Repent means to turn around and go back. Turn from sin and flee to Jesus. Here is Luther.
Note, then, as I have often said, that confession consists of two parts. The first is my work and act, when I lament my sin and desire comfort and restoration for my soul. The second is a work which God does, when he absolves me of my sins through a word [the Gospel] placed in the mouth of a man. This is the surpassingly grand and noble thing that makes confession so wonderful and comforting. In the past we placed all our emphasis on our work alone, and we were only concerned whether we had confessed purely enough. We neither noticed or preached the very necessary second part; it was just as if our confession were simply a good work with which we could satisfy God. Where the confession was not made perfectly and in complete detail, we were told that the absolution was not valid and the sin was not forgiven . . ..
We should therefore take care to keep the two parts clearly separate. We should set little value on our work but exalt and magnify God’s Word. We should not act as if we wanted to perform a magnificent work to present to him, but simply to accept and receive something from him.
