The video above may transform your understanding of repentance and help you see it as a wonderful gift.
“Repentance—“metanoia” in the Greek—it means a change of mind. Peter was telling them to change their mind about their sin and the work of God according to what they had done, what God had done for them, and what the Bible said. Repent—it means to change your mind and subsequently change your actions.
He said, “Repent…and turn to God.” Change your mind about your sin— about what Jesus has done for you, about what the Bible has told you—change your mind about it, and turn to God. And then he promises that refreshment would come into their lives because the weight of sin would be removed, and the power of sin would be broken because of what Jesus did on the cross. And that, the Scriptures promise, has a refreshing effect in our lives.
Can I get a witness?
But we think that if we go our own way, we will discover some sort of refreshment. But we discover that our own way and our own sin leaves us weary and feeling cursed. But God has a way for us to discover refreshment and blessing.
Repenting of our sins is refreshing, Peter said. So repentance is a good word, a beautiful word, an awesome word, a wonderful word because repentance means refreshing through the forgiveness of sins. And turning from our wicked ways is a blessing.
We think that God is a cosmic killjoy—that he wants us to turn from our ways so that we’ll have less fun, and less stuff, and less opportunity. Dude, that ain’t true! The Bible says that Jesus was sent to us to bless us by turning us from our wicked ways—because sin always, ever, only, destroys.
No one will get to the end and say, “You know what? Sin blessed me.” It ain’t gonna happen. It just ain’t gonna happen because it’s not the truth.
Jesus came to bless us by turning us from our wicked ways toward following him and the forgiveness of sins.
And wherever—on a broad scope, maybe you’re here today and you need to put your faith in Jesus for the first time, be forgiven of your sins—wherever we are in life on a broad scope or a smaller scope as Christians struggling through this world trying to follow Jesus—wherever we refuse to repent and turn from wickedness then we miss out on refreshment and blessing.
Think of the small areas of your life. Think of the way that sin wearies you. Think of the things that we go back to over and over and over again because we think somehow that’s going to satisfy or make better, or bring more into… Think of the weariness and the weight that that brings to our lives. The Bible is right. I don’t need to defend it. It’s right.
“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19 NIV).”