The Scourge Of Racism
E-Book Availability 4/12-26
Released January 5, 2024
Download Your Copy
Now In The Strong Man Store!
Why is it so hard for folk that profess to know and love Jesus Christ to own and repent from their transgressions, sins and iniquities when confronted by Him about these from His Word? From what I have seen of myself, guilty professed Christians and humanity prominently including Israel in the Bible over the years, there are at least five key reasons I will address in this post to help anyone willing. Meanwhile, we are not to deceive ourselves as many do. “God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” leading to eternal death or life (Galatians 6:7-8, NKJV). Too, Christ returns for a “holy” bride (Ephesians 5:27; Revelation 19:7-9, NKJV). So, where does that leave you?
As the Lord led in 2020, I again announced His call to repent to professed Christians on Palm Sunday in light of His Coronavirus judgment starting to surge globally and followed it after Resurrection Sunday with a post entitled, Does Anybody Repent Anymore.1 In the latter post, I marveled at the lack of repentance among the millions that profess to be Christians in our nation as the Holy Spirit gave perception and Christian media no indication of any biblical signs of it--you know, confession like David when confronted by Nathan, brokenness over, renouncing of and turning from sin in godly sorrow (2 Samuel 12:1-15; Psalm 51:1-17; Acts 19:11-20; 2 Corinthians 7:6-12).
By the fall of 2020 various prayer and revival events (which have become the norm) were ostensibly held for the purpose of calling Christians and the nation to repentance. However, as the Lord has led me to write many times over the years, such events are a sham when some of the sins that He calls for repentance from such as defiantly allowing women as a show of worldly equality to stand with the men to lead out are put on display!2 For this reason, the Lord who has seen this movie before with Israel does not answer in the macro (Malachi 2:1-16), but only the micro among those sincere individuals who humbly come to Him as He requires (Psalm 130; Isaiah 57:15; Daniel 9:1-19).
Pride therefore, is the number one reason many smug, professed Christians refuse to humble themselves before the Lord to fully confess and turn in repentance from all that is defined by Him as sin in His holy Word (Jeremiah 6:16-17)! “Been there, done that!” However, the Lord most excellent Father that He is continues to lead me to trust Him that His forgiveness obtained through confession and repentance is better than guilt in proudly refusing to own my sin. He may not remove all the consequences, but His peace, presence and power operative in my life is more than what I deserve for the sin I was forgiven of.3 This leads to the second key reason many refuse to repent: shame.
Bound up in the pride of refusing to repent is shame at and for our sin failure. We are ashamed at the fact we were wrong--no, not me. But yes, like Nathan told David, “You are the man,” (2 Samuel 12:7a, NKJV)! Guilt and shame go together and is the reason Adam and Eve in this cause were covering up as the Lord exposed them (Genesis 3:6-11). Herein is yet a third key reason many professed Christians find it hard to repent of sin: fear. After the Lord exposed their disobedience, the first couple started the blame game out of fear of consequences. So, we fear not only the Lord’s just judgment, but the loss of status and reputation since we are not as perfect as we have put on.4
Because of the latter statement, I have sought to keep it real about myself without going into graphic detail of every flaw, fault and failure.5 I am a sinner under construction in righteousness and so are you if you are in Christ! I shamefully sin against the Lord and get it wrong sometimes and so do you! The Holy Spirit and God’s Word objectively interpreted and applied are reliable guides for making our sins known to us. Thus, our greatest fear should be of not being transparent with God who sees us as we are, what we do and judges (Psalms 32:1-5, 94:1-11, 135:13-14, 139:1-12)! Nevertheless, much of professing American Christianity refuses to repent because of the fear of man.
This brings us to a fourth key reason many professed Christians refuse to repent: love of family. The world ruled by Satan has deceitfully made standing against sin in its eyes hatred for the guilty person. So, from worldly feminism to sexual immorality in the name of loving and accepting their family members, many Christians to include even conservative evangelical leaders across the nation no longer concur with God’s Word that their ungodly behavior is sin and are unwilling to call it out it for what it clearly is because they now, permit it.6 You can and will not repent from anything you do not believe is sin! Hence, the many call to repentance events where not all sin is repented of. Here finally then, is the fifth key reason many professed Christians are refusing to repent: obstinacy.
The unwillingness at this hour to call out biblically defined sin and refusal to repent of it where guilty is leading to the natural spiritual consequence of hardened hearts (Jeremiah 5:3). I personally thought (hoped) this was still far down the road. But the doubling down and digging in to resist a need for any further talk about repentance or to be concerned about God’s continuing judgment beyond the Coronavirus pestilence I see and hear taking place among those who lead is telling. Rank obstinacy is evidence of a hard heart or did you first get saved with such a heart? I don’t think so! All God wants from the guilty in humility and fullness is five words: “I have sinned, I repent” so, He can forgive. His judgment continues as I have been warning (Proverbs 29:1; Jeremiah 14-15:9).7
1 See the April 5, 2020, God Is Speaking, followed by Does Anybody Repent Anymore? on April 19th both under the category, Call To Repent.
2 The display of self-satisfied obedience to righteousness with open sin at these events is as pitiful to the Lord as the “bleating of the sheep…and the lowing of the oxen” Samuel heard while king Saul insisted he had done His will (1 Samuel 15:10-23, NKJV). You cannot put on some contrived, superficial event and expect God the “great King” to be appeased (Malachi 1:6-14, NKJV). How little regard indeed, you have for Him! Read the August 17, 2014 post, The Sham Cry For Revival under the category, Call To Repent, also cited with related commentary in the sixth footnote of 2020’s, Does Anybody Repent Anymore? In 2014 as well, see the August 31 post, Soul Deep Repentance, under the category, Call To Repent.
3 The Holy Spirit would not have me fail to mention here another great motivator to help us be dislodged from our pride: God’s judgment for it on top of the sin(s) we are guilty of (Proverbs 3:34, 16:18-19; Jeremiah 6:18-21; James 4:1-10).
4 Here is where many pastors, elders, other church and ministry leaders live as I know from painful personal experience. What won’t sin laden, success driven, reputa- tion protecting and face saving men in the flesh do to protect their carefully crafted image of righteousness? See the October 26, 2014 post, Saving Face, under the category, Instruction.
5 Among the many places including years of this Blog and public articles one can see what God has been working in me as a redeemed sinner, is my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics. It is available at your favorite internet book seller and in the Strong Man Store. Also, I commend to you the testimony of my fellow as- piring strong man of God in the image of Christ, Larry Lugo, a Northwest Native American, you can view in this Ministry’s first Strong Man Of God Online Rally, Gospel Reset, on its YouTube Channel.
6 They have not only permitted sin, but profited financially from it as in the case of replacing God’s order of mankind with their own to accommodate professed Christian women in their worldly feminism (Mark 7:5-13).
7 Read the two-part post beginning August 2, 2020, Flavorless Salt Is Worthless, under the category, Call To Repent and The Churches Under Judgment in two parts that begins August 23, 2020 under the category, Instruction.
Join The Strong Man Of God Resources Conversation!
Get Your Copy Of The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics Today!
Your purchase supports restoring men, families and communities through Strong Man Ministries!
Purchase It Now