Central Park Baptist Church, Decatur
Salvation, God’s gift of forgiveness, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, purpose, hope, joy, peace … all of this and much more is God’s gift to everyone who believes in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The word “believe” includes more than simple mental acknowledgment. It also includes repentance.
In Luke 13:5 Jesus said, “I tell you unless you repent, you will all perish.” “Repentance” literally means “a change of mind … a change of direction … turning around.”
The word translated as “repentance” is the Greek word μετάνοια (metanoia), which is a compound word of the preposition “meta” (after, with) and the verb “noeo” (to perceive, to think, the result of perceiving or observing) and the noun “nous” (mind). Metanoia is a change of mind accompanied by regret (“godly sorrow”), as in 2 Corinthians 7:10, “For godly grief (“sorrow,” KJV) produces a repentance not to be regretted and leading to salvation.”
Jesus proclaimed the message of repentance in Luke 24:46–47. John the Baptist proclaimed it in the wilderness (Matt. 3:2). Peter admonished men to repent in his sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2:38) and Paul declared the need to repent in Acts 17:30–31.
Repentance is preceded by conviction of sin and godly sorrow over sin. It is then a decision to turn from sin and to Christ.
Repentance is a change of mind about sin that leads to recognition of the ugliness of sin, a confession of personal responsibility for sin and a turning away from sin. The thief on the cross who repented said, “We deserve our death penalty because of how we lived.”
Repentance is a change of mind about the Savior. The rejected Christ becomes the received Christ. Jesus becomes the Lord and Master of our lives.
Repentance is a change of mind about service. Selfish living is replaced by service to Christ. Obedience to Christ replaces disobedience. Men come to God through repentance and faith (Acts 3:19; Ps. 51:17).
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