Matthew 3; Mark 1; Luke 3
When John was preparing the people for Jesus’ ministry, he told them to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” If you say you’ve repented of sin, your life should demonstrate a noticeable difference.
Be warned. Saying the words, “forgive me” are meaningless without a heart’s change. And when a heart is truly changed, what we say and do and feel change as well. It has to.
Paul, in Galatians, gives us a practical list of what fruit keeping with repentance looks like. Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. And self-control. If all of those aren’t evident in your life, I suggest you check the level of your repentance. Paul doesn’t say the Spirit gives 7 of 9 to a repentant heart. Notice the word, “and” in there. It doesn’t say “or.”
John told the tax collectors to quit charging more than the required tax. He told the soldiers to stop taking money from people by force. A repentant heart changes how we treat each other.
Bearting fruit in keeping with repentance starts with a change of heart, then it pours out in how we live our lives. Do your friends and family notice a change in you since you’ve asked Jesus to forgive you?
They should.
