… but [God wants] everyone to come to repentance.
Summary: The word “repent” often carries with it vague connotations of emotional trauma. In fact, what Peter is telling us is that if we reject the idea of God, God wants us to change our minds.
What, exactly, does God want everyone to do? Do you know what Peter means by “repentance?” It is a word that Christians throw around a lot, but what do they mean? What should they mean?
Let us imagine, for a moment, that you and I are street preachers. We are standing in a busy airport holding signs that read, “Repent! The end is near!” We are polite to everyone we see and occasionally have the opportunity to help someone who is looking for their gate.
Eventually, a man in a worn coat and tired jeans comes over to where we are standing. He looks tired, and he has not shaved in many days. As he gets closer, our noses tell us he has not bathed in many days either.
“What do you mean, ‘repent’?” he asks, looking at each of us, one to the other.
One of us responds, “Repent of your sins.”
“You are making an assumption about me,” he intones (Hebrews 13:2). “What do you mean by ‘repent’?” he asks again.
At this point, what do you say?
The word “repent” in this case is translated from the Greek word metanoia. Strong’s Concordance begins their definition of this word as meaning “a change of mind.”
What does Peter mean when he says that God wants everyone to come to repentance? If Peter means the word in the sense of “a change of mind,” what does God want all men to change their minds about?
Going back to Genesis 2 and 3, we know that there were two outcomes from man’s first encounter with Satan. The first outcome was spiritual death (Genesis 2: 16-17). The second was knowing good and evil (Genesis 3: 5). These two changes, or outcomes, resulted in two predicaments or problems.
The first problem is that when people are spiritually dead, they cannot tell the difference between good and evil. The second is that spiritually dead people do not, as a rule, realize they are dead.
It is very easy to confuse being in a living body with being alive. Unfortunately, being alive physically is only temporary. When the body dies, a horrible reality confronts the soul. There is a party going on behind the doorway to heaven (Matthew 22: 2) and the only people allowed in are personal friends of God’s Son, Jesus (Matthew 25: 1-13). Everyone else is left outside in the dark, a darkness so black that no spark of life is left in the souls on the outside. Without Jesus, they are confronted with the knowledge of how evil they have been (Revelation 20:15).
Repentance involves changing our minds about two things. First, we need to recognize that without God, we are spiritually dead. This involves acknowledging that God is real, and accepting the truth that real life is only found in Jesus (John 3: 36). The second thing is we need to change our minds about right and wrong.
Without Jesus, we get to decide what is right and what is wrong. We determine what is good and what is evil. The only problem is that when we are face to face with the Living God, we end up looking pretty silly. God’s idea of good and evil carries a lot more weight than ours (Isaiah 5: 20). So the second thing we have to repent of or change our mind about is who gets to decide what is good and what is evil.
There are a lot of details that go along with these two changes. Admitting God is God generally results in a lot of changes for the believer. The starting point is always acknowledging God and His Son, Jesus Christ. If we can do that much, God helps us with the rest.
Repentance is not magic. It is simply changing our minds from rejecting God to accepting Him. Once we do, we discover what it means to really be alive.
Application: Consider your approach to Good and Evil. Is there anything you need to reconsider?
Food for Thought: What does it take to get people to change their minds about anything?
I could say prayer, that it’s up to God to help unharden hearts and minds, perseverance, dedication, time, irony… . .. I really don’t know sometimes. I feel like it is talking to a brick wall. But that still doesn’t change my desire for anyone to come to know Jesus. Prayer is always a start. Final answer.
Tim,
I agree! I have been learning that prayer is a wonderful gift with many uses. What you suggest is one of the best!
I watch my toddler sometimes go out of his way to do the very things I tell him not to do. I don’t think at this point in his life that he actively thinks I am wrong, or that I am trying to keep him from a good thing. I think at the simplest level that he just doesn’t know the harm that is waiting. That the glowing red light looks so very different and he wants to see what it is all about, but once the stove burner burns him, then he realizes his mistake. I’m not much different from him; from a spiritual point of view I’ve been doing that same thing my whole life.
What does it take to get people to change their minds about anything? Just as you said “It is very easy to confuse being in a living body with being alive” I think it is easy to confuse your life experiences with truth. That your perspective of the truth, based on your experience, is the truth. Once we recognize that our perspective of the truth deceives us, we tend to change our perspective. Mistakes bring regret and a change of mind. I believe God does allow us to “touch the burner” in our life so that we can come to repentance.
