “regretted” in place of the more archaic “repent.”