People should repent.

So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent.

Mark 6:12

The first sermons preached by Jesus’ apostles were one word wonders: Repent. The twelve were sent out to go through all the villages and towns to make Jesus known. But it was serious business. They looked nothing like the “professional” class of preachers we see today. They were to travel light, dress simply, look for hospitality, bring no money neither ask for any, and simply proclaim the kingdom. They would be known ONLY by their message. Preaching this meant pointing out an inconvenient reality: Sin is a problem. To be right before God, people should repent.

Repentance is about doing a 180. To repent is more than to feel bad, or “say you are sorry”. To repent means to turn one’s back on a sinful, wrong life headed to hell, and instead to turn into the direction of Jesus so that in forgiveness He might lead us through His Word and by His Spirit in a new direction that pleases God. We begin marching to a different destination.

It is necessary that people should repent. Even today, where sins are constantly being culturally softened and selfishness is being heralded as bravery, we must call people to repent. We must know our sin, be dissatisfied in it, turn from it, renounce ourselves, and turn to follow Jesus!

People should repent. Christians should repent. I should repent. I am easily swayed to promoting my agenda over that of following Jesus. I give in to my selfish wants. I idolize what is false and get turned from trusting Christ. I should repent. I do repent. I want to be a professional repenter! People... repent!