It seems that in most preaching these days, something is missing. Although some say they are finally hearing truly gospel sermons in their churches, some say that for the first time the cross is being preached, yet something must be missing. It must be missing because some of the churches in which the grace of Jesus and the cross are preached the most have recently left the denomination. How could the preaching of the cross and the grace of Jesus make you want to leave the denomination? Perhaps they left for other reasons. Whatever those reasons might have been, you would think that the preaching of the cross and the grace of Jesus would have given them grace to endure. Something must have been missing.

In recent years, many say that we ought not emphasize the doctrines but we ought to preach the gospel. Some go so far as to say that it is the preaching of our doctrines that drive so many of our young people out of the church. As a result we don't hear as much about our doctrines as we used to. Let's be honest. Are things getting any better? Is it really our doctrines that are driving people out of the church? Something is. What could be missing?

Back in the old days, there was a lot of reference to what is called the Spirit of Prophecy. Many don't refer to it much anymore. When a passing reference is made, it is from "my favorite author" or "one of the founders of our church," or even "someone has said." Some people are offended to hear Mrs. White quoted as an authority. But if Billy Graham, or Robert Schuller or Chuck Swindoll are quoted, they accept it all and appreciate how well-read the speaker is. I wonder why this is? Something must be missing.

In recent years we have been taught that if we are going to be able to love the Lord our God with all our hearts and strength and mind, we are going to have to love ourselves first. There is no doubt that the Bible teaches we have infinite value in the eyes of God. There are many texts that encourage us to have self-respect and hope. But where is the text that says that in the hierarchy of importance, self is to come first, then God, and then our fellow men? But this is what seems to be universally believed.

But this can't be the answer either. Something must still be missing, because instead of strengthening our marriages, this teaching seems to have weakened them. Someone once told me that his sister got into one of these love-yourself-first groups. Soon afterwards, she divorced her husband, became alienated from her family, stopped going to church, and insisted that she never felt better about herself. Seems to me that something must be missing.

Then a theological stir was caused by teaching about personality types. We learned all about being sanguine, choleric, melancholy or phlegmatic. It was fun to learn that. When we study personality types, it may help us understand others and even ourselves, but it doesn't do much to change us. Each personality has its pluses, but each one also has its minuses. I am glad to know which I am, but even more importantly I need to know who Jesus wants me to be and how to get there. I wish they hadn't spent so much time telling us about our personalities. I wish they had talked to us about the importance of character. We don't hear much about that these days. The Bible is not calling us to personality development but to character development. Something still seems to be missing.

And then we thought the answer might be in remembering our past. We were led to believe that our problems would disappear if we could just recall all the offenses and wrongs done to us over the years. The net result of that kind of thinking is to blame everyone else for what we are at the present time. We were convinced that our problems persist because our parents somehow ruined our lives.

One time a fellow pastor asked me to join him in praying for a young mother who felt she was being harassed by evil spirits. Before we prayed, I felt I needed to ask a few questions. I am convinced that bitterness and resentment are a friendly environment for the devil, so I asked the young wife if she had bitterness and resentment in her heart against anyone.

She admitted that she did indeed have bitterness and resentment toward her parents. In fact, she was in counseling at the time, and the counselor was actually encouraging her in her bitterness toward her parents. Consequently, she said she didn't want to ask God to forgive her. The net result was that we weren't able to go on with the prayer session. The Scriptures are clear that if we regard iniquity in our hearts, it blocks effective prayer.

Of course, when we spend time remembering the past, we learn that we are all dysfunctional. Everyone is to blame for most of our problems but ourselves. This means that we will not be able to change until everyone else changes. And this means that you can't get there from here. It's a vicious cycle, and something is missing.

Not long ago I attended a minister's convention. There were more than a thousand ministers and their families present. One of the featured topics was what I suspect will be the next theory to come along, the mapping of the brain to determine learning types. In this seminar I heard the word visualization used many times. The speaker suggested that, if you want something, you need to picture it or do it first in your mind. The point was made that we can change ourselves by merely thinking. As I sat there, I felt gloomy. Here we go again. This is another take on the old idea of "Name it and claim it." There are shades of new-age philosophy, which is the 21st century term for Hinduism, built into some of those concepts.

