Buen Consejo wrote: As the new testament starts, John came preaching to get things ready for Jesus to start his ministry. John started first thing: Matthew 3:2 “And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” When Jesus started his public ministry, he started with: Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The apostle Peter preached: Acts 3:19 “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;” When the apostle Paul was preaching in Athens he said: Acts 17:30 “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:” Are you seeing a pattern here? Jesus said, Luke 24:47 “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” Preaching and teaching repentance is what it is all about. Now, understanding what that means and how it applies to you is very important. 2 Corinthians 7:10, 11 “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.” In these verses you see the difference between feeling sorry after the world’s way and the right kind of sorrow that leads to change. It’s like, “Sorry I got caught” as opposed to “Sorry I did that, I don’t want to do it anymore”. Repentance comes from a sorrow for having sinned (even if it’s because of finding out that sin will get you serious punishment). Repentance is not fake tears and apologies. Repentance is a change of mind strong enough to make you change your actions. When a person finds out they are sinners, they face a choice. Believe it or not, there are people that think they are not sinners or that they are not so bad. There are even many people that think that God will weigh their good against their bad and see that they are actually good folks. They are sadly wrong. Romans 3:10 “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:” Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” You’ve already been measured. You came up short. James 2:10 “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” You know you’ve lied, taken something that isn’t yours or something. You’re guilty. But check this out> The greatest sin you could do is obviously breaking the greatest commandment. Matthew 22:37, 38 “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.” If you are not loving God and thinking about him, his words and his role in your life, then you are a filthy, rotten sinner on his or her way to hell. You will not be judged on what you think is right and wrong, but what your Creator says. What should you do? Repent. Isaiah 55:7 “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” Have a change of mind that is strong enough to want to change your actions. Here’s the thing: You must want to change your life, but must admit that you do not have the ability to. This is where organized religion messes up. You can’t fix your life. You can’t stop sinning. You can’t do righteously in God’s eyes. You must acknowledge you are a lost sinner who can not fix it. You must then be willing (this is repentance) to surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ for him to fix it. If you want to turn from sin and turn it over to God, strongly enough to actually let him fix you- that is the repentance needed for the saving of your soul. If you truly repent he will take care of the part about you going to hell to burn forever. Salvation (being saved from going to hell) is a free gift. You don’t work or behave a certain way to get it. Jesus died on the cross, was buried and rose again from the dead to pay for your sin and save you. But that free gift is only available to those that have really, from the heart, repented. Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Revelation 20:14, 15 “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” What will it be? You will have to decide. REPENT or PERISH. TURN or BURN. Will you CONTINUE in sin and burn alone in torment forever in the lake of fire? Or will you surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ and enjoy peace, forgiveness and eternal life?
Posted on: Mon, 30 Sep 2013 03:21:56 +0000
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