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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 Matthew 3:2, 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 Matthew 4:17). 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. Acts 2:38 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” (Acts 17:30).
It’s absurd to expect obedience from men who are “dead in the trespasses and sin” (Eph. 2:1) -men who “are in the flesh” and who consequently “cannot please God” (Rom. 8:8). 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” (Gal. 2:16). 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.
The gospel produces obedience
Nowhere is it clearer than in the epistle of 1 John.
Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. (1 John 2:4-6).
Make no mistake, to understand that these are not the works of men. Obedience is produced by God, not by us. It is the work of the spirit! “It is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). All this is for his Glory, not to the Glory of the man so that we may not boast.
