[Sidenote: True repentance.]
[Sidenote: Luke 18: 13.]
[Sidenote: Ezek. 18: 30.]
[Sidenote: Luke 13: 5.]
[Sidenote: Matt. 3: 7, 8.]
Belief in God is followed by an utterance which lies deep in the
troubled heart of man: "God be merciful to me, a sinner!" The answer of
the Almighty to the godly sorrow of His penitent children is: "Repent,
and turn yourself from all your transgressions." "Except ye repent, ye
shall all likewise perish." Genuine repentance is such a sorrow for
past sin as produces a reformation of life, and bears fruit in good
works. It leads him that steals to steal no more; him that gets drunk
{149} to break from that habit; him that blasphemes to desist from that
evil and learn to do well. All need to repent. Even the best men fall
far short of their ideal. Repentance is therefore one of the conditions
of salvation. It must precede the forgiveness of sins; and those who do
not repent are not eligible for baptism.