Repent

Repent, therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.

–

Acts 3:19

The word “repent” is typically associated with being sorry or making amends. The apostle Peter gave a sermon in Acts 3 that challenged this understanding of what repentance means. At the beginning of the chapter, Peter and John healed a lame man in Jesus’ name as they were entering the temple. People began gathering around the three men to see what had happened, which is when Peter addressed the crowd. He used this moment to preach the news of Jesus to all the people, calling them to repent of their sin and turn toward Jesus.

Peter was not trying to make people feel guilty or sorry. He wanted to encourage them to believe in the saving, transforming work of God. The repentance that Peter was calling the people to was one of actively turning around and becoming permanently right with God through faith in Christ. Even the idea of their sins being “blotted out” held different imagery for the people, as ink in the ancient world was different than it is today. It did not hold the same properties that it does now and could usually be easily wiped off of paper with a damp cloth.

This is the same repentance that Christians today are called to. Repentance does not mean apologizing out of guilt for doing something wrong. It is an act of hope and trust in God, who is ready and willing to give you a clean slate. In your prayers today, remember to thank God for this incredible gift and pray that more and more Americans, including government officials, would repent, as Peter called the early believers to do.