There are only two things Christians need to do: Repent and Trust.

That’s it! Those are the only things necessary to be saved. And those are the only things necessary to grow. Another way of saying those two words are, turn away from yourself and turn to God. And that really is how a Christian is to grow – by constantly turning from the self and trusting God.

Paul in Acts 20:21 says, “..how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable… testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

You see in those brief words what Paul’s mission was. His mission was to save people and keep them saved until God takes them home. As a matter of fact, that was Jesus’ mission. And if you are a Christian, that ought to be your mission as well – first for yourself and then for others around you. And how did Paul try to do that? Just two things – repentance toward God and faith in Jesus! So, Repent and trust!

It is worth mentioning again that this is how we grow as Christians, too. So often, people think repent and trust is how you become a Christian. Especially the ‘repent’ part. But repentance is for a life time. That great reformer Martin Luther said, “Our whole life is one of repentance!” What he meant is that this life is a training ground where we learn to turn from relying on the self to relying on God. When we lived without God, we called all the shots. We made decisions that WE deemed wise and loving. But living as Christians and growing, we are learning to trust God in those areas that didn’t enter our minds to consider God previously.

For example:

– When we speak to our significant other, what would repentance and trust look like?

– When we consider summer programs for our children, what would turning from ourselves and toward God look like?

– How we treat our body. What would repentance and trust look like?

– Considering what job to take, what would repentance toward God and faith in Jesus look like?

– How we consume electronics. What would it look like to turn from the self and turn to God?

– How we spend our summer. What would repentance and trust look like?

Remember, if we are drifting, we are headed downstream to the precipice of a fall. We must be constantly swimming upstream to survive. And that swimming is repenting and trusting.

PH