A brief history lesson:

Before 509 BC, the world was ruled 100% by kings, pharaohs, and chiefs.

Between 509 BC and 27 BC, the world was ruled 95% by kings. Only two republics appeared during that period—Athens and the Roman Republic (which later became an empire under Augustus in 27 BC).

Between 27 BC and 700 AD, the world was again ruled 100% by emperors, kings, and caliphs.

Between 700 AD and 1800 AD, the world was ruled 98% by kings. Republics existed only in a handful of places at various times.

In 1776, as you probably know, a new republic was born: the United States. That historic event and its fruit have since inspired the world and spread. Yet even today, 70–75% of the world’s people live under authoritarian, one-party, or hybrid rule. Many nations call themselves “republics,” but they are not. Think of China, Russia, and many Middle Eastern and African states.

Here’s a helpful rule of thumb: Kings ruled 97% of humanity for 97% of recorded human history.

All of this is to say that those of us who have lived our entire lives in relatively democratic countries are at a disadvantage when it comes to understanding the concept of kings. Kings rule. They govern kingdoms. They embody the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government in a single person. There is no balance of powers and no rule of law. Kings wield supreme authority. They do what they want, when they want, and treat others however they please.

Think of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker in the time of Joseph. They “offended their lord” (Gen. 40:1) and were promptly thrown into prison. Three days later, during his birthday feast, Pharaoh decided to restore the cupbearer and execute the baker. His orders were carried out immediately. That scene reminds us of what King Herod did regarding John the Baptist during one of his birthday parties. Both stories illustrate the absolute authority of kings.

Kings are to be feared and obeyed. Even though history is filled with mostly self-serving kings—making the very word “king” carry a strong connotation of corruption—it is a title Jesus willingly embraced for Himself (Matt. 25:34, 40; 27:11; John 12:13-15; 18:37). Twice in the book of Revelation, He is called “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev. 17:14; 19:16). The message there is unmistakable: Jesus is the Supreme King. All other kings should look to Him as their King and obey Him.

We have also largely lost the concept of “lords,” who belong in the same category as kings. Lords, too, were to be obeyed. Jesus certainly embraced that title (John 13:13), not because He identified at all with the lords of history, but because He is the “Lord of lords” who has been given “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18). He expects to be obeyed. That is why He once asked, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46).

What is both amazing and tragic is that the King of kings and Lord of lords has been reduced—by many who claim to believe in Him—to someone we only need to “accept.” And if you point out that perversion, you risk being attacked by those same people.

I’ve heard it said hundreds of times: “I accepted the Lord” or “She accepted the Lord.” Those phrases make no sense. Lords are not accepted. It’s like saying, “I walked a carrot” or, “I climbed a cloud.”

A.W. Tozer rightly called this the “Accept Jesus Heresy.” People who have convinced themselves that Jesus is someone to “accept” clearly do not believe in Him as He has revealed Himself—as King of kings and Lord of lords. They actually believe in an idol they’ve carved and named “Jesus.

If you’ve read the New Testament, you know Jesus never asked anyone to “accept” Him. He wasn’t looking for accepters—He was looking for followers. More precisely, He never even asked people to follow Him. He commanded them to follow Him (Matt. 4:19; 8:22; 9:9; 19:21; Mark 1:17; 2:14; 10:21; Luke 5:27; 9:59; 18:22; John 1:43; 21:19, 22).

How heaven must cringe every time a pastor says, “Jesus is asking us to…” Jesus does not ask. He commands. He gave us commandments to obey, not suggestions to consider. He didn’t say, “If you love Me, you’ll do what I’ve asked you to do.” He said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15).

In light of this tragic distortion of Christ by people who claim to believe in Him, it should be no surprise that the same people have also altered the message He commanded His followers to proclaim. What was that message? After His resurrection, Jesus told the Eleven that “repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations” (Luke 24:47). That is the gospel—the good news. God is making a gracious offer through Jesus: forgiveness of sins.

It is, however, a conditional offer. Receiving the benefit requires meeting the condition: repentance. This was not new to the disciples. John the Baptist had preached “repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4; Luke 3:3). Jesus preached repentance from the very beginning of His ministry (Matt. 4:17; 11:20; Luke 13:3, 5). The disciples had heard Him emphasize it almost daily for three years. When He sent the Twelve out to preach, He instructed them to proclaim repentance (Mark 6:12).

