I don’t want to sound petty here, but honestly....how can any sincere follower of Christ actually have a single ‘favorite Bible verse’? I mean...when we ask that of others, isn’t that like asking a parent of multiple children – “Who’s your favorite” Which child do you love the most? (That was a rhetorical question so no need to answer it) ;- )

Given yesterday’s message was centered around the topic of ‘repentance’, I was going to say that those who might be quick to point out their favorite Bible verse that it’s unlikely it has the word ‘repent’ in it; unless you are UPC and offer up Acts 2:38, of course. (IYKYK) :- ) And honestly, that verse does pack a lot in it...so moving right along here...

I was thinking about yesterday’s message and how it was received, and it would not surprise me that some believers may have read over that like I used to eat vegetables ...while pinching my nose and holding my breath in an attempt to ward off the taste. But all kidding aside, I don’t know that I could point out a more important message, that needs to be heard today for the church at large. I’m talking about this call to ‘repentance’.

When Jesus wrote to the seven churches in Rev. 2-3, the word ‘repent’ was used at least 8 times and the case could be made it was the underlying theme of what He was trying to get across to them. Sadly, today...many in the church world would be puzzled to hear such a statement, if not offended, that we had a need to repent, much like in the way the Pharisees were offended by the things that Jesus preached to them.

I won’t say Jesus was being sarcastic with them, but you can sense He got real close when He told them, in effect...”You’re right... you obviously don’t need to repent given how righteous you all are; but I did not come to call the righteous to repentance, rather the sinners – those who are sick.” (Matt. 9:12-13; Luke 5:31-32). Dare I remind us of the condition the church at Laodicea found themselves in when rebuked by the Lord? (Rev. 3:15-19)

Let me offer up for your consideration the reason I would suggest the church, of all people, needs to hear this message of repentance: We who claim to have been ‘set free from sin’ (Rom. 6:18)... continue to sin on a regular, on-going basis, by our own admission. We are taught, and even teach others, that even the most sincere believer remains...a ‘sinner saved by grace’, and could ‘never be perfect’ and will ‘always sin on this side of heaven’.

And yet I mentioned yesterday that most believers would agree that the word ‘repent’ implies we are to ‘turn from our sins, as in ‘all’ of them. Which then led to the question of “If we continue to sin, have we truly repented?”

I’ve said it before and will say it again, we ‘believers’ can spend more time and spew more words out  explaining why, making excuses for, and yes-even justifying why we continue to sin...than we do overcoming all sin by the power of the Holy Spirit along with the power of His blood (that we love to sing about). The church (at large) has become more of an enabler than a deliverer.

As I was reminded of the other day, if you want to talk about ‘favorite Bible verses’, how many would hang either Phil. 4:13 or Rom. 8:37 on their wall, claiming how we are ‘more than conquerors through Him’ and can ‘do all things through Christ’...except when it comes to - overcoming sin.

Friends...I don’t share this from a lofty pedestal of self-righteousness...believe me. I know full well my own shortcomings and failures of the past. And I don’t offer this up as an ‘excuse’ when I say ‘but I was blind’; ...but now I see. I wasted a lot of years ‘trying my best to live for Jesus’ but fell short in fully understanding what it means to ‘abide in Jesus’. And If I had been open to learning this sooner, it would have saved me much heartache, frustration and discouragement.

There is absolutely no way we could ever walk free of sin, outside of abiding in Him, which is what He has asked of us since the beginning. (John 15:1-8). And guess what? Those who do abide in Him...do not sin. (1 John 3:6)

“Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin because he has been born of God.” (1 John 3:9)

“We know that whoever is born of God does not sin...and the wicked one does not touch him.” (1 John 5:18)

And friends...if you try sharing these verses with others, don’t be surprised if you hear the term ‘sinless perfection doctrine’ thrown at you as a distraction. All I am doing here is sharing with you what God’s word has clearly stated and I would expect the enemy to toss out the same line he did to Eve way back in the garden when he asked: “Has God really said?”

Yes....yes He has said...’go and sin no more or something worse will happen to you.” (John 5:14). But make no mistake about it...you just don’t wake up one morning and decide...”Ok, I’m done with sin and will never sin again.” (Now hang with me here...)

There is this little 6-letter word that absolutely has to happen before we could ever dream of walking in the freedom that Christ came to offer us, and that word is ‘repent’.

We. Must. Repent.

If we don’t, we will surely die, as in, perish or be destroyed. (Luke 13:3,5). And that is not a threat, it is a warning.

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us...Not willing that ANY perish...but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Pet. 3:9)

This will require a total surrendering of your life...’up front’ before you can even begin to ‘turn...and follow’. And do you know what usually precedes this dramatic turn around? It is the result of truly seeing your condition and what you and I were facing, as we are humbled and broken before the Lord. This in turn 'should'.produce ‘godly sorrow’...which leads us to repentance’. (2 Cor. 7:9-10). I can also assure you that ‘godly sorrow’ differs greatly from ‘worldly sorrow’ which leads to death’, as the scriptures point out there.

Do you know what else ‘leads us to repentance’? It is the kindness and goodness of God. (Rom. 2:4). When the creator of heaven and earth begins to open our eyes to see the wretched and frightening condition we were in because of sin (Eph. 2:1-3; Acts 3:17-19,26) we will be broken before Him. This is what happened to me those first few weeks I write about when I had my own personal awakening in early March of 2020.

When we are humbled before Him, and draw near to Him with a broken and contrite heart, He in turn...because of His great love and mercy, draws near to us and picks us up. (James 4:7-10; Ps. 34:18; 51:17). But it is hard to come to this place if we have not heard the ‘whole counsel of God’ and what is at stake here. I don’t know how else to say it, but there have been way too many missing pieces of critical truths that have been omitted from many of the ‘gospel versions’ being taught today. Call me arrogant and pompous if you will...but I stand in confidence that what I share here, I speak truth, and I speak it in love.

And to those who have ‘ears to hear’, and their spirits bear witness, then they too, will respond accordingly and can expect the same ‘times of refreshing’ to come upon them as well. (Acts 3:19) This is when He invites you to ‘turn...and take up your cross and follow Him’. And if you do, He is going to begin to lead you to ‘put to death all the deeds of the flesh nature’, which is what true children of God, who are ‘born of God’ will do. (Rom. 8:13-14)

Here's another promise you can be sure of as well – there will be ‘suffering’ involved; but ...not the kind of ‘suffering’ many sincere church members have been misled to believe they are called to experience. The suffering we will endure comes as we ‘deny ourselves’ as we put to death this earthly nature’. (Luke 9:23). This...is what we have been called to do, in the same way Christ suffered for us. We just won’t have a literal cross to be nailed to. (1 Pet. 4:1-2). And if you look up that verse there in Peter, guess what is said about those who have ‘suffered in the flesh’ (as they put this old man to death)? They have ‘ceased from sin’, in order that they can ‘do the will of God’ which is to love others as He loved us. (2) That is in fact, what those who 'belong to Christ' have done, past tense. (Gal. 5:24)

I was listening to a message recently where the preacher was talking about how we have all this ‘suffering’ in this life and we have to ‘trust God’ to get us through it. I knew full well he was talking about this ‘other kind of suffering’ that many people are going through today and are clueless as to why. Then, that verse from Hosea 4:6 came to mind, how God’s people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. And it came to me that often times, needless suffering precedes needless destruction; which means it could be said that God’s people also ‘suffer...due to a lack of knowledge’.

And He’s trying to change that as He awakens a sleeping church today. (Matt. 25:1-13)