Importance of Repentance in Christ Jesus!

‘Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord… "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.’ – Acts 3:19, Matthew 3:2, 2 Timothy 2:22 NIV

Repentance is necessary in our lives (Luke 13:1-5) if we are followers of Jesus Christ and committed ourselves to Him. This is because all of us are sinners (Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12) This means that we are doomed to death. However, God has given us the permission to enter the kingdom of heaven (Romans 6:23) through faith in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior (Colossians 1:15-20; John 3:16-18); if we only pursue righteousness, love and peace that are acceptable to God, our heavenly Father (Ephesians 4:6) Hence, the word of God declares:

‘Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord… "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.’ (Acts 3:19, Matthew 3:2, 2 Timothy 2:22)

Just like 2 Timothy 2:22 has said, we ought to “pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace” altogether. This is because the word of God proclams that each one of us are members of Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 12:27) and “He [Jesus Christ] is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.” (Colossians 1:18) This means that we are members of each other as well. (Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13)

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22)

The reason why that all of us need to “pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace” are stated in 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24-25, Hebrews 11:6; Ephesians 2:8-9, 1 John 4:7-12; Romans 13:8-10, and Colossians 3:15; Matthew 5:9.

Righteousness:

For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (1 Peter 2:24-25)

Faith:

Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Love:

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:7-12)

           

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:8-10)

Peace:

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:15)

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matthew 5:9)

To be honest, I am still not sure whether it is the Holy Spirit, or I have been like Apostle Paul when he declares:

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. (1 Timothy 1:15, Romans 7:15-20)

This is because I have been napping quite a lot, even though I have been knowing that I have some stuff to do. Hence, I have been repenting before the Lord about this, but I still keep doing it. Thus, I found and realized some of the ways to get rid of weariness, which are washing my face or go for a walk to do some exercise. Therefore, I am going to do one of these or both when I am weary. Otherwise, I just have to persevere my tiredness. This is because everything that I do, I do them for the glory of God, (1 Corinthians 10:31) This is because I know that I am a child of God (1 John 3:1), since I got spiritually saved. (Ephesians 2:8-9)