Strangely and perversely, many in the “accept Jesus” camp claim that repentance doesn’t involve actually turning from sin. It merely means, they say, changing your mind about Jesus. Since they don’t view Him as King of kings and Lord of lords, “changing their mind” requires no turning from sin.

It’s too bad John the Baptist didn’t know that. He gave specific instructions about the sins his listeners needed to forsake (Luke 3:8-14). So did Jesus—repeatedly. His Sermon on the Mount is filled with warnings about specific sins that could lead people to hell (Matt. 5–7). Paul did the same (see 1 Cor. 6:9-10; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-5). He warned the Corinthians about those who had specifically “not repented of the impurity, immorality, and sensuality which they have practiced” (2 Cor. 12:21), and he urged them to examine whether they were truly in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5).

God has been making this same gracious but conditional offer for a very long time. Through the prophet Isaiah He declared:

Let the wicked forsake his way
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
And let him return to the Lord,
And He will have compassion on him,
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon (Isa. 55:7).

Peter preached the same message shortly after Pentecost: “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away” (Acts 3:19, emphasis added).

Simply put, to repent is to make the Lord your Lord. Before repentance, He was not your Lord—as proven by your disobedience. You had not yet believed in Him. When you repented, He became your Lord—as proven by your new obedience. (The first evidence of that obedience should have been baptism.) That is when you truly believed in Him. If you have never repented in this way, you have never truly believed in Jesus. You are not born again. God’s Holy Spirit does not dwell in you. If you die in that state, you will be condemned when you stand before Him in judgment.

But when was the last time you heard a preacher, evangelist, or pastor call people to repentance? Tragically, the “gospel” has too often been reduced to an explanation that we are saved by grace, not works—therefore our behavior supposedly has no bearing on our final salvation. That idea stands in direct opposition to the clear message of the New Testament. It is essentially a call not to repent, because people are told they don’t need to repent. Worse, they are often told that if they think they do need to repent, they are “trying to save themselves by works.”

That is why I titled this article “The Anti-Gospel Gospel.” The modern gospel is the exact opposite of what the King of kings and Lord of lords commanded His followers to proclaim. He told them to call people to repentance. But they tell people not to repent, claiming there is no need to turn from sin—and that attempting to do so is dangerous because it means “trusting in works.” Worse, rebels against God are told they only need to “accept Jesus” which, when you think about it, exalts them above Him. Such a “gospel” is demonic.

The “accept Jesus” crowd often mocks this teaching, labeling it “Lordship salvation.” In doing so, they are mocking the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself—the gospel He preached, the gospel He commanded His followers to preach, and the gospel proclaimed by the original apostles (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 8:22; 11:18; 17:30; 20:21; 26:20).

God has never offered grace as a license to sin. He offers a temporary opportunity to believe in a divine Person who is King of kings and Lord of lords. Genuine faith in Him naturally produces repentance, and that repentance results in the forgiveness of all past sins. Anyone who claims to repent but continues living the same sinful lifestyle has obviously not actually repented.

Those who truly repent are indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit and empowered by Him:

If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him (John 14:23).

Note that Jesus’ words above are not an invitation to a “deeper walk” but to salvation and the new birth. Jesus and the Father, by the Holy Spirit, come to live only in those who keep His Word. Before people truly believe in the Lord Jesus and are born again, they do not keep His Word. Once they believe, they naturally make Him their Lord, naturally repent, and naturally begin keeping His Word. As the new believer “continues in faith” (as the New Testament repeatedly admonishes us all to do) he will grow in obedience as he learns more truth and abides in Christ.

This is Christianity 101. Yet it seems most professing “born-again Christians” have little concept of it—which strongly suggests they are not actually born again. From experience, I can say that those non-born-again “born-again Christians” can be some of the nastiest people you will ever encounter—especially when you challenge their cherished belief that “accepting Jesus” is an irrevocable ticket to heaven. We will continue, however, “turning the other cheek” to the non-born-again “born-again Christians,” because that is what our Lord commanded us to do. He’s our Lord!