[2020 Vision] Rest-olutions and Resolutions to Live by in 2020Sample

Proclaim Repentance and Faith

Resolve to courageously share your faith. Paul taught from house to house. He testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. He gave a public proclamation to the people in the house churches. He shared his faith with the Jewish people who had been worshipping the true God, Jehovah, and he shared his faith with the Gentiles, the Greeks, those outside of Judaism who had been worshipping idols. In other words, everyone. Paul told them about repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Sadly, in today's Christianity, we do not hear much about repentance. Sin exists. It is against God. It will result in separation from God for eternity in hell. How do we escape it since we all have a tendency toward sin? 

We repent, which means agreeing with God, “This is sin.” It doesn’t matter what culture says. What does God say? Do you understand that human beings do not decide what sin is, but God decides what sin is? There is a holy God who has given us His Word. When we realize what He says and see our sin, in that moment we must repent before God. 

Repentance is agreeing with God and turning to His ways. It doesn't end there: God gives us the route to forgiveness. 

We all need to repent. We have all sinned before God in our attitudes and in our actions. Therefore we each need to place our faith in Jesus. What does that mean? Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died on the cross to pay for our sins. He shed His blood to cover our attitudes and actions. We can each receive His forgiveness, trust in His death on the cross and in His resurrection to pay for our sins. That’s the good news of the Gospel of Jesus, and believing in Him, we can go to heaven when we die.

Paul resolved to courageously share his faith. Who is the one person that God has put in your life for you to share your faith with them? It can be hard to share. Do it anyway. That’s why Paul says, “I come to you with tears and trials because of the plots against me, but I courageously shared my faith.” Let's be people who share their faith, because it is good news. It is great news!