Be Sad and Believe?

A friend of mine posted a rather disturbing article stating that nearly half of millennials who consider themselves practicing Christians believe that evangelism is unethical. (And lest anyone rag on “young people today,” twenty percent of Boomers and older also believed that, so apparently we're seeing a deepening problem, not a new one.) I was -- and really, still am -- quite appalled by this, and responded by suggesting that half of self-identifying Christians actually aren't. Harsh? I suppose. But I think we ought not put too fine a point on issues when the gospel is at stake. Someone I didn't know responded (in part) to my comment: “Yeh I'm pretty sure all that's required to be a Christian is to repent and believe,” and went on to accuse me of legalism (my word, not hers). It's been rolling around in my head since, and I can't shake it. I wanted to respond, but something told me that it would be unhelpful, so I'm inflicting my thoughts on my own circle.

My big issue here is that I think we've lost the sense of “repent.” This isn't the first time I've seen someone use repent in a shallow way, but it's the first time it's bugged me enough to figure out what exactly is bothering me. And I think the problem is that “repent” has come to be synonymous with “remorse.” My theory is that all too many people read “be sorry and believe” rather than “repent and believe. Repentance isn't sorrow. Repentance is a commitment to a total life change. Repentance, to the Christian, means that I'm going to walk God's path, not mine. I'm going to follow God's words, not mine. I'm going to do the things God would have me do, even if they're out of touch with how my culture tells me to live. We must not water that down into a false teaching that says that all God is looking for are some sad feelings because we've been bad. Repentance has never meant that.

So I suppose I agree with the lady who disagreed with me: “all” that's required to be a Christian is to commit to walking away from our old life, towards a new life, placing all our trust in the God whose words are faithful, living life as he would have us live it.