If you are looking for answers, there are a lot of theories and philosophies out there from which to pick. You can choose Love Yourself, or Personality Types, or Everybody Else is Responsible, or perhaps Brain Mapping and the Power of Positive Thinking. Or maybe Learning Types is your thing.

In spite of this wonderful knowledge, something is still missing. After 15 years of all this high-tech pop-psychology, our kids are still leaving the church in droves, and divorce in our church is about as prevalent as in the population as a whole.

Friends, there is no doubt we are missing something. There is no doubt we must not just sit idly by and let it happen. We must somehow find out what is wrong and address it. We have tried to fine-tune our psychological approach, and we are also attempting to bring our theology up to speed. These days we are consoling ourselves that Jesus loves us and accepts us just the way we are and therefore there's no need to change.

Yes, God does love us. But He doesn't love us because we are so lovable. It can be deceiving if we think that. He loves us because He is love. He was love before there was such a thing as a sinner, and He will be love when sin and sinners are no more. He was forgiving before there was anyone to forgive. He was merciful before there was anyone to have mercy on. We must understand that we don't deserve to be loved or forgiven. We are loved because of Him, not because of us.

Is the missing ingredient this matter of assurance? We hear some people speak of their salvation in such affirmative terms. But others are unsure if they are saved or not. Most know that they are not up to par and that when push comes to shove they will probably not make it, barring a death-bed confession. Consequently, assurance is put off until the end of life.

There is a big theological word that is being tossed around these days. The word is "forensic." It means that when Jesus died on the cross, He did it all; and if you believe in Him, you are saved no matter what. In fact, we are told, there is nothing you can to do to add to your salvation. Which also means that there is nothing you can do to get unsaved.

This is not a new philosophy. Many of our Baptist friends and others have believed and preached that for years. It is called, "Once saved, always saved." They say, "Once a son, always a son--even a drunk son is a son and even a son in bed with his girlfriend is still a son."

You will hear this ideology expressed in other ways. I have heard first-day ministers say to their congregation, "Now that you have accepted Jesus as your Savior and you have salvation, won't you consider accepting Him as the Lord of your life?" In other words, you are going to heaven no matter what. But why not do Jesus a good turn and obey Him. Of course, they would add, whether or not you obey has nothing to do with your salvation, because Jesus did it all.

There is no doubt about it. Jesus did it all. But let us be very clear how it works. When Jesus created the earth, He covered it with a layer of oxygen. Then He created creatures that require oxygen in order to stay alive. He created lungs in the animal kingdom and gills in the fish. He then set in motion an involuntary action that would cause the living creature to bring oxygen into its body. This was all done by Jesus. There is nothing we can add to its perfection. But there is something we can do about it. We can do things that make the oxygen-to-body transfer not work. We can contaminate either the environment from where we get our oxygen, or we can contaminate or damage the organs that make it possible to take it in.

It is the same way as far as our salvation is concerned. Jesus did it all. True, there is a difference between salvation and breathing. A person will breathe automatically, but a person doesn't get into the kingdom of heaven by a slap on the back-side by the doctor that brings them into the world. There is this matter called the will. The will is what separates man from the rest of creation. The will plays a huge part in whether the salvation that Jesus has made available for us works or doesn't work

The devil is trying to get us all tangled up. The closer we get to understanding how salvation works, the more the devil will try to confuse us. The next time someone says to you that Jesus did it all and there is nothing we can add to it or take away from it, first agree with them. That should settle that. But then ask them a question. Ask them if people who have salvation obey God? You may wonder why I am teasing like this. In the first place, I am not teasing, nor am I trying to insult anyone. I am simply exposing you to some of the things that are being passed off these days as the solution to our problems. You may not have been exposed to anything I have mentioned so far, but sooner or later you will.

The devil is trying to get us involved in anything and everything except the real thing. The reason we get involved in these theories and philosophies just mentioned is that they are very appealing. They seem to solve our spiritual problems with the least involvement on our part. Of course, this isn't true, but that is the way it is presented. What we are hearing allows us fundamentally to do business as usual and still have assurance of our salvation.

I believe in the assurance of salvation, but I do not believe in "Once saved, always saved." It is not a Biblical doctrine. That is why I insist that if we begin to talk about the assurance of salvation, we should explain what it really means or subconsciously we jump to the wrong conclusion.

