Why isn’t repentance taught anymore these days?

A few passages below show the absolute need for repentance. Many people “accept” Jesus into their lives by reciting the sinner’s prayer, coming forward at and altar call, or some other form of superficial attempt at conversion with no real understanding of what it means to follow Jesus. He calls us to deny ourselves, die to ourselves daily and follow Him. He calls us to full surrender to Him as Lord because He is Lord.

He also warns that not all who call Him Lord will enter the kingdom Heaven but those who do the will of the Father who is in Heaven. James tells us that faith without works is dead and questions how can that faith save a man??? We are saved by grace through faith not by works but God elaborates on this in His Word saying the righteous shall WALK by faith and LIVE by faith.

So many people have a head knowledge of Jesus but they don’t live their lives believing, living and walking by faith in Christ. They believe and accept the teachings of Christ but walk away and forget about Him in their daily lives. They’re like a man who looks at himself in the mirror and walks away and immediately forgets what he looks like. They are hearers of the word only, and not doers of the word.

We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We are all condemned in our sins until we come to Jesus to be set free from our sins, washed clean and born again of the Spirit by the power of His blood that He shed for us on the cross. He suffered, bled, died and rose again, putting to death the entire curse of sin on the cross and then conquering death by rising again on the third day and walking out of the tomb so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.

The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Before we think ourselves to be “good enough,” have we ever stolen anything, even a pen or a stick of gum? Ever hated anyone even for a short time? Ever lusted after another person? Ever told a lie? Ever wanted something that belonged to someone else? Ever put something above God or taken His name in vain?

By Jesus’ definition of these things we are all lying, blasphemous, murderous, covetous, thieving adulterers and idol worshippers at heart. We are all under the judgement of God until we come to Him in repentance through faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul reminds us of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15 by which we are being saved IF we hold fast the word which he preached UNLESS we believed in vain.

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, — 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. — 1 John 1:8-10

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to REPENTANCE. — 2 Peter 3:9

From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “REPENT, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” — Matthew 4:17

Therefore REPENT and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; — Acts 3:19

Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should REPENT, —Acts 17:30

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ — Matthew 7:21-23

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. — Romans 6:23

And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. — Luke 9:23

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. — James 1:22-26

What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? — James 2:14-20

If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. — 1 John 1:6-7

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall LIVE BY FAITH.” — Romans 1:16-17

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I LIVE BY FAITH in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. — Galatians 2:20

We must not be deceived or delude ourselves into believing we are saved if all we do is acknowledge Jesus as Lord but don’t follow Him and obey Him as Lord and continue to walk in darkness. The righteous shall live by faith. We must be doers of the word and not hearers only. We must deny ourselves, daily, die to ourselves and follow Him by faith, presenting our bodies as living sacrifices, being transformed daily by the renewing of our lives.

Stay in the word daily, pray daily without ceasing, bow to Him as Lord and submit to His Lordship daily. He loves you and He will do the work in and through you. He is the vine, we are the branches. Abide in Him and He will abide in you and as the vine, He will produce the fruit through you, the branch. Faith without works is dead, but by true faith in Him we are dead to sin and alive in Christ and it is He who does the works through us. We just faithfully follow Him, trusting in Him.

He loves you and if you are a true participant in the gospel, He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. — Philippians 1:3-6

#316JesusSaves

God loves you so much!

Jesus stepped into His own creation and clothed Himself in the skin of created man so that He could take our curse of sin upon Himself and put it to death on the cross, so that whoever believes in Him by faith and in repentance will not perish but have new and eternal life.

Those who believe are not judged, but those who do not believe are judged already because they have not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. He came to save us from God’s judgement upon sin. There is no other way to be saved. Only through faith in Jesus Christ.

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
— 2 Peter 3:9

Jesus calls us to action.

And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

— Luke 9:23

There is a huge difference between believing Jesus exists and believing in Him by faith. Knowing He exists and even liking Him and the things He says means nothing if we aren’t trusting in Him and following Him as Lord. He calls us to deny ourselves, our sinful flesh and all of the sin this world entices us to live in. Temptation is quite real. Even Jesus was tempted but He did not sin.

Galatians 5:16 says “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”

If you aren’t walking in the Spirit, I guarantee you are walking in the flesh and fulfilling its sinful desires, even if it seems like everything is fine. When held up to the mirror of scripture, we find ourselves in need of God’s grace and forgiveness every time because as it says in Romans

3, all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.

So what does it mean to walk in the Spirit?

A few more verses in Galatians 5 explain the difference between walking in the flesh and walking in the Spirit.

