Luke 24:46-47 He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”

It strikes me just now that “repentance that brings forgiveness of sins” is preached far too seldom these days. For salvation, there must at the very least be repentance for not having believed in the past. (John 3:18) What is heard from far too many pulpits today is either a warm mush of “feel good,” or politics. I once had a Japanese believer friend of mine talk to me in genuine distress because all he heard in his church was politics, and he was hungry for the Word of God. He didn’t live close by, so attending here wasn’t an easy option, and on top of that, dissatisfied Japanese Christians are far more likely to stop going to church at all than to simply change churches. What I hear from America often sounds more like a TV talk show than it does like the Word of God. When Jesus started His ministry He was preaching, “Repent and believe the good news,” (Mark 1:15) and here, after His resurrection as He is preparing to leave, He repeats that message as what needs to be proclaimed to everyone. Very simply, there is no salvation without repentance, because there is no forgiveness without acknowledging you were wrong. We are called to forgive those who hurt us even if they haven’t repented, but they don’t receive the benefits of that forgiveness without admitting that they needed it. In the same way, God has provided forgiveness for everyone, but we can’t receive it until we acknowledge that we need it, and that is what repentance is all about.

As I wrote that, someone came to mind who has literally crippled themselves through unforgiveness, both refusing to forgive and refusing to admit they need to be forgiven. As I keep being reminded, forgiveness is a difficult subject in Japanese culture. There is linguis­tic confusion between “forgiveness” and “permission” because they are homophones, and historically, revenge has been valued above forgiveness. In the famous story of The 47 Samurai, the samurai in question destroyed themselves and their families to avenge their master, and that’s seen as highly admirable! That’s a major reason for the high suicide rate, because people see no other way out of any number of situations. Non-Christian Japanese tend to be amazed at my gentleness, but they attribute that to my being non-Japanese, rather than to my faith. I need to raise up Japanese believers who demonstrate that you can be fully Japanese and fully Christlike at the same time!

Father, I have preached on forgiveness so much that everyone got tired of it, but part of that was because they still didn’t grasp the concept. Repentance is linguistically easier to explain, but there too I sometimes feel like I’m talking to a wall. I ask for the anointing and power of Your Spirit so that Your Word may penetrate hearts and cut off the shackles that bind them, so that people may be set free to walk in all that You intend for them, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!