The first command that Jesus gave as he began to preach was that we must Repent and Believe. These are the first two steps in following Jesus.
Jesus’s Command
After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Mark 1:14-15
What is Repentance and Belief?
To Repent means to turn away from your sin and to follow Jesus. Instead of doing what we want to do, we do what he wants us to do.
To Believe means we put our faith for our forgiveness in Jesus’s sacrifice and choose to trust him as our Lord and King.
Watch this video and read this story to understand more of what repentance and belief look like and what Jesus does as a result:
Read the story – Luke 7:36-50
When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
How to Repent and Believe
Here are three things you can do now:
- Pray to God and confess your sins to him. You can simply speak out loud to him right now. He will hear you! Take your time and tell him that you are sorry for not following his way and instead following your way.
- Tell God that you believe in Jesus and his sacrifice for the forgiveness of your sins.
- Tell a friend the decision that you have made and contact our team using the link below.