20 how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, 21 testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. ~ Acts 20:20-21
Paul has come down to the end of his ministry. His race is almost run, and the work the LORD had given him was almost complete. He is making his final pilgrimage to Jerusalem, hopefully in time for Pentecost. On his way, he meets with the elders of the church in Ephesus and tells them to remember the kind of life he had lived among them, and also to remember how he taught boldly and without holding anything back from them. Then he basically tells them: This is the bottom line of the Gospel: repentance toward God and faith toward our LORD Jesus Christ; that is the whole foundation that our faith and religion is built on.
Repentance toward God simply means that we must turn away from the things that displease our God, and make a 180° turn toward Him. Then we must continue to follow faith in our LORD Jesus. Now what does that mean? It means that we follow the teaching and preaching of Jesus of Nazareth—the Author and Finisher of our faith.
Repentance is not an option; it is a requirement. Here is what C.S. Lewis said about repentance:
Fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms… realizing that you have been on the wrong track and getting ready to start life over again from the ground floor—that is the only way out of our ‘hole.’ This process of surrender—this movement full speed astern—is what Christians call repentance.
Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means killing a part of yourself, undergoing a kind of death…
Remember, this repentance… is not something God demands of you before He will take you back and which He could let you off if He chose: it is simply a description of what going back to Him is like. If you ask God to take you back without it, you are really asking Him to let you go back without going back. It cannot happen.
We were God’s enemies before the death and resurrection of our LORD Jesus; now we are sons and daughters if we come to Him in repentance. We must lay down our arms in total surrender to Him, turn around, and go in the opposite direction. Not back to what we used to do, or where we came from, but on a new path, for the old is passed away and the new has come. We must follow the new path that leads us back to God.
I encourage you today, whatever you’re holding back, release it and let Jesus’ words clean up your life, and let God’s Holy Spirit come and fill your life.
Heavenly Father, with a humble heart I come to You, reaching out in faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, asking You to renew a right spirit within me. Give me a wise heart to serve You and clean hands to lift up to You in worship. In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.