“… [Jesus said:] “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”” (Mark 1:15, NKJV)
The words above form the core of Jesus’ very first sermon in the Gospel of Mark. These words are at the center of Jesus’ teachings. Jesus believed that the “kingdom of God” was touching the lives of His hearers in that crucial period of history (Mark 1:15a). He believed that prophecies of that special time were being “fulfilled”. Anyone who listened to Jesus was asked to respond in two ways. True disciples were to “repent” and to “believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15b). No person can be a true disciple of Jesus without these two responses to the call to faith. You, dear reader, must continually respond to Jesus in your life by repenting and by believing.
Believing in Jesus means putting your faith in the gospel. To be a part of God’s Kingdom, you need to let go of the lies you believe, the false doctrines that define the world, reject false teachings, and dedicate yourself to the gospel of our Lord Jesus. Still, belief is not enough. One other thing was required, as stipulated by Jesus in His sermon. You need to “repent”. Repenting means MORE than just saying I’m sorry to God and others. Repenting means more than admitting you were wrong. The Greek word used for “repent” in this verse means to “make a U-turn in life”. It means you need to stop going away from God and start going toward God. It means you need to walk away from sin and walk toward the holy light. It means you must actively change things in your life that are wrong. Repenting will require more than a few words or a quickly uttered prayer. It will require changes in your life, correction of your actions, amended thoughts, and a gracious attitude. If you do repentance right, it will change YOU. You will choose to think and act and respond more like Jesus.
Jesus’ call upon the listener to “repent and believe” is simple. Only two things are required to become a disciple of Jesus. You must repent. You must believe. Sadly, too many people have big problems with these two simple requirements of Jesus. If they do not come around to following Jesus’ call for these two simple things, they will never truly be disciples of Jesus Christ. First, some people doubt the gospel. The question parts of the scriptures. They question Jesus’ validity. They second-guess the meaning of scriptures they don’t like or God’s words they don’t want to follow. Their faith is weakened by such doubt. Their commitment to Jesus is put on shaky ground by inadequate commitment to faith in Jesus. Second, all too many who desire to be Christian do not take time to repent. Some lie to themselves about how much sin has twisted their judgment. Some don’t want to admit they are imperfect or prone to self-destructive behaviors. Some are too prideful to admit their own failings. Some feel undeserving of forgiveness, so they withhold their repentance. For whatever the reason, those who fail to repent of their sins will never truly feel forgiven and blessed by Almighty God.
Belief in Jesus requires continual repentance. Repentance is a part of true belief. Belief and repentance go hand in hand in the faithful disciple.
To explain the disconnect between belief and repentance when studying Mark 1:15, John MacArthur wrote the following words in Truth for Today:
“If you want to enter the narrow gate you must repent. Many Jews during Jesus’ time believed that just being physical descendants of Abraham was sufficient for entrance into heaven. And many people today believe that simply being churchgoers or morally good people qualifies them for salvation. After all, they reason, God is too benevolent to exclude anyone but the most evil people.
God does desire that everyone enter the narrow gate because He is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). But you will not pass through the narrow gate unless you follow Charles Spurgeon’s admonition: “You and your sins must separate, or you and your God will never come together. No one sin may you keep; they must all be given up...”” (John MacArthur, Truth for Today, p. 241)
If you want to believe in Jesus, repentance should be a common action of your faith. Repentance should be a regular part of your prayer life. It should be done as a part of worship (that is why many churches have the “Confession of Sin” as a part of their worship liturgy). Repentance needs to become second nature to your spiritual thinking. You should constantly be ready to repent as long as you truly believe in Jesus.
In response to Jesus’ first sermon in the Gospel of Mark, are there any doubts of God lingering in your spiritual life. Are there any sins needing repentance? Are you repenting in heart, mind, and soul, or just saying the words of confession without a real commitment? Are you truly sorry for your sin? A life with Jesus can be the most rewarding, awesome experience of your life. But, you will never get to enjoy the depths of that relationship without true repentance and a committed belief in the gospel. Never.
Believing in Jesus means putting your faith in the gospel. To be a part of God’s Kingdom, you need to let go of the lies you believe, the false doctrines that define the world, reject false teachings, and dedicate yourself to the gospel of our Lord Jesus. Still, belief is not enough. One other thing was required, as stipulated by Jesus in His sermon. You need to “repent”. Repenting means MORE than just saying I’m sorry to God and others. Repenting means more than admitting you were wrong. The Greek word used for “repent” in this verse means to “make a U-turn in life”. It means you need to stop going away from God and start going toward God. It means you need to walk away from sin and walk toward the holy light. It means you must actively change things in your life that are wrong. Repenting will require more than a few words or a quickly uttered prayer. It will require changes in your life, correction of your actions, amended thoughts, and a gracious attitude. If you do repentance right, it will change YOU. You will choose to think and act and respond more like Jesus.
Jesus’ call upon the listener to “repent and believe” is simple. Only two things are required to become a disciple of Jesus. You must repent. You must believe. Sadly, too many people have big problems with these two simple requirements of Jesus. If they do not come around to following Jesus’ call for these two simple things, they will never truly be disciples of Jesus Christ. First, some people doubt the gospel. The question parts of the scriptures. They question Jesus’ validity. They second-guess the meaning of scriptures they don’t like or God’s words they don’t want to follow. Their faith is weakened by such doubt. Their commitment to Jesus is put on shaky ground by inadequate commitment to faith in Jesus. Second, all too many who desire to be Christian do not take time to repent. Some lie to themselves about how much sin has twisted their judgment. Some don’t want to admit they are imperfect or prone to self-destructive behaviors. Some are too prideful to admit their own failings. Some feel undeserving of forgiveness, so they withhold their repentance. For whatever the reason, those who fail to repent of their sins will never truly feel forgiven and blessed by Almighty God.
Belief in Jesus requires continual repentance. Repentance is a part of true belief. Belief and repentance go hand in hand in the faithful disciple.
To explain the disconnect between belief and repentance when studying Mark 1:15, John MacArthur wrote the following words in Truth for Today:
“If you want to enter the narrow gate you must repent. Many Jews during Jesus’ time believed that just being physical descendants of Abraham was sufficient for entrance into heaven. And many people today believe that simply being churchgoers or morally good people qualifies them for salvation. After all, they reason, God is too benevolent to exclude anyone but the most evil people.
God does desire that everyone enter the narrow gate because He is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). But you will not pass through the narrow gate unless you follow Charles Spurgeon’s admonition: “You and your sins must separate, or you and your God will never come together. No one sin may you keep; they must all be given up...”” (John MacArthur, Truth for Today, p. 241)
If you want to believe in Jesus, repentance should be a common action of your faith. Repentance should be a regular part of your prayer life. It should be done as a part of worship (that is why many churches have the “Confession of Sin” as a part of their worship liturgy). Repentance needs to become second nature to your spiritual thinking. You should constantly be ready to repent as long as you truly believe in Jesus.
In response to Jesus’ first sermon in the Gospel of Mark, are there any doubts of God lingering in your spiritual life. Are there any sins needing repentance? Are you repenting in heart, mind, and soul, or just saying the words of confession without a real commitment? Are you truly sorry for your sin? A life with Jesus can be the most rewarding, awesome experience of your life. But, you will never get to enjoy the depths of that relationship without true repentance and a committed belief in the gospel. Never.