THE GOSPEL MESSAGE INCLUDES REPENTANCE

When the Apostle Paul defined the Gospel, he made it clear for all to understand; he wrote:
"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures:  (and there are many witnesses) and that He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:  after that, He was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep" (1 Cor. 15:1-6).

Notice that the reason Christ died, was to pay the penalty for our sins!  Paul also wrote:  "Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father" (Gal. 1:3-4).  Paul called the Gospel "...the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth..." (Rom. 1:16).  Later in his epistle to the Romans, he wrote:  "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Rom. 10:17).

The Apostle John confirmed the saving power of the  Gospel as well; he wrote:  "And He is the propitiation (the satisfaction of the payment necessary) for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 Jn. 2:2).  And again, he wrote:  "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that (God) loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 Jn. 4:10).

Some of you may have noticed that the word "repentance" does not appear in any of the quoted verses above, and you would be correct.  However, let's look at what IS said:  Jesus died for our sins; "...He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Cor. 5:21)!  Knowing that, and believing that, has to result in repentance (a desire to turn from sin, and serve God)!

The Gospel of Luke demands that repentance be preached WITH the Gospel; Luke wrote: 
"Then (Jesus) opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:  and that REPENTANCE AND REMISSION OF SINS ("remission" means the forgiveness or pardon of sin) should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Lk. 24:45-47).  And in 2 Corinthians 7:10, Paul wrote:  "For GODLY SORROW WORKETH REPENTANCE TO SALVATION not to be repented of:  but the sorrow of the world worketh death."  The perfect example of the wrong kind of repentance is seen in the repentance of Judas (Mt. 27:3-5)!

JESUS DIE FOR YOU - IF YOU TRULY BELIEVE IT, LIVE FOR HIM!