Mark 1:15
The invitation to repent from sin has a more merciful tone than many of us may have realised. It is not simply a command to change behaviour patterns, nor is it just an attempt to keep us from walking off the ledge of a cliff. The message in Mark 1:15: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel” is an invitation to return to the God who restores us to the matchless position as His sons and daughters.
Repent from What?
How do you define sin? According to your understanding, how does sin affect the way we think and act? How we view sin largely determines how we respond to the call to repent. Repentance means changing our attitude and relationship towards something. It’s like choosing to make a U-turn after realising you were going the wrong way.
Matthew 19:4 tells us: “In the beginning God created them male and female…” It was common for Jesus to refer to the beginning, before Adam sinned, to describe the standard we are to aim for today. I think this adds credibility to the Genesis account and the validity of the seventh-day Sabbath, which was also in the beginning. In the beginning, trust and love reigned. God fellowshipped with Adam and Eve as friends. Sin caused the separation between God and man! But what is sin?
According to the Bible:
1 John 3:4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. NKJV
Romans 14:23 – But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin. NKJV
Romans 14:23 – But the person who eats food and then is afraid or guilt-ridden because of superstitious fears, damages their mind, because they are eating without trusting God; and everything that doesn’t stem from trust in God is sin. Remedy
According to Britannica.com:
“The concept of sin has been present in many cultures throughout history, where it was usually equated with an individual’s failure to live up to external standards of conduct or with their violation of taboos, laws, or moral codes. Some ancient societies also had concepts of corporate, or collective, sin (see original sin) affecting all human beings…” Britannica.com
According to Could It Be This Simple: A Biblical Model for Healing the Mind:
“Sin is a state of mind characterised by selfishness and the practice of methods in opposition to the principles upon which God has based life and health.” CBTS pg. 104
It should be clearer why God is desperate to heal us from this condition and save us from ourselves.
Making the Choice
As previously stated, the Hebrew equivalent often associated with repentance means to turn back or return, emphasising a return to God and His ways.
Biblehub.com has an article that says: “… For the early Christians, repentance was not merely an emotional response but a decisive turning point in one’s life. It was a call to abandon former ways and embrace a new life in Christ. This was particularly significant in the context of the early church, where converts often came from pagan backgrounds and needed to renounce their previous beliefs and practices.”
In my experience, I have learned that God gives us enough insight and evidence to choose to follow Him, but He leaves the choosing to us. “Choose you this day whom ye will serve…” Joshua 24:15
When it comes to choosing, it’s important to know that we are choosing to be helped. We are not responsible for changing ourselves. He offers to give us new appetites and desires, even power. “…I will take your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26. A heart of stone is unwilling to be taught, whereas a heart of flesh is moldable. As these new realisations arise within us, it is up to us to decide which nature, carnal or spiritual, we will feed; whichever we feed will grow in strength, but the choice is ours.
I think the commentary in Prophets and Kings expresses it beautifully: “Human effort avails nothing without divine power; and without human endeavour, divine effort is with many of no avail. To make God’s grace our own, we must act our part. His grace is given to work in us to will and to do, but never as a substitute for our effort.” (Pg 487)
Invited to Be Friends
In the beginning, God enjoyed friendship with the human family. This is what He is working to restore. Notice Jesus’ words: “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15.
It was easy for the disciples to be limited by the mentality of being in a master/slave relationship. I mean, for them, just following Jesus’ commands was enough. Yet, they were invited into a more intimate union.
This reminds me of a verse in Hosea that has helped to reshape my view of God. It says: “And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call me Ishi; and shalt call me no more Baali.” 2:26.
The term Ishi means my husband or my salvation, and the term Baali means my master or my lord. God wants us to grow beyond doing what He says just because He is God, and be motivated by love. He also wants to help us understand that all His commandments are sensible and for our well-being.
This is profound regarding the relationship He is working to restore between humanity and Himself!
In conclusion, the invitation to repent from sin is an opportunity to return to oneness with our heavenly Father, Brother and Comforter; the Godhead/Trinity. The choice to surrender one moment at a time to Him is ours to make. The decision and ability to provide the provision we need is His to make, and He has made it. 1 Peter 2:9 declares: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light…”
Let’s return and live in the presence of the living God, who withholds no good thing from us. Hallelujah!