“Repentance IS Necessary” By Brad Schoeneck and Eric William Gilmour
Filed under Revival & Prayer on September 17th, 2011 by Eric Gilmour
“When Man Repents, God Relents.”
Last week, I was sitting in a bright yellow waiting room, waiting for my Ford Taurus to get an oil change. While I was there, a minister that had fallen into sin a few years ago was on television. I couldn’t help but watch, interested to hear his heart. This was the second time I had seen him on TV since his moral failure and every time I have seen him, he states that he has gone through extensive therapy, heavy counseling and has finished the restoration process.
He is still married to his wife and finds himself struggling with thoughts of homosexuality to this day. Concerning his failure he states the classic line, “No one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes.” Homosexuality is not a mistake. A mistake is when you forget to close the refrigerator door or forget to take out the trash. This was a gradual hardening of the heart that led to such a moral decline. A heart that has no conviction for lusting for a passing stranger is in a bad state, but a heart that enters a continual affair, with a man is a heart that is need of a deeper work of the Spirit, especially because he was a minister of the gospel (James 3.1). The red flag for me was that I never heard him mention the word repentance or the power of God in his life to overcome, or most importantly the blood of Jesus. Nor did he mention taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ or anything about putting off the old man and putting on the new (2 Cor. 10.5;Romans 13.14). Is this horrible mindset alive in other Christians living in America? Is there forgiveness without repentance? Read these words from William Booth’s prophecy one hundred years ago.
“The chief danger of the 20th century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, “salvation” without regeneration, politics without God and heaven without hell.”
Notice in the middle, General Booth speaks of, “forgiveness without repentance.” I believe in forgiveness and reconciliation to all no matter what social class or level of wickedness they come from. But there is a difference between what we have seen in this pastor and the repentance seen in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke chapter 15).
For those of us who are not familiar with the parable, there are two sons. The younger of the two said to his father, father, “give me my portion of goods; my inheritance, I am entitled to the money that is to come to me” (paraphrased).
The word of God states that not many days after that, the younger son gathered all his things together, took his journey into a far country and wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all of his substance, there arose a mighty famine in the land and he began to be in want. His situation got so bad that he went and joined himself to a citizen or joined himself to a total stranger of that country; and he was sent into the citizen’s fields to feed pigs.
Here is a young man who was once rich and now is in poverty. On top of that, there rose a mighty famine. Things have gotten so bad that he had to join himself to a citizen of that land. The word, “join“ here means, “to cleave to or to be glued together.” It has the same meaning as when a man joins himself to a woman in marriage.
At this point the young man hits rock bottom longing to fill his stomach with the food that the pigs were eating. In the proceeding verse, it states that the young man starts to come to his senses and he begins to remember his Father and his Father’s house. He asks himself, “Why am I here starving to death?”
I believe a lot of individuals, especially the young, are starving to death, maybe not from a physical hunger but for the Word of the Lord. They are wondering, “Are there any absolutes in life?” There are absolutes in life. It is the word of God.
In the book of Amos, it describes that there will come a day when there will be will be a famine not of food or of thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the Word of the Lord. America is at this point.
This young man heard the words of his Father and he didn’t cry out, “Father I have made a mistake” or “nobody is perfect.” He cried out, “I have sinned” and “I have sinned against God.” Not the church. Not his family. But, “I have sinned against heaven and against God.”
Notice the same response from David in Psalm 51, “against You and You only have I sinned.”
At this very point the restoration process began and the young man was restored to his Father’s house and he was clothed in his right mind.
Now, back to the anonymous preacher, not once during the interview did this pastor state that he sinned against God or against heaven. He did not, at all, seem to be concerned about his relationship with Jesus. How do I know that? Well, he didn’t mention Him once. He spoke like a man who was only sorry because he got caught. I know this because; his sorrow didn’t cast him upon the blood of Jesus, but on a “restoration” process. My friend, this is worldly sorrow, which leads to death.
To the individual that is reading this, ask yourself, with a sincere heart, “Have I truly repented of my sins and turned to God?” Do I really know Jesus? Do I really have a relationship with Jesus, not just with a church or a religion? Jesus states that He is the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through Him (John 14.6). Jesus is the door. Now I charge you, to walk through Him, but before you do, make sure you COMPLETELY close the door to your past.
“Repentance must be a change of mind that produces a change of conduct and ends in salvation. Have you forsaken your sins? Or are you still practicing them? If so, you are still a sinner. You may have changed your mind, but if you have not changed your conduct, it is not Godly repentance…False repentance is the sorrow of the world; sorrow for sin arising from worldly considerations and motives connected with the present life.” (Charles Finney, “You Can Be Holy”)
“Jesus doesn’t save you in your sins but from your sins.” (Dr. Michael L. Brown, “How Saved Are We?”)