This may not be what we want to hear. We may be thinking, "I was just beginning to enjoy my salvation, and you seem to want to make me have those misgivings that I used to have. I am tired of being neurotic about my salvation." Please forgive me if this seems to be happening to you. It is not my intent. But Christ told us that the days just before He comes would not be the time to be happy and not worry. He told us that all kinds of false doctrines would arise, and if we weren't wide awake, the devil would steal our salvation out from under us.

While the Bible does say that, once we are in the hand of Jesus, no one can take us out, it also says in Rev. 3:11, "Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown."

It may sounds as though the Bible contradicts itself, but it really doesn't. God will never dump us out of His hand. He will protect us from those who would pull us out. But we ourselves can jump out of our own free will any time we want to. We can decide to do it ourselves or we can be deceived and be conned into getting out.

That is what will happen in the last days to those who are not rooted and grounded in the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The devil will bring about a deception so much like the real thing that he will, as it were, deceive the people into exchanging the real for the counterfeit.

Jesus warned us about these days. Why do we remain so laid back? Actually there is both good news and bad news. The good news is that those who are faithful until the end will be saved. The bad news is that those who are not serious in the last days will be conned out of their salvation and be lost.

So although we are hearing lots of things that are appealing and actually fun to listen to, like warm fuzzies, there is something missing. What might it be?

I don't believe it would be presumptuous to assume that the majority of us believe we are living in the last days. If that is so, it would make us the last day's people, the Remnant. So whatever the Bible has to say to the people living in the last days, is meant for us.

Let's read something from the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation is to the New Testament what the book of Daniel is to the Old. Both books are heavy-duty prophetic books. In Revelation 2 and 3 are written what are called the messages to the Seven Churches. Though there were actually seven historic cities at the time who gave their names to the churches when the book of Revelation was written, it is generally understood that the churches of Revelation represent the characteristics and some of the experiences of the Christian church from the time of the apostles down to the church which will be alive when Jesus comes. Not only does it touch on some of the things that happen to the Christian church down through the ages, it also gives the primary characteristics of each church. And Jesus has something specific to say to each one.

We have agreed that we are living in the last days. This means that the last church in this prophecy would refer to us. Therefore, what is called the counsel to the church in Laodicea is talking to us. Let's hear what it says:

Revelation 3:14-21, "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and I am set down with my Father in his throne."

Several things should be emphasized here. One is that Jesus Himself is talking to us. We need to get that straight. It is not some preacher that we don't happen to agree with. This is the voice of the One who loves us and died on the cross to save us.

But notice how He is talking to us. When preachers in the 21st century preach that way, many people become insulted, or at least discouraged. They say that approach is too negative. In the message to the church that is alive until the end, Jesus comes on strong. It couldn't be more damaging as far as public relations is concerned. This message is definitely not affirming. What Jesus is saying to us, in effect, is, "This situation makes Me want to throw up."

Using our language, He goes on to say, "You people think you are really somebody, but on a scale of one to ten you are not even a one."

Having told us the truth about ourselves, Jesus then goes on to say, "Why don't you let Me make you over again? Admit that you are wrong. I love you and want to have the relationship with you that you are always claiming you have with Me but really don't."

So there you have it. That is Jesus talking to the people in the last days in a manner which seems almost unbelievable, certainly out of character. Who else would have the nerve? When I read what Jesus has to say to us, the fog begins to clear and I think I see the missing link. Can you see the missing link?

If you think about it, you will notice that more and more in society and even in the church the theme seems to be, "I'm OK, you're OK. I'll affirm you, you affirm me. You're saved, I'm saved; all God's children are saved." Don't worry, be happy, Jesus loves you.

What is being said about Jesus is true, He does love us and wants us to be with Him in heaven. But what is being said about ourselves and our relationship to Jesus is not the way Jesus says things are. In fact, Jesus' message to the church in the 21st century, the last church, the Laodicean church, is the ultimate put down.

He is telling us that our unsaved condition makes Him sick. He says, "You think you don't need anything; that you have everything, but you don't have the salvation you claim to have because I am not in your life. I am on the outside. I wish you would get real and come out of the fantasy world you live in and let Me really get into your heart and life."

