The Hebrew word for repent means “to turn” or “turn back.”
Over and over the prophets proclaimed, “Turn back to God and He will turn back to you!” Turn away from your sins and turn back to God, and He will turn away from His anger and turn back to you.
Or, when Israel repents, God relents.
But repentance was not only the theme of the Hebrew prophets. It was the foundation of Jesus’ own message (“The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” “Unless you repent, you too will all perish.”) and the heart of the great commission (“Repentance and forgiveness of sins must be preached to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”). It was the key to Peter’s preaching (“Repent and be baptized, every one of you!”) and the essence of Paul’s gospel (“God calls all men everywhere to repent.”)
Without repentance and faith, no one can be saved.
Repentance means spiritual revolution. Strongholds of sin are demolished. Lifetime bondages are overcome. Hardened hearts break open. Satan’s grip is undone. Repentance sets the prisoners free!
Yet many of our leaders have implied, “You can have Jesus as Savior before you have Him as Lord. Jesus already died for your sins, so don’t even think about that junk. Just confess Him with your lips, believe in your heart, and it’s done!”
But is this really how people got saved in the Bible?
Does it even make spiritual sense?...