REPENT OR PERISH.
True repentance. Luke 18: 13. Ezek. 18: 30. Luke 13: 5. Matt. 3: 7, 8.
Belief in God is followed by an utterance which lies deep in the troubled heart of man: "God be merciful to me, a sinner!" The answer of the Almighty to the godly sorrow of His penitent children is: "Repent, and turn yourself from all your transgressions." "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Genuine repentance is such a sorrow for past sin as produces a reformation of life, and bears fruit in good works. It leads him that steals to steal no more; him that gets drunk to break from that habit; him that blasphemes to desist from that evil and learn to do well. All need to repent. Even the best men fall far short of their ideal. Repentance is therefore one of the conditions of salvation. It must precede the forgiveness of sins; and those who do not repent are not eligible for baptism.