8 Signs of True Repentance

October 4, 2019 | Jennifer Greenberg

“I’m sorry,” I remember my dad saying. “I’m sorry, and I love you.”
He didn’t say what he was sorry for. He didn’t mention the hand-shaped bruises aching up and down my small 11-year-old body. He didn’t seem to understand how afraid and devastated I’d been. But that was the first time I’d ever heard my dad say sorry, and the relief it brought felt like rain after a drought.
In the back of my mind, a little voice said, Don’t trust this. He’s only apologizing because Mom threatened to tell Pastor Jim if he didn’t. I shoved that voice down. I smothered my doubts. I had prayed for so long that Dad would change. I had tried to be a good daughter who reminded him of Jesus.
His apology, however vague, was hope and a sign that God was working. Or was it?
Cruelty of False Repentance
Around a decade would pass before I’d hear my dad apologize again. Initially, I didn’t assume sincerity. By that time, I’d already blown the whistle. I’d told our pastor everything. Dad was under church discipline. His marriage was imploding. He had nothing to gain by lying, did he?
And then something strange happened. As I began sharing my story with pastors, family, and friends, my dad would admit and apologize for things he’d done, but then weeks or even days later, claim he didn’t remember any of it. He’d say he didn’t recall beating me, throwing me down on the stairs, or even his recent apologies for those events. He didn’t remember his sexual comments, throwing a knife at me, or threatening to shoot me. He’d apologize, then retract. Remember, then claim to forget. Back and forth this went for maybe a year, until I felt like I was losing my mind.
“I don’t know what to think,” I told him over the phone one day. Huddled on the kitchen floor, I spoke between sobs. “I can believe either you’re crazy and didn’t know what you were doing, or you’re evil and you understood completely.”
“I’m not crazy,” he replied calmly. “You’re just going to have to accept that I’m evil.”

Analyzing Repentance
I’ve had a lot of experience dealing with unrepentant people: multiple abusers spanning two decades of child abuse, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. All of this was reinforced and compounded by psychological abuse, which continued well into my 30s. Because of my background, I’ve accrued some practical wisdom. Because of my faith, I’ve turned to the Bible for guidance when distinguishing real from fake repentance.
There are stubborn sinners who refuse to apologize, liars who claim to be sorry when they’re not, and hypocrites who may truly believe they’re sorry yet lack sympathy or understanding of biblical repentance. So what are the attributes of genuine repentance? Here are eight signs I’ve gleaned, from life and from God’s Word.

1. A Repentant Person Is Appalled by Sin
Horrified by what they’ve done, they’ll humble themselves, grieve the pain they’ve caused, and be cut to the heart in their conviction. As the prophet mourned in Isaiah 6:5, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips.”

2. They Make Amends
In Luke 19:1–10, we read the story of Zacchaeus and the generosity he demonstrated as part of his repentance. A tax collector, thief, and oppressor of God’s people, Zacchaeus made amends: “Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount” (v. 8). And Jesus confirmed the authenticity of Zacchaeus’s repentance: “Today salvation has come to this house” (v. 9).

3. They Accept Consequences
A genuinely repentant person will accept consequences. These may include losing the trust of others, relinquishing a position of authority, or submitting to worldly authorities such as law enforcement. When the thief on the cross repented, he said to his companion, “Do you not fear God? . . . We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve” (Luke 23:40–41). And Jesus commended his repentance by assuring him of his salvation: “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

4. They Don’t Expect or Demand Forgiveness
Often I’ve been told by my abuser, “If you don’t forgive me, God won’t forgive you.” But this threatening posture indicates insincere repentance. It’s unloving, manipulative, and implies the offender doesn’t accept or comprehend the gravity of what they’ve done. When Jacob approached Esau and repented, he didn’t expect mercy, let alone compassion. In Genesis 32, we read he felt “great fear” and “distress” (v. 7). He anticipated an attack (v. 11) and considered himself unworthy of kindness (v. 10). In fact, so certain was Jacob of retribution that he separated his wives, children, and servants from him, lest Esau’s anger fall on them too.

5. They Feel the Depth of the Pain They’ve Caused
A repentant person won’t try to minimize, downplay, or excuse what they’ve done. They won’t point to all their good works as if those actions somehow outweigh or cancel out the bad. They’ll view even their “righteous acts” as “filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6). They won’t shame the offended party for being hurt or angry. They won’t blame their victims or other people for making them sin. Rather, they’ll take responsibility, acknowledge the damage they’ve done, and express remorse.

6. They Change Their Behavior
A truly repentant person will realize they need God to sanctify their heart. They’ll proactively work to change their behavior and take steps to avoid sin and temptation. That may mean seeing a counselor, going to rehab, or asking friends, pastors, or law enforcement to give them oversight and hold them accountable. Consider the stark contrast between the church persecutor Saul before salvation and after. Acts 9 tells us that even though some Christians were understandably hesitant to trust him, his character had already altered dramatically.

7. They Grant Space to Heal
The fruit of the Spirit includes patience, kindness, grace, and self-control (Gal. 5:22–23). A truly repentant person will demonstrate these consistently. They won’t feel entitled to trust or acceptance; rather, they’ll be humble, unassuming, and willing to sacrifice their own wants and needs for the benefit of the injured party. They won’t pressure us to hurry up and “get over it” or “move on.” Rather, they’ll understand our distrust, acknowledge our grief, and honor the boundaries we’ve requested.
As an abuser, they loved their sin more than they loved you. As a repentant sinner, they should love you more than their sin and pride.
As an abuser, they loved their sin more than they loved you. As a repentant sinner, they should love you more than their sin and pride.

