Although many regularly mention repentance as part of the plan of salvation, citing verses such as Acts 17:30 and Luke 13:3, and while many refer to Peter’s rebuke of Simon, the former sorcerer, to demonstrate that Christians also need to repent (Acts 8:22), few seem to understand that repentance should become part of the basic mindset of every Christian in a very real way. When Jesus said, “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” in Luke 13:3 and Luke 13:5, He was not in the midst of a discussion of specific steps of salvation but rather emphasizing a character trait that God required of people. Likewise, when Paul told the Athenians, ”And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30), he said this with Judgment Day in mind (Acts 17:31), implying that such an attitude must be maintained up to and including that day. Hopefully, it is unnecessary to demonstrate that Christians can fall back into sin and so need to acknowledge their error and turn away from it (Gal. 5:1-4). However, while public confession of public sin deserves ample attention (Jas. 5:16; 1 Jn. 1:9), I believe this general failing is only symptomatic of a deeper problem.
Repentance is the willingness to change how we think about spiritual matters so that God’s point of view becomes our own point of view. But somewhere along the line we have failed to communicate repentance as a basic part of the Christian’s mentality and instead have insisted on repentance only in regard to a few issues. A person who has changed his view on the necessity of baptism (Acts 2:38), the unique character of the church (Eph. 4:4- 6), and the nature of worship (Jn. 4:24) may not have fully developed a penitent mindset. The Christian who confesses and repents of one sin may, in fact, desperately cling to other forms of immorality. Neither of these, of course, pleases God because even though some behaviors have been modified, the person has yet to submit his will to God’s; he is holding out-issue by issue.
Repentance requires a Christian to maintain the willingness to change whenever God’s will requires it. Some, in their fastidiousness to avoid the errors of liberalism, show as much resistance to changing some of their own wrong views and practices as they show strength in resisting liberalism. This reflects an attitude of pride based in the assumption, “Everything I am currently doing pleases God, “rather than in its studied reality. Sadly, there are many who have a reputation for soundness built upon a stubbornness to change anything rather than on a solid submission to the will of God. Brethren, we had better learn to see the difference-in ourselves and in others.
When a debate produces nothing but further division, it illustrates the lack of true repentance in our collective mindset. When biblical challenges to current traditional conservative thought are ignored, it shows how far we have drifted. When protecting a reputation becomes more important than recovering the soul, it is obvious that repentance does not really mean much to us anymore. Sadly, there are those who will agree with these things, assuming I am talking about their antagonists rather than about them, which only shows how unrepentant our mindset has become.
We need to become a people who are consumed with correcting our own lives through a study of God’s will instead of assuming our own righteousness as we call on others around us to change. Should we continue to point out error and sin in others? Absolutely (Rom. 16:17; 1Cor. 5:6-7; Gal. 6:1; 2 Jn. 9-11). But we must first insure that our own lives have the secure foundation of repentance to add substance to our statements (Mt. 7:1-5). So long as there is legitimate doubt in our readiness to change when confronted with scripture (rather than being confronted with malicious and baseless accusations), there is legitimate doubt in our relationship to God.
Unfortunately, we have so lost the ability to discern as to when the scriptures are the basis or not, that we float along down the stream of indifference and drift toward apostasy. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” (Jas. 4:7-10).
We thank God for the blessings He has provided for us in this great land. It would be disingenuous of me to act as if there have not been problems, because there have been (and will continue to be), today is a new federal holiday called Juneteenth, also called Emancipation Day and Freedom Day; it marks the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, in 1865 to tell the enslaved people that they had been freed, months after the Civil War ended.
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