Repentance, internal or external?

Repentance, by definition, means literally to think differently. Thus when I say I am going to repent of my sins, I mean that I am going to think differently in regard to my sins. My new thinking is that I am sorry that I committed that sin, and I do not want to commit it again. This new way of thinking will then lead to a new kind of action. So, repentance is both internal and external. Internally I change my way of thinking; externally I change my way of acting. The one, thinking, leads to the other, acting. The parable of the two sons in Matt. 21:28-32 is an excellent example of this.

Yahshua told a story about a man who had two sons. He said to the first, "Go, work today in my vineyard." The first son said he would not work in his dad’s vineyard, but Jesus said he later repented and went. What did this boy do when he repented? He simply changed his mind. Yahweh wants us to change our minds about sin and our participation in it. That’s what the Bible is talking about in commanding all men to repent.