The Missing Ingredient: Why Repentance Matters in the Gospel Message

A Reflection on Acts 3 and the Healing at the Beautiful Gate

Every year at Thanksgiving, my oldest child and I make pies together. It’s become such a beloved tradition that we now make two pies to satisfy our growing family. These aren’t health-conscious pies—they’re full sugar, utterly delicious creations. But imagine if we made them with every ingredient except the sugar. The entire character of the pie would change. We wouldn’t need to make two because nobody would ask for seconds.

Sometimes we do the same thing with the gospel message.

The Four Essential Ingredients

In Luke 24, the risen Jesus gave His followers four specific components to proclaim:

1. The Christ had to suffer for our sins
2. He rose from the dead on the third day
3. He entered into his glory
4. Repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name

Just like leaving sugar out of a pie fundamentally changes what you’re making, leaving repentance out of the gospel fundamentally changes the message. Yet this fourth ingredient—the call to repentance—is consistently missing from many modern gospel presentations.

A Miracle with a Purpose

In Acts 3, we encounter Peter and John heading to the temple for afternoon prayer. At the Beautiful Gate, they meet a man lame from birth, carried there daily to beg for alms. When he asks for money, Peter responds with something far more valuable: “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk.”

The man doesn’t just walk. He leaps, shouts, and praises God with such exuberance that it creates a scene. The crowd gathers, amazed at this transformation of someone they’d seen begging for years.

This would have been an easy moment for Peter to accept the glory. Instead, he immediately deflects: “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this? Or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?”

The Hard Truth in Holy Places

What strikes me most about Peter’s subsequent sermon is where it takes place—right by the temple, speaking to religious people who had come to pray. These weren’t outcasts or obvious sinners. These were people going through the religious motions, thinking they were worshiping God.

Peter doesn’t soften his message for this religious audience. He tells them directly: You handed over Jesus. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One. You asked for a murderer to be released instead. You killed the Author of Life.

But then comes the beautiful turn: “I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also… Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away.”

The Blessing of Turning Away

Peter’s sermon culminates with a profound statement that challenges our modern sensibilities: “God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”

God wants to bless us by turning us from our wicked ways—not in spite of them, not while we remain in them, but by turning us from them.

This is where modern gospel presentations often fail. We’ve made Jesus into an add-on to our existing lives rather than the transformer of them. We suggest people can have a “little dab of Jesus” while continuing to pursue whatever darkness they’re walking in. But that’s not the gospel Jesus commissioned us to preach.

Three Critical Applications

1. Have You Truly Repented?

It’s possible to be in church, going through religious motions, without ever truly repenting. Maybe you’ve had some acknowledgment that Jesus is worth paying attention to, but have you actually turned from your way of thinking and living? Christianity isn’t just adding church attendance to an otherwise unchanged life—it’s laying down our desires, picking up our cross, and living to bring God glory in every area.

2. Repentance Is Ongoing

For those who have genuinely turned to Christ, remember that repentance isn’t a one-time event—it’s a lifestyle. Unless you’re perfectly conformed to Christ’s image (and none of us are), there’s still more repentance to do. We need our Savior just as much today as when we first believed.

3. Include Repentance in Your Witness

When we proclaim the gospel, are we including all four ingredients Jesus gave us? It’s easier to talk about God’s love and forgiveness without mentioning the need to turn from sin. But we don’t have the authority to edit Christ’s message. People need to hear the whole truth: that blessing comes through real change.

The Cost and the Fruit

Peter’s faithful proclamation led to his and John’s arrest—the beginning of persecution for the early church. He could have avoided this by keeping quiet after the miracle, but instead he was faithful to proclaim the complete gospel message.

The result? “Many of those who had heard the message believed, and the number of the men came to be about 5,000.”

Their willingness to proclaim the unpopular parts of the gospel—including the call to repentance—resulted in thousands coming to faith. How many people miss out on salvation today because we’re unwilling to include this essential ingredient?

The Recipe Remains the Same

We’re not called to create our own recipe for the gospel. We’re not chefs who can improvise; we’re bakers who must follow the instructions. God has told us exactly what to proclaim: that Christ suffered for our sins, rose from the dead, is glorified as Lord, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins must be proclaimed in His name.

The question isn’t whether repentance is culturally relevant or seeker-friendly. The question is whether we’ll be faithful to proclaim what Christ commanded, trusting that His recipe—all of it—produces the salvation He promises.

True blessing doesn’t come from God overlooking our sin while we continue in it. True blessing comes from Him transforming us, turning us from death to life, from darkness to light. That transformation begins with repentance—acknowledging our need to change and turning to Christ for the power to do so.

Don’t leave out the ingredient that makes the gospel truly sweet. The call to repentance isn’t harsh or burdensome—it’s the doorway to genuine freedom and joy. It’s how God blesses us: by turning us from our wicked ways and toward abundant life in Christ.

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This message reminds us that the gospel isn’t just information to believe but transformation to experience. When we include all the ingredients Christ gave us—especially repentance—we offer people not just religious knowledge but genuine life change. That’s a gospel worth proclaiming, whatever the cost.