Some may be thinking, "At first, Pastor O'Ffill, I thought it was just you coming down hard on me. But now you are saying that Jesus is unhappy with me, also. There is no hope for me. I might as well give up and go to hell, since I'm probably going there anyway."

Hold on, Friend. . Don't give up on Jesus. He hasn't given up on us. I think the natural tendency is that our pride is hurt when someone talks to us this way. Sometimes, instead of letting Jesus tell us what's wrong with us and what we must do about it, we prefer to diagnose ourselves and mix up a little home remedy. But in matters of faith and morals this would be fatal to our salvation, and the process that Jesus wants to do in our lives would be aborted.

Jesus is the only one who can tell us what is really wrong, and He is the only one who can make us well. But we have a part to play in all of this, and that part is the thing that is missing in most of the preaching these days. The missing ingredient is repentance.

If we had been there to listen to the ancient prophets, Repent would be the word we would hear over and over again. If we had heard the preaching of John the Baptist, we would have heard that word again, Repent. When Jesus preached, it is there again, Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. We sometimes say we wish for another Pentecost. Don't count on it until the missing link comes back again. When the people heard Peter preach the Pentecost sermon, they said, "What shall we do?" and he replied, "Repent."

We hear it said that we ought to be praying for an outpouring of the Holy Ghost. Do we realize what that would mean? Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, but the first thing the Spirit does is to convict us of sin. There's that word again, Repent.

The missing link in much of our preaching is repentance. That is not to say that repentance is the gospel. The gospel is the good news that Jesus died and rose again for our sins. But to preach the gospel without calling people to repent is to leave out the only way to enter into and participate in the good news. The gospel will not work in the life of a person who has not repented.

You've heard about New Year's Resolutions, haven't you? I've heard that studies on the matter have revealed that a New Year's Resolution lasts on average a week or less. We all smile, because we know this is true.

Speaking of New Year's Resolutions, my wife and I belong to a health club. We go there about three times a week to walk the course and swim. Sometimes we stretch on the weight machines. When we went there the first time, we noticed that after the first of the year the place was packed with people. I mentioned it to one of the staff, and they laughed and said that it is always that way, but by mid February it will be back to normal. People have made a New Year's Resolution to be healthy, especially after the excesses of the holiday season, but it is often quickly forgotten.

Do you know why New Year's Resolutions don't last? It is because there is no room for them in our lives. What do I mean by that? How can there be no room for something that I need? The fact is, if you and I are going to put something new into our lives, we have to take something out to make room for it because our lives are already full. Life is about time, and time is about the things we do in our lives. And the things we do in our lives are about the habits we have.

The point is, we cannot put a new habit on top of another in the same category. If we have had the habit of being a couch potato, we cannot be couch potatoes and people who exercise three times a week at the same time. Either the couch potato habit stays and the exercise goes, or the exercise is bought in and the couch potato thing is out.

It's the same with the gospel. A person who accepts the gospel cannot be a follower of Jesus and be the same as he was before he learned of Jesus. Too often the gospel being preached in many places is not pointing out that fact. So people accept the gospel but continue to live as they always have. The result is that the gospel eventually falls out of their lives.

This is why wherever the gospel is preached we must also preach repentance at the same time. If a person is going to make a place for the gospel in their lives, they are going to have to repent. Repentance means to turn around. To turn around means to admit that we have been going in the wrong direction. When a person is on the wrong road, they will stay on the wrong road until they admit that they are on the wrong road. Once they admit that, they must be wiling to let Jesus turn them around and get them going in the right direction.

The doctrine of repentance is foundational not only to a correct understanding of the gospel but also for the gospel to do its work in our lives. The reason that, although the gospel is being preached more than ever these days, it is not netting its results is because either intentionally or unintentionally repentance is being left out of the mix.

I believe that our theological problems spring from a lack of understanding or a refusal to accept the doctrine of repentance. The shape of the gospel for us depends upon our understanding and our appreciation of repentance. In fact, the very meaning of the cross is colored by our acceptance or rejection of the Bible doctrine of repentance. A person who refuses to repent but still attempts to accept the gospel will come to all the wrong conclusions.

I will go even further. A person who refuses to repent yet maintains that they have faith in the cross of Christ is doing nothing more or less than crucifying afresh the son of God.

