Mission Venture Ministries

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. (Acts 3:19) 

We all will spend eternity somewhere, therefore, our destination is determined by whether we accept or reject Jesus’ offer of forgiveness. To some, eternity seems distant, so they feel that they can delay this decision. They falsely assume that they will just wait until they are closer to death and then they’ll ask Jesus to save them. 

The problem with this reasoning is lack of understanding. First, there’s no guarantee you’ll have any warning before death. Second, by spending a lifetime rejecting Christ’s offer, you run the risk of developing a hardened heart. Hebrews 3:13 says, “Encourage one another … so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” Saying no to God frequently throughout your life may result in being unable to say yes when death comes knocking at the door. We must be careful not to abuse the grace of God as Hebrews 10:26-27 tells us: “If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.” 

God has told the sinful world, in no uncertain terms, to repent (Mark 6:12; Luke 24:47; Acts 3:19; 17:30). To repent means to change your mind from embrace of sin and rejection of Christ to rejection of sin and embrace of Christ. Those who refuse to repent and turn to Christ in faith will suffer eternal consequences. Given the fact of hell, mankind in his sin is in a dire situation. Why would anyone delay repentance? Yet many do, even while admitting their sin and claiming to see their need for salvation. 

There are several reasons not to delay repentance. First, the Bible’s command to repent is accompanied by an urgent appeal to do it now: Paul quotes Isaiah 49:8, which speaks of “the day of salvation.” Then He says not to delay: “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Repentance should take place as soon as God the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sins. In other words, today is the day of salvation. “Today, if only you would hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Psalm 95:7-8). 

Another problem with delaying repentance is that no one knows the day he will die, and after death comes the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). The rich fool in Jesus’ parable (Luke 12:16-20) thought he had plenty of time to enjoy life, but God had news for him: “This very night your life will be demanded from you” (verse 20). We have today, we have the present moment, and therefore, we should use it wisely and not delay. 

Another reason to not delay repentance is that, every time we refuse to repent, we continue to sin and our hearts get harder (see Hebrews 3:7-8). Every time a person says “no” to what’s right, it becomes a little easier to say “no” the next time, too. There’s a gradual hardening of the heart, a searing of the conscience that can numb an unsaved person to the point of being past feeling. This is a dangerous spiritual condition to be in. 

Also, the harder a person’s heart becomes, the more “force” God will have to apply to bring him to repentance. Tragically, there is a point of no return. God may eventually stop trying to bring the chronically rebellious to repentance and give them over to their own ways (Romans 1:28). We never know when this point of no return is, so the better part of wisdom is timely repentance. 

By delaying repentance, we are delaying certain blessings from God. At least three verses bring this to light:

• “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19).
• “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).
• “Your wrongdoings have kept these [showers of blessing] away; your sins have deprived you of good” (Jeremiah 5:25).

So, in delaying repentance, we miss out on God’s blessings. 

It is true that God is gracious to us and that a person may be able to repent up until the day he dies. But we should not live presumptuously since we are not guaranteed tomorrow. 

By putting off a decision for Christ, you not only lose the immediate blessings of a deeply personal relationship with God now; you also risk future separation from Him for all eternity. Don’t wait! Come to Christ today: Acknowledge your sin, ask His forgiveness, and trust Him as your Savior. 

Remember that there was a time when the Lord shut the door of the ark, and the flood came and drowned everyone outside the ark (Genesis 7:16). There came a time when the wedding party began, and those who were not ready for the coming of the bridegroom were locked out (Matthew 25:1-13). 

And lastly please read Hebrews 3:7-19 where the Word of God warns us against unbelief. 

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