The Need For Repentance

Matthew 11:20 Then He proceeded to denounce the towns where most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent:

Will Jesus denounce us? Have we been witnesses to His miracles and failed to repent? We live today in a country that has been blessed by God beyond anything the world has ever seen. We are free to worship God, we are free to own a Bible, we are free to share the good news of Jesus without the threat of death. But we have taken these freedoms for granted. And more importantly, we have become so calloused to these freedoms that we possess that we are no longer drawn to the God who provided them. In the passage that this verse was taken from Jesus goes on to say "Woe to you Chorazin! Woe to you Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you would have been done in Tyre and Sidon they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you."(Matthew 11:21-22)

The lands of Tyre and Sidon were both destroyed when God judged them for their sin, and here Jesus is telling us that had they witnessed what the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida saw, they would have repented of their sin. But Chorazin and Bethsaida did not repent, and I would argue that we in America are no different than they.

Is Jesus talking to unbelievers here, or is He talking to the church? I guess you could make a case for both, but I think we are missing the point if we say that judgment is a result of sinners acting like sinners. Don't get me wrong, sin will be judged and we will all, saved and unsaved, give an account of our lives to God. But how much more severe will the judgment on our land be if we, as followers of Christ, continue to nurture our own "pet" sins instead of repenting in sackcloth and ashes?

1 Peter 4:17 tells us that judgment will begin with the household of God, so each of us needs to make sure that we have our own house in order. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, "If my people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

If we want America to be healed then it is up to us who are of the household of God to come to Him humbly, repent of our sins, seek His face and turn from our wicked ways. Only then will God hear from heaven and heal our land.

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