Repent: For the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 4:17
We serve a God who really really loves us. If you know God at all, you will see the level of love he has poured out on you and I through his Son Jesus.
However there is something that comes from us that we must do before God is going to pour out his Love, grace and mercy into our lives.
Jesus in his very first sermon called to men and women and did not, nor did he ever mince words, sugar coat what must be done. He called for you and I to turn from our sin and repent.
This is a very simple explanation for what is repentance. It means Turn around. Jesus did not overlook sin in our lives, he came to help us deal with it and find a better way.
How?
Turn around, repent…
Having a relationship with God and Jesus requires us to do our part. Faith is going to be darn difficult without repentance.
We know that salvation is based entirely upon the grace of God. The Bible says that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, and it also says, “The just shall live by his faith” Romans 9:17. Salvation, forgiveness, and justification are based entirely upon the atoning work of Chirst. However, if the sacrifice of Christ on the cross is to be made effectual for any individual of any age, that individual must repent of sin and accept Christ by faith.
Repentance is mentioned 70 times in the New Testament. Jesus said, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Claiming you have sinned and acknowledge that is NOT repentance. Many of us who have morals will feel remorseful when we sin and do things that we know are against the will of God for our lives. This is the grieving of the Holy spirit within us. If you are a Christian, you know what I mean.
But this is NOT repentance.
So lets look to our Master and Saviour Jesus Christ for the Definition of Repentance.
In the dictionary the definition for repent is to feel sorry or feel regret.
But when Jesus talked about repentance, he meant MUCH more than this.
From a biblical standpoint the word repent means to change or to turn. It is a word of Power and Action. God is asking us to turn and move away from the sin. This action must be completed by you and I. We must repent, not feel sorry for ourselves or feel regret. This is NOT enough, we must turn from the sin.
Repentance is NOT a word I hear in the churches very much today. And if I do, it is not true repentance that is talked about.
Repentance is about going in a new direction. Going away from that which is pulling you into the great abysses of Hell.
Repentance is beyond recognition of sin. Repentance is a willingness of ourselves in conjunction with what God Wishes and desires for us, to turn completely away from that which is keeping us from God.
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