To Turn (ἐπιστρέφω)

“To turn” carries both a literal meaning—physically changing direction and returning to where one came from—and a metaphorical meaning, referring to a change in mental attitude that results in a corresponding change in actions.

When a woman who had been sick for twelve years had the opportunity to touch Christ—believing that if only she could touch the hem of His garment she would be healed—Jesus turned and said to her, “Be of good cheer; your faith has made you whole” (Matthew 9:20–22).

Isaiah prophesied concerning the Jews’ response to Christ, saying that hearing they would not understand, and seeing they would not perceive, for the hearts of the people had grown dull. If they were to see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, they would turn from their unbelief and hardness of heart, and be healed (Matthew 13:14–15).

In Acts chapter 3, when God healed a lame man through Peter and John as a sign to the Jews, many gathered and listened to Peter. He questioned why they marveled, as though he and John had healed the man by their own power. God had glorified His Servant Jesus among them for three years—healing, working miracles, and giving signs—yet they denied Him in the presence of Pilate. They rejected the Holy One and killed the Prince of Life, but God raised Him from the dead. It was through His name that this lame man was healed. Knowing they acted in ignorance, Peter called on them to repent and turn, so that their sins might be blotted out (Acts 3:19).

Repentance is a change of mind concerning who Jesus is and the fact that God raised Him from the dead. Turning refers to a change in action—rejecting the path they had been walking in unbelief and turning to God, no longer governing their lives apart from faith.

The ministry of righteousness possesses a glory that surpasses the glory of the ministry of condemnation. The Mosaic Law has passed away, but what remains—grace—abides in surpassing glory. This is not a fading glory, unlike the glory on Moses’ face, which he veiled so that the sons of Israel would not see its passing. In the same way, to this day, a veil remains over the mind of an Israelite when he reads the Scriptures. However, when he turns to Christ, the veil is taken away (2 Corinthians 3:9–16).

Grace believers have been freed from the Law, yet some turn again to the weak and beggarly elements of the world, desiring to be in bondage (Galatians 4:9). They use these principles as a means of displaying their perceived righteousness before men—observing days, months, seasons, and years. We do not begin by the Spirit only to be brought to completion through the flesh. The righteousness a grace believer possesses is due to his position in Christ; therefore, he is free to live out this righteousness, having been given all things pertaining to life and godliness.

When we love—seeking the best for—other grace believers, we are being filled where we lack by the Holy Spirit, pursuing and fulfilling His desires, and walking in the light. A person in such a state of mind and conduct has no need for law, for his actions will align with what is right as he understands and fulfills the desirous will of God.

Let us not be like those who, as a dog returns to its vomit, go back to a sinful way of life after having been freed from it (2 Peter 2:22). For if, after escaping the corruption of the world through the full experiential knowledge of God, they are again entangled in it and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. They turn away from the holy commandment delivered to them—“Love one another as I have loved you”—and follow false teachers who deny the Lord and secretly bring in destructive heresies, making merchandise of them (2 Peter 2:20–21).

Just as a person who physically turns changes direction to return to where they came from, so also those who wander from the truth can turn back to it.