The fifth verse of the passage describes man’s heart; that is, man’s heart is filled with sin and death, full of pride, crooked, and rough. Last week’s message taught of man’s sinful heart and separation from God (i.e. ravine) along with man’s pride and turning to idols (i.e. mountain and hill). This week’s part 2 of the series will tackle how man’s heart is crooked and a rough road.

The crooked heart is related to deviation, twisting and manipulation (Romans 1:21-23). In essence, man’s sinful heart distorts the truth of God’s Word. Before sin entered the world, God created all things, including man, without sin; thus, was straight. When Adam and Even disobeyed God’s Word, sin and death entered the world, and man’s heart became crooked. The crooked heart is unable to see Jesus for who He truly is (Mark 6:3-5); therefore, they do not believe in Him. When the truth of God’s Word is not taken straightforwardly, they cannot repent and see the salvation of God. Even though the gospel of Christ is clear as day, the self-deceiving heart does not allow an unrepentant heart to see or hear clearly the gospel. But Scripture gives good news as the crooked will become straight.

The crooked are only able to become straight through God’s divine gift of repentance. God alone is able to grant repentance that leads to life (Acts 11:18). We see this effectual grace taking place in the life of Paul as his crooked heart is made straight and remaining at a street named Straight when meeting Ananias (Acts 9:5, 11). The way of salvation through Jesus is straight and narrow (Matthew 7:13-14).

Moreover, man’s heart is also like a rough road; a hardened heart. This rough road also symbolizes man’s idolatry (Jeremiah 2:25). An idolatrous and stubborn heart is unable and unwilling to receive the gospel of Christ (Romans 2:5). However, again, only repentance granted by God is able to soften the hard and rough heart of sinful man. For by God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8) can a man be saved for it is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). Pharaoh’s heart, before letting the Jews free, exemplifies the hardness of man’s sinful heart, and that only by the supernatural work of God is able to change the heart to repent and believe. In other words, the rough heart becomes smooth. This illustrates the grace of God that makes the sinner righteous through Christ. As David defeated Goliath with one smooth rock, it is by repenting of our unbelief once by God’s grace are we saved.

In verse 6, Luke mentions all flesh will see the salvation of God. All flesh meaning any man that repents and believes in Jesus Christ for their salvation. The word “see” in this verse is key to understand the repentant heart. This seeing signifies God at work who opens eyes to recognize Jesus Christ, which leads to repentance and faith in Him. It is not enough to be saved by merely recognizing who Jesus is, as the demons also knew who He was, but our response before the Jesus who is alive. The proper response, again, is repentance for the forgiveness of sins and receiving of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).

Therefore, those that see Jesus Christ continually devote themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (Acts 2:42). Christians understand without devoting to the aforementioned things, we are unable to see Christ, so we practice daily the joy of being with our Lord as He allowed us to repent and see the salvation of God.

Churches often forgo the topic of repentance in lieu of more popular topics, such as love and peace. But repentance is the singularly vital topic in the church. Without repentance, there is no love, peace, sanctification, glorification, or any other aspects of Christianity, because we would still be objects of wrath.

It is only through repentance, that Christians are completely forgiven – no longer at enmity with God and able therefore to call God, “Abba, Father.”

How do we know we are forgiven by repentance of sins? The Scripture says so. What is written is what God says (v.4) so we know that there is no discrepancy between God’s Word and what God says. What was written in the Book is everlasting, just like God. In these verses, Luke quotes from the Book of Isaiah, which was written hundreds of years before by the namesake prophet and shows that what was written is valid and effective by showing the fulfilment of the prophecy. Because God’s Word will remain forever (Mt 24:34-35), we can be sure that if Scriptures says that we’ll be forgiven by repentance, then repentance is indeed the only way of receiving forgiveness. Unlike emotions, the Word is not susceptible to change, and, therefore is the final authority in the matter of truth, including repentance. The authority of Scripture is seen in the way God works in history through promises and prophecies.

In fact, there are more than 400 prophecies in the Bible that have already been fulfilled by the first coming of our Messiah Jesus. These are not coincidences – his prophecies are fulfilled because God is the Author of all History. One can even state that the prophecies that are written in the Scriptures are prophesied by God himself. Take Isaiah 40, when it reads that there is “a voice of one calling, ‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord.’” Whose voice is it? It is that of John the Baptist. He was a herald, a front-runner that went before Jesus. He was preparing the way before the King’s arrival, warning people to prepare themselves before His coming. What is the way of the King? It is the Highway of Holiness (Is 35:8).

What is repentance?

It begins with an understanding of our own depraved hearts. Verse 5 depicts the condition of our hearts before repentance, like ravines needing to be filled. According to the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary, a ravine is “a long deep hollow worn by a stream or torrent of water; hence, any long deep hollow or pass through mountains.” Our hearts can only be filled with the satisfaction of salvation, carried out through repentance. Before repentance, our hearts are desperately sick and deceitful (Jer 17:9), totally depraved. Total depravity, according to William G.T. Shedd, is the “entire absence of holiness, not the highest intensity of sin.” We are spiritually dead, with ravines that need to be filled.

True repentance, then, is not just about emotional response – remorse, guilt – but about the heart change that occurs by reflecting on our ideas, our choices, and actions against God’s standards. In repentance, we are forgiven, freed from sin, found without debt, and experiencing the mercy and grace of God. Our hearts must be filled with the Holy Spirit. We must be filled with the Holy Spirit in all circumstances, even through persecutions. This is not possible naturally, but supernaturally; we are completely healed when our ravines are filled with the Spirit. Only God satisfies the thirsty soul, filling it with that which is good (Ps 107:9). We are instructed to “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand” (Mt 4:17). Share with others how you have been forgiven through repentance. If you repent, you will be saved, you will be satisfied, and your spiritual ravine will be filled.