And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel. 

Mark 1:15

I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 

Luke 13:3 

How significant is the matter of repentance to Christ? The first portion of our text is the first message from the mouth of Christ as recorded by Mark. Mark begins his gospel with the public ministry of Christ. He does not record the nativity as do Matthew and Luke. Here is the advent of His public work. He begins with, ‘Repent and believe the gospel.’ In order for us to understand the ramifications of what He is saying, we can look to the second portion of our text. There, He is addressing a group who had related an account to Him of a massacre of some Galileans by Herod. His remark, which He repeats later is, ‘unless you repent you will all likewise perish.’ The implication is that without repentance there is no avoidance of judgment. This matters in the discussion of forgiveness. If God forgives apart from repentance, then there is no justification for judgment. If He grants forgiveness without repentance, no one should ever go to hell. With repentance comes forgiveness. He stands ever ready to forgive. The message is the same today. ‘Repent and believe the gospel.’  

Our Good and Wise God, 
we rejoice that You show us what is important to You. 
We praise You that as we learn from You, 
we begin to imitate Christ. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel. 

Mark 1:15

I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 

Luke 13:3 

How significant is the matter of repentance to Christ? The first portion of our text is the first message from the mouth of Christ as recorded by Mark. Mark begins his gospel with the public ministry of Christ. He does not record the nativity as do Matthew and Luke. Here is the advent of His public work. He begins with, ‘Repent and believe the gospel.’ In order for us to understand the ramifications of what He is saying, we can look to the second portion of our text. There, He is addressing a group who had related an account to Him of a massacre of some Galileans by Herod. His remark, which He repeats later is, ‘unless you repent you will all likewise perish.’ The implication is that without repentance there is no avoidance of judgment. This matters in the discussion of forgiveness. If God forgives apart from repentance, then there is no justification for judgment. If He grants forgiveness without repentance, no one should ever go to hell. With repentance comes forgiveness. He stands ever ready to forgive. The message is the same today. ‘Repent and believe the gospel.’  

Our Good and Wise God, 
we rejoice that You show us what is important to You. 
We praise You that as we learn from You, 
we begin to imitate Christ. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel. 

Mark 1:15

I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 

Luke 13:3 

How significant is the matter of repentance to Christ? The first portion of our text is the first message from the mouth of Christ as recorded by Mark. Mark begins his gospel with the public ministry of Christ. He does not record the nativity as do Matthew and Luke. Here is the advent of His public work. He begins with, ‘Repent and believe the gospel.’ In order for us to understand the ramifications of what He is saying, we can look to the second portion of our text. There, He is addressing a group who had related an account to Him of a massacre of some Galileans by Herod. His remark, which He repeats later is, ‘unless you repent you will all likewise perish.’ The implication is that without repentance there is no avoidance of judgment. This matters in the discussion of forgiveness. If God forgives apart from repentance, then there is no justification for judgment. If He grants forgiveness without repentance, no one should ever go to hell. With repentance comes forgiveness. He stands ever ready to forgive. The message is the same today. ‘Repent and believe the gospel.’  

Our Good and Wise God, 
we rejoice that You show us what is important to You. 
We praise You that as we learn from You, 
we begin to imitate Christ. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning