\u201cWe\u2019re losing the nerve to call people to repentance.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what a retired pastor recently told me, expressing his concern that while the next generation loves to champion the unconditional love and grace of God, rarely does their message include Christ\u2019s call to repentance. Younger pastors, he said, want to meet people where they are, in whatever mess they\u2019re in, and let the Spirit clean them up later. God will deal with their sins down the road.<\/p>\n
But in the Gospels, Jesus seems much more extreme. His good news was the announcement of God\u2019s kingdom, and the first word to follow? \u201cRepent!\u201d No wonder Jesus didn\u2019t tell the rich young ruler to walk with Him for a while until he stopped coveting. No, He got to the root of an unrepentant heart when He said, \u201cSell all your possessions and give them to the poor.\u201d In other words, Repent. Turn around.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m cheering for the next generation,\u201d the pastor said, \u201cbut I feel like an ogre for stressing repentance all the time….\u201d<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s where we so easily take a wrong turn. Wherever did we get the notion that the call to repentance is opposed to the championing of grace? When did truth and grace get separated? Or repentance and faith?<\/p>\n
To think that the message of grace and the call of repentance are opposed to one another is to miss the beautiful, grace-filled nature of what repentance actually is. The call to repent is one of greatest expressions of the love of God<\/strong>.<\/p>\n