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When I hear the word “repent,” I picture a guy on a street corner screaming through a bullhorn in anger, Repent! And I admit, when I read this verse below, in my head, Jesus is using His angry bullhorn voice. But as I get to know Jesus more and more over the years, I recognize His motive is His deep love for us. God’s desire is to spend eternity with us because He delights in us, His children! And when I think about that, I see God’s heart to fiercely protect those He loves. What if His command for repentance is for our protection?
Revelation 2:16 ESV
Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.
In this verse, Jesus is commanding the church in Pergamum to repent of their sin—eating food sacrificed to idols and practicing sexual immorality. The word repent comes from the Greek word metanoia, meaning to change the mind, relent. Theologically, it involves regret or sorrow, accompanied by a true change of heart toward God. [1]
In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul instructs the Corinthian church to remove the sexually immoral from the church. He tells them:
1 Corinthians 5:6-8 NLT
6 Your boasting about this is terrible. Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? 7 Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are.
In Pergamum, this sin had creeped back into the church and is spreading through the whole congregation, just like yeast, corrupting them and they need to take a strong stance against it, or it will destroy them.
1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 ESV
Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, 5 not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
Reflect: Is there something in your life you need to repent from and turn back toward God? As you think about it, remember how it's God's deep love for us and desire to protect us from harm that He asks us to repent from our sin. Let His love motivate you today!
[1] Zodhiates, S. (2000). In The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). AMG Publishers.