Topical

In {bib=Matthew 4:17}, Jesus says, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” In Mark 1:15, Jesus says, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” To become a Kingdom Citizen (in other words, a true Christian), Jesus is telling us to “repent” and “believe in the gospel.” To do that, we must know (1) what it means to repent, (2) what the gospel is, and (3) how to believe in the gospel.

What does it mean to “repent”?

In Ezekiel 18:30, God says to the nation of Israel, “Repent and turn from all your transgressions.” (Transgressions are sins).

In Acts 26:20, Paul tells King Agrippa that he preached that everyone should, “repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.”

Notice that the words "Repent" and "Turn" are linked together. Repenting is turning away from sin and turning to God. We see that there is a change in behavior that comes from a change of the heart. You must accept Jesus as the Lord (boss) of your life and live your life obeying him.

What is “the gospel?”

I Corinthians 15: 1 – 5, Paul writes, “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”

Here we see that the gospel is that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and raised from the dead. Why did Jesus have to die for our sins? Because, as Romans 6:23 tells us, “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Wages are an earned payment. Everyone needs this because we are all sinners, as it says in Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

How do we believe in the gospel?

Jesus says in John 3:16-18, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” But, James 2:19 says, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!”

It is not a simple belief of the facts that Jesus died on the cross, was buried and raised from the dead. You must believe (or trust) that when Jesus died on the cross, he paid the penalty (the wages) for your sins. This is the “died for our sins” part of the gospel.

Then what?

If we have turned from sin to God and believed in Jesus, there will be a change in our behavior. If we sin, we turn back to God and ask for forgiveness. 1 John 1:5-9 says, “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This is the “working on” part of Kingdom citizenship.

Have you become a citizen of the kingdom of God? How do you know? Have you seen a change in your heart brought about by becoming a kingdom citizen?