Repentance or Rebellion

Acts 17:30-31

“Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent, because He has set a day on which He is going to judge the world in righteousness by the Man He has appointed. He has provided proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”

There is coming a day when God will judge the world, and it will not be pretty! He will not judge by popular opinion or majority rule. He will judge by the standard set by His Son – Jesus. How we have decided to treat Jesus personally will matter on that day. If we have chosen to follow Him and surrender to His lordship, we can rejoice as He comes to rule and reign. If, however, we have mocked, scoffed, rejected, or denied Him, we will be judged and condemned.

Changing popular opinion may make it easier to live on earth in its current fading form, but it does not change the standard set for the kingdom God has ordained. His kingdom is coming, and Jesus Christ will be in charge. He will judge by His standard and not by what we have legalized due to popular demand. How will you stand before Him?

We cannot pay for our sins by our own righteousness. Only the righteousness of Christ can cover them. Even if we don’t consider a matter to be sin, God sets the standard – we don’t. If He calls it sin, that is the end of the discussion. Our only defense is to repent and run to Jesus while we can still run. When He returns, it will be too late.

God knows we have lived in times of ignorance, but He has taken great measures to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the earth so His people may be awakened to the truth. The number of people who have never heard of Jesus is diminishing rapidly, especially with today’s technology. Today, more people have heard of Jesus and decided to reject Him than those who have never heard. To reject Jesus and the price He paid for your sins is to accept the punishment yourself. Judgment – pay day – is coming. How have you responded to Jesus?

God raised Jesus from the dead as a sign of the acceptance of His sacrifice. He can raise any dead situation in our lives, too, when we surrender it to Jesus. His salvation makes us whole and enables us to live in freedom from the chains of darkness that sin brings into our lives. Jesus breaks those chains, so there is no need to accept them as a part of who we are or to try to convince others to accept our chains. There is power to live – truly live – in Jesus Christ. He is the standard. He is the judge, and He has the final say. To reject Him once we know the gospel is not ignorance but rebellion. Once awakened to the truth, we have to choose to repent or rebel. Choose life now. The King is coming, and His recompense is with Him!

Have a blessed day!