Repentance or Revival?

Joel Osteen

Almost everyone agrees that the United States of America is in very serious trouble. 

And though most of that trouble manifests in high unemployment, (don't let that 7.4 percent unemployment figure fool you) hopelessness, violent crime and broken families, America's real problems are caused by moral depravity rather than economic deprivation.

Many of America's glitterati clergy have called for a national revival, much like historic revivals of the past such as the Great Awakening that took place in the 18th century. That revival was sparked by a humble preacher named Jonathan Edwards who spoke softly but delivered a powerful message.

Edwards delivered an historic sermon titled, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. That sermon warned of God's impending wrath upon a rebellious and immoral people. Edwards was blunt and to the point. He told all who would listen that they had the choice to either repent of their sinful behavior and turn back to God or face the consequences.

Many people heeded Edwards' warning and repented. Churches overflowed, violence receded and crime diminished. Edwards refused to take credit for the turnaround and stated that he was only doing his job as a servant of Jesus Christ.

How would Edwards be received if he preached that same message today? Not very well, I suspect. Why? Because true repentance must always come before genuine revival. And in order for repentance to happen, people must see themselves as God sees them--standing naked before him and condemned in their sins. And they must realize that the door to hell and eternal damnation stands open and ready to swallow them up.

And then they must understand that no good works, devotion to religious creeds, rituals, traditions, customs, medals, rosaries, scapulars or church attendance can save them from their sins. 

That can only happen through faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God who came into this world 2,000 years ago in the form of a man to die for all sinners on a Roman cross. Regarding eternal life, Christ said this: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

If the church of Jesus Christ in America truly desires revival--and America desperately needs one--then the church must realize that real revivals begin with hard work, not flashy pageants. 

They don't come about by spectacles featuring high profile power-preachers reeking of Paco Rabanne and wrapped in $6,000 Gucci and Pierre Cardin suits. They don't come about by large bands playing loud music underneath Jumbotron screens surrounded by colorful balloons and expensive floral arrangements that provide the colorful backgrounds for the power preachers who dance and scream and thump their bibles and frantically wave their arms to the adoring masses.

No, that's not how revivals begin. That's entertainment that makes people feel good but accomplishes little else. When the band stops playing and the Jumbotron goes dark and the balloons fall from the ceiling and the flowers wilt and the power preachers stinking of Paco Rabanne head back to the parking lot to ride off in their 7-Series BMWs to their gated communities, the revivals end.

World-renowned evangelist Reinhard Bonnke claims that God has told him that a mighty wave of salvation is about to sweep America. Maybe so. But unless the Christian church in America is willing to do the hard work of making the Gospel of Jesus Christ relevant again to an adulterous and wicked generation that has rejected God and defecated on his laws, then there won't be any revival coming to America.

Rather, only doom, gloom and harsh judgment will be visiting America.