REPENTANCE AND CONVERSION

Some other steps must be taken before you qualify for baptism.  The apostle Peter said:  "Repent . . .turn around so as to get your sins blotted out." (Acts 3:19)  To repent  is to feel sincere regret over something you have done.  Repentance is clearly fitting if a person has lived an immoral life, but it is also necessary even if one has lived a relatively clean life morally.  Why?  Because all humans are sinners and need God's forgiveness.  (Romans 3:23; 5:12) Before studying the Bible, you did not know what God's will was.  So how could you have lived in full harmony with his will? Therefore, repentance is necessary. 

Repentance must be followed by conversion, or 'turning around.'  You must do more than feel regret.  You need to reject your former way of life and be firmly determined  that you will  do what is right from now on.  Repentance and conversion are steps  that you must take before being baptized.

Next time: MAKING A PERSONAL DEDICATION

From the Book: What Does the Bible Really Teach? 2005 and 2006