REPENTANCE

Turning Away From Doing Things Our Way To Doing Things God's Way

By Bro. Seth Arthur (BNWC Youth Leader)

“And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. 5And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.” - (NUMBERS 21:4-9)

Repentance is a basic principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Repentance is a charge of thought to correct a wrong and gain forgiveness from a person who is wronged.

Repentance requires taking in a whole new point of view, looking at it God’s way.

Jesus said, “go into the world and preach the gospel, all that will repent, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Importance of Repentance to Salvation:

- Repentance is one step to salvation. As Christians, are we walking in repentance? Let us examine ourselves and judge for ourselves. If you fall short somewhere, do not hesitate to put it before God and seek His mercy. While we are still alive, it is not too late to confess our sins and return to God. The book of 1 John 1:9 says that “If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us from all unrighteousness.”

- Again, the bible says that, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, and the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17. Do we manifest the new things the Bible is talking about or we are still holding on to the old things. Sadly, we sometimes easily boast about behaviors or attitudes that do not bring glory to God, like saying “as for me that is how I am, I don’t forgive; If you slap me I will slap you.” Those behaviors do not portray Christ-like living.

Let us fervently work on our own salvation with fear and trembling. Apostle Paul admonishes us to do that. You could only be guided but no one can work out your salvation.

From the Bible quotation we read in Numbers 21:4-9, the people of Israel spoke against God and His servant Moses and the LORD sent venomous snakes to come bite them. They forgot or better still did not appreciate all the things the LORD did for them right from delivering them from the land of Egypt out of the hands of Pharaoh and his people.

In our Christian race, there are ups and downs. However, in all these, we should not lose sight of the fact that God is in control.

The venomous snakes were sent by God to bite the Israelites as result of their rebellious attitude. They quickly realized their mistakes and pleaded with Moses to ask God to take the snakes from their midst. When Moses consulted God, he was asked to make a snake put it on a pole so that anyone who could look at the bronze snake would live.

Again as Christians, we should at all times acknowledge our flaws/sins and forsake them. We have to quickly pray to God for forgiveness the moment we realize it. Could you image being bitten by a snake and you are asked to raise your head and look at a man-made snake hanged on a pole so as to live? This sounds frivolous in the sight of men but it was God’s directive.

The bible says that “for though the righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity. (Proverbs 24:16)

Failure does not come from falling down; failure comes from not getting up when you fall. When we fall on the way we should not remain where we fell but rise and continue the rice.

In conclusion, in no time the One to come will appear in His glory, are we prepared to meet Him? Have we fully repented and ready to go with Jesus Christ the soon coming King. 1 Peter 5:10.