I mentioned before that repentance is often being intentionally or unintentionally left out of preaching these days. I wish that it were unintentionally; but knowing something of human nature and the times in which we live, I suspect that it is being intentionally left out or being greatly down-played.

No generation has ever appreciated being told it was wrong. The Old Testament is full of stories about God raising up prophets to do just that, to call the people to repent. Jesus Himself reminded the people that their forefathers had murdered the prophets. Then we have the awful fact that the Father sent His Son to call us to repent, and He was crucified. That is why I maintain that a person who refuses to repent is crucifying the Son of God afresh.

So, though it is not politically correct to tell people they are wrong, I am glad Jesus took it upon Himself in the book of Revelation to tell it like it is. Jesus is gentle, merciful, and forgiving, but when He finds Himself in the company of people who like to affirm themselves but who are really sinners in denial, He will tell it like it is.

That is the reason He talked to the Pharisees so straight. The Pharisees were as much sinners as anyone else, but the difference between them and Mary Magdalene was that she wanted out of adultery and the Pharisees were into it. So Jesus talked to them like He talks to the last day church. He said to them one day, "You snakes, you stink." He called them vipers and said they were like tombs full of rotting bones.

If Jesus were here today, He would probably not be invited to preach the opening meeting at the General Conference session. It might be feared that He would say something embarrassing about His audience. I am glad we have this kind of Savior. He loves us so much that He tells us the truth.

The generation of the 21st century is very proud. But that is what Jesus said it would be, rich, increased in goods and doesn't think it needs anything. But the reality is our generation is an emotional and spiritual basket case. But that, too, is what Jesus said it would be. He said we would be poor, blind, miserable, and naked. So when you have a generation that is proud but very brittle emotionally, you've got a problem. So most of the preaching these days, instead of being the preaching of a strong, powerful gospel, is little more than damage control. The philosophy seems to be, Tell the people what they want to hear and maybe they will rise to the occasion on their own somehow.

It occurs to me that this phenomenon is in itself a fulfillment of prophecy. Didn't the prophet say in 2 Timothy 4:2, "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine? For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."

Through the ages people have killed those who called for repentance, including the Son of God Himself. But He hasn't given up on us. Here we are in the days just before the Second Coming and He is again calling on us once again in the message to the Laodiceans to repent.

I don't know if the time will come in which the cry from the pulpits across the land will be the call to repent. We should pray the day will soon come. But if for some reason it doesn't and it gets down to an everyone-for-himself thing, I hope that you and I personally will take serious the call to admit we are wrong. Scripture is clear that those who cover their sins will not prosper, but those who forsake them will have mercy. The call for this generation to repent is not a put-down. It is the only way we will ever be saved. Jesus tells us that our present condition is totally unacceptable to Him. Unless we will admit the same, there is not enough grace in heaven to save us, because Jesus cannot save people who do not think they have any problems to be saved from.

These days the talk is about celebration. The mindset is that we need to be happy and joyful. Apparently it is felt that we were too sad for too long. That could be the case, yet we must understand where joy and assurance come from. The Scriptures tell us that before happiness for salvation must come sorrow for sin. In Psalm 126:4 it says: "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy." When we come to Jesus, the first thing we must do is weep. Remember the story of the woman who came to Jesus with an expensive perfume? The story is found in Luke 7:37. It says that she stood at His feet behind Him, weeping, and began to wash His feet with tears.

We can never feel the joy of our salvation unless we have wept over our sinfulness. And we will never weep over our sinfulness until we admit we are sinners. And we will not admit that we are sinners until we understand how terrible sin is. There are a lot of people who will admit they are generic sinners, but that is about as far as it goes. There are others who will admit certain sins but seem to brush off the rest. Many people are more embarrassed about having bad breath and dandruff than they are about being selfish or proud, bitter or resentful.

We live in an incredible time. In generations gone by, we knew we were sinners because we knew what sin was. This generation is in denial, and one of the reasons may be that it can no longer distinguish right from wrong, good from evil. Or it has come to the place where it is calling right wrong and wrong right.