8. They’re Awestruck by Forgiveness
If a person feels entitled to forgiveness, they don’t value forgiveness. When Jacob received Esau’s forgiveness, he was so astounded he wept: “To see your face is like seeing the face of God, for you have received me favorably” (Gen. 30:10). Jacob realized that forgiveness is divine miracle, a picture of the Messiah, and a sign of the Lord’s mercy. Though Jacob and Esau hadn’t spoken for 40 years, Jacob knew God had enabled Esau, by grace, to forgive him.
Repentance and Forgiveness Are from God
When these eight signs of repentance are authentically present, we are blessed. Our offender has forsaken evil, and the God of peace is glorified. But what do we do when these signs are not present? What do we do when someone lies about being sorry to avoid consequences, or uses our goodwill as an opportunity to hurt us again?
For more than three decades, I begged God to call my abusive dad to repentance. Instead, like Pharaoh, his heart only hardened. His pretenses at change turned out to be a strategy he used to enable his wickedness. My own love and trust were weaponized to betray me.
Eventually, I had to accept that my dad didn’t want to get better. And no matter how much I loved him and wanted him to repent, change, be a good dad, love me, and love Jesus, salvation is God’s work, and I couldn’t fix my dad. Sometimes the most loving thing we can do for a person is to not let them hurt us any longer.


Jennifer Greenberg is an author, recording artist, and church pianist. She belongs to The Haven OPC in Long Island, New York. She recently published her debut book, Not Forsaken: A Story of Life After Abuse: How Faith Brought One Woman From Victim to Survivor (The Good Book Co., 2019). Her writings combine experience with the gospel of hope to help victims, survivors, and those who walk alongside them. Jennifer is married to her best friend, Jason, and they have three daughters: Elowyn, Leianor, and Gwynevere. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and her website.

Does Doctrine Really Matter?

Short answer - YES, it matters!  Why?  Below is a solid, condensed article by John MacArthur explaining why.  If you would like to dig in deeper, you can access his other articles about this subject on his website - Grace To You. I would also add the following scripture to all the scriptures in MacArthur's article because of it's crucial importance - it speaks for itself: 

This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough!  Galatians 5:9 NLT  

Does Doctrine Really Matter

Psalm 111:10; Psalm 119:66; Proverbs 2:2–6; 1 Timothy 4:6; 1 Timothy 6:3–4; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Timothy 4:2–3; Titus 1:9; Titus 2:1

by John MacArthur


Is it enough to "believe in Jesus" in some amorphous sense that divorces "faith" from any particular doctrine about Him, or is doctrine—and the content of our faith—really important after all?

Scripture plainly teaches that we must be sound in the faith—which is to say that doctrine does matter (1 Timothy 4:6; 2 Timothy 4:2-3; Titus 1:9; 2:1). It matters a lot.

"If anyone advocates a different doctrine, and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing" (1 Timothy 6:3-4, emphasis added).

Sound, biblical doctrine is a necessary aspect of true wisdom and authentic faith. The attitude that scorns doctrine while elevating feelings or blind trust cannot legitimately be called faith at all, even if it masquerades as Christianity. It is actually an irrational form of unbelief.

God holds us accountable for what we believe as well as how we think about the truth He has revealed. All Scripture testifies to the fact that God wants us to know and understand the truth. He wants us to be wise. His will is that we use our minds. We are supposed to think, meditate, and above all, to be discerning.

The content of our faith is crucial. Sincerity is not sufficient.

Consider, for example, these well-known verses. Note the repeated use of words like truth, knowledge, discernment, wisdom, and understanding:"Thou dost desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part Thou wilt make me know wisdom" (Psalm 51:6).

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments" (Psalm 111:10).

"Teach me good discernment and knowledge, For I believe in Thy commandments" (Psalm 119:66).
Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding; for if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding; if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the Lord, and discover the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding" (Proverbs 2:2-6).
"The beginning of wisdom is: acquire wisdom; and with all your acquiring, get understanding" (Proverbs 4:7).
"We have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding" (Colossians 1:9).
"In [Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3).

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16).

God's Word makes it abundantly clear that He wants us to use our minds. And one of the most vital duties facing every Christian—especially in an era (such as ours) when the church is overrun with contradictory ideas and spiritual confusion—is the duty of discernment.

In the days and weeks to come, we are going to consider what Scripture has to say about discernment. We'll look at some common pitfalls that often ensnare the best of Christians, and we'll look at some popular ideas circulating in the church today that demand careful biblical analysis and discriminating wisdom.

CHRISTIANITY IS NOT ABOUT FEELING COMFORTABLE

 

by Bill Muehlenberg

PostedJun 11, 20How many times have you met professing believers who tell you they are “comfortable” – or “not comfortable” – with something related to scriptural truth or biblical morality? They seem to have decided that truth and error, right and wrong, are to be decided solely on the basis of how they feel – if they are “comfortable” about it or not.This is what passes for Christianity today in far too much of the West. The Christian life is now all about feelings – about emoting. If something does not pass your emote-o-meter, you reject it. And if it passes, you embrace it. This is the tragedy of contemporary Christianity.How many times have you met professing believers who tell you they are “comfortable” – or “not comfortable” – with something related to scriptural truth or biblical morality? They seem to have decided that truth and error, right and wrong, are to be decided solely on the basis of how they feel – if they are “comfortable” about it or not.

