There's a Christian term that we all know that perhaps we mix up with another Christian term that's not quite as familiar. The one we know is repentance. It's a big part of Scripture. The very first sermon that Jesus ever preached, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." That was his message, the gospel message.

But the word that we're not so familiar with, but we may mix the two up, is the word "penance." How do these two interact with each other? When you have offended a brother or sister, repentance is a change of mind. It is a change of actions concerning that particular issue toward that person.

Penance, however, is a completely unbiblical concept because what penance is, is trying to do things that have nothing to do with the original offense to simply make up for it. And to give a radical example that if I wreck someone's car and think that by buying them an ice cream cone, they're going to feel better. That's an example of penance. No, I need to pay for the car. I need to atone for what I've done to the best of my ability, asking for their forgiveness and repenting to them for that particular issue.