“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Mark 1:15 · ESV
Many of us can point to a moment when we first turned to Christ. A camp altar, a kitchen table, a quiet prayer in the car. That moment matters. But it is easy to file repentance and faith under “how I got started,” as though they belong to the beginning of the Christian life and not the middle of it.
Jesus’ first preaching in Mark points another way. Repent and believe. Turn from sin and trust the good news. These words describe more than a doorway. They describe the shape of the whole road. Christians in many traditions have recognized this. Martin Luther opened his Ninety-five Theses with it: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said ‘Repent,’ he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance.”
Scripture keeps two movements together. Paul remembered how the Thessalonians “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” They turned from something, and they turned to Someone. One hand lets go of sin. The other takes hold of Christ. Repentance without faith becomes self-punishment. Faith without repentance becomes presumption. The Christian life keeps both hands moving, day after day.
John writes to believers, not to unbelievers: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Confession is not a sign that discipleship has failed. It is one of the ordinary ways discipleship happens.
This matters for the disciplemaker. It is easy to turn a discipling relationship into a moral improvement plan. We set goals, check progress, and celebrate when the bad habit goes quiet. Some of that is wise. But if the main question each week is how well he performed, your Timothy will learn either to hide or to despair. He needs to learn to turn. Toward God, with his sin in plain view, trusting the mercy he finds there.
He will learn that best by watching you. A Paul who never confesses anything teaches that mature Christians have moved past repentance. A Paul who says, “This week I was short with my wife, and I had to go back and ask her forgiveness,” teaches something truer. You are not lowering the standard. You are showing him where to run when he falls short of it.
No one graduates from repenting and believing. Mature believers have not moved past it. They have learned to do it sooner, and with more confidence in the One who forgives.
This Week
Where do you need to turn this week, and will you let your Timothy see you do it?
Go Deeper
How to Repent of Sin and Rejoice in Christ Together with a Discipleship Group
Jonathan K. Dodson (Crossway). A practical look at how two or three believers can help one another turn from sin and toward the promises of Christ.
Life Together
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (HarperOne). A short classic on Christian community, read across many traditions. Its closing chapter on confessing sin to one another speaks directly to a Paul/Timothy relationship.
Luther’s First Thesis and Last Words
Desiring God. A brief piece on Luther’s call to lifelong repentance and how it shows up again in his final words.
Next week: identity before activity — union with Christ as the engine of obedience.
Lee Truax
President, DiscipleMaking Mission
