Walk Of Life – Day 05, March 2022 – March With The Words OF Jesus Christ.
March And Take A U Turn
From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. – Matthew 4:17
Ezekiel said “Repent and turn from your transgressions” (Ezek. 18:30). John the Baptist said “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2). Jesus said “Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Peter said “Repent and be baptized” (Acts 2:38). And Paul said God “commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30).
Repentance has never been easy. No one likes to be told “Die to yourself. Kill that in you. Admit you are wrong and change.” That’s never been an easy sell. It’s much easier to get a crowd by leaving out the repentance part of faith, but it’s not faithful. It’s not even Christianity. Of course, there is a whole lot more to following Jesus than repentance, but it’s certainly not less. “Repent,” Jesus said, or “you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:5).
Repentance has always been hard, always will be hard. I have heard someone saying about Repentance that it means to change your mind. That’s what the Greek word metanoia means– a changed (meta) mind (noia).
You change your mind about yourself: “I am not fundamentally a good person deep down. I am not the center of the universe. I am not the king of the world or even my life.”
You change your mind about sin: “I am responsible for my actions. My past hurts do not excuse my present failings. My offenses against God and against others are not trivial. I do not live or think or feel as I should.”
And you change your mind about God: “He is trustworthy. His word is sure. He is able to forgive and to save. I believe in his Son, Jesus Christ. I owe him my life and my allegiance. He is my King and my Sovereign, and he wants what is best for me. I believe it!”
Repentance is hard because changing someone’s mind is hard. In fact, when we’re dealing with spiritual matters of the heart, God’s the only one who can really change your mind. People are simply not predisposed to say “I was wrong! I was wrong about God and about myself. My whole way of looking at the world has been in error. I want to change.” That’s repentance. And it’s amazing when it happens. Why does God give this message to his people repeatedly? It is because repentance is the only way to enter God’s kingdom and have eternal life, avoiding destruction (Ac 2:40).
True repentance brings us into relationship with God’s King, Jesus. At Pentecost, Peter addressed people, including those responsible for Jesus’ death (Ac 2:23). Peter proclaimed that Christ had risen and was at the right hand of God the Father as the King of kings. People were cut to the heart and said, “What shall we do?” Peter answered, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins” (Ac 2:38a). In response, some 3,000 people repented and the Christian church was born.
Therefore let us march with repentance that is taking an absolute turn which leads us to the kingdom of heaven.
