By Pastor Michael Brigmond

Acts chapter 2, verse 38 is tantamount to our understanding of salvation. We teach it, we preach it, we believe it, but do we apply it on a daily basis?

Brothers and Sisters, I am deeply concerned with the rapid spread of compromise around the world in Apostolic/Pentecostal assemblies. There seems to be an agenda that has been brought to the forefront and has quietly surpassed our primary commission to carry the gospel to the whole world.

Some are consumed with programs. Perhaps I should say, "Some have been blinded by programs." Too many have opted to institute man-made systems in an attempt to speed up or improve on God’s plan. Let me get off of the "program horse." I know it is a touchy subject with some who can’t function without a program, some sort of organized gimmick to make people feel special. Remember, the less Truth a church has, the more ice cream and cake it takes to keep it going.

But what does all that have to do with Acts 2:38? Simply this, "Truth is inevitable." Truth will always prevail. But Truth that has been compromised is no longer Truth. It may have a form of godliness, but has lost its power. When the clean is mixed with the unclean, the mixture is always unclean.

"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:38)

To repent means to never go back to the old sinful way. To walk humbly, honestly and faithfully before God and man.

Repentance effects the way we treat our spouse, our children, our parents, our friends, our brothers and sisters in Christ and even strangers.

Repentance is a way of life. Not something that is done one night in a remorseful moment, but a life we live day by day, a journey we take from the moment of contrition until we reach the grave.

To grieve over sin is one thing, but to truly repent is another. True repentance will guide how we live everyday.

It effects how we think and speak. It will cause us to think truthfully, honestly, justly, and purely in a way that will move us to express ourselves from a point of virtue, offering praise unto the God of our salvation.

It effects the decisions we make. Decisions about work, marriage, friendships, and every other aspect of our lives. Having truly repented, a person will weigh every decision upon their new heart, a heart of flesh that was given to them as a gift from God as a result of their repentance. Along with this new heart came a new life in this world and a hope of life eternal. Where we live will be determined not by satisfying our personal, human desires, but by seeking the mind of God for our repented heart.

A person who repents from fear of punishment still needs to repent because of a change of heart.

It alters the places we go and the things we do. Having been changed through repentance, we can never fit in with a sinful world again. If we do, what we thought was repentance was, in reality, something else.

So what do programs have to do with all of this? Simply that programs, though perhaps unwittingly, are usurping God’s plan for the individual. Most programs operate one of two ways: They either bring the world into the church, or they move the church into the world.

The current agenda running rampant is one of self-sufficiency. Should a church operate as if it has an exclusive franchise from God and only their program will work? Please be advised: Don’t mess with a church that has that attitude. There is still only one church. Christ has only one body, one bride. After fulfilling Acts 2:38, we are either part of that one church, or we are not a part of any church.

Some people continue to change jobs, churches and friends, but never think of changing themselves. True repentance is a very personal event. It is sad that many are willing to change, not because they have seen the light, but because they feel the heat.

We must speak and live repentance. We cannot skip over Repentance to get to Baptism. A fake, false, or incomplete repentance withholds sin for the waters of Baptism. We do an injustice to ourselves and to others if we try to summarize repentance.

Baptism is a wonderful event. Properly administered, full immersion, in the name of Jesus Christ, baptism will wash away the ugliest of sins. But if repentance is lacking, baptism has little or no effect.

It may seem that I ramble, but compromise in an assembly is either an indication of a lack of true repentance, or the effect of blindness to Truth.

True Repentance is the most effective safeguard against compromise. A body of believers who live repented lives will never succumb to the temptations to compromise.

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