“You say, “When so and so preached, I got saved.” Well, what are you saved from? Are you saved from lying? Are you saved from cheating? Are you saved from lust? Are you saved from rebellion against your parents? Come on! What are you saved from?” (Leonard Ravenhill, Audio Messages)
Tags: Charles Finney, homosexuality, How Saved Are We, Leonard Ravenhill, minister, repentance, television
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Brad &/or Eric,
I recently posed the question, “When does repentance occur?… when declared, or when demonstrated?” I so often hear accounts of a person praying the sinner’s prayer and declaring ‘I repent of my sins’. However I believe that is an ineffectual statement since repentance is an action, not a declaration. Repentance is demonstrated every time the opportunity to sin arises, and a person chooses not to commit the sin. Sin never ceases to “crouch at our door” as God described it to Cain in Gen 4:7. It is only by the radical change which is born in us through the Holy Spirit that we can see the sin as God sees it; and thereby according to His strength within us, choose not to commit it.
Am I misinterpreting the scriptural meaning of repentance?
Thanks,
Dow Martin
Hey Dow,
Do not forget that God is not a man who is forced to look upon the actions of men to see the truth of their convictions. He simply looks into the heart of a man without having to wait, to see what he does.
While you and I may not be able to see the sincerity of a repentant persons prayer until he produces some action, God is not limited by our lack of understanding or perception.
Thank God that you or I did not have to demonstrate the sincerity of our conversion to an individual or group of other Christians before we were declared righteous and delivered from our sins, or allowed to have fellowship.
Instead of falling into the trap of demanding proof of someone’s conversion we should instead be patiently and loving looking for the evidence of new life.
Detroit prayer rally draws protests
By Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press
Updated 12h 35m ago
Speaking to thousands inside Ford Field, the controversial leader of a 24-hour prayer rally in Detroit called for Jesus to rule over Detroit, Dearborn and America. Otherwise, he warned, the U.S. will fall into ruin.
By Jeff Karoub, AP
Ford Field in Detroit was used for TheCall, a 24-hour Christian prayer gathering.
‘We need Jesus’ face to appear all across America,” Lou Engle thundered to a cheering crowd Friday night at TheCall, a movement that has drawn criticism.
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Before the rally began, about 150 people protested against Engle, who is with a movement called the New Apostolic Reformation. Its leaders often rail against Muslims, gays, abortion, Catholics, African Americans and politicians who support abortion rights.
They say Dearborn is under demonic control because of its Muslim population. And they say they believe African Americans have been cursed by Satan in recent decades because they vote Democratic.
Organizers for Engle’s prayer event were expecting 50,000 to 70,000 people to show up, but the crowd size was markedly smaller than that, with much of the stadium unfilled. They also were heavily targeting African Americans in Detroit, but most of the crowd was white.
“Their message is not one of inclusion; it’s of hate,” said Jennifer Teed of Detroit, who opposed Engle’s prayer event. “I don’t see how that’s religious.”
She held up a sign that read, “All are people” and “Standing on the Side of Love.”
The protest against Engle featured Catholic, Baptist and Methodist pastors from Detroit, as well as gay rights and women’s activists. Chanting “Stop the hate” and “Spread the love,” the protesters said the prayer rally inside the stadium promotes division and intolerance.
“God did not call us to hate,” said the Rev. Charles Williams of Historic Solomon Baptist Church in Detroit.
In the past year, Engle and his supporters have said their message is the key to reviving the world. Engle says black gospel music can defeat pop culture and then lead a generation to convert Muslims.
“We believe that God wants to raise up a new worship sound out of Detroit,” said Engle, who is based in Kansas City, Mo., at the International House of Prayer.
But several Detroit clergymen said they were being patronizing and racist toward minorities. Some Muslims were concerned about their mosques because Engle and others made references to targeting local Islamic centers.
During his talks Friday night, Engle often referred to Dearborn, calling for Jesus to appear “all over Dearborn, all over Michigan.”
To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.
Posted 12h 37m ago | Updated 12h 35m ago
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The above was reproduced in USA Today from the Detroit Free Press. Trending here is that the Call to North America must be extended from all who call upon His Name. To affect the change needed we must heed the Call to declare a Council, and seek His mighty intervention for this present Lost Generation. Each and every believer, wherever we bow our knees before the father, in prayer closets and in fellowhships across this great Continent declare a Fast, and set a three month season for petition of consecration, repentance, rededication, and holy humble regard: to break the bondage over our Land we must join as ONE. Our placement is all over the Continent, and the present darkness requires more than seven key cities for a mutual petition, repentance, and request of the Father to visit again his people. Look up the Asbury Renewal of 1970 on You Tube, the half hour version report, and begin to see the need for all who call upon his name heeding the Yom Kipper Call in 2012, ignored in 2011: for the time is short. If His People, who call upon His Name, will humble themselves, repent, etc….
We are still responding in camps, in preferences of pursuit of ways and means, and in predictable religious scripted manner. This will not suffice. It is time for the Lord to visit His People, this great Land, and for us to see and find Christ the Hope of Glory in One another to make a conjoint effort for the change He will bring.