You Must Repent and Believe
by Troy Paylor from Christ Marked
When we ultimately tell people all they have to do is make a decision for Christ or accept them into their hearts, what we are really doing is forgetting how monumental 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”2 Corinthians 5:17. That is why Christ says repent and believe, it means forsake the old man which is sinful and throw your life upon Christ, because ultimately man is so sinful that he needs to turn, but can’t do so without the Divine power of God. When the old passes away, when you throw away clothes you can’t fit anymore or that are too big, you don’t pick them back up later on. If they are in the trash you get rid of them, so the same goes with the old man. Christ calls all to repent and believe, because unless man sees the emptiness of his work to glorify himself, he will never know why he must forsake his self effort to repent and believe in Christ.
The wages of sin is death, but the glorious truth is that eternal life is in Christ Jesus, but man must forsake himself and believe in Christ, for isn’t this the attitude and action of the man in Matthew 13:44? “”The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44 ESV. He sells all and forsakes all for Christ and getting to know Him. Paul says the same, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—”Philippians 3:7-9 ESV. So as I shall say, man shall not even enter the gates of Heaven, without the righteousness of Christ, and that dear friend is by repentance and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. As our cry before conversion is “Free me from this body of death that Holds me Hell-bound!! Dear God have mercy upon me, for I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ!!
The above was written by my brother-in-Christ and friend Troy Paylor from Christ Marked. You can hear his testimony here, and as always beloved brethren, be good Berean’s and study to show yourselves approved.
Tulips & Honey 