How would you summarise the message of the gospel in a single brief phrase, to be used like a heading? Perhaps we might come up with something like ‘salvation by grace through faith’ or ‘trusting in Jesus alone for our salvation’. These kinds of catchcries rightly point to the fact that salvation is all about unmerited grace that is only available through the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus.
But how would you feel about this as a summary of the gospel: “repentance for the forgiveness of sins”? I suspect that many Christians would consider it too negative and ‘worksy’: too much emphasis on sin and repentance, and not enough emphasis on the grace of Jesus. But do you know who used this phrase as a summary of the gospel?
Jesus.
The Gospel writer, Luke, records a post resurrection appearance of Jesus to his stunned disciples where Jesus explains the meaning of all that had just occurred:
“Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations”.”(Luke 24:45-47)
Jesus then tells them to wait in Jerusalem to receive “power from on high” before then going out into the world to preach this message (Luke 24:48).
Did you notice Jesus’ summary of the gospel? “Repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” According to Jesus, this is the essence of the message that must now be preached “to all nations” (v.47).
Really, Jesus? Isn’t this a bit negative? Too much emphasis on sin and not enough on grace!
Apparently not.
Here’s a thought to chew over. Has the modern church lost its teeth? Do we shy away from any discussion of sin and judgment and people’s need to repent? Do we emphasise grace but fail to explain why grace is so desperately needed? Do we promote the cure without clearly articulating the disease and its dire consequences? In our desperate desire to not offend people have we become purveyors of a lopsided gospel that majors on the blessing and glosses over mankind’s insidious and deadly problem?
I feel this pressure every time I preach as a guest preacher in another church. I feel that I almost have to apologise for mentioning sin and judgment. Many years ago I preached a gospel message in a large church and the Chairman of the Elders phoned me later that day to complain. He said to me, “We haven’t heard the words ‘sin’ and ‘judgment’ in this church for many years, and we never want to hear them again!”
But Jesus had no such qualms. He began his ministry by defining his essential message:
“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'” (Matthew 4:17).
And this continued to be the essence of his preaching:
“I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32).
At times Jesus was extremely blunt:
“Unless you repent, you will all perish!” (Luke 13:5).
In fact, in Jesus’ recorded sermons, he speaks of sin and the need for repentance on 25 separate occasions and he speaks about the coming judgment at least 35 times! At times he was extremely confronting, using parables and graphic images depicting unrepentant sinners being tormented in flames.
I can imagine Jesus being invited to preach in a church today and the lead pastor saying to him, beforehand:
“Now listen, Jesus. I’ve read a lot of your previous sermons. And don’t get me wrong, they’re very good. But they’re a bit negative and confronting. So can you just ease up with all this talk about sin and judgment and the need to repent? Try to keep it a bit more positive if you don’t mind.”
But Jesus would mind. Because the good news of the gospel only makes sense if the bad news of our predicament is fully understood. And salvation – true salvation – can only occur when people are convicted of their sin and fall on their knees before the Saviour in deep repentance.
By “repentance” we are not talking about perfect obedience to God’s commands that somehow enables a person to merit salvation – for we will all remain undeserving sinners until the day we die (Romans 3:23). The repentance that Jesus is demanding involves three aspects: deep remorse for our rebellion against God, a change of heart in throwing ourselves on the mercy of the Saviour, and a change of life where we seek to follow and honour Jesus as our Lord.
J.I. Packer asserts: “The gospel begins with repentance; it is the call to turn away from sin and turn toward Christ” (Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God (IVP, 1961), p. 71.)
So here’s the challenge: Does your church regularly call people to turn away from sin? Does the modern church still faithfully proclaim the message that Jesus said was to be preached to all nations: “repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 24:27)?
Or are we peddling a softer, more sanitised message that will not offend people’s sensibilities?
