Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do? And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:37-38
God has always demanded that men recognize and repent from sin. Jonah 3:10 states, “And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil which he said he would do unto them; and he did it not”. This verse really helps one understand what repentance truly is. Notice the people of Nineveh. Their deeds showed that they had changed, not only were they sorry for what they had done but that sorrow brought about a change of heart that had an obvious change in actions (2 Cor 7:10). Scripture mentions God repented and describes how so, by not doing what He had previously thought. An action cannot be truly repented of by just being sorry for or wishing we hadn’t done it. Actions are repented of when they are not practiced by the one who determined they would do them to begin with.
Repentance is especially given in the context of leaving what is wrong and pursuing that which is right (Luke 13:3,5). Some may ask, “does someone who is morally strong have a need to repent?” Look at the account in Acts 8 of the Ethiopian Eunuch. Everything about him revealed to us is a man of great character and also very religious. In truth, he is a great example of how good men repent. He absolutely could not wait to abandon the Old Law he had been following to obey and become a New Testament Christian. His repentance was, he did not have any desire to be a good man, his only interest was to be a Godly man. Being good only gets us so far but being Godly gets us to salvation.
The people of Nineveh had allowed themselves to be extremely influenced by sin. However, repentance saved their lives. The Ethiopian Eunuch, while a wonderful man, had to make some changes. The Bible is plain, we must follow the path God has provided through His Word (John 14:6). When one finds themselves in sin, we must repent. Our forgiveness depends on it. Act 3:19 reminds us, “Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that so there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.”
The one common thing between the people of Nineveh and the Ethiopian Eunuch is they were exposed to the Word of the Lord. It is hearing the Word that causes folks to repent and obey God, nothing else ever has or ever will. It is simply our part to carry and impart the gospel to others as we have the opportunity (Rom 10:10-17).
By Jason Barger