As our roots go deep in Christ, the fruit of our lives is the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23). This is an important point. By repentance, we are not making another resolution to “do better next time.” Rather, by repentance, we are asking God to “create in me a clean heart…and renew a right spirit within me” (Ps. 51:10). We are turning from our sin by asking God not only to forgive us from our sins, but to change our lives.

When Matthew abruptly introduces us to John the Baptist, he focuses his remarks on the central theme of John’s message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 3:2).
Certainly, John said more as he preached in the wilderness; however, this summarization is not an out-of-context soundbite from John’s preaching. Central to John’s ministry and message was the exhortation to repent, in view of the coming kingdom—that is, in view of the coming King. Consider:

John baptized people as they were “confessing their sins” (Matt. 3:5)
John turned away the Pharisees and the Sadducees who did not “bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matt. 3:8)
John defined his own baptism as a baptism “with water for repentance” (Matt. 3:11)

God sent John into the wilderness to prepare the way for the coming of King Jesus, and those preparations required repentance.
What, then, is repentance?
The word for repentance in Greek (μετάνοια; metanoia) carries a basic meaning of changing one’s mind. The common word for repentance in Hebrew (שׁוּב; shûb) has a basic meaning of turning—turning away from one thing, and turning toward another.
So, repentance is more than coming to a different opinion in one’s mind about something. Repentance is a whole turning away from our sin, and turning toward Christ.
It’s hard to beat the answer given in the Westminster Shorter Catechism:
Q. 87. What is repentance unto life?A. 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 endeavor after, new obedience.
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Written by O. Palmer Robertson |
Wednesday, March 6, 2024
When the ruling elder cares enough to get involved, he will keep the church aware of the real world and the desperate need it has for the good news about Jesus Christ. At the same time, he will exercise a restraint on tendencies to depart from the faith….It is hoped that the trend toward a smaller and smaller percentage of ruling elder participation at the General Assembly will be reversed. The well-being of the church depends on it.

He who rules, let him do it with diligence.Romans 12:8
The ruling elder gave birth to the Presbyterian Church in America. Not the preachers but the ruling elders. When the ministers were too cautious to take decisive action, the ruling elders took the lead. They formed the organizations and called the meetings that eventually led to the formation of the PCA.
Now the ruling elder must devote himself to diligence in maintaining this great church. If the PCA is to realize fully its unique opportunities in the needy world today, ruling elders must show their commitment and concern by consistent involvement at every level of the church’s life. Particularly at the General Assembly, the ruling elder must be present, and he must be heard. He who rules must do so with diligence. The only thing necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.
When the ruling elder cares enough to get involved, he will keep the church aware of the real world and the desperate need it has for the good news about Jesus Christ. At the same time, he will exercise a restraint on tendencies to depart from the faith. This handbook is designed to encourage the ruling elder to stay involved in the Lord’s church. It is hoped that the trend toward a smaller and smaller percentage of ruling elder participation at the General Assembly will be reversed. The well-being of the church depends on it.
Take the following steps to get involved in the General Assembly of the church:
1. Begin by praying for your church.
Thank God for its commitment to the Scriptures, the great commission, and a mature Biblical faith. Ask the Lord to continue to bless it with peace, purity and zeal for serving Him by reaching out to the world.
2. Make a commitment to be personally involved as a ruling elder in the General Assembly.
Four times it is stated that the “apostles and elders” made the decisions of the first Assembly in Jerusalem (Acts 15:2,4,6,22). Elders must continue to exercise this responsibility. It will cost you time, money, even vacation. It will require a reshuffling of your priorities. But the cause is worth the commitment.
3. Talk about this matter in your Session.
Raise the subject. Commitment to be involved must be a joint decision.
4. Plan who should be your Session’s representative early in the year.
In a larger church, consider relieving this elder of other responsibilities so he can devote himself to the preparation necessary for this important task. Because ruling elder involvement in the General Assembly is serious business, give it your best.
5. Encourage your representative from Session to attend at least two years in succession.
To really become comfortable with the procedures of the Assembly, a person needs to go more than once. If your church is entitled to send more than one delegate, stagger your representatives so that at least one will have had the experience gained from attending the previous year.
6. Once you have been selected as a delegate, keep current with the registration procedures so you will be included in all the mailings.

7. Make yourself available to your presbytery to serve on a “Committee of Commissioners.”
These committees generally meet at the site of the Assembly during the weekend prior to the formal opening of the Assembly. They are critical in their importance, since they set the agenda and formulate the motions to be presented to the Assembly.
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The disciples are in the first stage of spiritual sight, seeing but not fully. Jesus is indeed the Christ, but they don’t understand what the Christ has come to do: be rejected, suffer, and die. Peter’s rebuke confirms his partial sight. He thinks he’s seeing better than he actually is.

Stories have turning points, and Peter’s confession—“You are the Christ”—is a turning point in Mark’s Gospel. Many New Testament scholars divide Mark’s Gospel in a way that outlines sections before this confession and after it. Peter’s confession is a threshold.
In Mark’s Gospel, the confession, “You are the Christ” (Mark 8:29), occurs after Jesus healed a blind man at Bethsaida. Reading this miracle alongside Peter’s confession can be interpretively helpful, especially since Mark’s Gospel is the only book that records this miracle. What can we notice by reflecting on this miracle and then on Peter’s confession?
The Blind Man’s Partial Sight

The miracle didn’t seem complete, as if Jesus’s first attempt fell short of the mark. Jesus laid hands on the man’s eyes, and then his sight was restored: “he saw everything clearly” (Mark 8:25). Success!
We’re not used to seeing miracles take place in stages. We’re used to something more immediate. When Jesus tells the leper, “Be clean,” the leper is healed instantly (Mark 1:41–42). When he tells the paralytic, “Rise, pick up your bed, and go home,” the paralytic immediately rises (2:11–12). When he tells the man with the withered hand, “Stretch out your hand,” the man stretches out his now-restored hand (3:5).
Mark 8:22–26 reports a miracle in two stages. But this was not a record of dwindling power. The stages are the point.
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