Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." Mark 1:14-15

We find in this portion of Scripture the beginning of the preaching ministry of Jesus Christ. It begins after His baptism and subsequent testing in the wilderness. Jesus comes on the scene and immediately begins calling man to the truth of the Gospel. He begins to teach the masses what was truly essential for salvation. Upon close examination of our text, we find that there are four crucial elements that make up his teaching.

First, we see that the message begins with the phrase, “The time is fulfilled.” This phrase tells us that there had been a certain expectation in regards to salvation. The Old Testament had prophesied in regards to the coming of the Messiah and the salvation that he would bring. The message begins with the declaration that the time had now come and that all the Old Testament expectation had come to fruition. This was an exciting time. We must understand that the time has been fulfilled and that the window of opportunity for salvation has been opened.

Next, we see the phrase, “…and the kingdom of God is at hand.” This next part of the message states that the kingdom on God has now come and that it must be entered with all due haste. The kingdom of God has arrived and it is incumbent upon man to make every effort to enter it. While we have an opportunity, we must strive to enter the kingdom of God while God has made it possible. The opportunity for salvation will close one day, and then, it will be too late.

The next part of our text calls all men, everywhere, to, “repent.” This is the first avenue by which we can enter into the kingdom. With this command Christ declares what is unavoidable in regards to the human condition. Christ unequivocally makes the declaration that all humans are sinners. We all must repent. We all must turn from our sinfulness unto Christ for salvation. Christ does not command some of humanity to repent. No! He commands all of humanity to repent. We have all broken the Law of God. We have all lied, cheated, been angry, lusted, stolen, and defiled ourselves when it comes to God’s Law. Man must repent. This command in the original language speaks of repentance that continues to repent. It is not a one time repentance but instead, it speaks of walking in repentance. We must leave our sinfulness and walk after God.

The fourth part of our text commands men to, “believe in the gospel.” After the initial repentance, there must be a belief in Christ. We must believe that he is the only way of salvation. We must believe that He is the Son of God. This belief, like the repentance above, is a call to constantly walk in belief in God. We must understand that because of our sins, we stand guilty before God and that we have incurred a great measure of wrath. We must believe that Jesus paid our debt and has graciously substituted Himself on our behalf. This is the essence of the Gospel. It is through repentance and belief that man may enter the kingdom of God. I pray that God would draw you always to the message of Christ.