From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17
REPENT was the watchword! That was Jesus’ main message to first century folks. It is still His message today. To repent means to change your mind 180 degrees. It means to make a U-turn from the road to perdition in order to travel on the straight and narrow Way to eternal life.
Repentance is not the same as making some adjustments to your life. It is not just tweaking your behaviour here and there. It is not just having a mild sense of regret or remorse for your mistakes. It has nothing to do with giving excuses. It is simply changing your heart and mind completely.
Now that takes courage! It is true that repentance takes conviction by the Spirit. But it also takes tremendous courage to admit that we are sinners. It takes humility to admit that we’re far from God although we may have been going through all the religious motions. It takes great courage to overlook other people’s opinions.
Such was the case with the enquirers of Acts 2:37. They had the courage to rise above their religiosity and make a fresh start with Christ. Let us emulate their example in these last days. Let us have the courage to turn to and live for God.
Pastor Josh