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                      Whatever Happened To Repentance?

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By David Wilkerson
August 2, 1999
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          Whatever happened to repentance? You rarely hear the
          word mentioned in most churches today  even in
          Baptist, Pentecostal or evangelical circles. Pastors
          nowadays seldom call for their congregations to sorrow
          over sin  to mourn and grieve over wounding Christ by
          their wickedness.

          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.

          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 passage, 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, Christ 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."

          Elsewhere 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!

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                 John the Baptist Also Preached Repentance,
                to Prepare Israel for the Coming of Christ.

                      -------------------------------

          John's message to the Jews was simple and
          straightforward: "In those days came John the Baptist,
          preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying,
          Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand"
          (Matthew 3:1-2).

          People came from everywhere to hear John preach. And he
          told them in no uncertain terms: "The messiah is soon
          to appear in your midst  so, you'd better get ready to
          meet him! You may feel excited that he's coming. But
          I'm telling you, your hearts are not prepared  because
          you're still holding onto your sins!

          "Outside you appear clean and holy. But inside, you're
          full of dead men's bones! You're a generation of
          vipers, snakes, with absolutely no fear of God. Yet you
          have no concept that you're even sinners. I warn you 
          you must deal with your sin before you can believe on
          the savior and follow him. So, repent, turn from your
          sin -- and live in a way that reflects genuine change!"

          What gospel did Peter preach to the masses on the day
          of Pentecost? The Bible tells us that when the people
          heard the apostle testify, "...they were pricked in
          their heart, and said...Men and brethren, what shall we
          do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized
          every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
          remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the
          Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:37-38).

          Peter didn't tell these people just to "believe and be
          saved." He didn't ask them to merely make a decision,
          to cast a vote for Jesus. No -- he told them to repent
          fast, and then be baptized in obedience to Christ!

          What gospel did Paul preach to the pagan Athenians on
          Mars Hill? He told them very directly, "...God...now
          commandeth all men every where to repent" (Acts 17:30).

          These Greek intellectuals had no trouble believing in
          God. In fact, you could say their very pastime was
          "believing." They believed in many gods -- first this
          one, then that one. Whenever someone came along
          preaching a god persuasively, they believed in it. So,
          they believed -- but they did it while living in sin.
          Simple belief wasn't enough!

          Paul told these men, "No, no -- that's not, Christ!
          Jesus can't simply be added to your list of gods. You
          may believe in them all, but you can't merely do that
          with Jesus. He has come to save you from your sins. And
          he commands all his followers to repent and be
          cleansed!"

          Later, Paul preached the same gospel of repentance to
          King Agrippa: "...I was not disobedient unto the
          heavenly vision: but shewed first unto them of
          Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the
          coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they
          should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for
          repentance" (Acts 26:19-20).

          Paul is saying, "Everywhere I've been, I've preached
          repentance. And genuine repentance proves itself by its
          actions!"

          These passages make clear to us that the apostolic
          church preached unabashedly the same gospel John and
          Jesus preached: "Repent for the remission of your
          sins!"

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                       What Does It Mean To Repent?

                      -------------------------------

          Some Christians believe repentance means simply to
          "turn around" and go in the opposite direction. But the
          Bible tells us repentance is much more than this.

          I once heard a man say, "I'm so glad I know New
          Testament Greek. It translates the word 'repent' as
          meaning, 'to change one's mind.'"

          No -- this man doesn't know his Greek! The full,
          literal meaning of the word "repent" in the New
          Testament is "to feel remorse and self-reproach for
          one's sins against God; to be contrite, sorry; to want
          to change direction." The difference in meanings here
          rests on the word "Want." True repentance includes a
          desire to change!

          Moreover, simply being sorry doesn't constitute
          repentance. Rather, true sorrow leads to repentance.
          Paul states, "Godly sorrow worketh repentance to
          salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the
          world worketh death" (2 Corinthians 7:10).

          Paul is speaking here of a sorrow that's without
          regrets -- one that's genuine, that "sticks" in the
          life of the repentant person. This kind of godly sorrow
          naturally produces a repentance that includes a hatred
          for sin, a righteous fear of God and a desire to right
          all wrongs.

          It shouldn't surprise us, then, that Paul preached
          repentance to believers. He delivered a strong message
          of repentance to the Christians in Corinth. The
          Corinthian believers had been richly blessed by God,
          having sat under mighty teachers of the word. Yet their
          congregation remained rife with sin.