How many times have you met professing believers who tell you they are “comfortable” – or “not comfortable” – with something related to scriptural truth or biblical morality? They seem to have decided that truth and error, right and wrong, are to be decided solely on the basis of how they feel – if they are “comfortable” about it or not.

This is what passes for Christianity today in far too much of the West. The Christian life is now all about feelings – about emoting. If something does not pass your emote-o-meter, you reject it. And if it passes, you embrace it. This is the tragedy of contemporary Christianity.

I encounter this all the time, and it grieves me greatly. Imagine how much more it grieves Almighty God. He designed us to walk in truth, to believe truth, to celebrate truth, to align ourselves with truth, and to speak truth. Yet most of us couldn’t give a rip about truth, and only worry about if we are “comfortable” with something.

Never mind the words of John when he said, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 1:4). If John were alive today he would have to write, “I have no greater grief than to hear that my children are walking in their emotions.”

Since when are we to base our lives as believers on how we feel about something? Since when is something to be accepted or rejected based on how “comfortable” we are about it? This has absolutely nothing to do with biblical Christianity. It is always better to be hurt with the truth than to be comforted with a lie.

Yet so many Christians today do not operate this way. They are running on an emotional autopilot. Whatever gives them happy feelings they run with, and whatever gives them icky feelings they eschew. No wonder the church is in such a mess today.

And we find examples of this all around us. For example, on many occasions Christians have spoken with me about the biblical doctrine of hell. They ask me what my feelings are about it. I first remind them that my feelings have absolutely nothing to do with the matter.

What does matter is what God has spoken about this issue. And given that he has spoken much about this throughout the Bible, we all better stand up and take notice. And even more importantly, given that Jesus spoke more about the realities and terrors of hell than anyone else in the entire Bible, then we really better take heed to this.

Here we have all these Christians who claim to be followers of Christ, yet on one of the themes he spoke about the most often, these Christians have decided that they will not agree with Jesus, simply because they are not comfortable with the teaching.

Their emote-o-meter is running off the charts, and therefore they have effectively decided to put their own feelings ahead of the clear teachings of Jesus. They sin doubly here: they trust in their own fallible feelings instead of the infallible Word of God, and they shake their fists at Jesus Christ, the one they claim to be a disciple of.

Yet they still somehow think they are great Christians! Go figure. I guess they are “comfortable” with that. It gives them a warm, spongy feeling inside, so it must be right. How can their feelings lead them astray? How can their emotions ever be wrong?

And it is not just clearly defined doctrinal issues they assess with their mere feelings. Matters of biblical morality are also decided in this fashion. What is right and wrong is determined entirely by how they feel about things at a given moment. The homosexual issue is a clear case in point.

Forget all the explicit teachings in Scripture about human sexuality in general, and the sin of homosexuality in particular. They have decided – based only on how they feel about all this – that sodomy is peachy, gender is fluid, marriage and family can be anything you want, and sexual sin really does not exist.

All that based simply on one’s emotions. I have chatted with so many of these people. They are “comfortable” with homosexuals and homosexuality. They have no problem with these things because of their lousy emote-o-meter. Instead of testing everything by the inerrant Word of God, they simply feel their way through life.

And these same folks have told me how “comfortable” they feel about having moved on from the faith of their fathers. They actually celebrate the fact that they no longer believe what their Christian parents believed. They have moved on. They are “progressive”. They are going with the times. In other words, they are running on emotions.

It is always easier to run with your deceptive and fleeting feelings than with the unchanging, solid rock of the Bible. These Christians have simply forgotten about – or more likely, completely ignored – warnings such as found in Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”

The deceitful and misleading emotions have now become the defining means by which most believers today live their lives and establish their convictions. Truth means nothing to them, but feelings everything. They are so far bound by their fleshly emotions that they in fact end up suppressing the truth in unrighteousness as Paul warns about in Romans 1.

They become excellent evangelists – for secular humanism. Thus they have become enemies of the gospel. Instead of helping people and aiding them to be set free by the truth, they keep people imprisoned in their sin. But hey, at least they are “comfortable” with all that!

By running with emotions, they have rejected the living God as revealed in Scripture, and invented a god in their own likeness. This is a god who accepts everyone, loves everything, hates nothing, and is stirred by nothing. This is the polar opposite of the God we read about everywhere in Scripture. As I just read the other day in Psalm 5:4-6:

For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness;
with you, evil people are not welcome.
The arrogant cannot stand
in your presence.
You hate all who do wrong;
you destroy those who tell lies.
The bloodthirsty and deceitful
you, Lord, detest.

This God – the one true God – would not make these progressive Christians feel very “comfortable”. Indeed, such a description of God would trouble them greatly. Their emote-o-meter would crash and burn over such truths. They would reject such a God immediately because he does not line up with their worldly feelings.

So truth is spat upon. This means that the God of truth is spat upon as well. Emotions trump everything. ‘Sorry God, but you need to get with the times. Don’t you know that God is only about love? A love that accepts everything and everyone and never is disturbed about anything?’

That of course is not real love. Nor is it real Christianity. One’s comfort levels have nothing to do with real Christianity. As Doug Groothuis once said: “Since the truth may not be what we would prefer. It is revealing that so many people today express approval by saying, ‘I’m comfortable with that,’ and disapproval by saying, ‘I’m not comfortable with that.’ Comfort is important when it comes to furniture and headphones, but it is irrelevant when it comes to truth.”

