TOPIC:‌"What Ever Happened to Repentance?"

                  by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap

 

TEXT:‌Acts 17:22-23

 

‌‌"God…now commands all people everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30, NIV).

 

‌One of the most neglected themes in the sermons being preached today according to this minister is that of repentance. This kind of preaching has largely disappeared from the scene and can scarcely be heard coming from our pulpits. General William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, wrote of this truth years ago when he declared: "I fear the time will come when there will be preaching religion without the Holy Spirit, of Christianity without Christ, of forgiveness without repentance, of salvation without regeneration, and of Heaven without hell." Take special note of the words "of forgiveness without repentance." It seems to me that time has now arrived.

 

‌The one dominate and dynamic command found upon the pages of the Word of God is that of repentance. The Bible drives home the truth that repentance is indispensable to forgiveness and imperative to salvation. It is the only way into the Kingdom of God. Christ Himself declared: "Unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3, NKJV).

 

‌When the Apostle Paul preached that day in the synagogue in Athens he told them that "God…commands all people everywhere to repent." The question arises, what did Paul want those philosophers and educated men to understand by his use of the word "repent"? Let us look at this word "repentance" which makes us right with God and acceptable to Him.‌

 

I.

 

‌Think, to begin with, of the EXPLANATION of repentance. Notice Paul's word in verse 30: "repent." The word that is used here by Paul means "a change of mind" which results in a change of direction. The end result is a change of life.

 

‌Let me put it this way: Repentance involves a deep and radical change whereby the sinner has a change of mind about sin which leads to a change of life from sin. It signifies an alteration of course. Like the Prodigal Son who changed his course, his way of living, and went back home. He had a different attitude towards the way he had been living. He declared: "I will arise and go to my Father" (Luke 15:18). Repentance gave him a different mind set. Before repentance his mind was set on impurity, but now going in a different direction his mind is set on purity. From a mind set on sinful pleasure it is now set on a sacred passion - that of having a restored relationship with his father.

 

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