Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!” [Acts 2.38-40]
Now, that will preach!
It is a very simple message:
- Repent of sins
- Turn to God
- Be baptized in the name of Jesus
- Be forgiven
- Receive the Holy Spirit
Number 1 however, really presents a problem to our modern society. To repent of sins requires that one acknowledge those sins. But in today's culture, much of what God called sin is now called something else! For example:
- Homosexuality
- Murder (abortion)
- Gambling / Lottery
But let's look further. What most fail to realize is that anything that is not "faith" is sin in God's eyes. Do we want to make a list now? It think not because none of us wants to admit that our human effort, scientific and medical knowledge, political security(?), and social systems all mostly exclude God and, therefore, have nothing to do with faith, and, therefore are steeped in sin.
Oh we have some repenting to do! But will we?
If Israel's recorded history (most of the Old Testament in the Bible) is any indication to us of what to expect in our own faithless condition towards God, then trouble is certainly afoot. As long as we remain un-repentant, we may also expect hard times.
So, do we believe the Bible? Or, do we just think it is a bunch of interesting stories about long ago with no relevance to us today?
And that's just point one (1.).
Father, forgive me for faithlessness that is rampant in my life and Christianity in general.
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