What is unrepentance?

Answer

An unrepentant individual acknowledges their sin but refuses to seek forgiveness from God or turn away from it. They show no remorse for their actions and do not see the necessity for change. Unrepentance involves persisting in sin deliberately.

Repentance entails a change of mindset that leads to a change in behavior. It brings about life «When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. », (Acts 11:18), and is an essential aspect of salvation. God commands everyone to repent and have faith in Christ (Acts 2:38;Acts 17:30;Acts 20:21). Therefore, unrepentance is a grave sin with severe consequences. Those who remain unrepentant live in disobedience to God, ignoring His merciful call. They will not be saved until they turn away from sin and accept Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

King Solomon, renowned as the wisest man, wrote, “Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy” «He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, Shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. », (Proverbs 29:1). To be stiff-necked is to possess a stubborn, obstinate spirit that resists God’s guidance or correction. The stiff-necked are inherently unrepentant.

The apostle Paul cautioned about the repercussions of unrepentance: “Because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God ‘will repay each person according to what the“You have done.’ To those who persist in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil” (Romans 2:5-9;cf: Psalm 62:12). There is a judgment coming. The results of righteousness will be beautiful, but the consequences of unrepentance will be harsh.

The book of Revelation shows how inured to sin the sinner can be. During the tribulation, after three different judgments of God, the wicked will remain unrepentant, despite their great suffering (Revelation 9:20-21;16:8-11). The tragedy is that, even as some people are experiencing the horrendous consequences of their sin, they will continue in their state of unrepentance.

Is there such a thing as an unrepentant Christian? Biblically, to become a Christian, one must repent and believe; a believer in Christ is one who has repented of sin. What, then, of professed believers who live in unrepentant sin? Most likely, they are not saved; they are mere professors, with no work of the Holy Spirit in their hearts. The apostle John states it bluntly: “If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth” «If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: », (1 John 1:6). The other possibility is that people claiming to be saved yet living in unrepentant sin are saved but acting in disobedience—in which case their unrepentance is a temporary hardness of heart, and God will discipline them (Hebrews 12:4-13)

). There is a sin unto death for the believer (1 John 5:16; cf: 1 Corinthians 11:29-31), but, except for that extreme circumstance, God will eventually restore His disobedient child to fellowship (see 1 Corinthians 5:1-5).

The unrepentant sinner needs to hear the good news of God’s salvation. God’s goodness leads people to repentance «Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? », (Romans 2:4), and He is a God of forbearance and longsuffering. Christians should confess their own sins, pray for the unrepentant, and evangelize the unsaved: “Opponents [of the truth] must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:25-26).