Our Sin Blotted Out Acts 3:19

In light of these serious charges, we must ask whether there is any hope for such wicked people. The answer is yes! Look back at 3:19–21. In the center of this passage about the glory of Christ and the gravity of sin, Peter offers amazing gospel hope to everyone.

Notice the necessity of repentance in verse 19. He says there’s hope if you turn from your sins. Down in verse 26 he tells his hearers that God wants “to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways.” In other words, our ability to repent is God’s gracious gift.

Notice also the blessings of forgiveness. In verses 19–21 Peter mentions three benefits of genuine repentance: (1) total forgiveness, (2) spiritual refreshment, and (3) universal restoration.

Regarding the first, he says that through repentance, “your sins may be wiped out” (v. 19). This is a beautiful word picture. Parchment was expensive, so sometimes scribes used acid-free ink as they wrote on it. The ink just lay on top of the parchment, so a person could take a wet sponge and wipe a message away, blotting it out. To put Peter’s point in modern terms, imagine having all your sins listed on a dry-erase board. Now, imagine sitting there pondering the weight of your sin record and the certainty of coming judgment without having any hope of changing your sad reality. But then, when you feel eaten by shame and fear, someone marches in and forever wipes that record of your wrongs off the board. He declares you innocent. Would that not make you soar in worship to the one wiping away your sin? It should! That’s what’s happened! Jesus Christ has wiped out our wrongs. We have no guilt. We are under no condemnation. And as sure as Jesus wipes our sin away the moment we ask him to do so, he will wipe our tears away later (Rev 21:4).

But there’s more. Through repentance you can enjoy spiritual refreshment (v. 20). The language Peter uses here speaks of respite, rest, refreshment, or relief. It’s a word about the messianic age, when the Spirit will be poured out. It’s a reminder that those who turn to Jesus find rest. What good news the gospel offers to people who have been trying to earn forgiveness of sins and to achieve eternal life: simply come to Jesus and find rest and refreshment for your weary soul. His actions on the cross set us free!

Finally, Peter says, if you will repent, then you will enjoy the hope of Christ restoring all things (vv. 20–21). Paul spoke of the day in which our sufferings will give way to glory Christ gives us hope to endure the difficulties of this life because he has given us the promise of glory to come. How terrible would it be to have hope only in this life? The gospel, however, offers an unshakable hope that our best days are yet to come.