For Thursday, October 1, 2026:
Mark 1:4 NLT: “John the Baptist was the messenger. He was in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven.”
This was fresh theology at the time. The concept of repenting and receiving forgiveness was new. Being baptized as a sign of repentance was fairly new. We speak of the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. This theology is part of the New Covenant. Jesus himself was baptized, thereby teaching us to repent and return. (Jesus, being sinless, didn’t really need to be baptized.)
The Bible goes on to say that “All of Judea, including all the people of Jerusalem, went out to see and hear John.” All? John must have made an impression on a lot of people! With no radio, no TV and no internet, person-to-person buzz was the only way people could learn of John. And a great many signed up for the repent, return and receive forgiveness program.
Here’s an analogy, so don’t take it literally. No longer did people have to try to accumulate heaven points. You could be extra good and get a few more points. But if you messed up, you’d lose points. So how many points do we need to see heaven from the inside? With the total in flux, we would never be 100% sure where we stand. With the New Covenant, we see heaven by grace, not by anything we can do. Believers put their faith, hope and trust in Jesus. That’s why we call him “Savior” – because he saves us!
Believers in Jesus have Assurance of Salvation!
Pastor Norton Lawellin
The Father’s House
Jesus In the City Fellowship
Truth & Freedom Church
