I’m holding up my sign…REPENT!!!
Now I want to tell you what i mean.
Repenting means turning FROM something TO Someone.
It does no good trying to stop going in the wrong direction (sin) without heading in a new direction (drawing near to God).
Many “Christians” have repented (turned away) from their sinful lives, and then pulled over to the side of the road and celebrated their repentance for years WITHOUT GETTING ANY CLOSER to God.
True repentance is turning from sin to God and moving ever closer to Him.
I move closer to God by reading and obeying His Word, praying for what I need in order to obey, and serving His kingdom using the gifts He gave me when I repented and surrendered to Him.
Paraphrasing a quote from the late Vance Havener; “Salvation (repentance and surrender) is the end…but it is the FRONT end.”
So…yes. Once you have surrendered to Christ, you are saved. But the proof of your salvation will be your obedience to God and His Word.
Set your spiritual GPS to “the likeness of Jesus” and motor on. Then your “repentance” is complete.
Bill Cole is originally from Alabama, grad of Samford University in Birmingham, and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served churches in AL, LA, CA, and FL in various positions. He experienced the beginning of Jesus movement in the ’60’s and have done short term missions in South Africa, Russia, and Barbados. He Retired in 2023 from a 12-year pastorate in Lake Placid, FL. He is currently living with his wife in Sebring Florida. https://www.linkedin.com/in/bcole39/
Image by DEEPAI
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