Blessings without Repentance? Part 1

Blessings without Repentance? Part 1
Friday, March 6, 2026 by Dr. James W. Walraven

Categories: Contemporary issues / God’s sovereignty / Hope in Christ / Scripture discussion / Spiritual deception / The church / Thought for Today / Truth telling

God’s blessings. We crave God’s blessings. Whether as individuals or as a nation, we want God on our side.

How often do parts of the church trumpet those blessings? In some cases, almost constantly. Particularly with the “word of faith” crowd, the “signs and wonders” movement, along with much of what takes place within the New Apostolic Reformation, God’s blessings seem to be everywhere, or at least everywhere proclaimed.

But coupled with those assertions of blessing, is anyone talking about repentance? A few do, but most do not. Instead, what do we see? Many parts of the “church” embrace sin and heartily approve of those who do so.

But that is not restricted to those of the “Progressive Church” and their allies who proclaim many—if not all—of the Scriptures outdated and no longer applicable, especially those dealing with sex. But what about those who insist God always blesses with both health and wealth?

Are they not guilty of the same thing? Those whose main desire is for health and wealth are, biblically speaking, guilty of idolatry. Jesus goes beyond that, when He states that no one can serve two masters: one can either serve God or wealth, but not both. Do they speak of repenting of that idolatry? Not really. What about those who are always looking for signs from God? In several cases, Jesus states that they won’t receive any. Do they repent of their desire for signs? No.

Why does this matter?

We are warned in Hebrews 12:16–17 (NAU) to look out, “that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.”

You may recall Esau’s story from the book of Genesis. Esau came in from the field famished and sold his birthright to Jacob for a single meal of lentil stew. At that point he forfeited the blessing of his birthright, and although he later sought Isaac’s blessing, there was no real blessing to be had. Yes, it is true that Jacob did act deceitfully, but our focus here is on Esau.

The key is found at the end of the passage quoted above. Two things stand out: 1. God ties his blessings to repentance, and 2. Esau never repented. We can speculate all we want about what might have happened if Esau had repented. What the passage makes clear is that Esau never did.

The question is, are we as a nation, willing to repent? In some quarters many are celebrating what the U.S. is currently doing militarily. And there is no doubt that the Islamic regime in Iran is evil, monstrously evil. But what about our own sins? To ask the question again: are we willing to repent? Collectively, are we as a nation willing to lay aside our love affair with sexual lifestyles that God calls sin? Are we willing to lay aside our addiction to materialism? Are we willing to put God first? Thankfully, at least some are. But as a whole? The answer as of this moment is a rather resounding, “No!”

God warns us about what happened to those who craved things, those who desired things other than God. God ends up giving them what they want, what they crave. But there are consequences. Psalm 106:15 (KJV): “And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.”

As already mentioned, what does our nation seem to crave? Two things stand out: sexual sin (on a broader scale sensuality in a variety of its forms) and material wealth. We want wealth so we can have the freedom to indulge in whatever we want. One example: for many women, the more money, and the higher the body count, the better, and don’t dare suggest that such behavior is wrong.

Has God given us wealth? Yes. Has God let us indulge in sin? Yes. Do we have tremendous poverty of spirit? Yes. Have we sought God as a result? Sadly, for the most part, no.

What we fail to understand is that God giving us what we want isn’t a sign of God’s blessing, it is a sign of God’s judgment.

Share This Blog: