“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’. . . And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.” (Matthew 4:17, 23)
These days, the world is in urgent need of Jesus’ proclamation calling sinners to repent. The Church is the one entrusted with that message, but many Christians compromise with the world. Rather than witness with the truth that is found in the Word of God, they witness with what passes for the truth, that which is promulgated by social, cultural, and governmental entities through the all pervasive media. Thus the lost are encouraged to find fulfillment in the desires of their hearts, to remain in the darkness of sin rather then to come to the truth of mercy and love in and through Jesus.
Jesus came to bring the light and truth of God’s love. He first called for people to repent of sin, to admit they were sinners and that sin is evil. He called for people to have faith in Him and to follow Him. He demonstrated the power, love and compassion of God by backing up His words with miraculous deeds of healing and deliverance.
Jesus’ actions serve as examples for all Christians to follow. Not only must we repent of our sins, not only must we preach the truth of the gospel, we must also spread the light of God by dispelling their works of darkness with deeds of love and compassion for all. We may not perform miraculous healings as Jesus did, but we lead people to Jesus who can release all people from the bondage of sin. We do all these things by the power of the Holy Spirit alive in us.