| One of the great truths of Scripture is our being called to repent. The word, itself, is offensive to our senses because it asserts that our ways are incorrect in the eyes of God. And so they are…
Luke 5:30-33 And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" 31 And Jesus answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." 33 And they said to him, "The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink."
In these few verses the Word of God contrasts the emphasis on outward piety by those who are self-righteous, while at the same time makes the distinction of our Lord’s purpose and mission, the very Gospel available to the repentant sinner. In recognizing that our human nature is utterly corrupt and deceitful, we are brought to our knees seeking mercy and forgiveness. The repentant sinner joins in the chorus of many who, with Job, exclaims to Yahweh:
Job 42:5-6 5 I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You; 6 therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes."
God echoed this call to change through the Prophet Ezekiel:
Ezekiel 14:6 6 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations.
And like the days of Jeremiah, when men showed their contempt for the Unseen God of Heaven, there are many today who continue in their sinful ways, rather than turn toward the Lord’s way:
Jeremiah 5:2-5 2 Though they say, "As the LORD lives," yet they swear falsely. 3 O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth? You have struck them down, but they felt no anguish; You have consumed them, but they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to repent. 4 Then I said, "These are only the poor; they have no sense; for they do not know the way of the LORD, the justice of their God. 5 I will go to the great and will speak to them, for they know the way of the LORD, the justice of their God." But they all alike had broken the yoke; they had burst the bonds.
There are thousands sitting in churches today believing that they are saved, but they fail to know from what since they never reckoned what they truly are and the extent of God’s love which redeemed them – the life of Christ. Their lives are marked by the same deeds and lack of compassion for others as before, having repented from nothing more than a bad conscience, a numbing sense of religion, or a lack of self-esteem. These days are filled with feel-good messages and cotton-candy Christianity proclaiming a white-washed salvation apart from the death we each deserve and which Jesus Christ bore upon Himself, alone! We should make no mistake about it – faith without repentance at the foot of the cross is a false doctrine and counterfeit.
The Apostles taught the need for repentance as a crucial component of receiving the True Gospel…
Acts 3:18-21 18 But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.
The key phrase is apparent – “the Christ appointed for you, Jesus.” Counterfeit Jesus is preached openly today to tens of thousands in stadiums and on television stations with the purpose of making the undiscerning or unlearned find rest in themselves. Under such delusion, many find comfort in knowing that their words and deeds couched in Christian terms somehow justify their behavior as worshipful, even projecting the “love of Christ.” But beyond the thin sugar-coating, the object of their worship remains themselves and the work they do in their own strength to attain peace.
Paul notes the call to repentance as a distinctive aspect of his evangelism, manifesting a new reality in the deeds of the faithful:
Acts 26:19-20 19 "Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.
As in the Old Testament and Apostolic eras, the false gospels preached today are characteristically devoid of repentance, and subsequently bloodless. We cannot save ourselves by our own sweat or blood or tears; therefore, the gospel of good works to overcome our evil tendencies is neither true nor liberating. Likewise, the gospel of faith in any manner of God apart from the shedding blood of Christ is equally false and deficient. The Christian assemblies addressed in Revelation Chapters 2 and 3 draw the apostates to focus on repentance:
Ephesus Revelation 2:5 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.
Pergamum Revelation 2:16 6 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.
Thyatira Revelation 2:21-23 1 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead.
Sardis Revelation 3:3 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.
Laodicea Revelation 3:19 9 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.
Only Smyrna and Philadelphia avoided the criticism and instruction to repent because the Lord knew their tribulation, poverty, persecution, and works. Both were encouraged to endure to the end, holding fast to the Word of God.
The Gospel is very good news for those who come to the Lord, Jesus Christ, humbly dressed in filthy rags, but the season nears which will witness His return (read Matthew 24) and time is ever-shortening…put yourself in the position of Joshua as envisioned by Zechariah:
Zechariah 3:3-4 3 Now Joshua was standing before the Angel, clothed with filthy garments. 4 And the angel said to those who were standing before Him, "Remove the filthy garments from him." And to him He said, "Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments."
God has done the work, as Isaiah also proclaims:
Isaiah 26:12 12 O LORD, you will ordain peace for us; you have done for us all our works.
What a contrast between our efforts and those of a loving God on our behalf, having provided the narrow path to salvation for all who would hear:
Our Works Isaiah 59:6 Their works are works of iniquity, and deeds of violence are in their hands.
God’s Works Psalm 139:14 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
The Gospel is about the perfect work of God in Christ, Whose blood was shed for each and every sinner so that all could come to salvation.
Ephesians 1:7 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace…
Ephesians 2:13 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
Let us determine our limits and limitations, trusting in the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and not in ourselves. In these last few passages to the Ephesians from Paul, we see a few decades later the criticism through John’s Revelation to the same body of believers.
Ephesus Revelation 2:5 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.
For in our Lord, admitting our deficiencies and short-comings, we are called to repent, turning away from our way of doing things to a better way, the way God originally intended and presented for all time in His wonderful Living Word.
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