What Does True Repentance Look Like?
Since it was central to Christ's message, we might want to know what it is
Dear Church: “Preparing the way for Jesus”, equated a message of repentance and a confession of sin/sins.
Confession of sin? Who does that anymore?
Repentance? Yeah, right.
Those are two little ditties you don’t hear much about in church now, do you?
Nah, it’s just blather like …
God has a wonderful plan for your life.
Just ask sweet Jesus into your heart.
Jesus is outside the door of your heart. He’s cold and He’s knocking on your door. Won’t you please let Him in before He catches pneumonia?
Jesus wants you to realize your full potential and live your best life now.
To wit, I say, WTH?
That’s not what John and Jesus preached. They preached repentance and the people confessed and dumped their sins and followed Christ fully.
Speaking of sin, when’s the last time you heard a message that painted the unrepentant sinner as damned, condemned to an eternal hell, and outside of Christ? That their only remedy was to do a 180 from that wayward path of willful wickedness and trust wholly in Christ alone?
What’s that I hear? Is that crickets? I thought so.
Sin’s not a big whoop anymore. We don’t even call sin, sin. We’ve defined deviancy down. Now it’s a problem, or an addiction, or an alternative lifestyle, or a disorder, or not the greatest path one could choose. Paul said sin is rebellion that brings on the wrath of God and that there is no little sin, because there is no little God to sin against (Rom. 1:18).
Seldom have I seen a big demonstration of sorrow for sins committed but I do see it, as in big time, within the Old Testament and the New.
In Ezra 9:3, when Ezra saw the people of God marrying gentile pirate hookers, Ezra was so disturbed by this unclean covenant violation that he pulled out his own hair and beard. And get this: he didn’t even commit that sin but repented of it on their impenitent behalf. Now, that’s what you call a confession of sin. Ripping your beard out you’re so disgusted with bad behavior. Churches nowadays wouldn’t be yanking their bohemian beards out if some Church dude married a kookie Kardashian-type of chick. On the contrary, we’d probably throw them a dance party complete with a Billie Eilish cover band and some taco food trucks. Not so with Ezra. He knew full well that Israel had grievously sinned and that was bad news bears for the people of God.
Where true conversion occurred, via the scripture, it entailed stuff like …
- Men and women tearing their clothes (Jer. 36:24).
- Shaving one’s head (Job. 1:20).
- When Isaiah saw God he said, “Woe is me. I’m ruined” (Isa. 6:5).
- Paul called his flesh wretched … a body of death (Rom. 7:14-25).
Nowadays, in church, that kind of confession is weird. Sadly, that type of drastic reaction and massive life change is the exception, not the rule, in today’s Church of the Warm & Fuzzies.
Currently, it’s like, “how many wanna accept Cool Jesus who doesn’t expect you to quit your rebellion against God?” That’s pretty much the unspoken message. Sorry, I was wrong. That is the spoken message false prophets are giving to the Tickle-My-Ear masses.
So, biblically speaking, what is true repentance? What does it look like? How do we know if we have truly repented from whatever it is we’re practicing?
Well, to answer that question we gotta go to the Bible, correct?
Check out the Apostle Paul’s definition of what it means to genuinely repent.
Lemme break it down for you. Here we go…
- Repentance entails grief and pain. Yes, little children. God’ll make you feel like crap and send pain when we’re out of sorts with Him. Check out John 16:8 if you don’t believe me.
- The grief and pain God allows is profitable. It turns you back to God. It leads to a deliverance from evil and that is bueno, amen?
- True repentance makes you eager and earnest to run away from filth.
- True repentance removes blame and suspicion of wrongdoing.
- True repentance makes you indignant regarding the sinful things you once enjoyed.
- True repentance produces the fear of God.
- True repentance produces a longing for the Lord.
- True repentance produces a holy zeal for the things of God.
- True repentance makes one punish what’s bogus in their life.
- True repentance removes guilt from the guilty party.
As stated, John’s message was repent. He preached that message unashamedly and in the folks’ faces. And you know what? The ones who were broken and hungry for the Lord loved the message of repentance and the ones who were stuck in their self-righteous ways did not and they all went to hell for their stubborn religious rebellion.
Lionhearted: Making Young Christian Males Rowdy Biblical Men
Dear young Christian male, this book you’re about to read is meant to challenge you to your very core. Its intent is not to make you feel warm and fuzzy. Some of the chapters will upset you greatly, especially if you’re a dandy who was raised with kid gloves by a helicopter mommy.
That said, in addition to the holy introspection contained herein, this book will also shoot adrenaline into your soul. It’ll push you to be a Godly risk taker and earth shaker. A veritable Rebel With A Cause just like the Captain of Our Salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you want a feel-good book that tickles your ears and morphs you into a little Christian popinjay, this tome ain’t for you. You should put this book down and walk away from it immediately. However, if, young man, if … your motto is to give God your utmost for His highest, and you wanna live a life worthy of Christ’s death, then this book will be grist for your mill.
Get your copy of Lionhearted: Making Young Christian Males Rowdy Biblical Men TODAY!
