The believers’ sins are forgiven by their repentance and faith in Christ. God forgives through the blood of Christ, and He forgives by our repentance and faith. Acts 2:38 speaks of repentance, and Acts 10:43 says, “To this One all the prophets testify that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.” In order to be forgiven, we need to repent. To repent is to have a change of mind issuing in regret, to have a turn in purpose. Literally, the Greek word for repent means to think differently afterward, that is, to have a change of mind. On the negative side, to repent before God is to repent not only of sins and wrongdoings but also of the world and its corruption that usurp the people whom God made for Himself, and also to repent of our God-forsaking life in the past. On the positive side, to repent is to turn to God in every way and in everything for the fulfilling of His purpose in making man. Therefore, it is a repentance unto God (Acts 20:21).
The New Testament reveals that repentance is for forgiveness. This means that our repentance is not a natural repentance. Rather, it is a particular repentance from sin and all things other than God. To repent unto God is to turn to God and to His kingdom, to His ruling and authority. This is repentance for forgiveness, a repentance that brings us back to God Himself. By such a repentance we are forgiven of our sins.
In order to have forgiveness, we need not only to repent but to have faith in Christ. This is the reason Acts 10:43 tells us that those who believe in the Lord Jesus receive the forgiveness of sins. We have God’s forgiveness by believing in Christ the Redeemer.
Acts 5:31, referring to Christ, says, “This One God has exalted to His right hand as a Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.” To give repentance and forgiveness of sins to God’s chosen people requires Christ to be exalted as a ruling Leader and Savior. His sovereign ruling causes and leads Gods chosen people to repent, and His salvation based on His redemption affords them forgiveness of sins.
Repentance is for forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4). On God’s side, forgiveness of sins is based upon His redemption; on man’s side, forgiveness is through repentance. Both repentance and forgiveness are major gifts given to us by the exalted Christ as a Leader and Savior. He is the only One qualified to give repentance and forgiveness of sins.
If the Lord Jesus had not given us the gift of repentance, we would not have repented. Actually, He compelled us to repent. This means that our repentance was not of us but was a gift given by the exalted Christ. Following repentance, we received the Lord’s gift of forgiveness. How we thank Him for giving us repentance and forgiveness of sins!
The forgiveness of sins is a main item of the proclamation of the gospel in God’s New Testament economy. In Luke 24:47 the Lord Jesus told the disciples that “repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations.” To preach the gospel is to proclaim the forgiveness of God through the redeeming blood of Christ by the believers’ repentance and faith. We need to tell others that God is ready to forgive their sins, and that in order to receive God’s forgiveness they need to repent and believe in Christ. This is to proclaim God’s ready forgiveness as part of the good news, the glad tidings.
To proclaim the forgiveness of sins is actually to proclaim the jubilee. Luke 4:18 speaks of the release of the captives. To proclaim the forgiveness of sins is to proclaim the release of captives from slavery and bondage. According to the New Testament, the forgiveness of sins proclaimed in the gospel ushers the forgiven ones into the riches of the Triune God. Therefore, forgiveness of sins brings us into the enjoyment of the Triune God. For this reason, forgiveness is a main item of the proclamation of the gospel in God’s New Testament economy.