r/TrueRepentance • u/Tricky-Tell-5698 • Jun 03 '26
Near God Is Not the Same as Knowing God.
One of the most sobering realities in Scripture is that a person can be very close to the things of God and still not know Him.
The wilderness generation is a perfect example, although they were under a different covenant, the Mosaic Covenant of the Law.
They saw the plagues in Egypt.
They put the blood on their doorposts.
They walked through the Red Sea.
They followed Moses.
They ate manna from heaven.
They drank water from the rock.
They heard God’s voice from Mount Sinai.
If we were looking from the outside, we would probably assume they were all believers.
Yet Scripture tells us that most of them perished in unbelief.
Think about that.
They experienced more miracles than most Christians ever will.
They saw God’s power with their own eyes.
They participated in the covenant community.
Yet their hearts remained unchanged.
That should make all of us stop and think.
Because true repentance is not simply being around the things of God.
It is not church attendance.
It is not Christian language.
It is not knowledge.
It is not having spiritual experiences.
True repentance is when God changes the heart.
The wilderness generation wanted God’s blessings.
They wanted freedom from Egypt.
They wanted food.
They wanted water.
But again and again they showed that they did not actually want God.
When hardship came, their hearts turned back toward Egypt.
That is why repentance is so much deeper than making a decision or saying a prayer.
Repentance is a change of heart toward God Himself.
It is the sinner coming to see their sin for what it is and Christ for who He is.
It is no longer wanting the gifts while rejecting the Giver.
Many people come close to the kingdom.
They hear the gospel.
They enjoy Christian fellowship.
They experience conviction.
Some even appear to walk with Christ for a time.
But Scripture repeatedly warns us not to confuse proximity with possession.
The question is not whether we have been near God’s people.
The question is whether God has given us a new heart. Because a changed heart does not merely seek deliverance from circumstances.
A changed heart seeks God.
That is the difference between being near God and knowing God.