Quite so. Or as Adrian Rogers put it: “It is better to be divided by Truth, than to be united in error. It is better to speak the Truth that hurts and then heals, than to speak a lie that will comfort and then kill. It is better to be hated for telling the Truth, than to be loved for telling a lie. It is better to stand alone with the Truth, than to be wrong with a multitude. Better to ultimately die with the Truth, than to live with a lie.”

Comfortable Christianity is really a contradiction in terms. There is nothing comfortable about carrying your cross, denying yourself, crucifying the flesh, and running against the ways of the world. The truth of the gospel is always uncomfortable. The sooner we learn that lesson, the better.

As C.S. Lewis rightly said: “If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.”

Or as he said elsewhere: “I haven’t always been a Christian. I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.”

The Crushing Obligation to Keep Doing More and More

 

by Kevin DeYoung

Doing More for God

I understand there are lazy people out there who need to get radical for Jesus. I understand that many people are stingy with their resources and fritter their time away on inane television shows. I understand there are lots of Christians in our churches sitting around doing nothing who need to be challenged not to waste their life. I am deeply thankful for preachers and writers who challenge us to risk everything and make our lives count. I know a lot of sleepy Christians in need of a wake-up call.

But I also know people like me, people who easily feel a sense of responsibility, people who easily feel bad for not doing more. I was the kid in grade school who was ready to answer every question the teacher asked. I signed up for things just because they were offered. I took on extra credit just to be safe. I never skipped a class in college and would have felt bad for missing any chapel service. I took the practice ACT the year before I really took the practice ACT, which was a year before I took the real ACT. For all sorts of reasons—pride, diligence, personality—opportunities have often felt like obligations to me.

And surely I’m not the only one. Surely there are many Christians who are terribly busy because they sincerely want to be obedient to God. We hear sermons that convict us for not praying more. We read books that convince us to do more for global hunger. We talk to friends who inspire us to give more and read more and witness more. The needs seem so urgent. The workers seem so few. If we don’t do something, who will? We want to be involved. We want to make a difference. We want to do what’s expected of us. But there just doesn’t seem to be the time.

Calming the Crazy Man Inside

I think most Christians hear these urgent calls to do more (or feel them internally already) and learn to live with a low-level guilt that comes from not doing enough. We know we can always pray more and give more and evangelize more, so we get used to living in a state of mild disappointment with ourselves. That’s not how the apostle Paul lived (1 Cor. 4:4), and it’s not how God wants us to live, either (Rom. 12:1–2).1 Either we are guilty of sin—like greed, selfishness, idolatry—and we need to repent, be forgiven, and change. Or something else is going on. It’s taken me several years, a lot of reflection, and a bunch of unnecessary busyness to understand that when it comes to good causes and good deeds, “do more or disobey” is not the best thing we can say.

Here are some of thoughts that have helped me get out from under the terror of total obligation.

I am not the Christ. The senior sermon for my graduating class at seminary was given by Gordon Hugenberger of Park Street Church in Boston. The sermon was based on John the Baptist’s words, “I freely confess I am not the Christ.” Hugenberger’s point to a group of soon-to-be pastors was simple: “You may be part of the bridal party, but you are not the groom. You are not the Messiah, so don’t try to be. Along with the Apostles’ Creed and the Belgic Confession and the Westminster Confession, make sure you confess John the Baptist’s creed: I am not the Christ.” I still have a copy of the sermon and listen to it whenever I can find a tape deck. Our Messianic sense of obligation would be greatly relieved if we confessed more regularly what we are not.

There is good news. I was also helped with my busyness issues in seminary by reading a little book by Tim Dearborn called Beyond Duty: A Passion for Christ, a Heart for Mission.2 Dearborn, the director of faith and development for World Vision, argues that for too long the church has motivated people to mission by news of natural catastrophes, complex humanitarian disasters, unreached people groups, and oppressed and exploited minorities. We’ve been given statistics and stories about the all-too-sad conditions of the world. The good news of Christ’s death and resurrection, Dearborn maintains, has been turned into bad news about all the problems in the world and how much more we have to do to make things right. The take-home then becomes: serve more, give more, care more, do more. Dearborn reminds us that the gospel is good news of great joy, and that God is the only hope for the world.

Care is not the same as do. At the Lausanne missions gathering in 2010, John Piper made the statement that “we should care about all suffering, especially eternal suffering.” He chose the word “care” quite carefully. He didn’t want to say we should do something about all suffering, because we can’t do something about everything. But we can care. This means when we hear about grinding poverty or legal abortion or biblical illiteracy, we are not indifferent. We think and feel that these things ought not to be so. We won’t all care about every issue in the same way, but there are some issues we should all care about, some issues that should at least prick our hearts and prompt us to pray. Not giving a rip about sex slaves is not an option for the Christian. Not doing something directly to combat this particular evil *is an option.
We all have a cross to carry. But it’s a cross that kills our sins, smashes our idols, and teaches us the folly of self-reliance.


We have different gifts and different callings. Every Christian must be prepared to give an answer for the reason for the hope that we have (1 Pet. 3:15), but not everyone will do beach evangelism. Every Christian should be involved in the Great Commission, but not everyone will move overseas. Every Christian should oppose abortion, but not everyone will adopt or volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center. We need Christians who spend their lives improving inner-city schools and Christians whose dream is to get great theological books translated into Polish. And we need Christians who don’t make others feel guilty (and don’t feel guilty themselves) when one of us follows a different passion than another. I read and write a lot. That’s what I do well. But that doesn’t mean anyone should feel guilty for not reading and writing as much as I do. You have your own gifts and calling. We have to be okay with other Christians doing certain good things better and more often than we do.

