There are three really "outmoded" concepts in the verse above, but they were central to the teaching of Jesus and the meaning of his life, death, and resurrection. We can't hope to comprehend what following Christ is all about without understanding them, but they have been out of fashion for so long that most of us would be hard pressed to define them. We use "righteous" only with "self-" in front of it, but Jesus means someone whose every thought, word, and deed pleases God. Jesus himself provides us with our only example of what such a life looks like.
    "Sinners" are those of us who have ever fallen short when it comes to pleasing God. That would be everyone except Jesus, and no question but that it includes me. (This is where the forgiveness paid for by Christ's death on the cross becomes so important.)
    The Hebrew word for repentance comes from the verb "to turn." It means to change your mind about the direction your life is going and turn to a different way. Repentance may include the emotion of sorrow for your sins--and we ought to be sorry--but the main thing is the action of turning away from evil and embracing everything God calls good.
    You'll notice that none of this makes any sense unless we've been given a way to know for sure what pleases God and what doesn't. Jesus says the will of God is clearly laid out for us in the Word of God (the Bible). Here's a New Year's resolution for all of us who claim to follow Jesus: Let's take the call to repentance seriously. We could start with loving our enemies, truly forgiving those who have hurt us, and showing mercy to all. That should keep us busy for awhile. And we won't have to rely on our own (very inadequate) goodness--Jesus promises to fill us with his. (That's one reason the fact that Christ rose from the dead is so important--he's alive to work in us.) For those who haven't wanted to follow him, this would be a good year to get to know Jesus better--he just might change your mind.

Pastor Charlie Scott
c. 2005