Waa maxay baaqa towbada? Baaqa towbad keenku waa fariinta lagu wacdiyey Kitaabka Quduuska ah oo dhan. Ee Axdiga Hore, the message of the call to repentance was preached by the prophets. Ee Axdiga Cusub, the message of the call to repentance was preached through Jesus Christ and the apostles. Repentance is, besides the hearing of God’s Word, the beginning of salvation. But is the call to repentance still preached today in the church?
Waa maxay baaqa towbada?
Buugga Muujintii, Jesus confronted the seven churches with their walk. Jesus not only told the churches what they did well, but Jesus also confronted the churches with the things they didn’t do well. Jesus called the churches to repentance.
Therefore you see, that the call to repentance was still preached after Jesus’ sarakicidda.
The call to repentance is still crucial and needed in the world today. Nasiib darro, not many church leaders preach the call to repentance anymore. Waa maxay sababta? Because it is not a popular message that people want to hear. (Sidoo kale akhri: Fariinta aan qofna rabin inuu maqlo).
Waa maxay dhajinta?
Markaad rumayso Ciise Masiix; Erayga, and accept Him as your Saviour and Lord, waad toobad keeni doontaa. Tawbada dhabta ah waxay ka dhigan tahay, waxaas:
- You shall remove the sins out of your life,
- You’ll have a change of mind regarding your former life, which issues in regret and sorrow
- You will have a change of (anshaxa guud) edeb, dhaqan beddelid
Markaad toobad keentaa, maskax beddelid, edeb, and life takes place. It is impossible to remain the same old person you were, ka hor towbadaada. (Sidoo kale akhri: Waa maxay dhajinta?)
Salvation begins by hearing the Word of God
Salvation begins by hearing the Word of God. When you hear God’s Word, you will hear the truth and the Holy Spirit will confront you with your sins and your sinful nature. The Holy Spirit shows you, how God sees your life as dembiiley.
Daqiiqadaas, when you hear the truth and the Holy Spirits convicts you of your sins, waxaad samayn kartaa laba shay:
- You can believe and toobad of your sins and your life as a sinner and remove the sins from your life. Because you hate your life as a sinner and want to serve Jesus Christ, Halkii naftaada, oo raac Ciise
- Or you can diido hadalka ilaahay. Because you love your current life as a sinner and your sins. You are not willing to say goodbye to your life and your lifestyle.
You can only repent if you ‘hate’ your life and your sins and see that you live in darkness and do things that oppose the will of God, which separates you from Him.
When you are not aware of the fact, that you live in darkness and live in sin, it is impossible to repent. Because of what, do you need to repent of?
You think that you live a good life, according to the standards, morals, and values of the world. Sidaa darteed, you consider your works as good works and don’t see the need to change anything. Because you don’t see that you do something wrong.
Sida xaqiiqda ah, you think that you are a good person, who does good works. You think highly of yourself and think that you are a good example for others. But you are blinded by yourself and you don’t see, that you need to change. Iskaba, repent of your lifeqaab.
No man is good, except God
Markaasuu ku yidhi, Why callest thou Me good? There is none good but one, taasi waa, Ilaahow: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments (Matthew 19:17)
Laakiin runtu waxay tahay, that no man is good, laakiin Ilaah. Even Jesus Christ didn’t call Himself good. Halkii, Jesus said that God is good.
Qof kasta, oo ku dhashay hilibka, is born as a sinner in the kingdom of darkness. Death reigns in the life of a sinner, which causes the sinner to bear the fruit of death, taas oo ah dembiga. Sidaa darteed, every sinner must repent of his life as a sinner, iskutallaabta iskutallaabta, and become born again in the spirit to become righteous.
Only through Jesus Christ and by His blood, it is possible to become righteous. (Sidoo kale akhri: Ciise wuxuu soo celiyay booskii ninkii dhacay).
Hilibka kama farxin karo Ilaah
Qof kasta, who is born in the flesh is born in sin and has the character and sinful nature of the devil. The nature of the devil is present in everyone’s flesh, there’s no one excluded. Baybalku wuxuu leeyahay, that the flesh including a carnal mind can’t please God. You can do many charity works, but if you do these charity works from the flesh, then they are carnal works; dead works. These dead works do not please God.
Waayo, jinnidu waa dhimashadu waa geeri; Laakiin in si ruuxi ahaan loo helo waa nolol iyo nabad. Sababta oo ah maskaxdii jidhka waa cadowga Ilaah: maxaa yeelay, sharciga Ilaah kuma hoos jiro, runtii ma noqon karo. Markaa kuwa jidhka ku dhex jira kama farxin karaan Ilaah(Roomaanka 8:6-8)
As long as people live after the flesh and don’t repent of their sinful life, a person is not saved but lost.
Only when a person repents of his life as a sinner, put his sins away, lay down his life through the baabtiiska biyaha, and becomes born in the spirit, a person is saved.
When a person is born again, the person shall receive God’s nature by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and shall walk after the Spirit doing the will of God.
But repentance starts by hearing the message of God; Eraygiisa. Only by hearing the Truth; the Word of God and by the power of the Holy Spirit, people are confronted with the lies they live in. On that basis, a person decides to repent and follow the Word or reject the Word.