          First Paul testifies to the Corinthians, "Truly the
          signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all
          patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds" (2
          Corinthians 12:12). But then Paul tells them very
          directly: "I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find
          you such as I would..." (verse 20).

          What was Paul's fear? It was simply this: "Lest, when I
          come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I
          shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have
          not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and
          lasciviousness which they have committed" (verse 21).

          This tenderhearted shepherd loved the compromising
          saints in Corinth. Yet he knew they'd been well-taught
          that a lifestyle of gross sin was wrong. And he told
          them, "When I come to visit you, you're going to see me
          hanging my head in grief. My eyes will flow with tears,
          and my voice will wail in sorrow.

          "If I see you continuing to indulge in uncleanness,
          fornication and lust, I'll be utterly broken -- because
          the gospel has not done its work in your heart. You
          haven't yet repented of your sin. And I will call you
          loudly to repent!"

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                   These Words of Paul Put Me to Shame!

                      -------------------------------

          As I read Paul's words, I find myself examining my own
          ministry And I have to ask, "Have I cut short the
          gospel Jesus preached -- the gospel of repentance? Have
          I essentially taken scissors to my Bible and removed
          the higher cost of following Christ? Have I lowered his
          standard by telling people, 'Just believe and be
          saved'?"

          As I look at the church today, I wonder: Do we
          evangelicals insist on a biblical "godly sorrow" as
          evidence of true repentance? Or are we leading masses
          of unrepentant people into a false peace? Are we
          wrongly instructing them that all God requires of them
          is to say, "I believe in you, Jesus"?

          Have we cut short genuine conviction for sins? Have we
          jumped in and offered salvation to those who haven't
          actually repented -- who haven't sorrowed over their
          trespasses, who haven't seen the exceeding sinfulness
          of their sins, who have sought faith so they could
          merely hide their lusts behind it?

          We constantly hear awful exaggerations about the
          numbers of people who come to Jesus through various
          ministries. Christians report that scores of people
          were saved as they preached in prisons, schools, tribal
          meetings. They say, "Everybody in the place gave his
          heart to Jesus. When I finished preaching, they all
          came forward for salvation."

          No -- that is a tragic exaggeration! All too often,
          what actually happens is that everyone simply repeats a
          prayer. They merely pray what they're told to pray --
          and few of them grasp what they're saying. Then most go
          back to their heathen ways!

          Such people never experience a deep work of the Holy
          Spirit. As a result, they never repent, never sorrow
          over their sins -- and never truly believe. Tragically,
          we've offered them something Jesus himself never
          offered -- salvation without repentance!

          I believe the church has even taken the feeling out of
          conviction. Think about it -- you hardly ever see tears
          on the cheeks of those who are being saved anymore. Of
          course, I know tears don't save anyone. But God made us
          all human, with very real feelings. And any hell-bound
          sinner who has been moved upon by the Holy Spirit
          naturally feels a profound sorrow over the ways he has
          grieved the Lord.

          The apostle Peter felt this kind of godly sorrow, when
          he denied knowing Jesus. Suddenly, he was flooded with
          the memory of what Jesus had told him: "Peter called to
          mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock
          crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. And when he
          thought thereon, he Wept" (Mark 14:72).

          As Peter remembered these words, he was overcome with
          emotion. And suddenly, he went running through
          Jerusalem, weeping, "I've betrayed the Lord!"

          Beloved, we simply cannot work up that kind of
          repentance in our own flesh. Only the Holy Spirit can
          reveal to us how, like Peter, we also have wounded our
          loving savior. And that revelation ought to fill us
          with deep sorrow!

          I don't agree with all of the Puritan writers'
          doctrine, but I love their emphasis on holiness. These
          godly preachers called their sermons "deep ploughing."
          They believed they couldn't sow true seeds of faith
          until the soil of their listeners' hearts had been
          deeply plowed.

          So the Puritans made sure their preaching went deep,
          cracking all the fallow ground of their listeners'
          souls. Their sermons produced genuine repentance in
          their congregations. And, in turn, over the years this
          produced strong, mature, faithful Christians.

          Today, however, most preaching is all sowing with no
          plowing. I hear very few sermons nowadays that dig
          deeper than the topsoil. Deep plowing doesn't just
          address the disease of sin; it digs down to the very
          cause of the disease. Much of the preaching we hear
          today focuses on the remedy while ignoring the disease.
          It offers a prescription without providing surgery!

