IN a sermon delivered on the day of Pentecost, and recorded in the second chapter of Acts, Peter admonished his hearers to repent and be baptized, assuring them that they would then receive the Holy Ghost. Briefly stated, Peter's promise showed that the inspiration of the Holy Ghost brings to humanity an enlarged understanding of the law of God, and may be obtained through repentance, followed by spiritual baptism.
A statement corresponding exactly to the counsel given by Peter is found on page 242 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," where Mrs. Eddy writes, "Through repentance, spiritual baptism, and regeneration, mortals put off their material beliefs and false individuality." As this is the process through which material beliefs of sickness and lack of every type are to be "put off," some earnest consideration of how this recipe for healing may be followed should be profitable.
A dictionary refers to repentance as "complete turning from sin." But before repentance can begin it is essential to realize what is to be repented of. If one continues to indulge in erroneous thinking without realizing that it is erroneous, he reaps the suffering which wrong thoughts inevitably produce. However, he cannot repent of what he does not yet recognize as sinful.
