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ll the gospel requires from us is Repentance and faith. The gospel calls sinners to Repent and put faith in Jesus See , in the preaching ministry of John the Baptist, he addresses the listeners to "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Jesus himself starts his ministry with the same message, Repent. (See ). If you are professing Christian, you have repented. Repentance is not only a one-day action that you cause when you are convicted by the Gospel, but it is to be practiced throughout our life. There remains a big heap of ignorance and misunderstanding of this very word of what it intends to be repentant, among most Christians today. There is a quite lot of texts in the scripture that shows us the need for repentance. Here are only a few: Peter, the disciple of Jesus delivers the same message on the day of Pentecost.
38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ESV
In the Gospel according to Luke, In Chapter 13, while some men come to him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He rebukes them by ordering them to repent twice. See v3 and v5.The gospel which is not distorted convicts the soul to repent.
The gospel requires repentance and faith and produces obedience.
As Voddie explains further, This is also the message Paul proclaimed at Mars Hill: “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent” ().
It’s absurd to expect obedience from men who are “dead in the trespasses and sin” () -men who “are in the flesh” and who consequently “cannot please God” (). This is the heart of Paul’s argument in Galatians. There he makes it clear that we are “justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified” (). It is not our good works, our righteousness, our obedience that triggers the gospel’s effect in our lives; rather, the gospel calls simply for our repentance and our trust in Christ. This distinction must mark our understanding and proclamation of the gospel.
