I’ve been thinking about repentance lately; what does it mean to repent? The literal translation is to change one’s heart. What exactly is the heart? The heart in scripture is not the blood pumping organ that resides in ones chest; this organ received its name because of its centrality in the body. The heart in scripture is the core, the center of ones being; the heart is the bare essence of who we really are. So when Christ told us to repent and believe, He in essence told us to do something that we are incapable of doing. He told us to change ourselves into a different creature all together. Can an old woman turn herself into a young woman? The answer is no; she cannot, no matter how much she would like to be a young woman she is who she is. So why would the Lord tell us to do the impossible? To change who we are, because He had the authority to do so. “Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also because He is the Son of Man.” (John 5:24-27 NKJV)
Jesus told Nicodemus; “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3 NKJV) To be born again is to be changed; if you were born again of the spirit you have been changed. The Apostle Paul said, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away, behold, new things have come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB) This happens because God by the Spirit makes it happen; He has the authority to do so. “Now all these things are from God” (2 Corinthians 5:18 NASB) The word of the Lord God said to the prophet Ezekiel; “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26 NASB)
So the question is; should we, like Jesus, tell people to repent and believe in the gospel? The answer; “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? “So faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:14 & 17) Jesus could tell people to repent and believe because He is the word and He had the authority to do so, it is His word the Spirit uses to transform a heart and it is His word that He said to preach. The apostle Paul said; “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16 NASB)
In Christ alone,
Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ
