Checked All the Boxes

Repent…be baptized…Acts 2:38

Perhaps there are too many who did this very thing. They went forward and repented and were baptized in front of the church. Then sometime later they walked away. Something happened either in the church or in the world that changed everything. Even to the point of the rejection of God.

Some who after they leave one church go as far as rejecting faith in God. Or so they say. The pain of the separation was just too much to bear. So, in walking away from ‘religion’ they walked away from God. Unfortunately, this is far too common.

This happens because they did not understand repentance. Repentance is more than just changing direction. That is, turning from walking away from God to walking with God. That is the result of repentance, not the definition of repentance. To repent is to change one’s mind. True repentance causes one to turn, which is the practical aspect of repentance. Merely turning is acting, crocodile tears.

Without repentance baptism is merely being dunked into water; getting wet. With repentance water baptism is the wonderful symbol of dying to the world and being raised in Christ. 

In essence, the one who walked away simply checked all the boxes. They followed all the instructions. Then when “it didn’t take” they claim Christianity is a fraud; church is a scam; religion is an opioid, and God isn’t real. There are many wounded souls in the world. They need Jesus. 

Perhaps one way to restore them is to advise them to NOT tell us, but to tell God. Ask them to tell God, even the God they think doesn’t exist, that they don’t believe. If they are right, then their words are merely words. (Like their original confession) If they are wrong, then they have invited God of all mercy and grace to accept their challenge. Then wait for God to check all the boxes!