There is a subject that isn’t broached much these days from the pulpits of many or our evangelical ‘seeker friendly’ churches. Whoops! Did I say ‘pulpit’? I meant ‘stage’. We got rid of pulpits along with the church steeple, crosses, all organs and most pianos. But I digress. Back to the subject at hand.

You know, I can’t remember the last time I heard a sermon message about repentance. I guess it’s too closely connected to that other uncomfortable topic, ‘sin’, which in turn could remind you of that dreaded “J” word (that would be ‘judgment’).

The question I have about all this is this – If the gospel message is about Christ dying for our sin and his subsequent resurrection, how can we call a message ‘the gospel’ if sin and repentance aren’t even touched upon? Granted, while Paul did not use the word ‘repent’ in his summary of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:1-5, it is implicit in Christ’s death for sin. Sin MUST be dealt with and the only thing to do with sin is repent (turn from it and turn to God)! We also have some pretty good examples in the New Testament that demonstrate a fairly high priority on the subject of repentance to the gospel.

In those days John the Baptist came into the wilderness of Judea proclaiming, “Repent,  for the kingdom of heaven is near.”  Matthew 3:1-2 (The beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry)

From that time Jesus began to preach this message:  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Matthew 4:17 (The beginning of Jesus’ ministry)

So they went out and preached that all should repent. Mark 6:12 (The twelve disciples, sent out by Jesus)

Peter said to them, “Repent, and each one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:28 (Peter preaching in Jerusalem after Pentecost)

“Therefore, King Agrippa,  I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but I declared to those in Damascus first, and then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea and to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God,  performing deeds consistent with repentance. Acts 26:19-20 (Paul before King Agrippa)

It appears that rather than omit the topics of sin and repentance from our gospel message that they should be of the highest priority!

I would submit to you that if we think we are sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and we omit the issue if sin and the need for repentance, we are deceiving our listeners. If our intention is to lead the listener to a decision for Christ without dealing with sin, but to bring it up at a later time, we might be con artists guilty of a spiritual ‘bait and switch’.