For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

— Galatians 5:17-25

Notice here at the end of this passage where it says “those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. This is what Jesus is talking about in Luke 9 when He tells us if we are going to follow Him we must deny ourselves, daily take up our cross and follow Him. Notice also how it says that those who practice the things of the flesh will not inherit the kingdom of God. We can’t live after the desires of our flesh and think we are right with God. 1 John 1:8 says that those who do that are deceiving themselves and the truth is not in them.

The battle with the flesh is a daily struggle. It is a daily denial of and death to self, surrendered to Jesus, that He would live in us and through us as we walk in the Spirit.

Galatians 2:20 sums it up perfectly, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

When Jesus died on the cross, He took the entire curse of sin and nailed it to the cross in His body and then on the third day He rose from the dead, victorious over sin and death that whoever believes in Him by faith will not perish but have everlasting life. Those who believe in Him by faith deny themselves, daily take up their cross and follow Him by faith.

We are not saved by our actions or anything we can do to earn salvation. We are saved only by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. But true faith without action is dead. It’s not true faith at all if we don’t live it out. If we truly trust Him and have faith in Him as Lord and Savior, then we will do what He says.

James 2:19 makes it clear it’s not enough to just have knowledge of Jesus and believe He exists, even the demons believe that and shudder in fear.

True belief results in belief in what Jesus says, and if we really believe what He says then we will do what He says. We will come to Him by faith in repentance of sin and trust in His promise of forgiveness and eternal life, saving us from the curse of sin and eternal death in hell. We will deny ourselves, daily take up our cross and follow Him.

Otherwise, what are we doing with the knowledge we have? We believe but we don’t follow? We say we trust Him but we don’t act on that trust? We want eternal life while still sinning and gratifying the desires and passions of the flesh? Jesus died for us to set us free from all that. How can we continue to live in what He died to free us from and still claim to be His disciples?

In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

He also said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

He loves you and wants you to be set free from sin. He wants to give you abundant and eternal life. He wants you to have fellowship with Him and live in a personal relationship with Him. But He calls us to be set apart, made new, born again of the Spirit and to follow Him, forsaking the ways of this fallen and dying world.

We can’t have fellowship with God while living in rebellion against Him in sin. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, to destroy sin, not to let us continue to live in it. Romans 6:23 says the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord and in John 3 Jesus says that those who believe in Him are not condemned but those who do not believe are condemned already because they have not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

In sin, we are spiritually dead, but set free from sin by faith in Jesus and born again of the Spirit, we have eternal life. In John 5:24, Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”

Put your belief into action today and trust in Him. Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him. You will never know more freedom this side of heaven than when you let it all go and put your faith and trust completely in Him. It really is new and abundant life, and it’s forever.

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short

That it cannot save;

Nor is His ear so dull

That it cannot hear.

But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God,

And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.

— Isaiah 59:1-2

It’s not “all good with the big guy upstairs.” Our sins have separated us from God. Our separation from Him is not in His part, but ours. We remain separated from Him and under condemnation because of our unwillingness to repent. We live our lives wondering how much we can still sin and live like the world but still get to heaven. We have a soft view of sin and a watered down view of the holiness of God.

James 2:10 says if we keep the whole law perfectly but stumble in one part, we are guilty of brraking the entire law of God. Romans 3 tells us that all have sinned, there is none good, not even one, but we are justified freely by God’s grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus died on the cross, taking the entire weight of the curse of sin upon His own body and nailed it to the cross that by faith in Him, forsaking the flesh, repenting of our sins and trusting in Him for our forgiveness and justification, we are saved and made new, born again unto eternal life by faith and trust in Him as Lord and Savior!

Apart from Jesus, we have no hope. John 3 says those who believe are not condemned but those who do not believe are condemned already because they have not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

He is the only one who can wash our sins away because He is the only one who put sin to death in His own body once and for all that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.

Romans 10 says that if you confess Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved, for all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

By confessing Jesus as Lord, you are bowing to His authority as Lord and God and King. You are agreeing with Him that you are a Summer in need of forgiveness and salvation. You are coming to Him to be set free from sin and the death of your flesh and by trusting in Him and the fact that He rose from the dead, you are trusting in His sacrifice, death and resurrection, that He alone paid the price for your sins and there is salvation in no other, not even the best of your own good works.

By faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are saved. There is no other way to be saved from sin, from death, from eternal condemnation and hell and be reconciled to God to live forever in His Kingdom. In John 14 Jesus says He is the way and the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father but by Him.

Trust in Him today. Come to Him in humble repentance and trust in Him. His hand is not short that it cannot save and His ear is not dull that it cannot hear. The only thing keeping you from God is your sin. Give it to Him. He will gladly free you from it and give you new and eternal life right now.

You can put your full faith and trust in Him.

He loves you!