Riff's Christian Journal

I am sure you have heard some well-meaning people say, “Jesus loves you just as you are,” or “Just come to Jesus as you are,” and He will save you. The problem is that Jesus does not love you just as you are. In fact, God wants to change you. Here is why.

The Gospel message is more than “Jesus loves you just as you are and if you will accept Him as Savior you will be saved.” Most people would readily do that for it cost them nothing of themselves. There is nothing to give up and there is no need to change. Just accept Jesus and go to heaven.

However, the Gospel message is about a Holy God being offended by the sinful acts of a sinful person, and being a Holy God He demands justice against man who seeks to do his own will and not God’s.

In addition to there being a God who is offended by the actions of a sinful person, everyone who has the gospel presented to them must also be confronted by his own self-will sinfulness, and be told that unless he repents of his sinful action he will perish in spending all of eternity in the lake of fire.

In the book of Acts, we are told this about what the Apostle Paul said:

Act_20:21  (KJV)  Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Act_26:20  (KJV)  But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

Man must be confronted with his own sinfulness and how his action in not being obedient to God’s moral law, known as the Ten Commandments, offends a Holy God. Unless He repents, admits his guilt in offending God by doing his own will and not God’s will, he knows that he must by punished for his offense. Only then can he be introduced to Jesus.

He can be told that by confessing Jesus is Lord and that He died for sins and was raised again from the dead, and by having faith in Jesus for taking his place in suffering the punishment that he so deserves, he has been forgiven and given a new life in which to serve God. The proof of his repentance and salvation will be seen in the work that he does after confessing Jesus to be Lord.

A true salvation will result in new thoughts and activities of the one born-again. He is a new person desiring to love God and to be obedient to Him and do His will and not his own self-will.

Repenting means taking a new direction in life opposite the one in which he once lived. He will not be the same person as he once willfully chose to be, but one who now wants to do the will of God and be a true disciple of Jesus.

Repentance is an important part of the Gospel message. Without it the Gospel message will not be a true message, but a misleading message. It will not lead to repentance and unless one repents of their sinfulness they, too, will likewise perish like everyone else who refuses to do Gods’ will.

The truth is, unless you have repented of your own sins you will not tell others to repent. How can you tell someone to do something of which you have never done? You will only be the blind leading the blind.

So, why do you not repent of your own sinfulness? You have, have you not?