by Pastor Bob Burridge ©2014, 2025 – Acts 17:30
As Paul waited for Silas and Timothy to join him in Athens, he took the opportunity to explain the gospel both to the Jews in the Synagogues, and to the Gentiles in the market place. He was invited to address the philosophers at the Areopagus to explain his teachings. Paul didn’t hesitate, though their interest was obviously just a vain curiosity.
He commented on their deeply religious and superstitious attitudes. Pointing out their monument to an unknowable God, Paul said that God is knowable. He then began to proclaim that truth to these skeptics. He told them that God made all things, and that by his sovereign providence he upholds all things. Therefore, all are obligated to honor him obediently.
Up to that point Paul’s message was seen by the philosophersas just a different view of the universe on a metaphysical level. Interesting, but not challenging. Then Paul took the next step. Since all are created by and sustained by this Sovereign Creator, all are held accountable before God’s judgment.
Acts 17:30, “The times of ignorance God overlooked,
but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,”
God holds us morally accountable and will judge all men through Jesus Christ.
God had been patient and long-suffering toward the unbelieving nations. Peter reminds us of the patience of God back in the time of Noah. 1 Peter 3:20, “they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared …” The Athenians Paul was speaking to had lived in spiritual darkness for a long time. God had been patient. He didn’t bring his judgment upon them immediately for what they deserved.
In his sovereign plan, God’s endurance of sinners demonstrates his wrath, power, justice, and patience. It would be wrong to assume that God’s patience meant he didn’t care. In Romans 9:22 Paul wrote, “What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?”
While God withholds his judgment, some by grace are brought to repentance to become redeemed children of God. The rest continue in their sin with no gratitude to God for restraining his wrath. Those left to their own natural disobedience show more clearly how deserved God’s judgment is. This theme was enlarged upon by Paul in Romans 2:4-5. It says, “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.”
After the seasons of God’s patience, there comes a time of accountability. Paul narrowed the focus of his message to the main moral issue. Since God made all things for his glory, and the pagans had not lived for his glory, their only hope is that they turn from their sin based on the only hope possible.
God makes it clear that all need to repent. There are three things we are told to tell unbelievers.
1. All are obligated to obey God as he reveals himself in his word.
2. Since they have not done that, they are to repent for their sins against him.
3. They should trust in the saving work of Jesus Christ for forgiveness of their sins.
Our message to the lost shouldn’t rest upon our own authority or an emotional appeal. It should be presented as what God himself has said.
Remember that in their fallen nature no one is able to do any one of these things they are called upon to do. Only when the Holy Spirit applies the benefit of the work of Christ can the lost soul be regenerated. Three basic spiritual faculties are then implanted into that regenerated soul.
1. Repentance – He must abhore his sin and want to be rid of it
2. Saving faith – He must trust in the redeeming work of Christ
3. Sanctification – He needs to begin to grow in true obedience
It’s very important then that we have a good understanding of what repentance is. It’s part of the gospel and part of the ongoing life of every believer. The first step is to know the meaning of the words translated as “repent” in the Bible.
Biblical meaning of the word “repent”
In the Old Testament there are two main Hebrew words translated that way.
1. The primary Hebrew word for “repent” is “nakham” (נחם). It comes from an ancient root word which means “to draw a deep breath.” It was used to describe the emotions that result from calamity: a sigh of relief, or deep sorrow.
Hebrew verbs can be used in different “stems” or grammatical forms. The most common form is “reflexive”, an inward action centered upon the person repenting. This is when someone deeply grieves over something. When it’s about something a person does toward someone else, it’s to have compassion, consoling them in their grief.
This word most commonly describes a deep grief over something, an inner sighing or gasping in sorrow. Relating to our sins, it’s understanding the offense our thoughts or actions have caused. It’s not the word for “regret”. It’s not sorrow for the consequences of doing wrong. It’s grief over the thing itself.
This word is sometimes used of God, saying that he “repented” in some way. Genesis 6:6-7 is a prime example of how it’s somtimes translated into English.
The New King James Version says, “And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” (The ESV translates it similarly.)
The old King James Version translates verse 7, “And the LORD said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.’ ”
Those who wrongly think of repentance as regret, have a problem with this passage. It obviously can’t mean that God regretted something he had made or done. God never makes errors of judgment, nor does he later regret what he had planned. None of these make any sense regarding God as he reveals himself to us in the Bible. The Bible directly rules out this interpretation.
Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (ESV). Both the KJV and NKJV say, “… that He should repent …” The word translated “change his mind” or “repent” is “nakham”.
If we remember that the meaning of the word is not regret, the problem goes away. God is often said to be deeply offended by the wickedness of sin in his creatures. The word “nakham” has to do with God’s deep sigh of sadness over the sinful rebellion of his creatures.
