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Earlier this year a colleague spoke on, “Whatever happened to repentance preaching?”

In so many places you can hear all about God’s love, His blessings, or how God can help you cope with life, but not a word about godly sorrow for sin.

You can hear messages on loving others and being a kind person and all of that is scriptural.

But will you hear a message like the one Peter preached at Pentecost, when his challenge led thousands to freedom in Christ?

There must be a knowledge of sin before there can be true repentance. One of the purposes of the law is to awaken a sense of sin.

At Pentecost, Peter answered their desperate cries by instructing them, “Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins may be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”.

This word has almost vanished from our vocabulary. What does it mean to repent?

To repent is to experience such contrition, as to change one’s way of life. It is turning round from one’s sin and going in the opposite direction, towards God.

Repentance is the only way to come to know true healing and true rejoicing, and enter the peace and rest of Christ.

There can be no conversion, no freedom, no born-again miracle, without repentance.

Jesus came to call sinners to repentance. It is a message warning the sinner to run to the Cross or perish and that is the greatest love message that can be offered to man.

The resurrected Jesus taught His disciples that repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached. Note the order.

Repentance leads to forgiveness, and forgiveness leads to rest, peace, and rejoicing.

Sandy Shaw
Nairn Christian Fellowship

"Today's Little Lift" from Jim Bullington

Mercy and not Sacrifice (October 5, 2010)