pound
(repoenitere) comes our English word 'repent,' which inherits the
fault of the Latin; making grief the prominent element, and change of
purpose secondary, if expressed at all. Thus our English word
corresponds exactly to the second Greek word (metamelesthai), and to
the Hebrew word rendered repent, but sadly fails to translate the
exhortation of the New Testament."

Repentance is not a price that the sinner pays for salvation; neither
is the sorrow that leads to repentance a price that he pays for
salvation. And repentance does not make the sinner a fit subject for
salvation; nor does the sorrow that leads to repentance make him a fit
subject for salvation. No one can see that he has violated God's just
and holy law and is guilty, justly condemned, helpless, without its
producing sorrow and this sorrow will lead to repentance, to an entire
change of mind and purpose, to turning from sin, and, as B. H. Carroll
expressed it, from all self-help ("repentance from dead works,"--Heb.
6:1) to God.

Some are sometimes troubled as to how much sorrow there must be. There
are different degrees of sorrow in different people, but there must be
enough sorrow to lead to repentance, to an entire change of mind and
purpose.

"In both the Old Testament and the New Testament exhortation the
element of grief for sin is left in the background, neither word
directly expressing grief at all, though it must in the nature of
things be present."--_Jno. A. Broadus._

"To repent is to change your mind about sin and Christ and all the
good things of God. There is sorrow implied in this; but the main
point is the turning of the heart from sin to Christ. If there be this
turning you have the essence of the repentance, even though no alarm
and no despair should ever have cast their shadow upon your
mind."--_C. H. Spurgeon._

"Conviction of sin is just the sinner seeing himself as he is and as
God has all along seen him."--_H. Bonar, in "God's Way of Peace."_

"The object of the Holy Spirit's work in convincing of sin is to alter
the sinner's opinion of himself and so to reduce his estimate of his
own character, that he shall think of himself as God does, and so
cease to suppose it possible that he can be justified by any
excellence of his own. Having altered the sinner's good opinion of
himself, the Spirit then alters his evil opinion of God, so as to make
him see that the God with whom he has to deal is really the God of all
grace."--_