Page 37 - GRACE
P. 37
GRACE, Exploring Its Riches
change and asked Peter what they had to do to experience
that change. The focus of the large audience was
repentance.
There is an urgent need in our churches and Christian
conferences today to go beyond delivering an impressive
message or music, creating a beautiful atmosphere for
people to feel welcome and expecting them to belong to our
churches. We need to bring people to the point where they
take a decision for what they have heard in our meetings.
And the most important decision is not for membership or
becoming financial partners, but for the people to repent
from the way of the world, choose the higher way of the
Lord and embrace grace to live the higher life of Jesus
Christ. Many need this repentance in a lot of our churches.
The Fruits of Repentance
There are many things repentance will produce in the lives
of those who genuinely experience it. When John started
with the message of repentance he also served a caveat with
it: fruits must accompany true salvation.
“In those days John the Baptist came preaching in
the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” Then
Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the
Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him
in the Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he
saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming
26