God changes my mind

Repent is a good Bible word. It essentially means to have a change of mind. In Scripture, a changed mind always results in a change of actions. For that reason, repentance has come to mean not only a change of mind, but a turning away from sin and turning toward God.

Repentance has other ramifications as well. When the Holy Spirit fell on them, the disciples of the risen Christ began acting so radically different that they attracted a crowd. Peter took this opportunity to preach the gospel to them and when they heard that Jesus was their Messiah and they had crucified Him, thousands were “cut to the heart” and asked what they should do.

Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38-39)

He told them first to change their mind, then do something to show that had happened; be baptized. As my commentary points out, faith and baptism are integrally connected. Baptism comes after faith and is a public declaration that a person’s sins have been forgiven because of Christ’s work on the Cross. No one is saved by baptism, as seen in many other passages. We are justified by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9, etc.), but in the New Testament, all believers were also baptized.

Of course, this is not the only change that happened in their behavior. Since repentance includes a change of mind about Christ and about sin, they began to live differently. I experienced the same thing when Christ revealed His true identity to me. Immediately I realized that He is indeed the Savior of the world, and that I am indeed a sinner. At that, my sins were forgiven and the Holy Spirit came into my life. From that point, my life began to change.

I’ve seen how this principle repeats itself after that initial salvation event. As Scripture and the Holy Spirit reveal to me the thinking behind my clinging old habits, I see them for what they truly are — sin. Then God changes my mind about them (repentance) and I want to stop doing those things. As I confess this to God in agreement with Him about them, He forgives me and I experience more of the power of the Holy Spirit in my life. With His enabling, the old habits die and new life replaces them.

Since salvation, that new life has been there all along. It was given to me with faith and initial repentance, and demonstrated by my response — I was baptized — and my life changed in many ways at that point. However, as I walk with Him, Jesus shows me how those old ways of thinking keep trying to block that new life. Of course Satan is involved, yet God holds me responsible to continually obey Him and turn from all sinful behavior. He tells me to “put off the old” life and “put on the new.”

Another thing that jumps out at me from these two verses in Acts is that the whole process is initiated by God, not by me. Peter says that this promise of forgiveness and the Holy Spirit is available to me, my children, and others — “as many as the Lord our God will call.”

I may have read this verse many times and thought it said, “as many as call on the Lord our God” because that is how most people think. This is an error. We cannot call on God because sinners do not want Him to take charge of our lives. That is the essence of sin; I will go my own way.

Salvation is the work of God. New life and faith in Christ are something He gives, which makes me realized how helpless I am in regard to my own destiny. I’m overjoyed that He is willing to do such a thing as save sinners, and agree totally that this is something I will not and cannot do by myself.