Repentance

Sometimes there is confusion about what repentance really is.  It simply is change.  It isn't just a confession, an admittance of doing wrong; it is about recognizing the wrong done and being committed to making the needed change.  It is a critical part of coming to our Lord, of being acceptable to our Lord.

We see the importance of repentance in lots of New Testament verses.  We read that the Lord is very concerned that we repent in 2Peter 3:9,  "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance."  The Lord is on our side.  He wants us to be on His side.

Paul was preaching in Athens as recorded in Acts 17:30 and said, "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent."  Obviously, this is taken out of context, but the context here is that Paul is addressing the fact that the people there have been worshiping idols and following false Gods.  Now it is time to repent, to change.

And in Acts 2:38, Peter was preaching to the Jews who crucified Jesus.  He told them how wrong they were.  In verse 37, they recognized their wrong and said, "..what shall we do?"  Peter's answer to them was, "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."  The first step was to repent, to make that change of heart, to commit to Jesus.....then to follow that with baptism. 

We must all be willing to recognize our wrongs, then make the true commitment to change and conform to the will of our Lord, to repent of our wrongs and to move forward without the baggage of the past dragging us down.  Hebrews 12 tells us, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses (great men and women of the past), let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus..."

Thanks for reading.  Keep the faith. Feel the love.