The gospel of Jesus Christ is a clarion call to sinners—a call to repent and believe, two inseparable acts that mark the beginning of the Christian life. Too often, modern presentations of the gospel dilute its demands, offering an “easy believism” that suggests one can simply “try Jesus” without surrendering their life to Him. This watered-down message fails to sound a clear note, leaving sinners confused about the cost and call of discipleship. As Scripture warns, “For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle?” (1 Corinthians 14:8, NKJV). A true gospel presentation must clearly proclaim that repentance and belief are not optional add-ons but essential, God-given graces required of every sinner who would follow Christ.
Repentance: A Grace, Not a Work
Repentance is often misunderstood as a work that a sinner must perform to earn salvation. This is a grave error. Repentance is a gift of God’s grace, granted to sinners by the Holy Spirit’s conviction. As Paul writes, “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4, NKJV). It is God who initiates and enables the turning of the heart from sin to Himself. Yet, this grace does not diminish the necessity of repentance. Jesus Himself began His ministry with a clear command: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17, NKJV). Repentance is not a work we do to merit salvation but a response we are enabled to give through God’s gracious work in us.
To repent is to turn away from sin—its desires, its patterns, and its hold on our lives—and to turn toward Christ in faith and submission. It is not merely feeling sorry for sin but a deliberate reorientation of the heart and life toward God. As Jesus declared, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24, NKJV). The sinner cannot cling to the vestiges of their corrupt life while claiming to follow Christ. Repentance demands a decisive break with sin, not a half-hearted attempt to “clean up” while holding onto old ways.
Belief: More Than Mental Assent
Belief, likewise, is not merely intellectual agreement with the facts of the gospel. It is a wholehearted trust in Christ as Savior and Lord, a surrender to His authority over every aspect of life. Jesus illustrated the seriousness of this commitment in His parables, particularly the parable of the builder and the king going to war (Luke 14:25-33). He warned that following Him requires counting the cost: “And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:27, NKJV). To believe in Christ is to embrace Him as the sole source of salvation and to live “as unto Christ” in all things, submitting to His lordship.
The Clear Call of the Gospel
A true gospel presentation must sound a clear note, leaving no ambiguity about what it means to follow Christ. The sinner must hear that they are called to leave their sin behind, not to cling to it or treat it lightly. The gospel is not an invitation to “try Jesus” or join a club where “nobody’s perfect” excuses ongoing rebellion. It is a call to die to self, to take up the cross, and to follow Christ wholeheartedly (Mark 8:34). Without this clarity, the gospel risks being reduced to a feel-good message that fails to convey the transformative power of Christ’s work.
The Apostle Paul modeled this clarity in his preaching: “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20, NKJV). This reconciliation requires turning from sin and trusting in Christ’s finished work on the cross. Similarly, Peter’s sermon at Pentecost called the crowd to “repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38, NKJV). The early church understood that repentance and belief were not optional but the first and clear expectation of all who would be disciples.
The Cost of Discipleship
Jesus never shied away from the cost of following Him. He told the rich young ruler to sell all he had and give to the poor (Matthew 19:21), not because wealth itself was sinful, but because it revealed the man’s unwillingness to surrender everything to Christ. Likewise, the parable of the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45-46) teaches that the kingdom of God is worth giving up everything to obtain. A true gospel presentation must inform sinners of this cost—not to discourage them, but to ensure they understand the radical nature of the Christian life.
The “easy believism” so prevalent today often omits this call to surrender. It suggests that one can accept Jesus as Savior without submitting to Him as Lord, that sin can be managed rather than forsaken. Such a message produces shallow converts who may profess faith but lack the transformed life that marks a true disciple. As Jesus warned, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21, NKJV).
The True Gospel Transforms
The gospel is not a call to perfection but to a new life in Christ. Repentance and belief are the starting point, not the end. They mark the beginning of a life lived “as unto Christ,” where the believer is progressively sanctified by the Holy Spirit. This is why Paul could say, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NKJV). The sinner who repents and believes is not left in their sin but is transformed into a disciple who seeks to live for Christ in all things.
Sounding the Clear Call
To preach the gospel faithfully is to proclaim repentance and belief as inseparable acts of God’s grace, required of every sinner who would follow Christ. It is to sound a clear trumpet, calling sinners to leave their sin, count the cost, and surrender fully to Jesus as Savior and Lord. Anything less is not the gospel but a diluted imitation that fails to transform. Let us proclaim the true gospel with boldness, trusting that God’s grace will enable sinners to respond in repentance and faith, becoming disciples who live wholly for Him.
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