Repent!

What does it mean to repent?

Often we think of repentance as turning away from the wrong things we do every day. And this can be a result of repentance. But repentance in the biblical sense is less about what we turn away from and more about who we turn to: Jesus Christ.

On the cross, Jesus destroyed our sin. In His resurrection, He defeated death. He is the king over the entire universe, exalted to the heavens. If we believe that He is Lord and that God has raised Him from the dead, we will be saved (Romans 10:9).

This is the repentance the Bible speaks of. Not saying, “Whoops, I gossiped again. I had better repent of that right away.†Instead, we say, “I turn to the risen and living Lord and worship Him alone.†We turn to Christ, our King and the One who saves us from sin.

And when we turn to Christ, all the things we have turned away from—and all the lies we have believed—will ultimately lose their grip on us.

When we repent and turn to Christ, we are putting our faith in the promise that we now belong to Jesus, even though turning away from sin will be a lifelong process and even though we will fail time and time again. We are given the promise that Christ will rescue us from death itself in the resurrection. And we are brought into His kingdom, in which there will be no false gods, no lies, and no sin. • Kevin Zeller

• Why should Jesus be the focus of our repentance?

• Have you turned away from sin and to Jesus? What questions do you have about what this means? Who is a trusted Christian in your life you can bring those questions to?

To learn more about turning to Jesus, check out our “Know Jesus” page.

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

Read Verses:

Acts 2:37-41