Remember the church. The only work that absolutely must be done in the world is Christ’s work. And Christ’s work is accomplished through Christ’s body. The church—gathered in worship on Sunday and scattered through its members throughout the week—is able to do exponentially more than any of us alone. I can respond to Christ’s call in one or two ways, but I am a part of an organism and organization that can respond and serve in a million ways.

I can always pray right now. Prayer can feel like the biggest burden of all. We can always pray more, and we can’t possibly pray for every need in the world. Even if we are extremely organized and disciplined, we won’t be able to consistently pray for more than a handful of people and problems. But that doesn’t mean our prayers are limited to the items we can write on a 3 × 5 card. If your aunt’s cousin has upcoming heart surgery, pray immediately after you hear about it. When a missionary shares her requests, pray right on the spot for them. Don’t let the moment pass you by. Pray a short prayer. Trust God for the results and, in many cases, move on.

Jesus didn’t do it all. Jesus didn’t meet every need. He left people waiting in line to be healed. He left one town to preach to another. He hid away to pray. He got tired. He never interacted with the vast majority of people on the planet. He spent thirty years in training and only three years in ministry. He did not try to do it all. And yet, he did everything God asked him to do.

Take Time to Be Holy

I pray that nothing in this encourages you to embrace cheap grace or easy believism. We all have a cross to carry. But it’s a cross that kills our sins, smashes our idols, and teaches us the folly of self-reliance. It’s a cross that says I’ll do anything to follow Jesus, not a cross that says I have to do everything for Jesus.

No doubt some Christians need to be shaken out of their lethargy and to get busy for the kingdom. But many Christians are too busy already. I can take “redeem the time” (see Eph. 5:16, KJV) as a summons to better time management when in reality it’s a call to be holy more than a call to possess the seven habits of highly effective people. I can turn every “is” into an “ought.” I can overlook the role that necessity and proximity play in establishing divine obligations.3 I can forget that my circle of influence will inevitably be smaller than my circle of concern.

Above all, I can lose sight of the good news that the universe is not upheld by the word of my power (see Heb. 1:3). That’s Christ’s work, and no one else can do it. Hallelujah—he doesn’t even expect me to try.


Notes:
See my chapter “The Pleasure of God and the Possibility of Godliness,” in The Hole in Our Holiness (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012).
Tim Dearborn, Beyond Duty: A Passion for Christ, a Heart for Mission (Federal Way, WA: World Vision, 1997).
Cf. Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert, What Is the Mission of the Church: Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission(Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011), 183–186, 225. See also my article “Stewardship, Obligation, and the Poor,” at http://www.9marks.org /journal/obligation-stewardship-and-poor.

This content was originally published on Crossway

Studying Revelation is a Blessing

 

Did People Just Disappear?

 

The Rapture Explained

(click on above)

Teaching and Preaching Prophecy

 

Pastor Tom Hughes of the 412 Church in San Jacinto, California, wrote an article titled, "Five Reasons Pastors Don't Teach Bible Prophecy." Below are the five reasons from his article.

They don't understand prophecy

They fear offending members of the church

They sense it will scare people

They fear people will stop giving

They fear looking like fringe groups who take things to an extreme

Even though written several years ago, the list remains relevant today. Fear stands out as the key motive behind the silence. Pastors also say they do not understand prophecy, but do they take the time to learn or turn to those who do understand it?

Someone might ask: "Why does that matter? Does it really make a difference if preachers keep quiet on future things as long as they proclaim the Gospel with biblical clarity? 

It not only matters a great deal, but it's risky to ignore a topic that the Bible emphasizes over and over again. The neglect of biblical prophecy in the pulpit results in: 

1. BELIEVERS RELYING UPON SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE INTERNET FOR END TIMES THEOLOGY 

When pastors remain silent on biblical prophecy, believers look for information on biblical prophecy on social media and the Internet. There they find a wide array of teachings and opinions, some biblical, but most are false and misleading. 

Some believers possess the needed scriptural discernment to sort through the mess of various teachings. But as the lack of biblical knowledge reaches epidemic proportions among those claiming to be Christians, most churchgoers lack the necessary discernment and fall prey to the misinformation available at their fingertips.

A couple questions for preachers: Do you really desire for social media and the Internet to be the primary source of information regarding prophecy for those in your church? Would it not be better for you to provide the sound biblical guidance regarding our hope that they so desperately need during these perilous times?

2. THE FLOURISHING OF FALSE TEACHING

Many pastors fear causing division in their congregation and thus remain silent on matters related to the Rapture. However, they fail to realize that it's their refusal to preach on what the Bible says on this matter that has led to the very diversity of opinions in their churches. The potential for disunity is there even if they remain quiet.

Last year, I met with a pastor who said that if he preached what I believe, half of his congregation would walk out the door. It occurred to me later that if he taught what he really believes, the other half would quickly depart. We started attending his church after seeing that it's statement of faith said it was premillennial. The pastor, however, was most definitely not premillennial! 

Pastors who ignore biblical prophecy allow false teachings to flourish or as in the case of the one I just mentioned, the church remains in the dark about what he really believes. 

