Repentance
Context is ALWAY'S key: A words meaning changes depending upon the context that it's used in.
Below Vine's highlights the meaning & gives the verse's that apply based on context (Verb, Adjective, Noun etc) used.
Acts 20:21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
(NOTE: Repentance toward God, for the Jew that had a covenant with God. He was to return to serving God. To the gentile that never had God. He was to acknowledge that God is. 2ndly, Faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. The Jew was to acknowledge Jesus was their promised Messiah. The gentile was to place their faith in Christ's death, burial & resurrection)
Rom 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
(NOTE: It's not thru our greatness of obedience that we repent/change our thinking outlook. It's the indwelling Holy Spirit that leads us to repent/change our thinking outlook).
Acts 11:18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
(NOTE: Sin repentance is a result of one's faith. God grants/gives us the ability to repent & to turn from ungodly/dead works. It's this granted God given repentance that leads to Godly works. A result/fruit that process from of one's faith)
Romans 1:5 ""Through him we received grace"" & apostleship ""to call all the Gentiles to the obedience"" ""that comes from faith"" for his name’s sake.
(Faith leads to obedience)
Romans 16:26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, ""so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience"" ""that comes from faith""
(Gentiles are brought to obedience/repentance/godly living thru Faith)
Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words: Repent, Repentance
(Strong's #3340 — Verb — metanoeo — met-an-o-eh'-o )
lit., "to perceive afterwards" (meta, "after," implying "change," noeo, "to perceive;" nous, "the mind, the seat of moral reflection"), in contrast to pronoeo, "to perceive beforehand," hence signifies "to change one's mind or purpose," always, in the NT, involving a change for the better, an amendment, and always, except in Luke 17:3,4 , of "repentance" from sin. The word is found in the Synoptic Gospels (in Luke, nine times), in Acts five times, in the Apocalypse twelve times, eight in the messages to the churches, Revelation 2:5 (twice),16,21 (twice), RV, "she willeth not to repent" (2nd part); Revelation 3:3,19 (the only churches in those chapters which contain no exhortation in this respect are those at Smyrna and Philadelphia); elsewhere only in 2 Corinthians 12:21 . See also the general Note below.
(Strong's #3338 — Verb — metamelomai — met-am-el'-lom-ahee )
meta, as in No. 1, and melo, "to care for," is used in the Passive Voice with the Middle Voice sense, signifying "to regret, to repent oneself," Matthew 21:29 , RV, "repented himself;" Matthew 21:32 , RV, "ye did (not) repent yourselves" (AV, "ye repented not"); Matthew 27:3 , "repented himself" 2 Corinthians 7:8 (twice), RV, "regret" in each case; Hebrews 7:21 , where alone in the NT it is said (negatively) of God.
(Strong's #278 — Adjective — ametameletos — am-et-am-el'-ay-tos )
"not repented of, unregretted" (a, negative, and a verbal adjective of A, No. 2), signifies "without change of purpose;" it is said (a) of God in regard to his "gifts and calling," Romans 11:29 ; (b) of man, 2 Corinthians 7:10 , RV, "[repentance (metanoia, see C)] ... which bringeth no regret" (AV, "not to be repented of"); the difference between metanoia and metamelomai, illustrated here, is briefly expressed in the contrast between "repentance" and "regret."
(Strong's #3341 — Noun Feminine — metanoia — met-an'-oy-ah )
"afterthought, change of mind, repentance," corresponds in meaning to A, No. 1, and is used of "repentance" from sin or evil, except in Hebrews 12:17 , where the word "repentance" seems to mean, not simply a change of Isaac's mind, but such a change as would reverse the effects of his own previous state of mind. Esau's birthright-bargain could not be recalled; it involved an irretrievable loss. As regards "repentance" from sin, (a) the requirement by God on man's part is set forth, e.g., in Matthew 3:8 ; Luke 3:8 ; Acts 20:21 ; 26:20 ; (b) the mercy of God in giving "repentance" or leading men to it is set forth, e.g., in Acts 5:31 ; 11:18 ; Romans 2:4 ; 2 Timothy 2:25 . The most authentic mss. omit the word in Matthew 9:13 ; Mark 2:17 , as in the RV.
Vine's Note: In the OT, "repentance" with reference to sin is not so prominent as that change of mind or purpose, out of pity for those who have been affected by one's action, or in whom the results of the action have not fulfilled expectations, a "repentance" attributed both to God and to man, e.g., Genesis 6:6 ; Exodus 32:14 (that this does not imply anything contrary to God's immutability, but that the aspect of His mind is changed toward an object that has itself changed, see under RECONCILE).
Vine's Note: In the NT the subject chiefly has reference to "repentance" from sin, and this change of mind involves both a turning from sin and a turning to God. The parable of the Prodigal Son is an outstanding illustration of this. Christ began His ministry with a call to "repentance," Matthew 4:17 , but the call is addressed, not as in the OT to the nation, but to the individual. In the Gospel of John, as distinct from the Synoptic Gospels, referred to above, "repentance" is not mentioned, even in connection with John the Baptist's preaching; in John's Gospel and 1st Epistle the effects are stressed, e.g., in the new birth, and, generally, in the active turning from sin to God by the exercise of faith (John 3:3 ; 9:38 ; 1 John 1:9 ), as in the NT in general.
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