Disicipleship Devotional, June 9th, 2025
“Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”
– Matthew 3:8 (NIV)
To repent means to have a change of heart about something. When the Apostles preached to the Jews to repent, it was a call for them to change their hearts regarding how a person can be saved. It was a call to remove their faith in their ability to obey the law and place it in Christ. Repentance, however, does not end with a change of heart. Genuine repentance produces certain fruits, which is what our anchor text addresses.
Repentance is not only about salvation. Even after salvation, repentance is still necessary. If a believer has a habit of doing something contrary to God’s word, they are supposed to repent of those actions. There are times when we don’t know that what we are doing is wrong, but whenever we become aware, we must have a change of heart. We should not deny or justify it. Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians, calling them to repent of the immorality that some of them were indulging in. They were believers, but he still called them to repentance concerning those matters.
“I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged.”
– 2 Corinthians 12:21 (NIV)
In summary, repentance is a change of heart. In the context of salvation, repentance is a change of heart from rejecting Christ to genuinely placing faith in Him. In the context of our conduct, it is a change of heart from embracing sin to rejecting it. Therefore, true biblical repentance will always result in a change of behavior—perhaps not instantly, but inevitably and progressively.
PRAYER:
Help me, Holy Spirit, to always be quick to repent when I find out I am in the wrong.
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