3. BELIEVERS LOOKING TO THIS LIFE FOR THEIR IMMEDIATE HOPE

Another consequence of silence in the pulpits regarding future things is that believers look for hope in things other than Jesus' imminent appearing.

A popular theology today, often referred to as "dominion theology," teaches that the church will prevail against the evils of this word and usher in a millennial reign of its own before Jesus returns to the earth. Many Christians falsely believe the church itself is their hope for the future.

Additionally, even pastors who do not adhere to "dominion theology" also make the church the object of hope for those that hear them preach. Those who allegorize the book of Revelation often, in my experience, change its message to exalt the church rather than Jesus. 

Still others give the impression that things will return to normal. "The world has seen difficult times at other times in history," they say, "and the current crises are no different."

All these things point believers to this life as their hope rather than Jesus' appearing.

4. REDUCED MOTIVATION FOR GODLY LIVING

The Lord intended our hope in the Rapture to be a motivation for godly living. John wrote these words in 1 John 3:2-3:

Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Our hope in Jesus' imminent return has a purifying impact on our lives. Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, said the following in a recent interview"

"I don't know why more people don't want to talk about eschatology or end-times events because Bible prophecy is not given to scare us but to prepare us," he said. "And not only that, but I think it motivates us."

Laurie continued, "Talking about these things can be very motivating for Christians to keep us on our toes spiritually.

"Knowing Jesus could come back at any moment," he said, can "be a motivator to live a godly life."

Silence in the pulpits regarding our "blessed hope" leaves those in the seats assuming they have their whole lives ahead of them although Scripture tells us this may not be the case. For many, this negates the urgency to walk closely with the Lord.

5. BELIEVERS THAT ARE UNPREPARED FOR THE DANGERS THAT LIE AHEAD FOR THIS WORLD

The scarcity of preaching on biblical prophecy leaves believers unprepared and unaware of the dark and threatening storm clouds gathering on our horizon.

The Bible promises that Jesus may come at any time, but we may experience tough times before that happens.

The war in Ukraine has led to a humanitarian crisis not seen since WWII and will very likely lead to critical food shortages throughout the world by the end of 2022. We live in perilous times, and they are about to get much worse.

The current silence in the pulpits not only shifts the hope of the saints to this life, but leaves them ill-prepared to deal with ever-present threats of nuclear war and famine. If their focus is solely on their future in this life, these things will cause anxiety 

Today more than ever before, believers need the assurances of Scripture regarding their joyful and glorious future. Pastors who refuse to teach about Jesus' imminent appearing from the pulpit deny their people critically needed assurance as the threats of war and famine increase with each passing day.

6. BELIEVERS NOT WATCHING FOR THE LORD'S APPEARING AS JESUS INSTRUCTED US TO DO

Referring to His return, Jesus said this in Matthew 24:44, "Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." In the same discourse, He later said, "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour" (25:13) 

Jesus' instruction led to a church that eagerly anticipated His return. In Philippians 3:20-21 Paul wrote this:

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject all things to himself. 

The Greek word for "await" in verse 20 denotes to an "intense anticipation" or an "excited expectation" of a future event.[iii]  In this text, Paul portrays believers as eagerly longing Jesus' appearing with great anticipation; they expected it to happen at any moment. 

When we watch for Jesus' appearing, we copy the eager expectancy of the early church to meet Jesus in the air. 

7. BELIEVERS NOT RECOGNIZING THE CONVERGENCE OF PROPHETIC SIGNS 

My head is spinning from all that's happening in our world from a prophecy perspective. A few years ago, I believed that many signs of the approaching Tribulation were converging as never before, but today this reality has grown beyond what I could have imagined back then. 

As the shadow of the approaching Tribulation grows darker by the day, those aware of this convergence of prophetic signs recognize that Jesus' appearing to take us home must be ever so close. 

I never thought I would hear a president of the United States talk openly about the need for the New World Order, which during the Tribulation will morph into the kingdom of the antichrist. But yesterday, it happened as President Biden started talking about his commitment to it! I have long assumed this, but it's another matter to hear him talk about it as something that is going to happen. 

The Rapture may happen soon, and I pray that it does. But if not, we will see our world rapidly deteriorate as critical food shortages develop and as the coming New World Order continues to suppress the rights of people throughout the world. 

Pastors, why not start preaching about biblical prophecy now rather than wait until people in your church demand that you teach on this subject, or the threatening conditions around you leave you with no choice but to talk about the details of our joyous and imminent hope? 

In Tom Hughes' article titled, "Five Reasons Pastors Don't Teach Bible Prophecy," he said this, "Let Jesus also be the example in what we teach and preach. He taught a great deal about His Second Coming and the signs surrounding it. We should, too."

A realistic look at our world is indeed scary and grows more ominous with each passing day, but as we view current events through the lens of Scripture and what it promises us about our future, the Lord gives us strength and peace to face the joyous future that lies ahead for us.

As Russia Invades Ukraine, Pastors Stay to Serve, Pray … and Resist

JAYSON CASPER|FEBRUARY 24, 2022 

“In our churches—whether it is Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, or Evangelical churches—there are more new people. Not only on Sundays or Saturdays, but also during the week,” he told the Australian Bible Society news service. “On evenings when we have a Bible study, new people are coming. They want to pray, to hear something that brings hope or comfort.”

Rick Perhai, director of advanced degrees at KTS, said the international church he pastors in Kyiv has several leaders recommending the congregation continue its worship this coming Sunday. Some of their expat members have fled; others want to stay and join the fight.

