The New Gospel Without Repentance-Jeremiah Johnson Published From Behold the Man Ministries
I met a young man this morning who to my great joy, was sharing the love of God with anyone who would listen. I watched him minister to 4 or 5 older men with much zeal and passion. He kept fearlessly declaring the love of God and how full of grace and mercy He is.
The young man then came over to me, looking to share his faith, so I gladly listened to his message. He began by telling me that 3 months ago, He encountered the love of God at a church for the very first time. His experiences have since grown so much that He feels that he should share them with others.
I asked him, “Do you have to repent of your sins to go to heaven?” He said, “No, all you have to do is encounter the love of God.” I asked, “Do you believe in hell?” He said, “No, I do not believe there is a hell.’ I said, “Then what is the message that you are sharing with others?” He said, ” I am sharing the love of God.”
I paused for a second and realized that these conversations that I keep having with young adults across the United States are like a broken record. What is this new gospel that so many people are believing that requires no repentance and a complete disregard for a literal hell?
I said to the young man, “So tell me about the encounter that you had with the love of God at the church 3 months ago?” He said, “I just felt His warm presence that made me feel really good and it’s too good not to share.” I said, “It seems that you did not encounter God, but perhaps you just had an emotional experience. The kindness of God leads us to repentance. Saying “yes” to Jesus Christ means saying “no” to ungodliness and sin”. You cannot say that you encountered the love of God if it did not produce repentance from your sins.” He looked at me confused. I said, “Have you been reading your Bible?” He said, “No, I just worship and ask God to pour out His love on me.” I said, “Well those experiences are great, but you need to read the Word of God so you can fill yourself with the truth of who He is. You might be surprised to discover what the love of God really is if you read the Bible.”
The young man sat down and I began to minister to Him. I offered to meet with him and begin discipling him in the Word of God. I said to him, “I love your passion and zeal, but let’s make sure you aren’t preaching a false gospel that requires no repentance from sin and assuring people that there is no hell. The Scriptures are going to introduce you to the love of God that loves people too much to leave them in the sin. The Scriptures are going to introduce you to a God who says, “Come as you are”, but that does not mean, “Stay as you are”.
I’m asking for prayer for this young man that God would enlighten him to the truth of the Scriptures and not just “experiences”. I have shared this story this morning as an example of an epidemic that is sweeping our nation, especially among young adults. We must capitalize on the zeal and passion of this young generation by rooting and grounding them in the Word of God and introducing them to the offense that the gospel brings. If we do not call this current generation out of a strictly experiential realm and into the God of the Bible, I’m deeply afraid that a false and deceptive gospel will continue to be preached and many will find themselves in hell when Christ returns.
