You might think that you know what this Gospel message is. You might even believe that you are a Christian, based upon a prayer you said in the past, or being raised in church or in America. But do you really know? We can clearly identify how a person becomes a real Christian. Scripture says, “For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:3-7 The first thing we know from Scripture is that everyone (you and I included) starts out as practicing wicked evilness. We may not be as bad as we could be, but we are very, very bad. In fact we hate God. (Romans 1:30) This was true in both the Old Testament times and the New Testament times. God gave us a measuring stick so that we could see that this is always true. This measuring stick is called The Law and is best known today as The Ten Commandments. Someone may have told you that the law is not for today. They are wrong! God’s law has always been perfectly representative of who He is and who we are. It is the measuring stick that says God’s standard is perfect. It is also the measuring stick that says you and I do not measure up to the standard. Matthew 5:18 says that this law is absolute and perpetual. Romans 2:15 says our conscience confirms that we violate the law. While the law requires perfect obedience, Romans 3:10 says that we cannot give perfect obedience. 1 Timothy 1 tells us that the law is not for the good, but is for the bad (sinners). Why is this so? The law shows you and I that we are condemned (John 3:18) and that we deserve judgment and punishment. The law is like a bully with a whip, who herds us towards the truth of God. It is extremely painful to go, but it is worse to resist. The law reveals to you and I that there is no way we can please God. So, we are hopeless, without any value or actions to recommend us to God. What can you or I do? Once again Scripture is very clear on what we are to do. “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Matthew 4:17 “John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.” Mark 1:4 The Apostle Paul said, “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” Acts 17:30,31 “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” Acts 2:37,38 This is the pattern in Scripture, repent, believe, and be baptized. How can we repent? What does it mean to repent? What do I do? The prophet Isaiah said, “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” Isaiah 55:6,7 We see that repentance includes: seeking the Lord, calling upon Him, forsaking wicked ways, and returning to Him. Pray to God that He will open your eyes to the need for repentance, and will grant you faith in His Son. A famous statement about Christian truths (The Westminster Confession of Faith) says this about repentance: “Of Repentance Unto Life” Repentance unto life is an evangelical grace, the doctrine whereof is to be preached by every minister of the gospel, as well as that of faith in Christ. By it, a sinner, out of the sight and sense not only of the danger, but also of the filthiness and odiousness of his sins, as contrary to the holy nature and righteous law of God; and upon the apprehension of His mercy in Christ to such as are penitent, so grieves for, and hates his sins, as to turn from them all unto God, purposing and endeavoring to walk with Him in all the ways of His commandments. Although repentance be not rested in, as any satisfaction for sin, or any cause of the pardon thereof, which is the act of God’s free grace in Christ; yet is it of such necessity to all sinners, that none may expect pardon without it. So, we can safely say that God wants us to realize that we are sinners by choice, that we have acted like we hate God, and that we have no basis to claim God’s approval. Knowing this to be true we ask God to give us a true awareness of our wretched condition, and that He would give us a repentant heart. Repentance is acknowledging the truth of our position and the truth of God’s position, that we cannot fix the gap, and turning away from our sin and towards God’s standard which is perfection. How Do I Believe? How Do I Have Faith In Christ? Have you asked God to show you what to do to know Him properly? If so, consider the following. A summary of the gospel says that: All of us are sinners and cannot do anything to save ourselves. Romans 3:23 God has revealed in both nature and the Scriptures that there is only one way to reconcile with God. That is through the means of Jesus Christ’s action on our behalf. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 The Scriptures clearly state that Christ was fully God and fully man. That he was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on a cross for the sins of mankind, was buried and rose again on the third day. (see the Scripture references and evidences elsewhere in this website) The Bible says ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.’ Acts 16:31 This means that you know you are a sinner, that you know Christ did what He claimed, that He was who He claimed to be, and that you want to live in response to the amazing fact that He desires you to repent and be saved. You are well aware of the truth that you will proclaim Christ to be your Lord even if circumstances turn out to be more difficult than you ever imagined. That you know repentance is the proper thing to do because of what Christ did on the cross. So,ask God to open your eyes, forgive your sins, make your life into a life that is satisfying to Him. He will do this. It is who He is. What Now? Please contact me at the contact address. I will gladly help you to know what God has in store for you and how you can grow into the person that He wants you to be. This is a new life, with a new ruler. Welcome to the blessed battle.

�2004-2007 The Thinking Christian