Repentance and Judgement

I would like to speak to you about repentance. God says you must turn away from your sinful ways. He says you must confess your wickedness with sorrow. Then you must look to Jesus Who died on the cross and believe that He forgives you. God wants you to live correctly for Him. Now listen to what God says about turning your backs on all sin.

Long ago there was a very big town named Nineveh. It was so large that it would take three days to walk across it. In Nineveh there lived so many people that it would be very hard to count them all. They were very wicked. God said to Jonah, " The people of Nineveh are very wicked. If they do not repent in 40 days, I will destroy them." This is what God said. Then God sent Jonah to speak His message to them. When they heard Jonah they believed Gods words. The headmen said, "We must cry mightily to God. Yes, all of us must turn from our evil ways. We must put away from our minds all our desires to do evil. If we truly repent, maybe God will forgive us, and His anger will not burn against us." The headmen of Nineveh spoke like this. The people of Nineveh humbled themselves before God. When God saw that they were sorry and put away their evil ways He did not destroy them.

Before Jesus began His work of preaching, God sent one man named John the Baptist to preach. He told some people that they were as clever and tricky as snakes. He told everyone to turn from their evil ways of selfishness, cheating, evil talk, and grumbling. They were to confess their sins to God. If they were truly sorry, God would hear them and forgive them.

Another time John spoke a parable and said that our lives were like a tree. Every tree that did not bear good fruit would be cut down with an axe and it would be thrown into the fire. Those were the words John spoke to the people.

Now what about you? What are your sins that God says you must put away and be sorry about? God's judgment is coming to all who do not repent and turn from their wicked ways. You cannot serve both God and Satan. Do you steal, work poison, speak evil of others, and commit adultery? God says to confess your sins to Him with a broken heart. Then look to Jesus Christ Who hung on the cross and shed His blood to forgive you.

God says, Man looks on the outside of another man to see if he looks good or bad. But God looks deeper. He looks on the heart. We must listen to God's words and always obey His teaching. When we turn to Jesus and obey God's words then our hearts are filled with peace and happiness, and we will escape the judgment of God.