He laments that the enemy is seeking to destroy Ukraine as its Christians grow more and more poised to carry the gospel to surrounding nations. Nonetheless, he is praying for the Russians, asking for God to grant them repentance.

But his petition is also imprecatory.

“Pray that the nation of Russia would tire of their tyrant’s rantings at home and abroad,” Perhai said, “and that they would remove him.”

Dyatlik also requested prayer for “the truth,” citing all the “perspectives” in the media.

“We did not invite the war. The Kremlin and Vladimir Putin brought it to Ukraine. … There is moral evaluation of the acts of aggression like this,” wrote the theological educator. “These acts have biblical definition and biblical evaluation. Please pray for the spiritual discernment about these things.”

Dyatlik closed his prayer letter with requests for believers on both sides of the conflict:

Please pray about Russian Christians that they would raise their prayers and voice toward Russian government to stop the aggression; [that they] would not keep silent; please pray for the Western governments, of the US and European Union.

Finally, please pray about Ukrainian Christians, that we will serve and live as the community of hope in a full sense of this term; that during these terrible times we would invite more and more people to the relationships with God and His children, to the relationships of love, hope, encouragement, support; that our minds and characters would continue to transform into the character of Jesus Christ.

Western nations have roundly condemned Putin, and readied sanctions. Reports circulated of Russians lining up at ATMs to withdraw their cash, fearful the nation would be cut off from the international banking system.

Meanwhile in Donetsk, where 25 missionary teams have been working to establish churches, gas lines require a wait of hours for a rationed supply of five gallons. Grocery stories suffer empty shelves, as Ukrainians stock up on emergency food and water.

Bandura conveys his supervisor’s two main prayer requests.

“First, to stop the aggressor,” he said. “But then for peace of mind, to respond with Christian character and not from human hate.”

Do You Know Jesus?

 

This is just a simple question that only requires a yes or no answer..........................

Do you know Jesus Christ? 

If you answered yes, hallelujah, praise the Lord!

If you answered no, here is the next question..............

Would you like to know Jesus Christ?  

If you answered yes or maybe you are just curious and want more information about this Jesus, here is a website that can take you through step by step and also connect you to someone who will answer any questions you may have.

                     https://peacewithgod.net/

Our world is becoming more and more confusing, violent and scary. Jesus can bring peace to your heart and give you hope for the future. Don't wait until it's too late - make a decision for Christ today ~ 

Colossians 4:5-6

During these times of unrest, civil disobedience, pandemic, economic downfall, etc. I find myself vacillating between discouragement, compassion, anger, fear, contempt and concern. 

I remember that I am not an American first. Nor am I a conservative or a liberal or a mom or a wife first. I am a child of God - first and foremost. My view of this world, this country, my community and my church should be through the eyes of Jesus, not my own. 

And so I turn to God's word to figure out how He would have me behave, especially toward unbelievers. So much richness and wisdom to be found there. I remember how He has told us to ask for wisdom and He will give it to us. Here's a good article that I believe encompasses the scriptures I found.

Proper conduct towards unbelievers

by Matt Slick
12/01/08

"Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone," Col. 4:5-6(NIV)

How do you behave with and toward unbelievers? Do you like them? Do you hate them? Do you tolerate them? Are you concerned about their salvation? Do you act like them when you aren't in Christian company? Do you snub them if they aren't holy? Some Christians think that being kind to unbelievers is like throwing pearls before swine. Then there are Christians who stand on street corners, in malls, and in front of abortion clinics to witness to unbelievers. Others just don't care one way or another. Where do you fit in? Do you share your faith using hugs or headlocks? Honey or a hammer? Or do you even share your faith at all?

The Word of God is very specific about how you as a Christian are to conduct yourself toward the non-Christian. Turn with me to Col. 4:5-6 and we will read together what God wants you, as a Christian, to do.

The literal translation of Col. 4:5-6 is

In wisdom, walk toward the ones outside, redeeming the time. Let your word be always in grace, having been seasoned with salt, to know how it is necessary for each one of you to answer.

