Matthew 4:17
“From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent:
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Mark 1:14-15
“Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into
Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is
fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the
gospel.”
In these verses we see the beginning of Jesus' earthly
ministry. John the Baptist has been put in prison. So now it is the time for
Jesus to step up and into the lime light. From this time on Jesus will be the
most popular speaker in all Israel until the day of His own death.
Notice what Jesus is preaching from the very beginning.
Repentance. How often do we hear repentance preached today? Well, depending on
who you are listening to and/or depending on what you want to listen to,
probably not very much.
We see many a young preach come up and preach his first
sermon and not many preach repentance first. Most try to impress by preaching
something they think is a deep theological topic. As preachers I think most of
us started this way. We tend to shy away from topics that would offend the
Lord's people. But notice in these verses and in most of what our Lord preached
while here on this earth, He preached to the lost. He preached to be saved you
have to repent.
Does anything have to happen before repentance? Yes. Without
regeneration there is no new birth and therefore there can be no repentance.
Fore how can a man repent if he is not born again and have the desire to
repent?
I encourage you all to think on these things. As ministers
of God, are you preaching repentance? Are you preaching the commandments of
Christ? Some will say “But the people will not hear those things.” or “I will
most of my congregation if I preach those things.” Didn't Jesus loose people
when He preached against sin? At one point they all left except the Apostles.
I encourage you all to think on these things. Seek the truth
as you read God's Word. Pray without ceasing. Follow the commandments of our
Lord and Savior.
Praise ye the Lord!!!
Stephen McCool Sr.
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