Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
Isaiah 55:6,7
The language of repentance does not come in accusation; neither does it threaten violence but it comes in a nature which is so strange that the hearers of it turns their backs on evil and starts seeking the salvation of God. The word repentance is not foreign to our ears, it is what we see every day but only those who live in the powers of it will know what it means. Since the beginning of creation as man fell into sin, the world plunged into chaos with the increase in wickedness. The acts of man became continually evil and as a result of it the need to redeem mankind from their sin came. For this God had to send His only Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. It was Christ who came into this world to seek and to save the lost. There are some places where God’s Word are preached more , while some less and greater will be the guilt of those whose hearts turn away from the living God. The people of Nineveh must have been drunkards, adulterers, perverts but at the preaching of Jonah, the whole city turned their backs on evil and sought the true and living God. The prophet Jonah must have hated the people of Nineveh ( the present Iraq ) so much but since God’s love was also with them, they were led to repentance. ‘’’’’’’’’ The sins of many are mentioned in the Bible and if there are no signs of guilt or remorse of the doers of it, it will be terribly worse for them to suffer in hell. It is written “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one”. “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit”. “ The poison of vipers is on their lips” . “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness”. “ Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and destruction mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know”. “There is no fear of God before their eyes”. ( Romans 3:10-18 ) ( Psalm 140:3 ) ( Psalm 10:7 ) ( Psalm 5:9 ) ( Psalm 14:1-3,53:1-3) ( Ecclesiastes 7:20 ) This speaks so much of the wickedness of the wicked and the truth convicts us that we had been somehow like that in the past. The given verses are obvious signs of the impure in heart and if the judgments passed against it are great, how great would the torments be for those who are in hell. Heaven and hell must be preached for it is the very cause of the gospel and the curses of it will come against those who reject the truth. It is to our knowledge that even the evil hearted goes to Church, while there are some who has not set foot in any church. This may seem strange, sound strange but God’s people are not strangers to sermons. The guilt comes when evils are committed and the conviction of it is a gift in itself. I trust most God fearing people will not say “who cares” when they sin but the acts of so many says it indirectly. The sins of unfaithfulness are greater than the sins of unbelief and it is what everyone must take heed. The acts of David made him a sinner , but his acts of repentance took away his guilt. The sins of my life were also so great and if it were not because of Christ I would not be living to preach or to write this. The truth is we have all sinned and since we know whom we represent there should be repentance when we sin. In the beginning when Adam and Eve sinned, they began to hide from God and when they heard God’s voice they trembled and became fearful. For as sins causes guilt, the confession of it invites God’s mercy and peace. The former disciple of Christ Judas knew that he sinned against God’s Son but since his heart was not with God, bitterness was on his lips and as his mouth was full of curses, he cursed his acts, cursing himself, even as he died without repentance and without the truth. Even in the case of Ananias and Saphira, it was not in bitterness they lied but in deception and since their wages reached to the heavens they had to be struck dead for lying to the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Peter was the first to repent when he met Christ and it was what he preached in all of his Epistles. In the book of Acts the scripture states The last line depicts heaven and hell and it speaks of either salvation or condemnation. The truth regarding God’s love and our sins is that there are many who dies without any warning and even as we come this far it is really a mystery. Fix your eyes on this: It’s either we sin or we don’t and if our love for God is true our hearts will be restless when we grieve God. Let me state this “ I turned my back on God”, committing myself to a sinful course inspite of knowing that I would be grieving God if I do so. I had so many falls and the wounds were deep but God in his mercy did not abandon or forsake me. The sins of those who died in their sins may not be as great as my sins but to speak of God’s love it is a mystery. Remember, it is never God’s will for anyone to perish but for all to come to repentance and if such is the greatness of God’s love should God’s people continue in their sins? The greatness of God’s love cannot be measured and it will be impossible to love God or even see God for those whose hearts are not with God. The message of repentance is also preached in this and I ask you to receive this even as the Holy Spirit convicts you to love God more. The kingdom of God is within us and so is repentance in the church. The tears of it must fill our eyes as it did with Peter and the powers of it must revive many as Peter’s sermon saved three thousand. The powers of repentance must be embraced, it must be preached and most importantly it must be lived. It is the key to salvation. The message of repentance means salvation and this teaching delves into issues which are corporate and personal in nature. The mystery of it is so strange that it comes upon whom it comes and many were delivered from sins by the powers of it. It is the very gift of God which stirs us to look at the cross of Christ in sin, in holiness, in unrighteousness and in the truth. This book teaches of what the key to salvation is and repentance is. Ambrose.J.Chakre