Though God decreed to allow sin to enter the human race, and though he uses even our evils to advance his plan, he is offended by immorality in those he made. It’s hard for us mere creatures to comprehend that difference. Allowing and using evil for a purpose, and at the same time being morally offended by evil, are not opposites.
2. The second Hebrew word used for “repent” in the Old Testament is “suv” (שׁוּב ). It’s a common word meaning to turn, turn back, or return. Most of is uses are of a change of direction of travellers and of things in motion. A few times when used in the sense of “repentance” it’s a change in some course of action, or change of attitude.
When we see the word “repent” in the Old Testament, we need to know which Hebrew word it represents. One would be speaking of the deep sadness in a person’s heart over something. The other would have to do with a turning around of some action or attitude.
In the New Testament there are a few related Greek words translated as “repent”. The common Greek verb for “repent” is “metanoein” (μετανοειν). The noun “repentance” is “metanoia”, (μετανοια). Another Greek term is “metamelomai” (μεταμέλομαι). These words mean a change of mind. These words were used when the Hebrew Old Testament was trasnslated into Greek in Jesus’ time.
This change of mind relating to our sins isn’t just intellectual. It’s a deep sorrow that comes when God makes us aware of how offensive our sins are to him. David’s response to Nathan in Psalm 51 is a good example.
The answer to Westminster Shorter Catechism question 87 says, “Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavour after, new obedience.”
Repentance is a necessary evidence of saving grace.
When we’re regenerated by God’s grace we appreciate how much our sin offends God. We come to appreciate what Jesus endured when he died on the cross in our place.
The nature of Repentance unto life is seen in three kinds of changes.
1. There is an intellectual change. The regenerated mind is made able to see sin in a new way. It’s not just breaking some rule that can bring unpleasant results if you get caught. We come to understand how sin is an offense against God. It sees what justice demands.
David’s understanding was changed when the Holy Spirit led him to understand the true horrors of his sin. Psalm 51:3-4, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.”
2. There is also an emotional change produced. The regenerated heart sees how God has been offended. He responds with deep grief. He also senses the joy that is his over the salvation God provides to the unworthy by grace. This is also seen in David’s thankful praise to God in Psalm 51.
3. There is also a volitional change. This is a change in our desires. The informed and convicted soul of a regenerate person wants God to change him. Enlightened by the Spirit he chooses to seek after the ways that please God. David shows this transformation in the same Psalm. Psalm 51:11-15, “Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. … O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.”
A. A. Hodge says that repentance unto life is, “a change of mind including evidently a change of thought, feeling and purpose corresponding to our new character as children of God.”
Sadly, there is also a false repentance.
The sorrow of the world is more a regret for the consequences of sin.
2 Corinthians 7:10, “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”
The world sorrows over the inconvenience of sin and the trouble it produces for them. This grief is selfish. It’s motivated by self-interest, not for concern about an offense against God. By putting its own interests above the honor of his Creator the lost only adds to his condemnation. He wants to be free from the consequences of sin, not from the guilt of sin.
Godly sorrow sees the evil of sin in its offense against his Creator. The redeemed soul doesn’t see sin as just that it can produce unpleasant results. He sees his condemnation as just and only removed by the merits of Jesus Christ. As the Apostle Paul learned to cry out in Romans 7:24-25, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! …”
Repentance is an Evangelical Grace.
That means it’s a result of the good news, not the cause of it. We are regenerated by God’s grace alone. God implants in us the faculties of repentance and faith, along with the desire and ability to obey.
Our repentance isn’t what convinces God that we should be his redeemed children. That denies that God first must change the lost heart. It denies our total moral inability. It’s not our own faith, good works, or religious practices that earn eternal life in heaven. The only act that earns forgiveness is that which was done by Jesus in his holy life and death on the cross for us. Any obedience we have (faith, repentance, or holy living) is the result of God’s amazing grace.
Since it’s an evangelical grace, it must be the center of the gospel when we present it. It’s God who puts repentance into the hearts of those he draws to Christ.
2 Timothy 2:24-26 gives us instructions for personal evangelism, “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.”
A. A. Hodge explains, “Every Christian duty is therefore a grace; for without him we can do nothing ( John 15:5). And equally every Christian grace is a duty because the grace is given to us to exercise, and it finds its true results and expression only in the duty.”
God is the offended party when we sin. We all deserve the eternal wrath of his justice. We can be reconciled with God and united in his eternal family because our worthy Savior Jesus Christ fully satisfied that justice by his death on the cross. That’s the only way guilt can be justly satisfied and our condemnation removed.
When God redeems us we respond with sorrow for our sin and with a joyful embracing of Christ’s salvation. Our redeemed soul will begin fleeing from sin and desiring to be holy out of a profound gratitude toward God.
This was Paul’s aim in this part of his message at the Areopagus in ancient Athens. It must be part of our message too as we bring the gospel to the lost today.
Note: Bible quotations are from the English Standard Version unless otherwise noted.