Repent and Be Forgiven: Acts 2:37-47

“Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38, NASB).

When I was a child I was taught to say “I’m sorry” whenever I did something wrong or said something wrong; especially when I had said something or did something that offended or caused harm to another person. My parents, teachers, and other adults would say to me and other children, “tell them you are sorry.” Although I might have obeyed and said that I was sorry, it was not the case that I was indeed truly sorry. I think that sometimes I did not know what I was to be sorry for and the reason I was to be sorry. What was the point? If another kid hit me and I hit back harder and hurt the other kid, why should I be sorry? Often, I said that I was sorry just because I was told to say “I’m sorry,” but the truth is this: I was not sorry. Now that I am older, I understand the reason that I was told to say “I’m sorry.” Saying “I’m sorry” was the adult’s way of teaching us that we were wrong and we should try to make things right with the ones that we had done wrong to. Saying “I’m sorry” was a way of repenting. This article intends to help us to think about our need to repent as individuals, groups; yes as a nation. What benefits do we gain when we repent?

There is a difference between a truce and repent. A truce is an agreement between enemies or opponents to stop fighting for a certain time. However, a truce agreement does not mean that peace has been obtained between the opposing forces. For example, I served in the United States Army during the Viet Nam conflict. I was there during two Christmas holiday and New Year’s Day. Each year there was a truce reached during these holiday periods. There was no fighting. Everyone could be safe to celebrate the holidays without fear of being attacked. When the truce agreement period was over, war would resume as usual. In our scripture passage Peter and the other apostles are not offering a truce agreement. Rather, they are calling the people to repent. Repent means that there is a permanent change in the relationship and there is peace between two opposing parties. The war is over. So, let us look at this word “repent” as it relates to our scripture passage. How does repenting affect our relationship with God and other people?

The story behind our text begins in Acts 2:1. Jesus has ascended into heaven and the 120 people that includes the apostles are gathered together in an upper room waiting for the Holy Spirit to come to signal that they are to begin to preach the gospel (Acts 1:7-8). The Holy Spirit comes and the apostles begin to speak in tongues; languages that they do not know. There are thousands of Jews in Jerusalem for the Feast of Weeks/Harvest (Exod. 23:14-16). These people hear these unlearned apostles speaking in languages that they do not know. The people suppose that the apostles are drunk. This gives Peter an opportunity to explain what is taking place and its relationship to Jesus of Nazareth who had been crucified. Peter recalls Israel’s history that includes the promise of the Messiah. At the conclusion of Peter’s sermon the people want to know what they should do. Peter tells the people that they should repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus, and receive the Holy Spirit. These three must take place in the order that Peter named.

Our focus is on the call to repent. What does it mean to repent and what does repent do for us? The word “repent” translated from the Greek word “matanoeo” means to change the mind after the fact. The people having heard Peter’s sermon were called to change their minds about sin. They were not being called to be alarmed at the consequences of sin. Rather, they were to change their minds about sin itself. Sin is evil and they were to change their minds about the evil of sin regardless of consequences. When we were told as children to say “I’m sorry” we most often did so because we did not want to suffer the consequences of our actions. The ultimate goal however was that we would come to understand that our actions were wrong. Our apologies could keep us from being punished, but that did not mean that we understood that our actions were wrong and we were to learn to hate our wrong actions. Repent in this text means that the people were to see their sins as something evil and to be avoided even if there were no consequences.

After repenting, the people were to be baptized in the name of Jesus. This was not a formula to be used when people were immersed in water. Rather, it was an acknowledgement that Jesus was the Messiah. Those that were baptized were turning away from their old religious thoughts and practices. They accepted that Jesus was the Messiah, and they were agreeing to become a part of the religion of Jesus. It is important that we know that although Jesus was a Jew and followed Judaism, Jesus did not always agree with the teaching of the religious leaders. He did not always follow the current practices of the people of His day. Jesus taught with authority. It was authority that the Father had given to Him. When Peter told the people to be baptized in the name of Jesus he was not giving a formula of words to be said when immersed in water. It was agreeing to accept Jesus as the Messiah that had the same authority that God had. It was learning His words and agreeing to live according to His teaching instead of the teaching of the religious leaders.

Those that repented would not find it easy to resist the opposition of the religious leaders and the norms of the culture that they had lived by for the entirety of their lives. They would need power; the ability to stand with strength in the new life that they were called to live. God would send the Holy Spirit to give them the power that they needed to live according to the teaching of Jesus. The Holy Spirit would come alongside of them and indwell them so that they would be reminded of the teaching of Jesus, and they would have the will power to resist their old ways and cling to their new ways of life that they found in Jesus Christ. There are at least three things that take place when one repents.

First, we make peace with God. All people are the enemies of God; His opponent, until he and she repents of sin. This is because it is sin that separates us from God. Sin is evil and there are consequences for evil. However, repent means that we change our minds. We agree that we are wrong because we have sin, and we agree that God is right. Since God is immutable; He does not change. God will not repent of Himself to accommodate us in our sins. Religion often looks for a truce agreement so religion often modifies itself to accommodate its followers. What was wrong yesterday is now normal and accepted as something good instead of being something evil? God offers us no truce agreement. God requires that we repent and accept Jesus as the Messiah who teaches us the mind of God and the ways of living that God accept. When a person repents they make the will of God their will. They change because God never changes.

When we repent we are set free from the guilt of sin. There are many people that are living with troubled minds because of sin. People turn to drugs, alcohol, and many addictive behaviors because of the burdens of sin in their lives. People live for years carrying guilt in their hearts and minds. Relationships are difficult and often break up because of the burden of guilt in one or both parties in the relationship. The unfaithful husband cannot escape his guilt. He behaves in ways that leads to divorce from his spouse and separation from his children. It is not just that the relationship with the wife has been altered; it is also the fact that the man cannot find peace with God. We repent because we hate sin and repenting of sin leads to confession of sin and the possibility of reconciliation with God and the ones that we feel separated from because of sin.

When we repent we are restored to a right relationship with God and other people that we are separated from because of sin. We are free to experience joy. This does not mean that we are happy. We may not be happy because we can see the damage that our sins have done to our relationship with God and other people. For example, the apostle Paul was guilty of holding the coats of those that stoned Stephen to death (Acts 7:58). He could not be happy because this was not something that he liked and enjoyed. He could experience joy because he knew that Jesus had forgiven him, and Jesus was always with him through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. He had joy because he knew that he was living a life that God approved. He had repented of his sins and he preached the gospel so that people everywhere could come to know Jesus, repent of sins, and live with the power of the Holy Spirit.