Repentance...What Is It? Part II

Acts 11: 16-18 "Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, "Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life." In this chapter, Peter was questioned by the brethren in Judaea when they heard that the Gentiles had received the word of God also. Peter defended his ministry to the Gentiles, making it clear that we are all granted, by God, repentance. We are all equal in God's eyes and we are all given opportunity to repent. No matter how steeped in sin we may be, there is a way out if we will trust God and repent, turning away from our sin.

Acts 5:31 "Him [Jesus] hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." Here the apostles were preaching to the council and again, making it clear that repentance is given to us by Jesus Christ.

Zechariah 12:10 "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." You may get something else from this verse, and if you do, I'd like to hear, but what came to my mind when I read it was that there was great conviction that fell upon the people for what their sin had caused. Conviction is a great tool used to bring repentance. Without conviction there is no repentance. Conviction is being convinced that what you are doing is wrong. Until we reach that point, we will not and can not reach repentance. This verse also made me think of how our sin hurts the Heavenly Father. Sin affects those around us. For someone who murders, all of the families and friends of both the murderer and the deceased are affected. For someone who is caught in adultery, family and friends are affected. For those who are liars, their lies affect those they are lying about and lying to. Etc, etc,...Sin affects everyone around us, no matter what it is. But the saddest part of it all, is how it affects our Heavenly Father. If we are only concerned about hurting our loved ones, and have no thought of how God is being affected, that is not conviction.

Repentance is granted by God, given by Christ, and felt of the Holy Spirit. It is a precious gift that, all too often, is ignored.