Week 4 - Friday

Unless You Repent

But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, (Romans 2:5)

The gospel offer of salvation is open to everyone. Jesus promises to save all who come to Him (Rom. 10:13). If a person ends up being condemned by God, they have no one to blame but themselves. They would have been saved, if they had come to Christ, but because of their stubborness they refused (John 5:40). Stubborness is from the Greek word sklerotes, which means hardness. When a person hears or reads the gospel, and does not repent, their heart begins to harden against the gospel. As time goes by the hardening process continues. Each year that passes makes it increasingly more difficult for them to ever repent. Without realizing it, a person can reach the point where their heart becomes so hardened against the gospel that even though they would like to believe, they cannot.

At the same time an unrepentant person is hardening their heart, they are also storing up wrath for themselves. As they live their life, soaking up God's gifts and refusing to come to Christ, God's anger against them is building. Eventually the day will come, when God's righteous judgment will explode against them. The Bible says that a day of judgment is coming. A person who doesn't believe in God may not think so but regardless of what they believe, judgment is coming. If God says that it's going to happen, it will happen. If you have never turned away from your sins to receive Jesus Christ, God is being patient with you now. He is waiting for you to repent. However while He is waiting, His anger against you is building. Unless you repent, the day will come when you will face the full fury of His anger. You need to repent now. You can't afford to wait, your heart is growing harder. If you continue to put it off, you may never repent. Don't wait any longer, now is the time. Maybe you would like to repent but you are finding that you just can't seem to do it. Remember faith is a gift from God and repentance is a part of faith. You can't produce it on your own. If you want to come to Christ, ask Him to help you do it. Tell Jesus, you are sorry for your sins. Ask Him to forgive you. Ask Him to help you to turn away from your sins and follow Him as your Lord and Savior.

Readings for today: Luke 13:3; Heb. 4:7; 2 Tim. 2:25; Acts 11:18; 2 Cor. 6:2; John 6:37