Repentance means to change one’s mind from sinful ways and return to God’s ways.
God commands us to repent:
- Acts 2:38
- Acts 3:19-21
- Acts 17:30
- II Peter 3:9
- Luke 24:45-47
- Luke 13:1-5
Examples of repentance
- Saul/Paul - Acts 9:1-22
- Simon the sorcerer - Acts 8:13-22
- Naaman - II Kings 5:9-14
- David - I Samuel 24:5-6; II Samuel 24:10
- Zaccheus - Luke 19:1-10
God’s command to repent implies that a person can change and turn from their sin. All have sinned (Romans 3:23), so all must repent! Repentance is not just a one-time event. Any time we find ourselves in sin, we need to repent and turn back to God. God offers grace and forgiveness, but we must repent in order to take advantage of it. We should be joyful when others repent, as Paul was when the Corinthians repented of their sin (II Corinthians 7:9-10).
