God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance

Romans 2:3-5

3 Do you suppose, O man-you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself-that you will escape the judgment of God?
4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. – Romans 2:3-5

Sobering thoughts. If we are proud and judgmental we store up for ourselves the judgment of God. If we are hypocritical we might fool others but God knows all things:

for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. – 1 John 3:20

For us to try and escape the judgment of God is not possible. But, God has made a way of escape for us.

But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” – Luke 21:36

How do we escape from the wrath of God? Well He has made the way to avoid judgment through repentance. The message of John the Baptist was repentance:

1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” – Matthew 3:1-2

The first message Jesus is recorded as preaching was repentance:

and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” – Mark 1:15

And He continues to call people to repent, to change their mind and move in a different direction. Repentance is both a mental agreement with God that we have failed to please Him and a change in our behaviour. Jesus told people to “go and sin no more” (John 8:11). But this is only possible by the grace of God. It is His love and kindness that leads us to repentance. In John chapter 8 a woman who was caught in the act of adultery was bought to Jesus and he showed compassion to her, proving to the accusing crowd that they were all in need repentance as all have sinned. It is the goodness and kindness of God that gave us Jesus as the perfect Lamb of God, sacrificed for our sins, so that we might be made as He is, perfect before God. That sacrafice is freely available. But, if we harden our hearts and turn our back on the provision God has made for our sin then we will incur the wrath of God.

I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” – Luke 5:32

Jesus gave the people who felt they were morally correct a very hard time (Luke 11:39-52). He wanted to dispel the idea that they were “righteous” and make them realise they were all sinners in need of repentance. Paul clearly states that if you are impenitent you are heading towards the wrath of God, the very thing Jesus came to save us from.