Repentance and Salvation

1. Repentance and Salvation – 15th
August 2016
“Repent, then, andturn to God,so that your sinsmay be wiped out,that times of refreshingmay come
from the Lord”(Acts3:19).
Repentance isdefinedas"arepentingorbeingpenitent;feelingof sorrow,especiallyforwrongdoing;
compunction;contrition;remorse." Repentancecomesfromthe Greekword metanoia. Many people
understandthe term repentance to mean“turningfromsin.”Thisisnot the biblical definitionof
repentance.Inthe Bible,the wordrepents means“tochange one’smind.”TheEerdmansBible
Dictionary definesrepentance initsfullestsense as"acomplete change of orientationinvolvinga
judgmentuponthe pastand a deliberateredirectionforthe person.Itisa sincere turningaway,inboth
the mindand heart,fromwhat the self maydesire towhatGod desiresfromus.It involvesachange of
mindthat leadstoaction--the turningawayfromasinful course toGod.
In a biblical context,repentance beginswhenwe clearlyrecognize thatoursinisoffensivetoGod.
Repentance canbe shallow,suchasthe remorse we feel because of fearof punishmentoritcan be
deep,suchas realizinghowmuchoursinscost JesusChristandhow hissaving grace washesusclean.
One of the bestexamplesof aprofound“turningfromsin” can be found the gospels inreference tothe
conversionof Paul – frombeinga personwhohatedChristto become one of the strongestapostlesfor
Christ.
The Bible teachesusthat true repentance will resultina clearchange of one’sbehaviorand actions.We
can learnfromActs 3:19, “Repent, then, andturn to God,so that your sinsmay be wiped out,that
times ofrefreshing may come fromthe Lord”.We are advisedthatwe shouldrepentandturnto God
and demonstrate ourrepentance by ourdeeds aswe can readfrom Acts 26:20 declares, “ Firsttothose
in Damascus,then to those inJerusalem andin all Judea, andthen to the Gentiles,I preached that
they shouldrepent and turn to Godand demonstratetheir repentance by their deeds”.The biblical
definitionof repentance isachange of mind – to demonstrate theirrepentance bytheirdeeds thatwill
clearlydemonstrate achange of behavioralwaystothe better!.
One may wantto know,whatthenis the connectionbetweenrepentanceandsalvation?The Bookof
Acts seemstoespeciallyfocusonrepentance inregardstosalvation.We canlearnfrom Acts 2:38, Peter
replied,“Repent and be baptized,every one ofyou, inthe name ofJesus Christfor the forgivenessof
your sins.And youwill receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”.We can findmanyreferencesinreference to
Repentance andSalvationinthe bookof Actsverses 11:18; 17:30; 20:21; 26:20). These versesreachus
that to repent,inrelationtosalvation,istochange yourmindinregardto JesusChrist. Furthermore we
can learnthat inPeter’ssermononthe day of Pentecost(Actschapter2),he concludeswithacall for
the people torepent aswe can read fromabove foundinActs 2:38, Peter replied,“Repent and be
baptized,every one of you, inthe nameof Jesus Christfor the forgivenessof your sins.And youwill
receive the giftof the Holy Spirit”.
In the above passage the apostle Peteradvisesto Repent andbe baptized…” Butrepentfromwhat?
Here Peteriscallingthe people whorejectedJesus aswe can readfrom Acts 2:36, “Therefore let all
Israel be assuredof this: Godhasmade this Jesus,whom you crucified,bothLord and Messiah.” He is
admonishingthem tochange theirmindsabout Jesus,torecognize thatHe isindeed“LordandChrist”.

2. Peteriscallingthe people to Repent- change theirminds- fromrejectingChristtofaithinHimas both
Messiahand Savior. Repentance andfaithcanbe understoodas“twosidesof the same coin.”It is
impossible toplace yourfaithinJesusChristasthe Saviorwithoutfirstchangingyourmindaboutwho
He isand whatHe has done.Whetheritisrepentance fromwillfulrejectionorrepentance from
ignorance or disinterest,it requires achange of mind. Repentfromone’sunbelief andchangingtoone’s
mindthat has steadfastfaithandbelief! ThereforeBiblical repentance,inrelationtosalvation,is
changingone’smindfromrejectionof ChristtofaithinChrist.
It iscruciallyimportantthatwe understandrepentance isnotawork we doto earn salvation.Noone
can repentandcome to God unlessGodpullsthatpersontoHimself.We canlearnthisfrom John6:44,
“Noone can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, andI will raisethem upat the
last day”.Furthertosame we can learnfrom Acts 5:31, “
Godexalted himto his ownright handas
Prince andSavior that he mightbring Israel to repentance andforgivetheir sins”.Thisindicatesthat
repentance issomethingGodgives—itisonlypossiblebecause of Hisgrace.Noone can repentunless
God grants repentance.All of salvation,includingrepentance andfaith,isaresultof God drawingus,
openingoureyes,andchangingourhearts.
While repentance isnotawork thatearns salvation,repentance untosalvationdoesresultinworks.Itis
impossible totrulyandfullychange yourmindwithoutthatcausinga change inaction.In the Bible, as
readabove, repentance resultsinachange inbehavior.ThatiswhyJohnthe Baptistcalledpeopleto
“Produce fruitin keeping withrepentance” (Matthew 3:8).Produce “fruit”clearlyshows changesthat
can be clearlynoticesandobservedashavingtrulychanged!
Therefore apersonwhohas trulyrepentedfromrejectionof ChristtofaithinChristwill give evidence of
a changedlife:“Therefore,ifanyone isin Christ,the new creationhas come:[a]
The oldhas gone,the
new is here! (2 Corinthians5:17). We can understandthat Repentance,isnecessaryforsalvation.
Biblical repentancehelpstochange one’s mindaboutany“foolishbeliefs”if any,onJesusChrist,and
use thisopportunitytoturn to Him infaithfor salvation.“Repent,then,and turn to God,sothat your
sinsmay be wiped out,that times of refreshingmay come from the Lord, (Acts 3:19). Turningfromsin
isnot the definitionof repentance,butitisone of the resultsof genuine,faith-basedrepentance
towardsseekinglearning,andtherebyenhancingthe faithone hasin the name of JesusChristourLord
and saviour.

3. “