by Steve Hale
"Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead" ( Acts 17:30-31, NKJV).
All men everywhere are under the command to repent! Repentance is change, it is turning from a life of sin to a life of godliness. Let us note some important biblical facts about repentance.
First, repentance is required of all sinners! He "...now commands all men everywhere to repent" ( Acts 17:30). Peter said that the Lord is "...not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" ( 2 Peter 3:9). Since everyone of accountability has sinned (1 Kings. 8:46; Romans 3:23), all must repent!
Second, repentance is required of both the alien sinner and the erring child of God! While some commands are exclusively given to alien sinners ( John 3:3; Acts 22:16) and some exclusively to saints ( Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2), both must repent!
The alien sinner is told to:
"Repent, and be baptized..." ( Acts 2:38). The erring child of God, like Simon, is also told to repent: "Repent therefore of this your wickedness..." ( Acts 8:22). Remember, Simon
"...himself also believed; and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip" ( Acts 8:13).
Whether motivated by the goodness of God ( Romans 2:4) or godly sorrow ( 2 Corinthians 7:9-10), repent! There is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents ( Luke 15:10)!