Repentance and faith

Acts 20:21 speaks of “repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” This first step of the Christian life is God’s doing. God grants repentance and faith. So while people say, “I repented” and “I believed,” it is only by God’s grace that they did.

This can be compared with an alarm clock going off while we’re sleeping. We woke up on account of the alarm clock. We could have resisted the alarm. But it was the alarm that woke us up. We didn’t wake ourselves up.

Repentance and faith is conversion (Latin conversio, Greek metanoia) and it is God’s work, not ours. Jesus said, (Mt 22.14) “Many are called, but few are chosen.” This may indicate that everyone receives a “wake-up call” at some point in their lives but not everyone responds to it.

So listen to the Gospel and when you perceive God calling you or tugging at your heart, respond as Samuel did, (1 Sam 3:10) “Speak, for your servant is listening.” And wake up!