Jesus Says We Must Repent – Or Perish

A while back I was listening to a Christian radio station in my car, and a statement made by the preacher kind of jumped out at me. He said Satan knows more correct theology about God than even the brightest, most educated theologians in history. Satan, after all, is a supernatural being with an intellect far greater than mere mortals, and he is a powerful angel who was in the very presence of God until he rebelled because of pride and then was cast out of Heaven. Satan has seen God in action—from the inside—and he knows exactly what God is like.

However, the difference between Satan and a devout Christian, the radio preacher explained, is that Satan would never, ever consider repenting.

So it’s not enough merely to know about God or to believe in God. St. James wrote in his epistle in the Bible, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder” (James 2:19).

In addition to knowing facts about God, a true disciple must repent, ask for mercy, and dedicate him or herself to serving the Lord. This is the only way we can be in a true loving relationship with God.

In the gospel reading at Mass this weekend, Jesus repeated the exact same bold statement within a few paragraphs of each other. Twice he declared, “But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!”

Repentance is so important. It was the primary message of countless Old Testament prophets. It was the message preached by John the Baptist as he called people back into a relationship with God. It is the message Jesus is proclaiming to us in this week’s gospel.

If we don’t repent, we cannot be forgiven. If we’re not forgiven, then we’re still stuck with our sins. If we’re still stuck with our sins, then we can’t enter into Heaven. So as Jesus said (twice), if we do not repent, the end result is that we will perish. Repentance is that important.

Unfortunately, in our modern society it is very difficult to repent—and not because we don’t have anything to repent of. On the contrary, our society just might have more sins per hour per person than any other culture in human history. If you don’t think so, just consider the Seven Deadly Sins: pride, anger, lust, greed, envy, gluttony, and sloth. In bygone generations people were taught to avoid these seven attitudes that invariably lead to sin. In our modern generation, these seven attitudes are encouraged, celebrated, and even rewarded. The resultant sins are just exploding all over society.

So it’s certainly not a lack of sins that makes it hard for us to repent. The problem is that we frequently do not recognize these sins as sins. The problem is we have redefined sin to be nothing more than either personal preferences or the result of unfair circumstances or just plain bad luck. We have gone so overboard trying not to be judgmental or intolerant, we can no longer even bring ourselves to label any behavior—no matter how vile or harmful—as a sin. At best we call it a constitutionally-protected personal choice or an alternative lifestyle; and at worst we call it any one of a zillion illnesses.

“Oh, the poor fellow. He has an illness that compels him to kidnap children and rape them. He needs counseling to help him control his urges.”

“Oh, the poor dear. She has an illness that makes her embezzle money from her employer and then blow it all at the casino. She needs therapy to help improve her self-esteem.”

“Oh, the poor man. He is unable to work because he has an illness that forces him to sit on the couch all day and smoke pot, watch TV, and scarf down Hostess Fruit Pies by the case. He needs welfare checks and food stamps to pay his bills.”

Nope, nothing here to repent of. If it’s a personal choice or an unfair circumstance or bad luck or a pseudo-illness, then no one is personally responsible. No one is guilty. No one has committed a sin. And no one needs to repent. How wonderful.

Only one problem. Jesus says if we don’t repent we will perish. I suspect Jesus said the same thing to Satan way back when Satan was throwing his prideful hissy-fit in Heaven. At that moment, when Satan possibly still could have repented and been forgiven for his rebellious arrogance, he instead defiantly proclaimed that he had done nothing wrong except stand up for his right to make his own choices—or possibly he insisted that he had an illness that compelled him to demand that other creatures worship him as if he were God. Who knows?

Either way, Satan was cast from Heaven because of his sin and his lack of repentance. He now prowls the world in a seething rage of agony, looking for unsuspecting souls to deceive and devour. (See: 1 Peter 5:8.) He is having a bloody field day in our modern society.

What a crying shame that we find it so hard to repent. It is, as Jesus said (twice), absolutely necessary to keep from perishing.