Conservative writer and speaker Matt Walsh certainly doesn’t pull any punches. In a recent Facebook live video, the fiery pundit discussed what he believes to be the number one lie that has, in his words, “infected Christianity in America.” And it has to do with repentance.
READ: Family Finds, Adopts Abandoned Baby Just Three Weeks After International Move
“That lie is this: that repentance is not really necessary, not really important, and it should be a painless and easy process. I think that’s one of the greatest lies in Christianity today,” Walsh explained.
He went on to outline the significance of many Biblical characters who spoke so passionately about the importance of repentance in light of eternity. The most important of these figures was Jesus Christ himself.
“When Jesus came into Galilee at the beginning of his ministry, he proclaimed, ‘Repent, and believe in the gospel,'” Walsh said. “There is no Christianity without repentance. There is no faith without repentance. Repentance is the first step, it has to be.”
But Walsh believes that many churches in America are neglecting this tough teaching and that Christians are suffering as a result.
“Many pastors in America lie about this because they’re cowards,” he said. “They lie about the most fundamental Christian teaching.”
“They just don’t really talk about it,” he added. Pastors will give “sermons every Sunday” but will “never get up in front of their congregation and say ‘You are all sinners, and you will go to hell if you do not repent of your sins.'”
“Most people go to Church every week and never hear that message,” he lamented.
Walsh argued that instead of burying the issue for fear of offending people, pastors should be urging their flocks to repent. He believes that church leaders would be wise to list the deathly dangers of those “common sins” so that we might recognize their severity and swiftly turn away from them.
“The core message has to be repent and believe,” he said. “If that’s not the core, their message is hollow and pointless.”
Walsh asserted that much of the objection to this style of preaching is due to people being uncomfortable with “fire and brimstone” messages — something he says that Christians should more readily embrace.
“All of the preachers in the Bible were ‘fire and brimstone’ preachers,” he argued. “Especially Jesus Christ.”
“They warned of hell and exhorted their followers to see their own sin and repent of it.”
It’s a tough message, but worth mulling over: