February 9

Repentance

In order to accuse Jesus, they were watching to see if He would heal on the Sabbath. — Mark 3:2 BSB

This was John’s gospel. At first, it seems very different from the message of love that Jesus preached, but it is still part of the same story. Repentance must always come before forgiveness and peace. This is something we might need reminding of today. We risk making salvation seem too easy, becoming too tolerant with ourselves. Some of us forget how terrible sin truly is, and we are too casual about getting rid of it. We misunderstand God’s forgiveness if we think of it as a simple forgetting of wrongs. Jesus didn’t come just to save us from sin’s penalties; He came to save us from sin itself, leading us to forsake it forever. Without repentance, there can be no forgiveness.

We must also make sure our repentance is genuine. Repentance is not just a small pang of remorse or a brief tear over a mistake. It’s not just feeling ashamed of being caught. It is a complete change of heart, a turning away from sin. Repentance means never returning to the sins we weep over. It’s a full transformation, a change of heart and direction.

Many people only get half the gospel. They talk a lot about believing but say little about repenting. Remember, faith that doesn’t lead to genuine repentance is not a saving faith. A person who confesses a sin but intends to return to it has no reason to hope for forgiveness.