See? All you can do is make a personal attack. You can't reason out a response that would explain why you believe this to be true. I provided you with the reasoning, but it doesn't fit into that tight little box into which you've put God, faith, and ministry. Isn't it crowded in there?
Repentance is one of the most important things you’ll ever do but it’s not worth an entire sermon. Repentance means to turn from sin. Repentance means to change your mind. You can change your mind about anything, but Jesus called us to change our mind and believe the good news.
Mark 1, (NASB)
14 Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God,
15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
Your definition of repentance will reveal whether you are living under grace or works. In the Old Testament, sinners repented by bringing a sacrifice of penance and confessing their sins (Num 5:7). But in the new we bring a sacrifice of praise and confess His name (Heb 13:15). We don’t do anything to deal with our sins for Jesus has done it all. Our part is to change our mind, believe the good news, and say, "Thank you Jesus!" If that’s not practical enough for you, then start praising Jesus who died to free us from sin and whose grace empowers us to sin no more, and not only that, but to do the works prepared beforehand for us that we, within ourselves, cannot do by ourselves. See yourself as dead to sin and alive to Christ.
Some people can't see the cross for their sin. When they say, "We preach repentance," they're really saying, "We tell people to turn from their sin." It’s sold as a "message of repentance" and it appeals to our sense of right and wrong but it’s utterly false. It’s a lie from the pit of hell designed to promote the flesh and keep you from coming to Jesus. The truth is
God is holy and He won’t accept you no matter what you do. His acceptance and favor come by grace alone. Got a sin-problem? Then come boldly to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace. His grace is your only hope.
Now, does that mean, "Don't confront people about their sin"?
Absolutely not! But the message of discipleship, sanctification as not only positional ("set apart for God") but progressive ("be holy for I am holy"), and grace is
how people turn from sin.
Here's another shocker for you: Holiness is not complicated. Holiness does not require "work" to achieve. Why? Because holiness is love. Purely, simply, holiness is love. This is what was said of Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist.
Luke 2
6 They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.
Now, what are the commandments of the Lord? As Jesus states in all three Synoptics, "
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind," and
"love your neighbor as yourself." And what are the requirements of the Lord?
Micah 6
8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?
This is how Zacharias and Elizabeth were righteous, how they were holy. That is how we are holy, how we live "turned away from our sins," through love. Love is not just liking other people. Love is hearing the voice of the Lord, through Scripture, through prayer, through fellowship with other believers, through sitting under a pastor who won't beat you over the head with your sin, but tell you how, through Scripture, prayer and fellowship, you will learn to love and live in holiness. It isn't just loving on people, it is loving God, and when we love God, we love His ways, His desires for us, His direction which He has revealed through Christ, through the Law which Christ delivered us from -- and the sin it describes.
If you can't deal with that, then you will never truly know freedom.