Mission Venture Ministries

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)

 When Jesus began His public ministry, His first message was: “Repent.”

You may be asking yourself to repent of what? Well, Jesus was telling people to acknowledge their sin, to change their way of thinking and the direction of their life.

Basically before accepting Christ we are blinded by our sin and that makes us turn away from God. When we repent, we do a ‘total 180 degree reversal’ and begin to sincerely seek after God. It is not enough that we feel bad for our sins. We must also change our way of life, because the Bible teaches us that, “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Corinthians 7:10). In other words, if you really feel bad about something, the results have to be seen in a change of your actions. Guilt and conviction are good, if they lead you to true repentance.

There are many examples of false repentance in the Bible. We are told that Pharaoh repented when the judgment of God came upon him, and he said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you” (Exodus 10:16). But as soon as the judgment ended, he went right back to sinning.

We read where Balaam said to the angel of the Lord: “I have sinned” (Numbers 22:34); yet “he loved the wages of unrighteousness” (2 Peter 2:15).

When Saul lost his kingdom he said to Samuel: “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice” (1 Samuel 15:24). Saul did not really trust God, he did just like in the days before he was chosen to be king in Israel; what was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25). After Saul’s pretended repentance he tried to murder David, his son-in-law several times and also tried to kill his own son Jonathan. Saul was too proud – to sincerely repent; he had become his own god and that sealed his eternal destiny, separation from Almighty God. Proud people almost never come to true repentance; since there is no such thing as proud holiness.

Another example is Judas, who betrayed Jesus after walking with the Savior for nearly three years. “When he saw that Jesus had been condemned, he was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” (Matthew 27:3-4).

Yes, he was remorseful; that is, he was filled with grief, anguish, and indignation, at himself, when reflecting upon what he had done, but he never repented and asked God to forgive him; and instead, “he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself” (Matthew 27:5).

In comparison to the false “I have sinned” regrets we see Peter’s true repentance. During Jesus’ trial, as Peter tried to wait inconspicuously in the high priest’s courtyard, on three occasions he was confronted by other bystanders and accused of being one of Jesus’ followers. Peter’s reaction showed he had lost all sense of reality and awareness of God. Each accusation was a bit more incriminating and provoked a more vehement denial by Peter. After the third denial, according to the Lord’s providence, Peter’s received a penetrating look from Jesus Himself and his remembering of Jesus’ prediction that he would deny Him three times were enough to bring Peter to his senses. “And he went out and wept bitterly.” (Luke 22:61-62)

Peter’s tears were not merely tears of remorse; they indicated a true sorrow. It was not until he saw Christ’s face and remembered His words that Peter grasped the seriousness of his sin and repented.

Jesus also teaches us about repentance through the parable of the prodigal son, a story filled with mercy and grace. It is a parable of how God views us and how we can choose to repent and turn to God or reject him.

After realizing that he had made a very bad decision and feeling very guilty, the prodigal son decided to go back, confess his sins to his father, and ask for mercy, which he did: ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son” (Luke 15:21). This is true, humble repentance. When you repent, you come to the full realization of what you did, you change your mind and ask God to transform your heart, you immediately turn away from sin and ask for forgiveness.

When we finally regain our senses and decide to return to God, our loving Father is already running to meet us. He is already celebrating, because more than anything else, God wants everyone to be part of His kingdom.

On the other side, the person who engages in deliberate and habitual sin and is not deeply repentant for what they do repetitively, is simply proving that they do not know Christ and therefore cannot be abiding in Him even though they may be participating in church and thought by many to be a “Christian.”

However, as true believers mature in their faith, they will exhibit more and more evidence of their Christian nature, such as their love for God, repentance from sin, separation from the world, spiritual growth, and obedient living. As Paul told the Romans, the genuine child of God has been set free from sin and has become an obedient and loving slave to God, and the result is eternal life (Romans 6:22).

The clear teaching of the Bible is that when someone is saved his life will most definitely change as he is a “new creation, the old has gone and the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Consequently, a true, born-again Christian will strive to bring glory and honor to Christ by living a life that is pleasing to God (1 Peter 1:15-16).

You are either a true Christian or you are not a Christian; because, one is either with God or against God (Matthew 12:30). And if you are a Christian please remember “that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

God’s greatest desire is that we repent: “For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord God. “Therefore, repent and live” (Ezekiel 18:32). But true repentance does not occur until we really love Christ and hate sin.

You have to understand that there are things that only God can do, and there are things that only you can do. Only God can remove your sin and give you the gift of eternal life, but only you, with the help of the Holy Spirit can turn away from your sin and receive Jesus as your Savior. Every person must make a choice – repent or perish.

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