“And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” – Mark 1:15
To think of repentance as a simple “I’m sorry” is to lessen the word, and thereby lessen the work. You cannot expect to be forgiven of something while harboring intent to do it again. As I heard a preacher once say “You’re not sorry for what you did. You’re sorry you got caught. It is not repentance you feel but remorse.” God calls us to “repent, and believe the gospel.”
True repentance comes only from genuine conviction. If you do not currently attend a church where the Sunday sermon challenges the saint (to press toward the mark) or convicts the sinner; then you need to find another church. Why is that? The same reason why you pay doctors large sums of money to give a true report. When you go to the doctor to get your yearly checkup you expect him or her to tell you the condition of your physical man. Whether sick or healthy you want the truth; especially if you’re sick. If you have a sickness that might kill you, but you can change your lifestyle to treat it, would you not do so? But how can you treat that which you are unaware of? If you are sitting under the teaching and preaching of those who tell you only what YOU want hear and not what GOD wants you to hear, you might be living in a damning spiritual condition and totally unaware. True repentance comes only from genuine conviction, and this is only brought about by the Spirit of God, the truth of the Gospel. Repentance is more than just “I’m sorry.” It is “I’m sorry and I am not going to do it again.” You are making a U-turn; you are turning. You are turning away from what you want and towards what God wants.
A truly repentant heart is instantaneously forgiven by our loving Father. The scripture says that “if we confess our sins, he is faith and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9). God is not interested in rubbing your face in what you have done against him; he is waiting to forgive you, longing to absolve you of your transgression, but you must meet the condition. You must first be willing to about face. Once a human heart repents and is genuinely converted, its natural inclination is towards righteousness and therefore the seamless and necessary second work of grace is the receiving of the Holy Ghost. It is not the Fathers will that we “continue in sin that grace may abound.” Which is one of the reasons why he counseled us in the scripture to believe the gospel. The gospel is plain and available for us to read first hand in the Word of God. Jesus himself desired that we might be sanctified. Jesus himself longed for us to experience the love and fellowship that He experienced with God. We can experience the same fellowship with God he did right here on this earth. This is why Jesus died; so this is the gospel, it is up to us to believe.
The word believe can be watered down if we are not careful. Consider this: if a man has a son and says “I believe in being a good Father.” Then that same man proceeds to come home frequently rip-roaring drunk and beat his son with no just cause. What would you say this man believes in; being a good Father? He believes in the idea of being a good Father, but he does not believe IN being a good Father. The virtue is not in his heart, it does not penetrate to the core. It does not grip him, hold him accountable, it does not cause CHANGE in his life. He believes nothing.
So it is with the Christian. We must not believe in the idea of Jesus, in the idea of His gospel. We must believe IN the gospel, we must believe IN Jesus Christ. Believe IN it is to be IN it and He IN us; consuming us, molding us, grooming us, chastening us. Believe to the saving of your soul; the transforming of your life. Believe to sanctification, not the idea of it. When you believe in something you sacrifice for it; we must repent and believe the gospel.
