“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord….” Acts 3:19
Few preach repentance and Biblical conversion in our day. Rather, most preach a message of love and peace apart from repentance and faith. They do not preach the Law of God in all its severity, nor do they preach the true comfort of the Gospel. In other words, preachers proclaim peace and love to the impenitent and fail to offer true comfort to those who are troubled over their sins.
That, of course, was not the message of Peter and the apostles of our Lord Jesus. Peter and the apostles, like John the Baptist and like Jesus Himself (cf. Mark 1:4, 14-15), called upon all to repent and be converted - to acknowledge the wickedness of their hearts and lives and to look to the crucified and risen Christ in faith for pardon and peace everlasting.
This used to be the message of the Lutheran Church as well. The Augsburg Confession, Article XII: Of Repentance, states: “Now, repentance consists properly of these two parts: One is contrition, that is, terrors smiting the conscience through the knowledge of sin; the other is faith, which is born of the Gospel, or of absolution, and believes that for Christ’s sake, sins are forgiven, comforts the conscience, and delivers it from terrors. Then good works are bound to follow, which are the fruits of repentance.”
Preaching the Law of God, Peter pointed out the sin of his hearers in denying and rejecting their Messiah and Savior, Jesus Christ. But to those troubled over their sins, he preached the Gospel and offered pardon - the blotting out of all theirsins - when the times of refreshing came from the Lord.
In faithfulness to God and His Word, we still preach the Law of God that the Spirit might convince sinners (all of us included) of the wickedness of their ways; but through the preaching of the Gospel, we offer hope, forgiveness and eternal salvation for the sake of the sacrifice of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, in our stead.
O dearest Lord Jesus, Son of God and our Savior, forgive us for our sin and rebellion against You and grant that we live in continual repentance, acknowledging and turning from our evil ways to You for mercy, forgiveness and life everlasting. Amen.
[Devotion by Randy Moll. Scripture Quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.]
For The Record, Pages 4 on 06/09/2010