Saturday, September 13, 2008

Repentance

While having family devotions with my family the other night, we read where Jesus told the man that was healed at the pool of Bethesda: "Sin no more."(14) Immediately I recalled the admonition that Jesus gave to the woman that was caught in the act of adultery: "Go, and sin no more."(John 8:11) I believe that the subject of repentance has been ignored by many that would call themselves followers of Jesus Christ. From Jesus to John the Baptist to the Apostles, they all preached a message of repentance. We have admonished people to confess their sins (to agree with God about their condition), but we must not stop there. We must teach them that they must turn away from their sin as well. Jesus Christ desires to make a change in people's lives and not simply have them agree that they are sinful.
This is the danger of simply having people repeat a prayer and then telling them that they are saved. Both children and adults alike will agree to pray a sinner's prayer to ease their conscience or make them feel better. Jesus Christ came to change lives and not simply make people feel at ease about themselves. 2 Corinthians 5:15 says, "He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again." Let us be bold in sharing the light of Jesus Christ and show them that Christ desires to change them from the inside out.

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