People fear to face death. When the news of forthcoming death surfaces people, generally, are afraid. Why is this? For one it is because of the uncertainty of one’s destination after death. Most religious persuasions do not guarantee entrance into heaven. Some are attempting to get into it. Hence, regardless of how much religious dedication one has given to his religious organization he/she does not know if he/she is going there. However, the Holy Scriptures clearly provide an answer to this predicament faced by every human being. You can receive forgiveness of sins before you face death and get divine certainty of it. This is what God has spoken and written in the pages of the Bible.
Consider Luke 3:2-14 in your readings. In verse 3, it was said of John the Baptist, the man whom God sent to preach the message of forgiveness of sins, and he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. The first Baptist preacher urged sinners to repent, that is to change their minds from wrong thoughts, wrong ways, wrong religiosity, and to have evidence of true repentance. Such repentance is required and expected from people who claimed to have repented. Look at verses 10-14. The people who claimed repentance must have changed. The soldiers who professed repentance must have changed. The publicans, too, must have changed. One can not claim true repentance if there is no real change in life. So everyone must repent if he/she wants to receive forgiveness.
You can not get forgiveness by making sacrifices every holy week neither by fulfilling your periodic religious vows nor by being good to others. Note that your good deeds can not outweigh your evil deeds. Besides, good acts can not sufficiently pay for your evil acts. See Titus 3:5.
John also required an evidence of repentance prior to baptism (immersion) in water. See verse 8. Even if you grew up in a Christian family or have been attending Sunday School for life or have been regularly going to your church you still need to repent. You have been doing those things without salvation yet. There is always an ungodly act or thought that you need to change from. To some a wrong thought; to others, a wrong behavior; and still to some, a wrong action. Peter also recognized the same need in Acts 2:38. To some who are deeply religious, they need to repent from false religion or church as soon as they see it from the Bible. The truthfulness or falsity of your church or religion is determined by comparing it with the Bible. If any error is found then it must be rejected regardless of how long you have been a part of it.
God wants you and others to be saved or receive forgiveness of sins. This is what He said in verse 6, And all flesh (human) shall see the salvation of God. Note that salvation belongs to God. He gives it to any one who asks for it. You do not work for it. You ask it in order to receive it. When you fail to get saved it is not because of God but due to your neglect or rejection of the salvation God offers. Note 2 Corinthians 6:2 which says, "…now is the day of salvation." God wants you to repent from sins now and ask God to save your soul from sin’s punishment (hell). If you do this what will God do to you? First, He will grant you the forgiveness of sins. Second, He will deliver you from going to Hell. Third, He will grant you the assurance of going to Heaven by virtue of His saving work (John 5:24).
Be warned, dear friends, you may neglect this call to repentance or you may reject this and regard it as mere religiosity or propaganda. But consider John the Baptist’s warning in verse 7, "who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" Also take a look at what Christ has warned His audience in John 12:48, "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."
