Rick Warren says a disguised message of repentance is the core of his message .This article is a very interesting and new perspective by Cris Rosebrough on Rick Warren’s purpose driven message. It explains why all you hear from Warren is a works message of steps of “how to”. There is never any message of forgiveness of sin coming from Warren. Therefore, what Rick Warren preaches is only half true and it is only true for those who already heard the gospel of forgiveness for sin. You also see this carried out in Warren’s outreaches. They are all about how we can make our life or our world better if we do what God says but it offers little suggestion on how that is even possible for the unforgiven unbeliever. In the final analysis, Rick Warren’s half gospel without forgiveness of sin is a works theology and it is all about keeping the law.

Rosebrough talked to Rick Warren directly and challenged him to preach the forgiveness of sin in all his sermons. Hopefully Rick Warren will take heed and get back on track instead of further splitting the church on his works theology. I also hope all leaders will read this article and take what Rosebrough said to heart in their own teachings.

Rick Warren Purpose Driven Critique – Is Repentance the Central Message of the New Testament? – CWN

One of the statements that surprised me the most at the Purpose Driven Community Gathering was when Rick Warren said that he believed that “Repentance was the central message of the New Testament”. Even more shocking was hearing Warren claim that the primary goal of all of his sermons was ‘repentance’.

Up until I heard Warren say these words I believed that Warren’s sermons were completely devoid of repentance. The reason why I believed that is because in all the sermons I have heard Warren preach (I listen to them all), I couldn’t recall as single time where I had heard him say the word ‘repent’ or ‘repentance’. Warren’ sermons always seem chock full of practical advice and simple applications but I can’t recall the last time I heard Warren rail against sin and call people to repent of their sins and believe the gospel for the forgiveness of sins.

Well, it turns out that there is a reason why I never heard Warren say those words. At the conference Warren clearly stated that he always preaches for repentance but that he does so in a way whereby he doesn’t actually say the word “repentance”.

This revelation tweeked my view of Warren and his preaching philosophy. Where I once thought Warren’s sermons were all practical self-help feel good sermons, I now believe that Warren primarily preaches the law and only on the rarest of rare occasions does he preach the gospel.

The ahah moment came for me when Warren emphatically claimed “THE central message of the New Testament is repentance.” It was at that moment that I fully understood that Rick Warren is a pietist and that the preaching philosophy employed by Warren is nothing less than the 21st Century incarnation of Wesleyan Methodism. (I mean that in the nicest way possible). In other words, with the goal of PD preaching being ‘obedience’ the only thing you could count on hearing Sunday after Sunday is God’s Law, do this, or don’t do that, along with practical information (methods) on how to do this or don’t do that. The underlying assumption is that by applying the information or methods given in any particular sermon a person will become ‘more obedient’ to God.

Armed with this insight I was able to discuss this directly with Warren.

In my face to face meeting with Pastor Rick I directly challenged him on his claim that repentance is the central message of the New Testament. I told Warren that his claim was inaccurate because it was only HALF TRUE.

he problem with Purpose-Driven Preaching is that it emphasizes ‘naked obedience’ but the message of ‘Christ crucified for sins’ is almost always omitted.

This approach blurs law and gospel and makes it appear that we are made right before God by our own efforts.

So as I told Warren to his face, I will now say again. Pastor Warren you are wrong about repentance being the central message of the New Testament because you are only half right. Repent and preach BOTH repentance and the forgiveness of sins in Jesus name as our Lord has instructed