"Repent Therefore!"

“Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.” (Acts 3:19 ESV)

Is faith enough to receive salvation? If you sat in many worship services today, you would hear that it is enough. This is a modern form of Christianity; there is a sense of placation for sin. Everyone sins; it is not a big deal. The gospel forgives, remember? Wrong. The gospel reclaims, and in its reclamation, the regenerate sinner comes to despise their sin; they hate their sin. They have a changed heart and change their mind to seek God, turning from their sins, which are forgiven by grace through faith in Christ. However, faith alone is not enough.

Yes, sinless perfection is unattainable in this world for humans; yet, we must fight against our own sin. If there is no progress in our struggle against sin, spiritual stagnation ensues. James said, “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (2:17) James is not saying works save, and he is not talking about legalism, nor am I. Works include an effort on the part of the sinner before God to overcome their sin. Therefore, our power to overcome sin resides in Christ. Can you see the circle?

By His glory, and through grace, Christ gives us faith, through faith we believe, and indwelt by the Spirit, we are convicted of our sin. The repentant heart has been given to us by Christ, who then provides us with the power to kill our sin in a constant resistance to Satan and temptation. We willingly struggle to walk a righteous path which returns and gives glory to God, and we are right back where we started, at the glory of God.

Today, all of these doctrines, this circle of faith, are missing from the modern church. Faith has become a fashion statement. It is clothing someone puts on before worship and takes off when they get home to fall back into sin. In today's society, sin is no longer taken seriously.

Paul wrote, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”(Romans 6:1-2). It is not ok to sin, and those who preach it will answer for this deception that causes a deviation in the natural progression of sanctification.

In Acts, Peter calls explicitly for people to repent. In verse 12, Peter specifically tells Israel that the virtue of the apostles is not by their power: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?” In piety, power, or perseverance, we cannot stay true on our own. We must rely on the Lord. As such, when sin is crouching at our door, it is the power of the Lord within the repentant sinner that fights the temptation and kills sin.

Where are you with your sin? I do not mean are you struggling with one specific vice or several? What I am asking is, are you comfortable with your sin? Are you okay that your sin is repetitive? Does your sin bother you; does it pain, cause your grief, or worry you? A lack of conviction over sin is the sign of an unrepentant, unregenerate heart. If you are a believer, test yourself. Paul said, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”( 2 Corinthians 13:5). If you fail in your testing, sit down with a brother, sister, or your pastor and talk about your sin and seek reclamation in the Lord.

If you do not know the Lord, seek Him now, ask for salvation, and repent of your sins. Jesus is always available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. But do not wait, none of us knows when we will be called before our maker in judgment.

Grace and Peace.