God's Gospel, IV

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)

“I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 20:21)

Jesus began his ministry telling people to “repent and believe” in the gospel. That clear and concise command – repent and believe – is what God requires of every one of us in response to the precious gospel message. Peter, at the conclusion of his message at Pentecost, told people they must “repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus”
(Acts 2:38).

Paul summarized his ministry in Acts 20:21 declaring the need to “turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Later Paul described how Jesus sent him “to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God [that’s what repent means], that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” So, the Bible makes it clear that faith and repentance is what marks those who are Christians.

A true believer in Jesus Christ is one who turns away from his/her sin and trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ – and nothing else – to save him/her from sin and the coming judgment of God that will be unleashed upon sinful humanity in the coming future. Faith is, biblically speaking, “A rock-solid, truth-grounded, promise-founded trust in the risen Christ to save you from sin” (Greg Gilbert). And let me add that this is faith alone, not some good work or good deed that we try to credit to our account. It is totally given to us as a gift of grace. In short, putting our faith in Christ means that we utterly renounce any other means of being counted righteous before God.

Repentance is the flip side of the faith coin. It is a turning away from sin, a hatred of sin, and a resolute heart that desires to forsake it forever. Repentance is not feeling sorry for sin, much like we do when we are caught speeding and we receive a traffic ticket. No, repentance is absolutely crucial in our response to the gospel. We must turn from our sin and then resolve to kill any remains of it in our lives every day as a reborn follower of Jesus Christ. We must hate our sin and remember that we are at war with it until we are gloriously transformed in eternity. William Arnot, in Laws from Heaven for Life on Earth, put it as succinctly as I have seen:

The difference between an unconverted and a converted man is not that one has sins and the other has none; but that the one takes part with his cherished sins against a dreaded God, and the other takes part with a reconciled God against his hated sins.

Whose side are you on today – your sin’s or your God’s? You see, inner transformation results in an outward display of righteous character. Do not confuse righteous character with perfect character. You must daily kill the remains of “hated sin” in your life as you look to perfect character in heaven. Until that day come for each of us as “repentance and faith” followers of Jesus Christ, we must live like Jesus lived and bear the fruit of righteousness in our lives on a daily basis.

When you stand before God at judgment, I wonder what you will put before him as a means of admittance into his kingdom? Good deeds? A godly attitude? Church attendance? Family Life? Will you say, “On account of these, justify me!” Or will you cry out, “O God, do not look at righteousness in me. Look at your Son. Count me righteous, because I have died to sin and placed my eternity in Him alone!

Wow! Righteous because of Jesus! I like the sound of that!

Derek

PRAISE

I want to praise the Lord for an incredible week in New York serving Richville Baptist Church. I am so proud of the way our people served the Lord. We were able to accomplish all the tasks the church asked us to do. We enjoyed a wonderful time of worship with their church on Wednesday night. Our church sent 32 to NY this year on mission. Two weeks ago we had over 40 working at Kitty Stone Elementary School. That means we have had well over 100 on mission this summer in our church. I can’t wait until September 25 and “Mission Jacksonville.” Mark your calendars and participate as we wrap our arms around the city of Jacksonville.

PRAYER:

Tuesday at 10:00 am, we will be distributing care packets to our teachers at Kitty Stone Elementary School and Jacksonville High School. Then, starting at 7:00 pm (KSES) we will be prayer walking both school campuses. Prayer walking is praying on-site with insight. We will be praying for our teachers and students as the new school year starts Wednesday. Why not come and participate in both of these events as we “stand in the gap” for our students and our teachers.

I want to encourage you to pray for us as a staff as we manage our budgets in these tumultuous economic times. I do want to encourage you to catch up on your stewardship commitments now that vacations are over. Our ministry and mission ventures are dependent upon your faithfulness. I praise the Lord as our stewardship chairman shared last night in our deacon’s meeting that our 2010 receipts are ahead of what we gave this time last year. Thank you for your faithfulness.

We have some families who lost their jobs last week. And we still have several who are looking for employment. I would ask you to pray for wisdom and discernment as they seek God’s will in these days of uncertainty.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK:

Wednesday at 6:15, Steve and Kelly Godwin will be sharing about their mission trip this summer at a camp for inner-city kids in Michigan and the incredible opportunities they had to share Christ. This is just one of many mission ventures taken by our people this summer. Please come and celebrate with us this Wednesday.

Saturday (8:00 am shotgun start) at Silver Lakes Golf Course is our Megan Brittain Charity Golf Scramble to raise money for cancer research at the Children’s Hospital in Birmingham. This year’s event is our largest ever in terms of teams and prizes. Pray for the precious volunteers who have worked tirelessly to make the charity an incredible event. Pray as the gospel is shared prior to the start.