Christ commands repentance from sin.
The promise of eternal life is offered to all who believe and repent. Jesus commanded, “Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1:15). Sinners need to be saved not only from the consequences of sin (death and separation from God in hell) but also from sin itself. Salvation is not merely deliverance from the penalty of sin (damnation), but also from the power of sin over our lives (Lu 13:5; 24:47). The individual who truly repents hates sin and wants to be freed from its tyranny. God is ready to receive even the worst sinner who believes and repents (Jn 6:37). God desires you to be saved—He even commands you to come to Him and be forgiven on the basis of Christ’s work (Is 55:3-7). You need not remain His enemy—He has promised to receive all those who come to Him by faith in His Son (Matt 11:28-30; Jn 1:12-13; Acts 17:30-31).
Repentance is turning from sin to God (1 Thess 1:9).
To repent is to be sorry for our sin and turn from it in order to serve God
with gratitude (Luke 13:5). To repent involves a radical change of mind
and life—it is to whole-heartedly agree that we have wronged God and
sinned against Him (Ps 51:4).
It is by faith and repentance that we take hold of Christ as Savior and
Lord (John 1:12; 6:37; Phil 1:29; Eph 2:8-10).
“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his
thoughts; let him turn to the Lord, that He may have mercy on
him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Is 55:7).
The glorious benefits offered freely in the Gospel belong to those
who repent of sin and trust in Christ alone for salvation (Mark 16:16).
REPENTANCE IS THE GREATEST “U-TURN” IMAGINABLE
Saving sinners is the reason Christ came to earth (Luke 19:10).
God is now commanding men everywhere to repent and turn to Christ (Acts 17:30). We come to Christ by acknowledging that our sin is against God Himself and that our sin is ruinous (Jn 3:36; Rom 2:1-10; 3:9-20). God grants a personal love relationship with Himself to all who come to Him in Christ (Jn 17:23; Eph 5:25-27). The good news of the Gospel is that a person may have certainty about forgiveness of personal sin and may have everlasting life through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (Jn 3:36; 5:24-25; 10:27-29). From the moment of salvation onward, the child of God follows Christ, studying His commands and promises in Scripture and walking the path which Christ described as “the narrow way”—a life direction of trust and obedience to the Lord (Matt 7:13-14).
Those who believe and repent follow Christ
“He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his
life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone
serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there
My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father
will honor him” (Jn 12:25-26). THE GOSPEL IS THE ‘NARROW WAY’
WHICH LEADS TO LIFE (JESUS CHRIST)
www.gospelforlife.org