Acts 20:21, “Testifying
both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and
faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”
“Repentance toward God” simply means you change your mind
(Greek noun: metanoia) to acknowledge that you're a guilty SINNER and
Jesus is the only SAVIOR. Pastor Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951) eloquently
said:
“In many quarters, men have attached to the words 'repent' and 'repentance' meanings that do not properly belong to them. So that there is the possibility that our hearers may altogether misunderstand us if we urge them, in so many words, to repent. They may imagine they must by some effort of their own, produce that which entitles them to consider that they have attained a state where they are acceptable to God. This is not the truth as set forth in His Word, as every Bible-taught preacher well knows.” —Pastor Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951)
Amen and amen! Repentance does not mean to be willing to forsake your sinful ways. To “repent” in the inspired Word of God means to “change your mind”; that's it, that's all, no more. So we need supplemental information to determine what we need to change our mind about. The meaning will always be based upon the context of the particular Scripture passage.
