“And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.” -Acts 17:30
Several months ago my wife & I watched a “Christian” movie production in which an atheistic professor supposedly came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, just before his death. As he lay dying, he was speaking with a pastor, still expressing criticism for the way God handles things. As death drew closer, he finally acknowledged God’s higher wisdom (Isaiah 55:8&9), and then verbally declared, “I accept Him” – and then passed away.
Although this movie is a work of fiction, it does realistically express the convictions of this modern church era. I know that our God is indeed very merciful: yet according to the scriptures, and actual real life accounts, this movie depiction of a conversion does not hold up. We need to be firm in emphasizing repentance toward God, and not some casual “acceptance” of His person. It doesn’t take much to see why this false doctrine of acceptance is so popular. Mankind tends to promote his own goodness, and shies away from acknowledging sin or any wrongdoing.
Indeed, the “acceptance” of God is treated as non-issue, Biblically speaking. All of creation will ultimately acknowledge the truth of God, and Jesus Christ His Son.
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. - Matthew 7:21-23
This is a most startling passage to consider! Obviously, such individuals had “accepted” Christ, but were never really saved. Jesus said there would be MANY of this type.
And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ. –Luke 4:41. The devils accept Christ, don’t they?
Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. –Luke 19:38-40
All of creation will accept Jesus Christ!
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. –Romans 1:19&20
Many have tried hard to deny the existence of God, but the evidence is plain. The next 3 verses prophecy the rise of evolutionary thinking, but real science has proven intelligent design- the need for a creator.
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. –Philippians 2:10&11
Acceptance by all is a Biblical guarantee!
(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things) –Philippians 3:18&19
Here is another warning about supposedly “Christian” imposters. Most of these may not be deliberately trying to deceive, but rather, they are sincerely deceived themselves. Again, a fundamental acceptance of God or Jesus (who also is God the Son) isn’t enough.
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? –James 2:19&20
I have been witnessing all manner of evil behavior being done by those professing Christ. Jesus said we would know them by their fruits in Matthew 7:16-20. Many of these have been taught that some basic acknowledgment of God & Jesus are enough, which is a lie.
During the days of Jesus’ flesh, it was just the same. Jesus was well accepted for the helpful miracles He performed, but the multitudes were largely without repentance. After Jesus’ 31/2 years of dynamic earthly ministry, only 120 awaited the promise of God in the upper room (Acts 1:13-15). Consider the following verses as further testimony;
Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. –Matthew 11:20&21
But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: -John 12:37 All of these people had an acceptance of Jesus, but not repentance.
There are many today that like the concept of Christianity in terms of earthly benefits they expect to receive, but have never actually repented of their sins. Some feel as if they have been growing toward becoming a Christian for years: their friends are Christians. They have morals that they appreciate. Really, it seems to them but a small step in getting fully “right with God.” I suspect that the great majority of such individuals will be eternally lost. Their “spiritual” response to Christ was not according to the scriptures, but was based upon what they saw as the accepted norm for a Christian life. There are also those with far greater extremes in immoral behavior, who have been taught that they have a saving faith due to some very basic “acceptance of God and/or Jesus. I call this the age of “anything goes” Christianity! God’s description in His Word says that they will “have a form of godliness, which denies the power” in II Timothy 3:5: we are also told to turn away from such!
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. –II Timothy 4:3&4
Repentance toward God indicates a remorseful acknowledgment of our sins, our naturally sinful state, and therefore our hopeless eternal separation from God. It is for this very reason that Jesus came to earth in the flesh! He came to save us from the eternal punishment which our sinful lives deserve; He came that we might be reconciled unto God. Sin is indeed very serious to God- He requires the shedding of blood for the remission of sins. This, then, is the atoning work for our salvation which Jesus wrought for mankind on the cross: though it is still left to the choice of the individual. Repentance entails a Godly sorrow toward our sinful state; asking God to forgive us for His Son Jesus’ sake, and then turning away from the sinful practices that we now know are displeasing to God; such practices having then become displeasing to us, as well. Our love response toward Christ for taking away our sins then leads us to please God by obeying Him, in the light of His Word. We obey out of love, for even then our works count nothing at all toward our salvation.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. –Ephesians 2:8-10
God plainly emphasizes the need for repentance in His Word. Let’s examine some of these scriptures now, using the trusted King James Bible. By my count, using the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, the word “repent” and its tenses occurs 90 times in the New Testament with 28 times in the gospels. The need for repentance was brought forward immediately by John the Baptist and Jesus;
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand…But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: -Matthew 3:1,2,7&8.
