My text is taken from Acts 3:19, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”
My thought today is, ‘What Repentance Really Means’.
This word was used by Peter on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2:38-39 when he told the crowds, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” The Greek word for repentance means, change of principles and practice, a change of attitudes. It also denotes a change of mind, a change of one’s mode of thinking, and a change of one’s conduct. Keep these definitions in mind as we continue forward.
Let us look first at the real condition of the natural man. 1 Corinthians 2:14 states, “But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” Why is it so impossible for the natural man to understand the things of God? Ephesians 2:1-3 gives us this explanation, “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”
Things will now begin to become clearer to us as we study further. Firstly, we find that the natural man is dead in their trespasses and sins. This is good to know as a first step, however one might ask what does this mean? Let us read and see what John has to say about the subject. In John 5:24 Jesus stated, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” What is Jesus meaning when he says by death? There are two kinds of deaths mentioned in the word of God. One is a physical death. That should be self-explanatory to most of us. The other is a spiritual death which is the nature of Satan just as spiritual life is the nature of God. Let us illuminate things further by looking into 1 John 3:14-15, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abides in death. Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.”
Here it shows the contrast of death and life. Life is the nature of God and death is the nature of the enemy. This is the spiritual death. Mankind is a partaker of the nature of Satan that was given to him in the garden of Eden and subsequently passed down through the ages which allows spiritual death to dominate mankind. If you wish to see a more vivid contrast, listen while I read from Romans 5:17 from Weymouth’s Translation. “For if, through the transgression of one, death seized the sovereignty through the one, much more shall they that receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, reign as kings in the realm of life, through the one, Jesus Christ.” Spiritual death seized sovereignty over humanity in the garden and man began to serve under its dominator, Satan, and his dominion. Paul fills in the blanks and reveals to us the whole drama of spiritual death in Romans 5:12-21, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so, death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore, as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Repeating verse 14 to reiterate, “Nevertheless death reigned as a king over them that had not sinned after the likeness of Adam’s transgression.” What does he mean by this verse? Simply that spiritual death reigns over all men whether they have committed an actual sin or not. Sin reigned without interference until Moses came along. Why you might ask? What did Moses do or bring to the equation? Though sin, being defined as disobedience to the command of God, was established by God in the garden of Eden, Moses brought the spotlight once again onto sin, through the Law given to him by God, and also the act of atonement for sin, which comes through shed blood. The blood that was used at that time, was of innocent animals. Pure and without spot or blemish. Atonement means to cover. Metaphorically speaking he took a garment of an animal’s life and spread it over the spiritually dead children of Israel. That garment of blood covered the broken commandments through the hands of the priesthood in the Old Testament.
Spiritual death lost its complete sovereignty as long as Israel walked in the first covenant of God, but when Jesus came to earth, the combat between life and death began once again. Not physical life or physical death, but the new kind of life, abundant life, and everlasting life, that Jesus would bring was at war with spiritual death. John 10:10 tells us, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” The Greek word translated life is ‘Zoe’, which means God’s nature, God’s substance, God’s being. Just as spiritual death is derived from Satan’s substance and Satan’s being. All the beautiful graces which adorn a Christian’s life spring forth from eternal life. All sin, whether it is a committed sin or man’s sinful nature, has sprung forth out of spiritual death beginning in the garden of Eden. Mankind was united with Satan in the garden, obtaining a spiritual death sentence. That union must be broken by repentance and baptism in the Name of Jesus to be reborn aka to be born again and obtain spiritual life.
Perhaps the most awful words that Jesus ever uttered to the Jews are recorded in John 8:44-45, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.” This is a heart searching scripture. Satan was a murderer and a liar by nature. The very substance and being of Satan are the very opposite of what we see in the man Christ Jesus. Jesus is truth, He is the way, He is life, He is Holy, and He is love. Satan is the cause of spiritual death, a hater, and a sin propagator. He is everything that is bad versus Jesus who was everything that is pure and good. 1 John 3:10 says, “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.” Here we see two families in contrast. The family of God, and the family of the devil. Ephesians 2:11-12 gives us another sad picture of the natural man. The Spirit, speaking through Paul in verse eleven states, “Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands.”
The Jews referred to the Gentiles as the uncircumcision. Why? Because the circumcised man according to the first covenant aka the Old Testament, had covenant rights and privileges that the uncircumcised did not. The Gentile man who was uncircumcised was considered the outsider. The Jews would not even eat at the same table with Gentiles because it was considered unclean. Verse 12 states, “That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.” In the New Testament, the new or second covenant, all of God’s blessings are wrapped up in Christ. The Gentiles were separated from Christ under the old covenant. They were separated even from the commonwealth of Israel who were the covenant people and had covenant claims to God. The Gentiles were considered strangers from any covenant relationship with God or any contact with him, until Jesus Christ and the second covenant which gave them access directly to Him. This all could become a reality for them through repentance. However, the Jews of the Old Testament and the Gentiles alike, in fact all men, only have access to God through repentance and the new birth experience. The Old Testament covenant has been fulfilled and completed, and now the New Testament and covenant is in effect.
The sacrifices of the Old Testament are no longer effective for the cleansing of sin, neither for the Jews nor the Gentiles, but it is through the blood of Jesus that we receive remission and cleansing. Hebrews 10:1-10 gives us the account this way, “For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But in those sacrifices, there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou would not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou would not, neither hast pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Jesus became the final atonement.
Referring to our text, Acts 3:19, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” The first step here is repentance, which is a Godly sorrow which causes us to change directions in our lives which then leads us to the next step. He then states, ‘and be converted’. It is not just enough to say a few words because we realize we have been caught, but we must change and continue the process. Then in the text he tells them the why, ‘that your sins may be blotted out’. This is now possible through the blood that Jesus shed for us. For this to be accomplished in us, as we read earlier in Peter’s message on the Day of Pentecost, the next step of the process that we must fulfill is baptism. God forgives us at repentance, but at baptism, two more things are fulfilled in the process of conversion. Firstly, it is for the washing away of those sins, and a complete cleansing which gives us a brand new slate. Secondly, it is to take on our new family name, Jesus Christ. Romans 3:25 speaking of Jesus says, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” Colossians 2:12 says, “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.” Romans 6:4 also states, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Baptism is an absolute necessity in the ‘be converted’ process that Acts 3 spoke of. Hebrews 9:22 is emphatic, “… without shedding of blood is no remission.” The dictionary definition of remission is, a cancellation of a debt, charge, or penalty, also, the forgiveness of sins, to expunge, to release from obligation. Therefore, just as the blood of the Old Testament animals were a metaphorical covering for their sins which showed up on their record again every year, our debts are not only covered but paid in full, cancelled out and erased from our record, never to appear against us again, through baptism.
The most wonderful part, if there could be anything better than that, is that we are not the only ones involved in the process. Jesus did the dying and shedding of His own pure blood for us. He took our place. We only need to apply it to our lives individually, through repentance and baptism in His name. With that being done, we have then positioned ourselves to receive the most beautiful gift and miracle, man could ever experience. That is the infilling of the Holy Ghost. This is not something we are responsible to ‘do’, but rather just accept by faith in Jesus’ work on calvary for us. This is a gift that will keep on giving, because it will lead and guide us daily into all truth, keep us from temptation and begin to bear fruit in us. Galatians 5:22-23 tells us, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” This is where the first step that we called repentance will lead us! Though it is the first step we take to get us going, we have access to it for the duration of the process of conversion, aka for our entire lives. This is the true meaning and blessing of repentance. Take advantage of it daily, it is a gift. It is the grace of God.