Whatever happened to repentance? You rarely hear the word mentioned in most churches today — even in Baptist, Pentecostal or charismatic churches. Pastors nowadays seldom call for their congregations to repent over sin. And what about when the pastor sins? (I guess that's for another blog post..see perfect pastor blog post.)
Instead, the message we hear from many pulpits today is, "Just believe. Accept Christ, and you'll be saved." The text used to justify this message is
Acts 16:30-31.
30And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
In this passage, the apostle Paul was being held in jail when suddenly the earth shook and all the cell doors opened. The jailer immediately thought all the prisoners had fled, which meant he faced execution. In despair, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself when Paul and Silas stopped him, assuring him no one had escaped.
Seeing this, the man fell down before the apostles and cried out, "…Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house" (Acts 16:30-31).
As we read this, it's important to remember that the jailer was on the verge of suicide, with sword in hand. He was already at a point of repentance — on his knees, broken and trembling, before the apostles. So his heart was truly prepared to accept Jesus in genuine faith.
In the gospel of Mark, Jesus tells his disciples, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:16). It's clear from what Jesus says here that salvation is found in simply accepting him and being baptized.
However, Jesus prefaces his statement with this word: "…Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (verse 15). He's saying, in essence, that before people can believe in him, the gospel must first be preached to them.
And what is this gospel Jesus refers to? It's the gospel that Jesus himself preached — the gospel of repentance!
Think about it — what was the first message Jesus delivered, after he emerged from the temptation in the wilderness? Scripture says, "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17).
Jesus called people to repent before he even called them to believe! Mark writes, "…Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:14-15). Christ preached, "Repent first — and believe."
In Matthew 9:13 Jesus says of his mission, "…I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Matthew 9:13). And he told the Galileans, "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3).
Jesus' gospel was all about repentance!
I know how hard it is to admit when you are wrong. I know how it is to know that there is sin in your life. I too sin and if it were not for the grace of God and his forgiveness, I would be condemned to hell.
It's not too late and your problems are never too large. You are not perfect. You never will be perfect, on this earth anyway. I encourage you to repent! Get the weight of sin off you and become the man or woman that God sees, not the person that man/woman sees.
Instead, the message we hear from many pulpits today is, "Just believe. Accept Christ, and you'll be saved." The text used to justify this message is
Acts 16:30-31.
30And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
31And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
In this passage, the apostle Paul was being held in jail when suddenly the earth shook and all the cell doors opened. The jailer immediately thought all the prisoners had fled, which meant he faced execution. In despair, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself when Paul and Silas stopped him, assuring him no one had escaped.
Seeing this, the man fell down before the apostles and cried out, "…Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house" (Acts 16:30-31).
As we read this, it's important to remember that the jailer was on the verge of suicide, with sword in hand. He was already at a point of repentance — on his knees, broken and trembling, before the apostles. So his heart was truly prepared to accept Jesus in genuine faith.
In the gospel of Mark, Jesus tells his disciples, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:16). It's clear from what Jesus says here that salvation is found in simply accepting him and being baptized.
However, Jesus prefaces his statement with this word: "…Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (verse 15). He's saying, in essence, that before people can believe in him, the gospel must first be preached to them.
And what is this gospel Jesus refers to? It's the gospel that Jesus himself preached — the gospel of repentance!
Think about it — what was the first message Jesus delivered, after he emerged from the temptation in the wilderness? Scripture says, "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17).
Jesus called people to repent before he even called them to believe! Mark writes, "…Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:14-15). Christ preached, "Repent first — and believe."
In Matthew 9:13 Jesus says of his mission, "…I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Matthew 9:13). And he told the Galileans, "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3).
Jesus' gospel was all about repentance!
I know how hard it is to admit when you are wrong. I know how it is to know that there is sin in your life. I too sin and if it were not for the grace of God and his forgiveness, I would be condemned to hell.
It's not too late and your problems are never too large. You are not perfect. You never will be perfect, on this earth anyway. I encourage you to repent! Get the weight of sin off you and become the man or woman that God sees, not the person that man/woman sees.
Good word. I try to repent every day because even when I know that I haven't sinned outright, I am always aware of my thoughts - which, to be honest, are not always the best. It may be something simple as someone cutting you off in traffic, and you think evil. Those thoughts can separate us from Christ so we cannot be carnal minded! Thanks for the reminder that we must repent to be saved Pastor Dk!
ReplyDeleteI keep repenting because I think, even the slightest thought counts. Thanks for posting Pastor DK. Keep them coming!
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