Repent of Your Sins.

Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. (1 Peter 2:1-3)

Repentance of sin is different than admitting failures. In other words, repentance is different from confession. Confession means accepting responsibility and agreeing with God you were wrong. Repentance is the hating of the sin, or sins, and a turning from them to Christ. Repentance must be a part of mind renewal. It is a mindset that is sensitive to sin and determined to run from it.

Repentance is also much different than saying you’re sorry. Again, it entails a hatred of—a repulsion to—sin. A repentant heart is more concerned about the sin than the consequences of the sin. In fact, repentance understands and accepts whatever consequences God allows to be born from the sin.

It was the ability to repent that separated David from his predecessor, King Saul. God did not reject David when he sinned most terribly. On the other hand, Saul, whose sin was not so blatant, was rejected. What was the difference? Only David truly repented. It was this fact that made David a man after God’s own heart.