Is repentance really necessary? If so, for whom? Whom does it satisfy? According to the teachings of the Bible, in the Old and New Testaments, which is the source book of authority for our faith and preaching, the answer is "yes;" repentance is necessary. It is not for God; God has not sinned. Repentance is for us. It satisfies God because God intends that we return to him that we might live and know salvation and peace.

In the Old Testament repentance is largely associated with the whole nation of Israel. It is a kind of national response to a prophetic demand to repent and to return to the Lord lest they die. The fear was that they might no longer exist as a peopie on the earth.

In the New Testament the emphasis is on the individual. Repentance is a personal response to having been mad…