Repent!

Matthew 3:1-2 NKJV

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!

Matthew 4:17 NKJV

From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." 

Once John the Baptist was in prison and was no longer the one that came before talking of repentance, Jesus started telling people to repent. It must come first and foremost. If you don’t realize you have sinned against God and what that means, you have no way of truly turning from your ways to God’s ways.  

If a Christian is trying to say you only need to say a little prayer and you are good with God, be wary. You need to confess your sins and truly want to learn His ways in order for His grace to empower you to do so. It has to be a two way relationship between you and Jesus for this to happen.

Matthew 11:20 NLT

Then Jesus began to denounce the cities where he had done most of his miracles, because they hadn't turned from their sins and turned to God.

These unrepentant cities were in trouble. Bad things would come if they did not do a true turning from their ways to God’s way. There is no reconciliation with God without first repenting. You can tell the truly repentant because they will change their lifestyle with some things evident immediately. I know when I figured this out I changed a lot of things in the first few months as I learned with some good discipleship. I keep finding things to work on, but I equate this to peeling an onion one layer at a time. You get rid of the obvious and once that is gone new things are revealed to learn and work on. It’s a journey worth taking as you get closer to God with each step that strips your old self away. In the end we are to be like Jesus.

If we are accepting of Jesus, God already sees us as He sees Jesus. Do not let that turn into an excuse to keep some of your sins. Repent immediately to God when you realize you are not walking correctly with Him. This is how we show our love to Him, by obeying and admitting when we didn’t. This will show the world the truth. Staying unrepentant will show them a lie if you keep confessing to follow Christ. So be ready for someone to point out a flaw. We all have them. Take it as a loving warning from God no matter whom or what makes you realize it.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NLT

We use God's mighty weapons, not mere worldly weapons, to knock down the Devil's strongholds. 5 With these weapons we break down every proud argument that keeps people from knowing God. With these weapons we conquer their rebellious ideas, and we teach them to obey Christ.

We are to teach the world how to repent and be reconciled with God by using His tools, not our own. We use His Word, counsel and wisdom to fight against the ideas of the world. It is not a carnal fight, but a spiritual one.

If you are a Christian who hasn’t fully repented, do so now! If you are a Christian not teaching the need for repentance to others, start doing so now! Anyone not professing to be a Christian, I pray that God will send you the person that shows you how to properly repent and become a child of God. I encourage all to repent because God loves us all and is thankfully giving us more time on earth to realize it. Don’t let your time run out.