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Ac 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

Ac 17:31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

As we have just finished the Easter season I think there is a need to not only look at what Christ did for us but to also see what God desires for us to do. We always look at the Resurrection and Christ’s atonement, but I think that there is more to the story than that. Christ had a central theme to His ministry that tends to get forgotten. Christ preached the need for repentance, but what is repentance? According to Webster’s 1828 dictionary repentance is: 1. In theology, the pain, regret or affliction which a person feels on account of his past conduct, because it exposes him to punishment. This sorrow proceeding merely from the fear of punishment is called legal repentance, being excited by the terrors of legal penalties, and it may exist without an amendment of life. 2.Real penitence; sorrow or deep contrition for sin, as an offense and dishonor to God, a violation of his holy law, and the basest ingratitude towards a Being of infinite benevolence. This is called evangelical repentance, and is accompanied and followed by amendment of life.

Now, how does this apply to me? First, I must understand that there is a coming judgment that will require an answer for every action and thought that I have committed. Second, there is a penalty for all wrong that I have done. And third, I will have to pay that penalty at the judgment. Having this understanding I know that I cannot pay the price that is required for the penalty to be removed. We know that the blood of Christ will wash us from all sin; however, we many times misunderstand what God means by repent and you will be saved. He is not talking about a turning from our sin to be saved, but a heart desire to change. Repentance in salvation is nothing more than agreeing with God and a desire to obey, good works comes from the change that this brings in our life as God changes us and molds us to His image. But there must be a constant in all this and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the anchor that holds everything together. When we stand at the judgement we know that we can’t pay but through repentance in God, Jesus paid all for us. If you do not know Jesus, today is the day of salvation, turn to Him and repent (choose to change in your heart by agreeing with God) and you will be saved.