In the previous message we saw that in order to receive Christ as the Savior, a person must first realize who Christ is; that is, he has to know the person of Christ. Second, he needs to know the work of Christ, what Christ has done for him and for what purpose Christ died on the cross. The death of the cross is the work of Christ. Then he must know the salvation prepared by Christ. Within this salvation, there are the remission of sins and the imparting of the divine life. In order to receive Christ as the Savior, a person also has to contact Him. We are not dealing with a religion. We are not dealing with doctrines or learning teachings. Rather, we are dealing with the living One who is just like the air. We have to breathe Him in. We have to contact Him. Fifth, in order to contact and receive Him, we have to open ourselves to the Lord, not merely outwardly but inwardly, from the deepest part of our whole being. We may compare this to opening a window to the fresh air. If we close the window, we close off the fresh air. In order to receive fresh air into a room, we have to open the window widely and thoroughly. Christ is the Spirit, just like the fresh air. If we are going to enjoy Him and receive Him into us, we must open ourselves, the more the better and the deeper the better. We have to realize and be clear about these five items.
There are also five things that a person must practice in the process of receiving Christ as the Savior. To receive Christ is mainly to believe in Him, but this believing includes several matters, so we may say that there is a process of believing. A process is one thing that includes several steps, or several points. Many Christians are short of some of these five items. They may not be short of all five, but they may be short of one or two of them.
The first thing we must practice is a thorough repentance to God. Repentance is the first step of our real believing, our prevailing faith in Christ. If we do not have a real repentance, that means our believing is not so real. In order to have a real believing, a true faith in Christ, we must have a real and thorough repentance. The order in the Scriptures is repent and believe. Repentance must go ahead of faith. Acts 20:21 says, “Solemnly testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance unto God and faith in our Lord Jesus.” Repentance is unto God, and faith is in the Lord Jesus. Repentance unto God and living faith in the Lord Jesus are the testimony of the apostle Paul.
The Greek word for repent means a change of mind, or a turn of mind. Repentance is a turning. We have to turn, because we are away from God, and we have gone astray from God. God is in one direction, but our whole life and living are in another direction. We are not toward God but against God. Our whole living first includes our thinking, our mind. Our way of thinking is not toward God; it is away from God. This is also true of our behavior, our conduct, and our family life. It is even true of our schooling, our business, and our friendships. Even our clothing and our driving are not toward God but against God, away from God. In almost everything of our human life we are away from God; we are not toward God but against God.
The gospel of God demands that we repent, that is, that we have a turn. This is not only a left turn or right turn, but it is a U-turn. We have to turn back to God. We must point not our back but our face toward God. God is in one direction, but we are living and walking in another. Everything related to us is toward the wrong direction, so the more we live, the more we are away from God and the further we go astray from God. Now God demands that we repent. This means that we have to turn back toward God. This is repentance toward God.
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