ApprehendingGrace.com

“The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”
Jesus, Mark 1:15b (NLT)

Last week we looked at John the Baptist’s message to the Israelites:

“Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
John the Baptist, Matthew 3:2 (NLT)

John was only the forerunner with the message. The Messiah was to follow bringing the same message:

“The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”
Mark 1:15 (NLT)

Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah didn’t come as the conquering king the Israelites expected, He came as one following in the footsteps of a man who lived in the wilderness, dressed in camel hair and ate locusts and honey. He came as one following in the footsteps of a man who called the Israelites to repentance and who was jailed and beheaded. The Messiah didn’t come with a message to those who had conquered the Israelites; rather, He came with a message to the Israelites: Get your house in order! Live the way you are supposed to live. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

It’s the same message He has for us today. You see, the message of repentance isn’t for the worst sinners, it is for all sinners.

¹About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. ²“Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?” Jesus asked. “Is that why they suffered? ³Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. ⁴And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? ⁵No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too.”
Luke 13:1-5 (NLT)

His promise is the same as the promise made by John the Baptist – the kingdom of God is at hand. The kingdom of God is available to those who repent. It is the same call and promise that God has been making throughout time:

¹²That is why the LORD says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. ¹³Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish.
Joel 2:12-13 (NLT)

God remains the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He calls us to repentance. Not because He wants to watch us grovel, but because He wants to forgive us and give us the Kingdom of heaven.

In her blog The Prayer of Confession Requires a Repentant Heart, Kim Butts quotes Dick Eastman:

“Confession is a heartfelt recognition of what we are. It is important to God because it indicates that we take seriously our mistakes and failures. Of course, God does not ask us to confess our sins because He needs to know we have sinned, but because He knows that we need to know we have sinned.”
Dick Eastman, The Hour That Changes the World

Check out Kim’s blog here.