Acts 2:22-24, 37-38 (NIV) 22"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 37When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" 38Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Most of the people of Israel to whom Peter was speaking were probably not there when Jesus was crucified. They were not the ones who demanded the release of Barrabas and the death of Jesus. They were not the ones who mocked and ridiculed Jesus on the Cross. How could Peter accuse them of crucifying Jesus? They were not the ones who crucified Jesus, but they were both ignorant of the definite plan of God in Jesus and they were living in opposition to that plan. In that sense they shared in the crucifixion of Jesus.
Guilt is to the soul what pain is to the body. It is a sign that something is wrong. It is a warning that something needs to change. People who do not see the consequences of their actions are spiritual lepers. They are also mirrors of you and I when we lose our sensitivity to guilt. When we deny our guilt, when we do not feel our guilt, it is like trying to live without pain. Peter’s words had the power to awaken the people of Israel from their guiltless slumber and make them aware.
Are we living in accordance with God’s plan for life and for our lives? Do we live in opposition to that plan? Do we even know the plan? Part of the good news is being awakened from our blindness to see our guilt, that we have been living in ignorance of God’s will and God’s plan, and that we have been living in stubborn opposition to that plan.
Repentance in the name of Christ means a change in attitude toward Jesus that leads to a change in our life. Our repentance may have a note of remorse and regret as we become aware of failures that once dominated our life, but the dominant note of repentance is hope and confidence. This Jesus, you crucified. But God raised Him up. You are responsible. You have done wrong. You have abandoned God’s plan. But, God has not abandoned you. God is still holding out the invitation for you to come home. Having recognized our guilt and recovered our confidence in what God can do, we do need to do something outward to signal our soul that we now live under the authority of Jesus. We may have experienced some guilt. We may have become acutely and painfully aware of the way we have failed God. But, we have also recovered confidence in God.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope April 18, 1999
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles
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