WHEN John the Baptist came "preaching in the wilderness of Judaca," he said, "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." At that time John was proclaiming the presence of the long-expected Messiah, and he evidently perceived that Jesus would, through his demonstration of Christ, Truth, establish the heavenly kingdom among men. He also saw that repentance was prerequisite to the establishment of heaven, harmony, in human consciousness, as is evidenced by his pronouncement to the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to him for baptism, "Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance."
After he had submitted to the baptism of John, presumably as a concession to prevailing religious practices, and had himself begun to preach, Jesus repeated almost the exact words previously uttered by the Baptist. He said, "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." And, later, in his parable of the Pharisee and the publican it was the penitent publican, not the self-righteous Pharisee, who "went down to his house justified." It is evident that both Jesus and John the Baptist recognized that when the Christly kingdom of righteousness and peace comes nigh to sinning mortals, it is time for them to repent, that is, to change the manner of their thinking.
However, repentance is not all that is required of those who are seeking to attain salvation from sin and disease, for, as Mary Baker Eddy says on page 5 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," "Sorrow for wrong-doing is but one step towards reform and the very easiest step. The next and great step required by wisdom is the test of our sincerity,—namely, reformation." What mortals need, then, before they can experience complete regeneration is (1) genuine repentance—recognition and acknowledgment of the way or ways in which their thinking has transgressed the law of righteousness; and (2) sincere, faithful, persistent, and intelligent effort to reform their thoughts and their conduct.