1. God wants you to conduct yourselves with wisdom toward unbelievers, v. 5
   1. First of all, before anything else is said, we need to focus on something very important: the cross of Christ.
      1. It is because of the cross and our redemption found there that we are able to seek to be wise and good towards unbelievers.
      2. The sacrifice of Christ has cleansed us from our sins, forgiven us our trespasses, and enabled us to be gracious and kind by changing us. As we were once against God in our unbelief, God was gracious and kind to us. Because of Jesus we are to be kind to others.
   2. Literally, the Greek says to "walk in wisdom toward outsiders."
      1. To the Jew every non-Jew was an outsider. To the Christian, every non-Christian is an outsider; that is, outside the church. Outside of a relationship with the Lord Jesus.
      2. The context of the church: "In the days of the early church believers were often slandered by these outsiders. Christians were called atheists because they served no visible gods, unpatriotic because they did not burn incense before the image of the emperor, and immoral because, of necessity, they would often meet behind locked doors."
      3. Today there is still an attack on the church. Christians are called bigots because they condemn homosexuality, intolerant because they oppose abortion, religious extremists because they condemn sin, and narrow-minded because they believe there is one "one faith, one Lord, and one baptism" (Eph. 4:5).
      4. Yet, in spite of these attacks we are to remain humble, loving, caring, kind, and gentle. If we are not, if we do not show love and forbearance in the face of cruelty, insult, intolerance, and ridicule, then you are not showing the world that we know Jesus?
   3. That is why it is so important to have wise conduct before unbelievers.
      1. One reason is so you aren't made a fool.
      2. The reputation of the gospel depends on you.
      3. The world judges Christianity by what it sees in you.
         1. 1. Are you representing it well with kindness, holiness, consistent reverence to the Lord?
      4. Also, unfortunately, the world judges Christianity by what it sees on television where lies about Christians and Christianity are broadcast as the pagans version of the "gospel truth." All the more reason to live holy lives.
         1. 1. I remember years ago watching Miami vice. It opened with two Christians preaching. There was this bad guy who tripped and fell at the feet of two "Christians" who had Bibles and had been preaching. When the bad guy fell at their feet, the Christians started hitting him with their Bibles, kicking him, and yelling mean things at him.
            2. On another show, "Renegade" there was coffee house scene where a Christian couple behaved rudely, bigoted, cowardly, and stupid.
      5. Nevertheless, in spite of the insults, you are to be wise.
   4. God wants your conduct to be with wisdom. This conduct is your manner of behavior. This means you are to be
      1. sympathetic (this could be in counseling, listening, etc.)
      2. compassionate and humble (1 Pet. 3:8).
         1. "To sum up, let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit;"
      3. loving
         1. "Don't repay evil for evil, or insult with insult, but with blessing repay the evil cast at you" (1 Pet. 3:9).
      4. patient - you are to be considerate and longsuffering with the unbeliever.
      5. know when not to speak
         1. That is often one of the hardest things to do. It is so often the best thing to simply listen to a person and wait for a better opportunity.
      6. If your conduct is indeed with wisdom, then the name of Christ will not be maligned.
         1. The unbeliever will have no basis to mock Christ, His church, or His people.
         2. And, he may be brought into the fold of Christ.
2. God wants you to make the most of the opportunity with unbelievers, v. 5
   1. Literally, the Greek says "redeeming the time," or "buying up the opportunity." The sense then would be "Do not just sit there and wait for opportunity to fall into your lap, but go after it. Yes, buy it."
   2. There is definitely a time to be aggressive in your relationship with an unbeliever.
   3. I would hope that as Christians you would not become complacent about evangelism. God uses the Gospel to call His people out of the world.
   4. The time is short and the world is evil: Ephesians 5:15-17 says, "Be very careful, then, how you live -- not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is."
3. God wants you to let your speech to always be gracious with unbelievers, v. 6
   1. Paul is asking the Colossians to be careful with their tongues.
      1. Careful when they speak in public and private, no gossip.
      2. Careful when they speak to an equal or someone in power, no slander.
      3. Careful when they speak to the poor and the rich, no favoritism.
      4. Careful not only when speaking of the gospel but also when speaking of the weather, the economy, politicians, the authorities.
         1. In all your conversation be good.
   2. Gracious: God wants you to be careful, gracious, kind in your speech.
      1. Grace is getting what you do not deserve. Give them kindness, love, compassion, and patience.
   3. And note the word "always."
      1. In all situations at all times.
         1. playing a sport, watching a movie, driving, shopping, business, in church, out of church, at work....
   4. Being gracious means to be kind, gentle, positive, helpful, and insightful.
   5. A further description of this kind of gracious speech is: seasoned with salt, v. 6.
      1. Those whom the Lord calls "the salt of the earth" (Matt. 5:13) must not be tasteless.
      2. I work at a place where all the people around me are unbelievers. Their conversations are often vile, crass, filled with not so clean jokes. All to get that sense of belonging and being "in" with the rest of the group..
      3. Don't be like the ungodly around you.
      4. Salt prevents corruption.
         1. Elsewhere Paul said, "Do not let any corrupt talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen" (Eph. 4:29).
4. God wants you to know how to answer everyone, v. 6.
   1. Speak the right word and the right time to the right person.
      1. 1 Pet. 3:15 says, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."
   2. Part of having answers means being wise.
      1. Proverbs, as well as the rest of Scripture, is the only source of true wisdom. With wisdom, you will be able to properly answer in times of counseling and heartache, joy and sorrow, and in times when morality is an issue.
   3. Part of having answers means knowing doctrine.
      1. The Catechisms are excellent teachers of doctrine.
      2. Know the doctrine of the Trinity, the deity of Christ and of the Holy Spirit, the gospel message, the resurrection, the return of Christ, and the rest of what the Bible teaches.
   4. Part of having answers means studying difficult issues.
      1. Study evolution, cults, and other religions.
      2. You don't have to master them, just be familiar with them.
5. And don't forget, in your wisdom and grace toward them, pray for them.
   1. They need to be granted the faith that God gives (John 6:28ff)
   2. They need to be granted the repentance that God gives (2 Tim. 2:25).
   3. They need to be granted the belief that God gives (Phil. 1:29).
   4. You can make a difference in your prayers (James 5:16).
      1. A...The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."

Conclusion

So what difference do these verses make in your lives? Plenty. Your conduct and speech before an unbeliever is vitally important. Your conduct should be with wisdom, your speech with grace.

I know a Christian who years ago worked with an unbeliever. For two years, this Christian answered the unbeliever's questions; he was gentle and kind in his conduct in all situations and always tried to point his friend to Christ. He sought to be wise and gracious. Today that unbeliever has become a pastor. The Lord used that Christian, his wise conduct, his gracious speech, to help bring another into His kingdom. To Jesus be the glory. Amen.