The goodness of God leads people to repentance (Roomaanka 2:4)
Changing the words of God and twisting the Truth of God
Over the past 100 sano, the Bible has been slowly changed. Bit by bit, the devil has unnoticeably mixed the Word with the world and the philosophies of carnal man. Instead of staying faithful to the Word and the lives of people have been adjusted to the Word, the gospel has been adjusted to what people want to hear and to their lifestyle. And so the message that is preached today has been watered down and has become weak. Taas awgeed, the salt has lost its savor.
Due to caqiido khaldan, many people don’t see that they live separated from God in darkness in sin. They are blinded, by all the lies that come from the god of this world. And because they are not willing to repent, God has given them up to their desires and the lusts of their flesh. (Sidoo kale akhri: Canchates Mind waxaa ka farxiya dembiga oo ku farxaa kuwa ku dhaqma dembiga).
Dad badan ayaa dhahaya, that they believe in Jesus. But the devil and his demons also believe in Jesus. Maybe even more than most Christians, and they tremble. They are not saved despite their belief in Jesus.
When do you show Jesus, that you really believe in Him and that you love Him? When you believe what the Bible says, and you do what Jesus has told and commanded you to do and you become a doer of the Word. (Sidoo kale akhri: Qoraaga badbaadada weligeed ah).
The Word is changed and adjusted to the desires of people
In many families and churches, the Bible has been moved slowly to the background. Inta badan kaniisadaha, preachers preach according to their own fikradaha, Natiijooyinka, falsafada, supernatural revelations, iyo khibradaha. They preach what people want to hear instead of what God wants to say to the people. Therefore many preachers preach after the lusts, rabitaan, and itching ears of the people, instead of preaching the Truth of the Word.
Messages with a call to repentance, that confront the sinful lifestyles of people are hardly preached anymore.
People want to have a nice experience in the church. They want to feel good and experience warm pleasant feelings. The people don’t want to be confronted with their lifestyle and their errors.
They don’t want to receive correction. But they want to be pleased, exalted and praised.
Preachers also want to be liked and ‘worshipped’ by the people. Therefore they preach what the people want to hear. That way they keep the people happy and satisfied and attract more people to their churches.
They don’t want to antagonize people but please people. And so many preachers have become people pleasers instead of God pleasers.
In churches where the true message of Jesus Christ is preached, it often happens that after a while, the message offend people and they leave the church. Why do people leave the church? Because they love their lives and are not willing to give up their own lives for Jesus.
They are not willing to remove certain things from their lives, because they love doing them. Therefore they will leave the church and look for another church. Many times they go to carnal churches that preach the Jacayl been ah iyo nimco been ah ee Ilaah, so that the people can live after the lusts and desires of their flesh without feeling guilty.
The ‘self’ sits on the throne
Waxaan ku noolnahay qarni, where the ‘self’ sits on the throne of people’s lives. Many people want to believe, but they want to believe in their own manner. Many people only believe, because of the blessings of God. Their purpose of becoming a Christian is to live a prosperous, maalqabeen, and blessed life.
Many Christians focus on miracles, yaab, awoodaha, dareen, barwaaqo, duco, iyo hanti.
Many use the grace of God to live like the world, to keep doing the things of the flesh, which they love, iyada oo aan la dareemin in la xukumay. They keep living after the flesh and keep living in sin.
They focus more on themselves and the blessings, mucjisooyin, iyo awoodaha, ka badan Ciise Masiix; Erayga, and spend time with Him, and be corrected by Him, so that they will become like Him.
The modern gospel is all about supernatural manifestations, mucjisooyin, awoodaha, barwaaqo, guul, maal, iwm.
Man has become the center of the gospel, instead of Jesus Christ being the Center. Many Scriptures are taken out of their context, and applied to the lives of the people, so that they confirm the message of prosperity, maal, duco, nimco, iwm.
Waa maxay injiilka runta ah ee Ciise Masiix?
But is this the true gospel of Jesus Christ? Did Jesus and His apostles (xerta) also preach this message? Is the gospel of Jesus Christ about money, maal, barwaaqo, being successful in life, and about gathering(wax) treasures on this earth? Is that really written in the Bible? Or do we decide how we want to live and take Scriptures out of context so that it fits into our lives and our lifestyle and approves the way we live after the flesh and approve our sins, and that way get the approval of God?
But applying Scripture to the desires and lusts of the flesh, is not according to the Doodda Eebbe.
Jesus preached the call to repentance. He came to the sinners, kuwaas oo iska lahaa dadka Ilaah (Israa'iil) and preached the call to repentance, which means to turn their lives to God and put their sins away.
Ciise wuxuu yidhi: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17)
Maalmahan, the Lord still calls the people, oo ku nool dembiga, Si loo toobad keena. Because Jesus wants everyone saved. He doesn’t want anyone to be lost forever. He doesn’t want anyone to perish with the many lies that are preached today. Therefore the call to repentance is still relevant today.
Taasi waa sababta ay aad muhiim ugu tahay, to read and study the Word (Kitaabka Quduuska ah) for yourself. So that you will find out the Truth. Only when you find out the Truth, you will be able to repent of the lies you’ve been living in.
Rabbigu ballankiisa kama raagin (Soo laabashadiisa), Sida ragga qaarna waxay tirinayaan inay yaraato; Laakiin waxay u dheer tahay nooga-nambar, diyaar uma ahan in wax uun la halligmo, Laakiin in dhammaantood ay tahay inay u yimaadaan toobad keen (2 Butros 3:9)
“Noqo cusbada dhulka”
