Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out – Acts 3:19
Peter is here addressing the very people who had helped to crucify Jesus, but his words are appropriate to anyone who denies the claims of Christ upon their lives.
Repent of your obstinate rejection of Christ. But more than that, Peter says, be converted. Peter is not merely looking for these guilty men and women to confess their past mistakes; he urges them to change, to turn to the Lord.
It is not difficult to find individuals, from many different walks of life, who are willing to admit that they have made mistakes, even sinned, in some of their life choices. Almost everyone will admit that they have done some wrong, even bad, things.
However, it is another thing altogether to actually be willing to turn from a past mindset and way of life, to turn from sin and to Christ. Therefore, Peter did not just insist on the need for repentance in the form of an apology or confession. He desired to see true repentance, which is displayed in a change of direction and action.
To those who repent and are converted to the ways of Christ, Peter gives this assurance: your sins will be blotted out. Have you submitted to the divinity of Christ? Have you turned away from sin in order to serve Jesus as Lord?