John the Baptist’s introduction for Jesus, with the message of repentance, is important- so vital that it is mentioned also in Luke 3:3-8, Acts 13:24, and 19:4.
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.- Matthew 4:17. The preaching of repentance was also among Jesus’ parting instructions to His disciples in Luke 24:45-47;
Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
It really isn’t a surprise, then, to find repentance greatly emphasized in the book of Acts; let’s look at some of them here:
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.-Acts 2:37&38
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.-Acts 3:19
The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.-Acts 5:30&31
Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.-Acts 20:21
Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.-Acts 26:19&20. Here are a few more from the New Testament;
Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?-Romans 2:4
Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.-II Corinthians 7:9&10
In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;-II Timothy 2:25
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.-II Peter 3:9
Repentance is also at the forefront with the churches in Revelation chapters 2&3, being mentioned seven times to five of them, Smyrna & Philadelphia excepted. Most notable is;
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.- Revelation 3:19
It should also be noted that there are many, many places in scripture which speak to the concept of repentance, even where the actual word isn’t seen. Some of these are Luke 19:8&9; John 3:3; Romans 6:1-4; II Corinthians 5:17; Titus 3:3-8.
Satan is behind this lie of salvation through the “acceptance” of God, rather than by repentance toward Him. This idea tends to put man above God, as if the Almighty had to work to gain our approval! God doesn’t need to become acceptable to man- we must find a way of becoming acceptable to Him: the obstacle of our sin must be removed.
Today’s church usually welcomes the unsaved into its fellowship with open arms. They tend to preach that God “loves and accepts” all men: such representations are untrue. Remember this statement well; God does not accept sinners- He accepts the repentance of the sinner. Prior to salvation, God’s love for mankind is best expressed through the cross of Jesus Christ. We have no means by which we can become acceptable to God, having the sin which separates removed, and therefore God himself provided the only way possible to restore our relationship with Him. Let me employ God’s Word to shed light on this;
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities. - Isaiah 64:6&7
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes. –Romans 3:10-18.
I hope by these passages that you can see God’s view of mankind; we are fallen from God by our natural sinfulness, with even our best efforts appearing filthy to Him. We need God to have mercy, and save us!
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. –Romans 5:8
In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. –I John 4:9&10
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. –Romans 6:23. God sent His Son, Jesus, to remove the obstacle of sin…
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. –Matthew 1:21
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. –John 1:29
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. –John 14:6
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. –Acts 4:12
If we are to “believe in” or “accept” Jesus Christ for salvation, we must first recognize the way God sees us (no good in us, sinfully separated from Him), and then we must repent from our sins by the way of redemption He made through His Son.
The stumbling block of this “acceptance” matter has two angles; one is that we promote salvation by accepting God, rather than repenting. The second is that we forward the idea of God accepting man, without the need for repentance. This second one would be the error fallen into by the Galatians- a turning back to a works based salvation, rather than by faith in Jesus’ atoning work alone.
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified…I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. –Galatians 2:16,21
When we apply the concept of “the works of the law” to our lives today, it would simply mean that we are believing that there is good in man, and that he does good things pleasing to God, prior to being saved through Jesus Christ. This is what the churches largely promote by the preaching of God’s “acceptance” toward the unsaved. Christ died for sinners: He came to call sinners to repentance, For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. - Romans 3:23. Jesus did not die on the cross for us because we are good, but because we are not good; and otherwise would have no hope of salvation. Now that is the real love of God toward us all, praise be to His name!!!
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just 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. –I John 1:8-10
There are two main points to forward in this article; (1) Mankind is lost in sin and needs salvation through Jesus Christ. This must be preached in truth, according to God’s Word: this will mean repentance from sin, and not a mere acceptance of God’s person. The latter can only bring a false sense of security based upon the non-existent “good” within them. (2) There are many professing Christians today that are really not saved at all, and some of this may be due only to misunderstanding. Time is growing very short, so please re-evaluate your relationship with God by prayer, and the study of His Word (King James Bible), to be sure things are right with Him. There is nothing worse than being devout, but sincerely wrong. I was one of these, brethren. Let me close out with a few directives from God’s Word;
For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. –II Corinthians 10:12
And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. –Hebrews 12:5-11
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. –Matthew 7:24-27
You may contact via U.S. Mail: Andrew Schwankl 913 Ivy Lane Ephrata, PA 17522
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