          Sadly, we cause people to think they've been healed of
          sin when they never knew they were sick. We put robes
          of righteousness on them when they never knew they were
          naked. We urge them to trust in Christ when they don't
          even know their need to trust. Such people end up
          thinking, "It can't hurt to add Jesus to my life."

          C.H. Spurgeon, the powerful English preacher, said the
          following about the need for repentance:

          "I trust that sorrowful penitence does still exist,
          though I have not heard much about it lately. People
          seem to jump into faith very quickly nowadays...I hope
          my old friend repentance is not dead. I am desperately
          in love with repentance; it seems to be the twin sister
          of faith.

          "I do not myself understand much about dry-eyed faith;
          I know that I came to Christ by the way of
          weeping-cross...When I came to Calvary by faith, it was
          with great weeping and supplication, confessing my
          transgressions, and desiring to find salvation in
          Jesus, and in Jesus only."

                      -------------------------------

                   When Times Square Church Was Founded,
                        We Pastors Preached the Law
                         for the First Few Years.

                      -------------------------------

          Why did we preach the law for so long in our church? We
          did it because many in our congregation were calling
          themselves Christians -- yet their lives didn't reflect
          it!

          In those early years, many people came forward to the
          altar at the end of every service. They repeated a
          pastoral prayer and "accepted salvation by faith." Yet,
          most of those people never felt any conviction for
          their sin. They didn't experience godly sorrow -- and
          so their lives didn't reveal true repentance.

          Supposedly repentant theater actors professed Christ on
          Sunday but went back to their blasphemous shows during
          the week. Homosexuals prayed for salvation but still
          indulged in their sinful lifestyle. Others confessed
          Jesus at our altar yet continued their adulterous
          affairs, fornication or drug use.

          This is why we thundered conviction from our pulpit!
          The Holy Ghost led our pastoral team to expose all sin,
          rebellion and disobedience to his word. We preached
          hell so hot, people got up and left our services. And
          we preached heaven so real, compromisers trembled at
          the awesome reality of Christ's holiness.

          Our preaching of the law was absolutely necessary at
          that time. It is God's mirror, revealing every hidden,
          secret thing. And it brought the people in our
          congregation to an awareness of the exceeding
          sinfulness of sin.

          While some people ran out, others ran forward in
          genuine repentance. One of these was a booming-voiced
          actor named David Davis. He surrendered all to Jesus in
          true repentance. And today, he and his wife pastor a
          thriving church in Israel, where they've preached
          Christ for almost ten years.

          While the true work of repentance was accomplishing its
          purpose in our church, the Holy Spirit then led us to
          preach the glory of grace. We taught on the New
          Covenant, on power over sin through the Holy Spirit, on
          walking by faith. In short, we began to build up the
          saints.

          Through that whole experience, we also discovered the
          dangers of preaching only the law and focusing
          primarily on sin. If people are given a steady diet of
          this message alone, they begin to lose hope and wallow
          in despair, thinking, "I'll never measure up." They
          constantly turn inward rather than looking to the cross
          for hope.

          Yet when a church is the Lord's, it can trust God's
          Spirit to bring the message of the law whenever it's
          needed. If Jesus sees his people lapsing into an "easy
          believism," he'll once again bring the lash of the law
          upon them, with all mercy and grace.

          You see, repentance isn't a one-time experience. It's
          not some hurricane that strikes once and then is gone
          forever. Nor do we experience repentance only in a
          moment of crisis, and then merely talk about it the
          rest of our lives. No -- sorrow for sin should be our
          constant teacher!

          Spurgeon testified, "I freely confess that I have a
          very much greater sorrow for sin today than I had when
          I came to the savior more than thirty years ago. I hate
          sin more intensely now than I did when I was under
          conviction. There are some things that I did not know
          to be sin then, that I know to be sin now. I have a
          much keener sense of the vileness of my own heart now
          than when I first came to Christ...

          "Sorrow for sin is a perpetual rain, a sweet, soft
          shower, which to a truly saved man lasts all his life
          long...He is always sorrowful that he has sinned...He
          will never stop grieving until all sin has gone."

                      -------------------------------

                        Jesus Said Something to the
                          Church in Ephesus That
                           Causes Me to Tremble!

                      -------------------------------

          You may remember the seven churches that John mentions
          in Revelation 2. Among them is the church of Ephesus --
          a congregation Jesus commends very highly.