2 Corinthians For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
Chris,
“… it is easy to confuse your life experiences with truth”
Well said! It is the same dynamic as confusing physical and spiritual life. In talking with people who hold different opinions about life, I generally find that the biggest obstacle to coming to a mutual understanding is their reliance on ‘life experiences’ that I do not share.
The other major obstacle that comes to mind are people’s biases. What they believe about what I think has more weight in their minds than what I say about what I think. It is very weird…
Getting someone to change their mind may also mean changing their heart. When we refer to the mind, we are likely referring to the will, desires, etc. The only One I know who can change a heart is God. He may use discipline, sorrow and the like to get our attention. But ultimately it is His work to change hearts and minds. We can love, speak truth and pray. And we should, realizing God is at work through us. 1 Timothy 2: 1 – 4.
Rich,
Great point! The seat of reason is the throne of the heart. Our intellect is the servant of the heart, not the master.
12-28-2021, 2 Peter 3:9d, What does it take to get people to change their minds about anything?
We must believe the change is going to be to our benefit. As nonbelievers, beneficial for our flesh, as believers, beneficial for our service to God.
I used to be a type of street preacher. Telling everyone about Jesus and their need for Him in their lives. I was excited, and highly motivated to share the salvation I had received through Jesus Christ. My birth family did not want to see me anymore, so we parted company. My worldly friends were committed to living in sin, so we also parted. Having Jesus was the source of all good in my life and I stayed with him. There was fruit in my ministry to others but always room for improvement.
I studied the Book of John over many years and one day I received a new understanding of John 16:8-11 and I was rocked back on my heels as I saw the truth I had been missing.
John 16:8-11,
8) And He, when He comes, will CONVICT THE WORLD about SIN, about RIGHTEOUSNESS, and about JUDGEMENT.
9) about SIN, because they do not believe in Me.
10) about RIGHTEOUSNESS, because I am going to My Father and you will no longer see Me.
11) about JUDGEMENT, because the ruler of this world Satan has been judged and condemned.
God has taken care of insuring the ENTIRE WORLD is fully informed of everything they need to know about sin and righteousness, and the judgement coming at a time predetermined by God.
I do not need to tell others how Jesus will make their lives better. God is doing that. I just need to focus on letting Jesus minister to all those God brings to me, and they can make their decision. God has brought all kinds of people to me and have watched as Jesus has just loved the hardness out of their hearts and moved in as they have asked Him. We do Gods work by allowing Him to work through each of us.
Ron,
Thank you for sharing. It is demoralizing when we take on the burden of “saving” others because their choices are beyond our control. Being available to our Lord to minister where he leads is something we can do. It is an important distinction.
People who know me, know that I have at times been obsessed with The Lord of the Rings. I try not to be obsessive, but sometimes I get carried away. There are just so many things to love about it and there are so many layers! Whether one is attempting to write about God or not it’s just hard to get away from doing so, especially when one has a strong faith.
The second time I read through it something stood out to me about Aragorn. First, there are ‘prophecies’ or at least ‘things foretold’ about him. Second, he fulfilled them and people notice. Third, he is the rightful king of Gondor. Fourth, he refuses to come in and take the throne without being invited. Oh yes, the movie left out that very important detail!
I’m not saying that Tolkien intended to make Aragorn a picture of God or anything, but when you want to write a good king the best example to use is the King of kings. The God who fulfilled a TON of prophecies, and people noticed. The one who was rightful king, but served people. The one who is rightful king, yet doesn’t move into our hearts until we invite Him in.
My point being, a huge attribute of God is that He isn’t forcing anyone to believe. He isn’t forcing anyone to repent. This is why the “repent or you’ll go to hell” thing doesn’t work. Though it’s true, God isn’t really giving us an ultimatum. He gave Adam and Eve the option to believe Him or not in the garden. He just made sure the rest of us got that choice too.
The question isn’t how WE can change minds, but how can we display the option JESUS died to give us.
So what changed people’s minds about Aragorn?
At first glance the hobbits were afraid of him. Then they got to know him as a person. After that, they began to learn about who he was. Eventually, they came to see him for who and what he was; a king.
All of this took time, and the pattern is familiar to any salesman. A person has to overcome the barriers between people, earn their trust, and explain the benefits of their product in an understandable way. Then they actually help the person make a decision like a midwife helps a child come into the world.
Your example is excellent! Thank you.