The bible says it’s the goodness of God that leads men to repentance.

I remember one morning I arrived at work excited after seeing something I felt was from the Holy Spirit. I told my co-worker, “People need to know that God really loves them! It’s the love of God that leads them to repentance.”

The conversation then went like this:

Co-worker: But how are people going to know they are sinners if we don’t tell them?

Me: “Believe me, they know.’

My co-worker continued in that vein….

I asked: So how is that working out for you?

Co-worker: “Not very good.”

Reader, how does it make you feel when someone, unsolicited, tells you what you’re doing wrong? 

Put down? Rejected? Condemned? Exactly.

How does it make you feel when someone tells you they love you without condition? They don’t point out your ugly parts (and they know them) but they love and accept you anyway. They accept you, warts and all.

Exactly.

The thing is, our God of much grace paid a very high price for our sins, His wrath is satisfied. It’s a non-issue with Him. He has already taken care of sin.  Why did He do it? Because He really does love His creation, the people on the earth…..it’s as simple as that. He EARNESTLY desired to rescue us. The message is this: God loves you without condition and has paid for your freedom and cleansing of sins. That never changes or ends. 

It’s the devil who hammers away at the minds of men 24/7 about how bad they are, what’s wrong with them, God can’t possibly love them because of this or that.

As the Body of Jesus Christ on the earth, let’s please not amplify that voice to the world. We must all be absolutely convinced in our own hearts of God’s love for us. That gives us confidence.

Let’s be clear: It’s the goodness of God to impress the truth that He is good on men’s hearts, and THAT is what leads them to repentance. 

Romans 2:4 NKJV 

“Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”

Romans 2:4 The Passion Translation (TPT)

“Do the riches of his extraordinary kindness make you take him for granted and despise him? Haven’t you experienced how kind and understanding he has been to you? Don’t mistake his tolerance for acceptance. Do you realize that all the wealth of his extravagant kindness is meant to melt your heart and lead you into repentance?“