REPENTANCE, ANYONE?

Word from the Center
Written By Dr. Gregory Seltz

Welcome to “Word from The Center” MONDAY, a devotional word from the Center of our faith, Jesus Christ, with reflections on His Word. I’m Gregory Seltz. Today’s verse is Mark 1:4, where the Bible says,

“John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”

REPENTANCE, ANYONE?


In many Lutheran services on Sundays, the congregation confesses together:

 O almighty God, merciful Father, I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto Thee all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended Thee, and justly deserved Thy temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them, and sincerely repent of them, and I pray Thee, of Thy boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.[1]

 

That is a prayer of repentance to God for His gracious forgiveness. It sounds like something that John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus, might call us to say. Repentance, the God-induced sorrow for our sins in response to His Law, also causes us to fall at the feet of Jesus seeking the forgiveness for our sins that only He can grant. Again, that sounds very much like where John the Baptist would want us to be.

 But there is a problem today with this simple, straightforward, powerful truth. So few people think that they sin anymore. One reason that many people don’t take comfort in God’s forgiveness is because they don’t think they need it. Instead, they actually take comfort in their sin, as if God is unconcerned at worst, or tolerant at best, with whatever one desires to do. In a Newsweek article way back in 1995, the author noted, “Ninety percent of Americans say that they believe in God. Yet the urgent sense of personal sin has all but disappeared in the current upbeat style of American religion.”[2] It’s much worse today. The number of believers is continuing to fall and the disregard for any notion of our actions being sinful is on the rise. Just look at what so many of us consume or do for entertainment these days as proof of our callousness to any notion of sin. In fact, all too often public sin will get you accolades, endorsements, and even thousands of “likes.” Shame? It’s rarely in our vocabulary today, and, if it is, it’s surely not viewed as a positive thing.

 So, here’s the point: John the Baptist’s message is just as relevant today as it was then because, whether we acknowledge that or not, sin is just as destructive. In fact, our brokenness remains more than evident. The “wages of sin” is still “death” (Romans 6:23). And, since God loves the world, He sent a forerunner, John the Baptizer, to prepare the world for a salvation that all of us need. John was sent into a world that had a sin problem, a brokenness that sinful people could never fix on their own. The world was arrogant then, just as it is today. Ever since the Fall into sin, it has been full of people who are full of themselves -- hedonists, moralists, rationalists, secularists, and pragmatists who believe that life was/is under their control alone. But the powerful, heart-transforming message of John in Matthew 3:2 still stands, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” in and through Jesus Christ! Why? Because life is all about being reconciled to the God who created and redeemed us. Without such a relationship with God, life means nothing in the end. Apart from God, modern people are just as foolish as ancient people, but Jesus came for us all.

 In his Confessions, St. Augustine reminds us of this when he says, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”[3]

 Whenever I think about John the Baptist, I think about the fact that he was a bit of an oddity to many people of his day (e.g., see Mark 1:6). So it shouldn’t surprise us that his message seems odd today as well. But if you wish to receive the blessed forgiveness that comes by grace through faith in the person and work of Jesus alone, you must take John’s message about your sin seriously too. Does anyone repent today? Yes! Because there are people today, just like then, who acknowledge their need for forgiveness. Today John’s message is still getting through. Repentance, anyone? Let it start with you and me.

 

PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, John the Baptizer prepared the way for Your saving work for us all. May his call to repentance be heard in my heart today for my life and salvation in Jesus too. AMEN.


[1] For example, Lutheran Service Book (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2006), 184.

[2] https://www.newsweek.com/what-ever-happened-sin-185180

[3] Cited from https://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/media/articles/ourheartisrestlessuntilitrestsinyou/

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REPENTANCE, ANYONE?

That is a prayer of repentance to God for His gracious forgiveness. It sounds like something that John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus, might call us to say. Repentance, the God-induced sorrow for our sins in response to His Law, also causes us to fall at the feet of Jesus seeking the forgiveness for our sins that only He can grant.

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READIED FOR TIMES LIKE THESE!

Those who attend churches that follow a commonly used series of Sunday readings probably heard 1st Corinthians 1:3-9 in worship yesterday.

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SET FREE TO LIVE FREELY!

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TWO KINGDOMS TRUTH? IT’S GOOD NEWS AND GREAT NEWS!

22:18-21, where the Bible says,

But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius,

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The Joy-Filled, Joyful Journey!

The Joy-Filled, Joyful Journey!

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The Power of Persevering Faith!

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.

Dr. Gregory Seltz
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