In Acts 2, the apostle Peter preached to Jews who became filled with guilt over what they had done to Jesus. These Jews asked the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (verse 37). In response, “Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (verse 38). In this verse, the Holy Spirit through Peter set forth commands that must be followed to become a Christian. Besides baptism in Jesus’ name for the remission of sins, the apostle also commanded, “Repent.”
Later, in Acts 8, a man named Simon heard this same message, and was baptized into Christ (verse 13). After becoming a Christian though, Simon sinned (verses 18-19). The Lord’s apostle then commanded him, “Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee” (verse 22).
It is thus evident that both for the alien sinner and the erring Christian, repentance is part of God’s requirements for receiving forgiveness.
Consider some attitudes that hinder this needed repentance.
Ignoring the Seriousness of Sin. Some fail to repent because they don’t recognize how serious sin is. Romans 6:23 says “the wages of sin is death.” Sin, if continued in, leads one to eternity in “everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).
Some take sin lightly because they compare themselves to other people instead of God’s will. The thought is, “Everybody sins, and my sin is no worse than anyone else’s.”
While it’s true that many people are living in sin, it’s also true that “many” are on the broad path that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). If we desire to be the “few” who receive eternal life, we must measure things by God’s will. Those who do so realize that sin is despicable, and thus, turn in the opposite direction of it.
“Sweeping Sin Under the Rug.” Another pitfall is the idea that if no one finds out about a sin, it’s not a big deal.
After David committed adultery with Bathsheba, instead of acknowledging his sin and repenting, David tried to “sweep it under the rug.” He told lies and abused his position as king to cause an innocent man to be killed, all in an attempt to “cover up” sin that could never really be covered up. The end of 2 Samuel 11 states “the thing that David had done displeased the LORD” (verse 27). As this verse exemplifies, there’s no sin hidden from God (Hebrews 4:13).
Attacking the Messenger. Some fail to repent because their focus is on the faults of the messenger pointing out sin, rather than the message he proclaims. Many attack the messenger for speaking words that could lead them to eternal life.
This is a surefire way to ensure that we will not allow ourselves to be helped when repentance is needed in our lives. As the apostle Paul asked the Galatian brethren, “am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” (Galatians 4:16).
Fearing Rejection. Some fail to repent for fear of being rejected by others (cf. John 12:43).
Jesus stated, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37), implying that being His disciple often involves making choices that anger even those closest to us (cf. verses 34-36). The key question is: do we love Jesus more?
Procrastinating. Still others fail to repent because they don’t have the sense of urgency needed to do so. The belief is that turning to the Lord is something to do “down the road.” This attitude pretends to know more about the future than God has revealed. None of us know how many more days we have on earth (James 4:14), or even how much longer the earth will exist (Matthew 24:36).
When sin is in our lives, may each of us determine not to allow these or any attitude to stand between us and repentance.