Understanding Repentance

And Peter said to them, "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38 NAS)

What does it mean to repent? What is repentance? Is it penance? Does it mean giving up sins? What did Peter mean when he uttered these words?

Many tell us to "repent of our sins," but Peter did not say this. John the Baptist did not say this. Nor did Jesus. This whole idea that to come to God we must first repent (put away) of our sins has caused much confusion and trouble. People are given the idea that they must give up drinking, or tobacco, or drugs, or some other vices, and then they can come to Jesus. Having be saved by Christ out of the depths of sin myself, I must ask those who propagate this understanding of repentance, How does a sinner, a slave of sin, give up sin? Go to the meth addict and ask him if he would like to give up meth if he could. Ask the alcoholic if she would like to be free from the bottle. Ask the homosexual if he can stop being homosexual.

As long as sin is what some fundamentalists define it as, i.e. smoking, drinking, movies, dancing, tv, etc. I suppose one could give up these "sins." But go to the prostitute and tell her to become a virgin. Go to the addict whose body aches for a fix, whose frayed nerves and fried brain begs for the needle and tell him to stop his sin. Then you will find out why Jesus said, Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin."

Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil. (Jeremiah 13:23)

Repentance is not forsaking your particular sins, nor is it feeling sorry for your sins or their consequences. Repentance is not making amends or restitution. It is not penance. Repentance is much deeper and radical than that. The Greek word metanoia translated as repentance literally means change of mind. It is intimately connected with faith in that is a change from not believing God to believing God. Catholics usually refer to this as conversion. When a parent demands a rebellious teenager to 'change their attitude', that is a call to repent. When your boos warns you to 'change your attitude', that is a demand that you repent. It is a change from arguing against God to agreeing with God regarding what He says about you. It is a change of mind that turns from thinking "I'm basically a good person" to believing "I'm a sinner bound for hell and deserving it." It's a change from thinking I can make myself acceptable to God, to understanding all my goodness is nothing but filth. It is a change from "Yes I can!" to "God help me, a lost and miserable sinner!" Repentance is throwing oneself at the foot of the cross, confessing our guilt and sin and begging for mercy and cleansing.

Repentance begins and ends with God working in us, first to convince us of the truth and in the end to save us from sin and death. Repentance is bound together with faith for if we do not believe neither will we repent and commit ourselves to Christ. And finally, what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross provides the basis for God to forgive and transform us. Without Jesus and the cross, there could be no salvation for sinners.

And Peter said to them, "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:38 NAS)