Preaching Repentance

Comment: We live in a world where sin is now acceptable to a level that intolerance towards sin is not acceptable. We live in a world where preachers only preach to fill up the church with numbers. The goal of preaching these days is to preach anything and everything as long as it brings numbers to church and in turn increases revenue. We are living in a world that Paul prophesied in 2 Timothy 4

2 Timothy 4:3-4 (ESV Strong’s Bible)

3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

People no longer  want to hear that they are sinners and need to repent. To quote John MacAthur from his book called Ashamed of the Gospel

“(Ashamed of the Gospel) Look again at the key phrase in verse 3: “wanting to have their ears tickled.” Why won’t they endure sound doctrine? Why do they heap to themselves teachers? Why do they turn away from the truth? Because down deep inside they simply want to have their ears tickled. They don’t want to be confronted. They don’t want to be convicted. They want to be entertained. They want preaching that produces pleasant sensations. They want to feel good. They want their ears tickled with anecdotes, humor, psychology, motivational lectures, reassurance, positive thinking, self-congratulation, ego-massaging sermonettes, and agreeable small talk. Biblical reproof, rebuke, and exhortation are unacceptable.”

Preachers no longer preach repentance but they preach love, forgiveness, breakthroughs, deliverance and prosperity because this is what most people want to hear. Nowadays, all you need to be a pastor or preacher is a qualification in psychology and a bible and you are set. These kinds of preachers lead massive churches, that are full of people who are told that they don’t need to repent. God is loving and forgiving and will not send anyone to hell. These preachers tell people that God will not send them to hell instead, God wants them to be rich. Is this what God said? Is this the type of preaching that the bible teaches? Lets look at the  word of God. 

 

 Matthew 3:2 (ESV Strong’s Bible)

2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Repent is what John the Baptist preached.

Word Study: The word “Repent” is a greek word “metanoeo” which means to “change one’s mind”. It is used in the New Testament as a word that means to have a change of heart regarding sin and to turn back to God.

This is what John the Baptist preached, that people should recognize that they are sinners who are sinning against God and that they needed to turn back from their sinful ways and turn to God.

Matthew 4:17 (ESV Strong’s Bible)

17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

As you can see, Jesus also preached that people should repent. Not only did Jesus  preach that people should repent but, He also said in Luke 24:46-47 that it is written that, He should die and rise from the dead and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in the world starting from Jerusalem.

Luke 24:46-47 (ESV Strong’s Bible)

46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

Jesus even send out the disciples to go and preach, and they preached also that people should repent. This is when Jesus was still in the world.

Mark 6:12 (ESV Strong’s Bible)

12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent.

We saw that while Jesus was still in the world, He send out the  apostles to go and preach, and they preached that people should repent. What happened after Jesus ascended to heaven, did they continue to preach that people should repent?

Acts 2:38 (ESV Strong’s Bible)

38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The very first sermon that Peter gave after receiving the Holy Spirit, he preached that people should repent

Acts 3:19 (ESV Strong’s Bible)

19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,

Acts 8:22 (ESV Strong’s Bible)

22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.

As one can see, not only did the apostles preach that people should repent but, it was their message and they continued to preach repentance throughout the early church. When Paul joined the apostles in preaching the gospel to the gentiles or non jews, he also preached that people should repent and infect, he told King Agrippa that preaching repentance was his message that he preached to the gentiles.

Acts 17:30 (ESV Strong’s Bible)

30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,

Acts 26:20 (ESV Strong’s Bible)

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.

So, the contents of Paul’s preaching is very clear. Paul preached repentance.

Math 28:20, Jesus commanded that those that are baptized must be taught to observe all that Jesus had commanded the apostles. This means that the apostles had to preach obedience to God’s commands. The main command being to repent. So, not only did Jesus preach repentance but He also commanded that repentance should be preached.

Acts 17:30 (ESV Strong’s Bible)

30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,

God commands that all people should repent. Paul tells us that the time has now passed when God overlooked ignorance. The ignorance Paul is referring to in this verse, it is with regards to the knowledge of the existence of God and His will. God does no longer tolerate  people who live their lives as if there is no God whom they need to obey. So, Paul tells us that we now have to repent and this is what God commands.

In Luke 13:3,5, Jesus says that if we don’t repent, we will likewise perish. In Math 11:20, Jesus denounced cities that refused or failed to repent and in Luke 16:30, the rich man who was dead and in hell, asked Abraham who was in heaven, to send someone to earth, to his brothers, who were still alive, to preach to them so that they can repent. The rich man clearly knew that by repenting, his brothers will not come to hell where he is. So, clearly and from Jesus Himself, failure  to repent will lead to us perishing.

In Luke 15:7 Jesus told us that there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than 99 righteous persons who need no repentance.

 

Message: Clearly from John the baptist to the apostles including our Lord Jesus, all of them  preached repentance. God and Jesus both commanded us to preach repentance and expect us to repent. You here preachers saying that people already know that they are sinners and they need to repent, so they don’t have to preach repentance. They say preaching repentance is being judgmental. Jesus preached repentance, so did John the baptists and the apostles. Does this mean they were judgmental. Preachers who refuse to preach repentance only want to give people what they want and in turn,they get to fill up the churches. People as Paul indicated in 2 Tim 4, don’t want to hear that they are sinners and need to repent. They want to hear that God is loving and will forgive them.

Jeremiah 23:21-22 (ESV Strong’s Bible)

21 “I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. 22 But if they had stood in my council, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people, and they would have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their deeds.

God makes it very clear in Jer 23:21-22 that, if preachers are sent by Him, they will indeed preach His words to the people and would turn the people away from evil and from the evil of their deeds. This means that if preachers are indeed send by God, they will preach against evil, against sin, against the sinner and encourage the sinner to repent. This also means if a preacher preaches anything else, they are not send by God. Therefore, if a preacher, pastor, prophet, apostle, etc comes to you and preaches anything other than repentance, then you must know that preacher, has not been send by God. Especially if the preacher preaches breakthroughs, deliverance and success, that should be a huge alarm that must indicate to you that he is not send by God.