There is no hope of acknowledging Christ as Lord until you acknowledge the truth that you are a sinner, and there is no possibility of entering into His Kingdom unless you are born-again.
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” (John 3:6)
Step one seems to be missing quite a lot these days in many Evangelical circles, sin in a sense is a four-letter word, and repenting means just trying not to do that anymore. The fire and brimstone preacher, the one that informed those present that they were vile, wretched creatures, detestable in the sight of the Almighty are all but gone, sin today is categorized as just something that you should not do because God might not like it.
Repenting is no more than trying your best, understanding that occasionally you will fail and fall, and that the Almighty understands and will forgive.
“Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:6)
That broken and contrite heart is no more than just being really, really sorry.
Sin has been placed on levels of distinction, graded as it were, by the deed done and the intent of the heart when doing so. Murderous thieves are worse than the one who takes an occasional paper clip from the office, the rapist is viler in our eyes than the man who looks at pornography occasionally, children are deemed innocent up to a certain age, and prior circumstances can constitute a reprieve in the eyes of the law.
We are not really sinners, we’ve just made a few bad choices in this life, and if we try really hard to be better, God will forgive and accept us.
“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Gen. 6:5)
No, not really, just occasionally, and then most of the time it’s just in my mind, in my imagination. There is no need to repent if you are not a sinner, is there? And since sin is determined in our minds by the society we live in, in the moral construct of civilization, well, we’re really not sinners, are we, just perhaps misguided at times, a little confused, not quite in line with what the Word of God says, but not that far off. And besides, God is love and He forgives. Right?
The Living God has laid down a very thin fine line and revealed it to all, we have changed it into a wide, gray one, with many variances. Wandering into it occasionally isn’t all that bad, not that big of a deal, just don’t stay there for long. And if you do, don’t forget to tell Him that your sorry and that you will try not to do that again.
Welcome to Christianity 2024.
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)
Not until you come to the realization of the wretchedness of your soul, not until tears and anguish flow from your heart, until you realize that it does not matter how hard you try, that until you repent you will not be saved.
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” (Eph. 2:8)
It isn’t easy, I know it isn’t, I have failed at it many times, but unless those you are speaking to fully comprehend that they are sinners, and recognize the truth of it, and fully understand the need to repent, and exactly what that means, they will not be born-again. That is what we have to tell them, and that is what I have failed to do too many times.
There are many whose blood will be required at my hands, do not let that happen to you.
