Mark 1:1-3 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; (2) As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. (3) The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
Mark 1:4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
Yesterday, we looked at verses 1-3. Today we will focus our attention on verse 4 but there is a fundamental point is verse 2 we need to see and understand. In verse 2 it tells us that John the Baptist is a messenger sent by God. If we are not careful, we can gloss over that fact without the importance sinking in. We must not just assume that John the man was sent by God. Nor that simply his mission was endorsed by God. But rather that he was carrying and delivering the specific message that God wanted the world to know. Once John got here, he did not preach about stuff that we wanted or thought was needed. He, like Jesus, spoke, taught and preached the specific message that GOD wanted delivered.
John 12:49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
In our passage today, we see the foundation of the message that God wanted John to teach: Repentance!
Repentance is not just a topic from a fuddy-duddy generations gone by. It is not just a subject from old guys that want to keep the youth from having fun. Repentance instead is ESSENTIAL for having our sins removed.
So what is Repentance?
The Best definition of Repentance is: A change of mind that by necessity leads to a change of life. A change of heart that causes us to change directions to live the life that God describes. The best verse in the Bible to describe repentance is:
Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (2) And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
In verse 1 it tells us that we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. That simply means that we are to live the specific life that God instructs even to the point of making significant sacrifices in our lives. Then in verse Paul tells us how this can and must be achieved. It is a two step solution:
1. We Cannot Be Conformed to the World!
The world, in this use, are the influences that lead us away from what God wants. The world and those in it is what causes us to desire to lead a life where we want to always please ourselves....at the expense of God.
1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
2. Instead we Must be Transformed by the Renewing of our Minds.
Another word for transformation is “Change”. We must understand that change is required to please God. A person, any person, in fact ALL people are indeed influenced by the world before being a follower a Jesus. That following of the world is what caused salvation to be needed. So we need a drastic change in our thinking, in our reactions, in our lifestyles, our behaviours and every aspect of our lives so that we are able to have an about face and begin living the life that God desires.
Matthew 7:13-14 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: (14) Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Once we 1. are no longer conformed to the world and 2. are transformed by renewing our minds, we can and MUST be able to PROVE, through our actions, what the will of God is. The transformation cannot JUST be in our minds, it must be translated to the manner in which we live our every day lives.
That is repentance!
That is the message that God wanted John to preach! It is the primary message that John did preach. It was a foundational message that Jesus preached and continues to be a message found throughout the New Testament!.
Repentance is pretty essential!
Reflecting His SON,
Dennis Hogan
Minister, North Hardin Church of Christ
1804 Sam Stewart Dr.
Radcliff, KY 40160
Questions, comments or further explanation? Contact me at: dennis.hogan@icloud.com
If you have friends, family, or acquaintances that you feel could benefit from RTS, please forward
their e-mail address to me and I will add them to my mail list.
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