God demonstrated his love for every human being by sending Jesus to die in our place while we were his enemies. Jesus paid the price required to redeem us, so we could be restored back to a right relationship with God. Even though the redemption price has been paid, you are not redeemed just because you exist. You cannot remain an enemy of Jesus and expect redemption. We all have to repent of our sins, believe in Jesus, and become his friends and followers. This is explained in this passage from John.
John 3:16-19
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. NASU
In verse 16, to “not perish” is to have “eternal life”. God does not want anyone to perish. God wants to give us all eternal life, but by our own choice many of us are going to perish, because of a stubborn refusal to repent. During his ministry on earth, Jesus gave many warnings reminding people that the end would come at a time they do not expect and those who are unprepared will perish. In this passage from Luke, Jesus emphasizes the need for repentance.
Luke 13:1-5
Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? 3 “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 “Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? 5 “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” NASU
We may think when tragedy strikes other people, that they are more sinful than we are. Jesus points out the fallacy of this thinking; we are all in the same boat when it comes to our sins. Jesus uses these two earthly events of sudden and awful deaths to provide illustrations of the spiritual catastrophe waiting for those who have not repented of their sins. Remember, perishing is contrasted with eternal life. Therefore, to perish here refers to the eternal suffering of our souls.
Repentance means you have a change of mind about sin and you decide to turn away from sin and turn to God. Repentance can be hard. First, you have to have godly sorrow over your sins, this is the wretched sadness and anguish you feel for what you have done. Godly sorrow leads you to repentance and back to God. Pride can make it hard to repent, because we have to actually admit that we have done wrong, and that God’s ways are right.
We live in an age where we are surrounded by people who do everything but admit that they are wrong. Often, they will blame others and refuse to accept that they are responsible for the wrong they have done. Let’s work on ourselves, let’s not hide and cover up. Let’s be honest and truly repent when we do wrong. Repentance leads to our salvation. It is the beginning of healing and a relationship with God.