by Dave Brown
Ye often hear it said ...
Ye just have to repent . . .
but John the Baptist commanded (Matthew 13:3):
"Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of repentance..."
Technically, the first statement is accurate; however, John the Baptist's statement implies that it might not go far enough.
Most people are honest enough to be able to look back in sorrow at some consequences that they have had to suffer because of their own sin. Consequences always produce a type of sorrow. The person who robs the local store and gets caught is sorry that he ever conceived of the plan. But this is a sorrow for getting caught, not one motivated by a genuine desire to change.
John goes on to tell them not to take pride in their heritage. They would not be able to practice business as usual if they were going to be ready for the Messiah. We find them rejecting John's rebuke, and eventually they were not even able to comprehend what Jesus was all about (see Mt. 13:10-17).
Repentance is a most painful process, and the longer we put it off, the more painful it becomes. Yet, when we allow God's word to work in us we learn what Jesus meant by a "light yoke" (Mt. 11:28) and Paul by the "peace that passeth all understanding" (Phil. 4:7).2