I was Saved when I was 10 along with my Brother who was 12. Repentance is where I'm confused. I thought confession meant this is what I did, and Repentance is saying I'm sorry and won't do it again. Repentance is making a hard decision to take a different path entirely. First, how is a child with little or no control over his life going to take a new path? The fly in the ointment is that I sincerely wanted to be saved, and a feeling of lasting elation (The Holy Spirit?) came over me, and a could see and feel the hand of God even though I backslid wildly. I did things concerning love and lust that were sinful, then a feeling of righteousness came over me when I married the woman, though she was divorced. I'm posting this here because there's no human person I can take counsel with, and I can't find anything written on the subject.
Easton's Revised Bible Dictionary has this paragraph in its entry on repentance. (It follows a description of false repentance, like the repentance of Judas Iscariot, which was merely regret.):
"Evangelical repentance consists of
a. a true sense of one's own guilt and sinfulness;
b. an apprehension of God s mercy in Christ; c. an actual hatred of sin Ps 119:128 Job 42:5,6 2Co 7:10 and turning from it to God
d. a persistent endeavour after a holy life in a walking with God in the way of his commandments. The true penitent is conscious of guilt Ps 51:4,9 of pollution Ps 51:5,7,10 and of helplessness Ps 51:11 109:21,22 Thus he apprehends himself to be just what God has always seen him to be and declares him to be. But repentance comprehends not only such a sense of sin, but also an apprehension of mercy, without which there can be no true repentance Ps 51:1 130:4"
I hope that is at least a bit of help to you.
