About Repentance
1.7 - Foundations of the Christian Faith
Repentance is a big deal. It’s foundational for your salvation and a powerful force in your life. In the second chapter of the book of Acts, the crowds respond to Peter’s preaching the Gospel by repentance. Let’s look at this passage: “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call’” (Acts 2:37-39). They were cut to the heart, repented of their sin, were baptized in water, and then received the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. Without repentance, there would be no salvation and no promised Holy Spirit.
The word repentance means to “change your thinking” about something or to “turn around and walk the other way.” These things are true and are derived from the Greek and Hebrew, respectively. The Greek word for repentance is metanoia, which means to “change your mind.” The Hebrew word for repentance is sheenbeyt, which means to “turn around and walk the other way.” But there’s more depth here, which is worth our time to explore. The word sheenbeyt literally means “to destroy or burn the house down.” Or in other words, it is burning or destroying the place you are living in and then turning around and leaving. So, repentance is really about destroying the sinful state in which we have been living and walking away, never returning. Our old lives and sinful ways must be crushed, burned, and destroyed so there is no reason to return there. (More about this at this URL.)
These two meanings work together for a proper Christian understanding of repentance. To repent means to have a change of heart. Repentance is about turning our back on our sinful ways and counting them as unworthy of our attention because we have burned them to the ground. We literally turn from sinfully serving ourselves to serving God as we follow Jesus Christ. We need God’s help to make this change.
With God’s help, we can acknowledge and turn from our sins, receive the gift of God’s grace in Jesus Christ, and embrace the new life he freely gives us.
Your assignment: Read the following scriptures to see what else God’s Word says about repentance.
John 10:9
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Acts 3:19–21
19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. 21 Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.
1 John 2:1–2
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
Isaiah 57:15–19
15 For this is what the high and exalted One says—
he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
“I live in a high and holy place,
but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
16 I will not accuse them forever,
nor will I always be angry,
for then they would faint away because of me—
the very people I have created.
17 I was enraged by their sinful greed;
I punished them, and hid my face in anger,
yet they kept on in their willful ways.
18 I have seen their ways, but I will heal them;
I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners,
19 creating praise on their lips.
Peace, peace, to those far and near,”
says the Lord. “And I will heal them.”
Psalm 51:16–17
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.
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