          I like to think of our church in Times Square as being
          like the Ephesian church. That body of believers
          labored in one of the world's most populous cities,
          never fainting in the midst of vile wickedness. The
          people lived sacrificially, hated sin and refused to
          accept false doctrines. They stood strong in faith,
          loving God with all their heart no matter what
          temptations Satan threw at them.

          Yet Christ knew something was amiss among these people.
          And he so loved this church  it was such a bright lamp
          to the nations  he wasn't about to sit idly by and let
          it die. So he told the Ephesians, "Nevertheless I have
          somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first
          love" (Revelation 2:4).

          Jesus was saying, "Your fire is going out! The love for
          me that once motivated your faithfulness is waning. You
          once bore my burden for the lost  but now you're
          satisfied merely to sit and listen to sermons. You've
          become totally engrossed in your own personal concerns,
          and you're ignoring mine. You've fallen far from where
          you once stood!"

          Jesus then tells them, "Remember therefore from whence
          thou art fallen" (verse 5). He's saying, "Think back!
          You used to yearn to come to my house, to be with my
          saints, to bear my burden. But now an hour on Sunday
          morning is plenty for you!"

          So, dear Christian  are you still on fire for Jesus?
          Are you in love with him as passionately as when you
          first got saved? Or have you lost interest in his
          concerns, forsaking all ministry? Do you have too much
          else going on in your life? If so, the Lord says to
          you, "I've got something against you. You've left your
          first love!"

          Listen to what Jesus says to us at this point:
          "repent, and do the first works" (same verse). He's
          saying, "Mourn over your growing apathy. Be contrite 
          take it seriously. Then let your grief lead you back to
          where you were when you first loved me!"

          Christ then gives us a word that lets us know we'd
          better take heed. He says, "or else" (same verse). He
          immediately spells out the consequence: "I will come
          unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick"
          (same verse).

          Jesus is saying here that unless we repent, he's going
          to remove all the spiritual authority we've been given.
          This includes our influence on our city, our community,
          our neighborhood, those in our sphere of influence.
          Every bit of influence we have will be taken from us,
          he says, "Except ye repent!"

          Right now, churches across the world are shutting their
          doors. Their lights are literally being turned out 
          because that's the judgment they incur for refusing to
          repent! God said they would lose their discernment,
          their spiritual blessings, their finances, his very
          presence. Now they're dead, lifeless, with only
          memories of his past blessings.

          I preached in many such churches thirty years ago. At
          that time they were packed with zealous believers.
          Today, barely a dozen people sit in their pews. Soon
          they'll dwindle to nothing, and their doors will shut
          for good. God has written "Ichabod" over their doors 
          meaning, "The Spirit of the Lord has departed!"

          Yet, beloved, God gives this same message to every
          Christian individually. He says, "If you refuse to
          repent  if you remain in your apathy  I'll remove
          your lampstand. You'll no longer have any influence
          over your family, your coworkers  anyone!"

          This is exactly what happened to the Ephesian church.
          God waited patiently  over 1,000 years, in fact  for
          that church to repent. Yet finally the time came when
          their backsliding was more than he could endure.

          The historian Gibbon writes: "The first candlestick of
          Ephesus was extinguished. The barbarous lords of Ionia
          and Lydia trampled on the remains of Christianity. Now
          the Mohammedan mosques invoke the god of Mohammed. Only
          the church of Philadel-phia still stands erect."

          Yet, even as we read these words, we are not to fear.
          Jesus ends his admonition to us this way: "To him that
          overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life,
          which is in the midst of the paradise of God"
          (Revelation 2:7).

          Dear saint, Jesus is that tree! He's telling us, "If
          you'll repent, I'll give you constant life from my very
          being. And as long as you continue to love me, I will
          provide a flow of supernatural life in you. This life
          will be revealed in your discernment, your love for
          people, your good works for my kingdom!"

          This is the trait that distinguishes every Christian
          who's truly in love with Jesus. Such a believer is full
          of life  and everyone around him knows it!

          Jesus promises that your godly sorrow, your repentant
          heart and your renewed love for him will lead you to
          life. So, pray to him right now: "Lord, give me a truly
          repentant heart. Take me back to who I was when I was
          first in love with you. Yet, this time take me farther,
          deeper in you, than I've ever been before!"

          As you repent, God's Spirit will begin to produce in
          you a new revelation of the glory of Christ. And he'll
          make it known to everyone around you!

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771, USA.

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