All through the Bible, God challenges people to repent.
Preachers have been sent to give the message of repentance
and remission of sins.
And that repentance and remission of sins should be
preached in his name among all nations, beginning
at Jerusalem.
Luke 24:47
To repent means to turn away from your sins and from
your old lifestyle. A person who repents makes a complete
turnaround in his life, often going in the opposite direction.
1. God commands men everywhere to repent: It is
not an option that we have.
It is the command of God that all men repent and turn away
from their sins everywhere.
And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now
COMMANDETH ALL MEN EVERY WHERE TO
REPENT:
Acts 17:30
The best example of repentance is the prodigal son who turned
away from his past life and went back to his father.
2. God commands men everywhere to repent: Judas did
not repent completely and ended up in hell.
The best example of someone who did not turn away
completely from his evil ways was Judas Iscariot. Judas Iscariot
felt sorry but did not come back to the Lord, humble himself and
confess his wrongdoing.
Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that
he was condemned, REPENTED HIMSELF, and brought
again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and
elders, And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple,
and departed, and went and HANGED HIMSELF.
Matthew 27:3,5
3. God commands men everywhere to repent: God
is asking you to repent and turn away from the
wickedness of the thoughts of your heart.
When you turn away from your wicked ways, He will forgive
you for your sins.
REPENT THEREFORE OF THIS THY WICKEDNESS,
and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be
forgiven thee.
Acts 8:22
Many people who claim to be Christians have not really
repented because they do not turn away completely from their
wicked ways and wicked thoughts. God expects you to turn
away from wickedness. God expects you to turn away from bad
thoughts and bad ideas. It is not enough to turn away from the
actions. You must turn away from it in your mind and in your
thoughts.
4. God commands men everywhere to repent: God is
calling you to repent of murder. Whoever hates his
brother is a murderer.
Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: …
1 John 3:15
NEITHER REPENTED THEY OF THEIR MURDERS,
nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their
thefts.
Revelation 9:21
5. God commands men everywhere to repent: God is
calling you to repent of your sorceries and witchcraft.
Whoever dabbles in the occult brings upon himself a curse.
NEITHER REPENTED THEY of their murders, nor OF
THEIR SORCERIES, nor of their fornication, nor of their
thefts.
Revelation 9:21
The Idol in the Wardrobe
A Christian couple was living happily, enjoying their marriage
and their lives together. One day, the mother of the husband
visited their home. She had a private meeting with her son before
she went back to her village. Everything seemed to be normal
until one day the wife stumbled on an idol her husband had
hidden in the wardrobe.
She confronted her husband, “What on earth is this?”
“Is this an idol? Are you into witchcraft? Are you into
occultism?” she questioned.
After a while, her husband finally admitted and said, “This is
our family idol and it is on a rotation. It stays with each member
of the family for a year then it moves to the next family member.
My mother brought it to me the last time she visited because she
says it is my turn to keep the family idol.”
He continued to explain, “It is this graven image that protects
our family.”
The Christian wife wanted her husband to take the idol out
of the home and burn it. But he refused, saying that they all
benefitted from the protective powers that it gave them.
This idol became a bone of contention in the home until the
marriage broke up.
As you can see from this story, there are people who claim to
be Christians but do not turn away from occultism and sorcery.
If you have repented you must turn away from all these practices.
Repentance means to turn around and to turn away from your
past ways.
6. God commands men everywhere to repent: God is
calling you to repent of your fornication.
All those who engage in sexual immorality will incur the
wrath of God.
NEITHER REPENTED THEY of their murders, nor
of their sorceries, nor OF THEIR FORNICATION,
nor of their thefts.
Revelation 9:21
Many people who claim to have come to Christ have not turned
away from the sin of fornication. Sadly, they have not turned
away from their lifestyle of indiscriminate sexual encounters
with multiple partners. This is why the rate of HIV in the world
is the same as the rate of HIV in the Church.
The Blood Donation
One day, a laboratory technician who worked at the blood
bank gave me a sad and disappointing testimony. He said they
had organised blood donation campaigns in many communities,
including churches. He said it was unfortunate that they were
unable to use much of the blood donated from the church. I asked
why they were unable to use the blood from the church. He said
in a hushed voice, “So much of the blood from the church could
not be used because it was infected with HIV.”
He told us about the large percentage of blood that had to be
thrown away because of the infection.
I thought to myself, “Where did the church members get the
HIV infection from?”
Obviously, they had it from sexual intercourse with random
partners. Today, many people in church are HIV positive.
To repent means to turn away from this lifestyle. When
people do not turn away from indiscriminate sex and immorality
it means they have not repented. Repentance is to turn away
from your old and evil ways.
7. God commands men everywhere to repent: God is
calling you to repent of your thefts.
There is a curse in the house of every thief. God is calling us
to turn away from stealing of every kind.
NEITHER REPENTED THEY of their murders, nor
of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor OF
THEIR THEFTS.
Revelation 9:21
There are many people who claim to be Christians but who
are in prison today because they never truly repented and stopped
stealing. I know this for a fact because whilst preaching in a
prison service we would hear some of the prisoners respond with
common and popular Christian slogans.
Obviously, attending church is not the same as repenting and
turning away from sins. Many people who claim to be Christians
have not turned away from stealing. That is why there are so
many Christians in prison for stealing. One Christian brother
told us how he had been sent to jail for five years for stealing.
8. God commands men everywhere to repent: God is
challenging you to repent of religious dead works and
dead religion.
…. the foundation of REPENTANCE FROM DEAD
WORKS, and of faith toward God,
Hebrews 6:1
To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto
me? saith the LORD:
And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes
from you: yea, WHEN YE MAKE MANY PRAYERS, I
WILL NOT HEAR: your hands are full of blood.
Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your
doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn
to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge
the fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us
reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red
like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Isaiah 1:11, 15-18
I used to go to Church every Sunday
I used to go to church every Sunday. Oh Sunday morning! I
used to wear my best clothes and best shoes. I used to go to see
my friends. Friends, oh friends, but I never knew that I had to
be born again.
Many people are deluded because of their religious lifestyle
just as I was. Being religious will not take you to Heaven. Jesus
warned against people who served Him with religious rituals.
All through the Bible God warns against religious sacrifice and
behaviour that does not come from the heart.
Even though I religiously went to church, I hated the hymns,
I hated the hymn books, I hated the preaching and I found the
priests boring. I had never read the Bible. If I had died then, I
would have gone straight to hell because I had not repented and
turned away from dead worship and dead religion. When I found
Jesus, I began to enjoy reading the Bible because I had come to
know the author of this great book.
9. God commands men everywhere to repent: God is
inviting you to repent; otherwise you will perish and
go to hell.
I tell you, nay: but, EXCEPT YE REPENT, YE SHALL
ALL LIKEWISE PERISH.
Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell,
and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all
men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, nay: but, except ye
repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Luke 13:3-5
10. God commands men everywhere to repent: Repent
and be converted. You must become a new person
through conversion to Christianity.
You must change your life and change your ways. This is
your chance to change. This is your chance to have a new life.
REPENT YE THEREFORE, AND BE CONVERTED,
that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of
refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
Acts 3:19
11. God commands men everywhere to repent: There
will be much joy and celebration in Heaven over your
repentance.
I say unto you, that likewise JOY SHALL BE IN
HEAVEN OVER ONE SINNER THAT REPENTETH,
more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need
no repentance.
Luke 15:7