No place is this more evident than in the area of morals. A person who is against the homosexual lifestyle these days is often called immoral. Isn't that incredible? It's being said that as Christians we don't have to keep the Ten Commandments any more, or that the Ten Commandments are an option, or that if a person is serious about keeping them they are legalistic. It is no wonder that we are big trouble these days. The Commandments were given to us so that we would be able to tell right from wrong. If you take out the Ten Commandments, it is like ripping the rudder out of a ship or the compass out of an airplane.

It seems to be a syndrome. We are not repenting because we don't think we have anything to repent of. And we don't think we have anything to repent of because so many moral leaders are saying that if we take the Ten Commandments seriously we are being legalistic. No wonder we are celebrating. We have a fatal case of cancer and have gone to the hospital, and there they tell us that the MRI machine is broken so we can go home. So we are celebrating because we believe there is nothing wrong with us if we can't see it. Have mercy on us, Jesus. Don't give up on us, Jesus. Tell it like it is, Jesus.

Do you see now why I believe something is missing in the salvation equation? Let's talk for just a couple minutes about what true repentance is like. We will not attempt to say all that could be said, but we can cover some of the more important points to bear in mind. The Devil knows that repentance is the bottom line, or the foundation, of our Christian experience, and so in the kitchens of hell he has cooked up his own batch of pseudo-repentance. We need to realize, ladies and gentlemen, that there is a counterfeit for every thing God provides for our salvation. A person who is asleep at the switch is in grave danger of taking one of Satan's bad checks or a counterfeit bill.

Have you ever been to SAMS Club, the discount members-only retail warehouse? Sometimes when you go there and are paying at the check-out counter, the cashier has a pen that he or she will run over a large bill. If the ink turns a certain color, it means the bill is counterfeit. There is so much counterfeit money in circulation that our government is issuing new bills. So far there are new $100s and new $50s. I was reading the other day in the paper that the crooks are now counterfeiting $20s.

Jesus is even now preparing a people who will live throughout the time of trouble and the Seven Last Plagues and be translated without seeing death. At the same time, the devil is devising his own counterfeit of the same process. A person who takes just anything that has the name Jesus written on it or Saved, or Salvation, or Assurance, could be terribly disappointed in the end.

For your consideration, here are some thoughts on repentance:

• Repentance must come from the heart. This is because that is where sin comes from. But it is not hard to fake repentance. Jesus talked about those who disfigured their faces so that they would appear repentant.
• Repentance must be not only from the heart, it is about the heart. We must be aware that the sins we commit have their source in the heart. I wish we would start talking to God about our selfishness, pride, bitterness and resentment, lust and the lack of self-control. Our tendency is to pray about the manifestations of these sins rather than what is behind them. Jesus may never give you victory over pickles, you may have to struggle with that continually, if you consider it your problem. But He will give you the gift of self-control.
• Another thing we must realize about repentance is that the sorrow we must have is for the sin and not the consequences of sin.

Have you ever heard anyone say that they know God has forgiven them for their sins but they just can't seem to forgive themselves? Not only do we hear that expressed, most likely we have felt that way ourselves. When you consider it carefully, however, it doesn't make a lot of sense. If I truly believe God has forgiven me, what difference does it make whether or not I forgive myself? Probably, when you hear a person say they cannot forgive themselves, what they are really saying is that they have not been able to accept the consequences for their sin.

I don't need to tell you that every sin we commit has a consequence. Some are immediate, some are long range, others are cumulative. We must recognize that true repentance is about the sin and is not simply a maneuver to get out of having to accept the consequences for what we have done.

When we truly realize what we have done and how wrong it was, we will be willing to not only confess it to God and allow Him to forgive us, but we must also tell Him that we are willing to accept the consequences. When we do that, we have repented from the heart; and although we will bear huge emotional scars for life, He will give us the strength to triumph through His grace in the end.

True repentance must always be mixed with faith. By that I mean that true repentance from the heart is a terrible experience to go through. It will actually do us in unless it is mixed with faith. This is why when we are called to repent in Scripture the promises are all over the place that He will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Without that promise, the burden of our guilt as we acknowledge sin becomes unbearable.

To me one of the most encouraging texts in all the Bible is the one in 1 John 1:9. It says that if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

There is a lot of activity in the religious world today. There is preaching, singing, clapping, dancing, healing, even laughing. But something is missing. Could it be the call to repent?