Sermon: Repent, Just Repent - Curt Young

“Repent, Just Repent”

10.04.2020

This morning I will read a series of Scriptures. These are linked by their common theme and sewn throughout the New Testament. To hear them together as God’s voice, I will not interject the book and verse citations as I read.

John: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Jesus: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

John: “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”

Jesus (implied): Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Jesus as our Savior.” For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up true disciples.

Jesus: “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”

“…He began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.”

“Those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

“I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” Which category do you fall in?

“This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”

***

Peter at Pentecost: “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

“Repent…and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out…”

“God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”

Upon the conversion of Cornelius and his household: “They glorified God, saying, ‘Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.’”

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

***

Paul: “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent…”

“Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?”

“I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced.”

***

Jesus, to the Ephesian Church: “Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”

Jesus, to the Laodicean Church: “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.”

We have just journeyed together through the Gospels, Acts, and the Epistles to the Book of Revelation. We have heard John the Baptist, Jesus, Peter, Paul, and finally Jesusagain, speak of repentance. 

Yet this was one voice you heard, God’s voice on repentance, just repentance. 

Where we are quick to speak of repentance and faith, with the emphasis on believing as if it is more important, or as if repentance naturally flows from faith like water cascading down a mountain, here we read, “Repent.” Again and again, “Repent.” And the call to repent stands on its own, like a relentless pry bar, inserting itself into our heart and conscience, prying down to releasethe sin that leads to God’s righteous condemnation. 

The explicit linkage that is more often made in New Testament preaching is not between repentance and faith, but between repentance and forgiveness. And forgiveness, not as a reward or compensation but as an assurance of mercy. If through repenting you reach out your hand to God for mercy, he will take it.

In studying repentance for my own well-being, here are two observations that I think are worth sharing. 

The call to repentance comes to us first and foremost as a shout. It began with the long promised herald, John the Baptist: “Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Jesus added his voice to John’s and took up the same shout. 

Shout, I say. It was not a scream, not a threat but good news. Prepare ye the way of the Lord. The King is coming. Can you believe it?  He is coming. Believe it! Prepare!

If this were the king of an earthly kingdom, you would know what to do. It’s time to declutter. Clean up the house. Weed the garden. Scour the tub. And all that brown crusty stuff in your microwave has to go. You’ve let things go long enough. 

But the Bible does not speak of an earthly king but a far greater king whose interests are far more profound than a cleanrefrigerator or swept driveway; and whose worth cannot be measured.

Repent! Look at the condition of your heart, your soul, your being. “But how? How can I see what is un-seeable?” Look at what you allow in your life, and you’ll know what’s in your heart. 

The things the world tells you matter, don’t. What the world says is impressive isn’t. Forget about the figures in your accounts, the figure you see when you look at yourself in a mirror, or what your house says about you, or your position or your education, or your social circle, or your perfect family.These say nothing about who or what you really are. 

Just as true, the things the world says do not matter, do!  Humility, purity, reverence, generosity, graciousness, integrity, moral courage – the fear of the Lord and upright living. In our heart of hearts we know these do matter.

Why else do we condemn conceit, promiscuity, vulgarity, greed, bitterness, underhandedness, and cowardice in others, even when we harbor them in our hearts if not practice them outright. 

The problem is that little voice in our hearts of hearts is easily drowned out by the ignorant demands this world places on us. 

But this bright, refreshing shout has entered the world: “Repent!” It comes from God. It is good news. It’s intended to rouse us, to get our attention – we who are weary, become cynical, grown hopeless, given in, thrown in the towel on what is to be a noble man or a noble woman God made in his image.

The meaningless, stupid, futile way of life that we are so easily caught up in – cast it aside. The truth about reality is far greater and far more wonderful. We are like people living under glare of city streetlights, oblivious to grand expanse of the heavens above and all its stars. But in Jesus of Nazareth light has broken through. Light has come.

This whole world order is passing away. The days of glitz and glare are numbered. The Kingdom of God is at hand – holy, merciful, just, glorious. It is true. Believe it, live it.

This is the second thing I notice. Repentance is linked explicitly to faith, more often toforgiveness, but most often to our actions – the way we think, the words we say, the things we do.

Not just whether we dot our “I’s” and cross our “t’s”. Not whether we remember to say grace at dinner or our bedtime prayer. I am talking about profound changes in our behavior. We live differently, because we believe it. We accept it as the truth because it is the truth. The Kingdom of heaven is at hand. 

The way you live matters. You matter. Your little niche in the world – how you live in it – matters. The fact your little niche of the world is little doesn’t matter. Because who you are in it is what matters. Life is not about how much influence you have. It is about living in anticipation of the day when the glory of God will cover the earth like the waters cover the seas. It’s about living for the really big thing in everything.

So John said to the crowds: If you have two coats, share with the person who has none. Share your food. To tax collectors: Collect only as much as you’re supposed to. To soldiers: Don’t extort money by threats, be content with your wages.

What would he say to you? How would he say to you, “Re-order your life so that when the kingdom comes you will be able to welcome it with joy stead of fear and hiding.

I’ll tell you a word that is not in the Bible: “Repentant.” “Repent” as a verb – many times. “Repentant” as an adjective, never. It  never occurs in the form where it might be taken for a feeling.  

Repentance is an action. It’s not about whether you feel bad, but whether you are doing something about it. It is not, “Am I repentant?” but rather, “Am I repenting.” 

You have heard it said, “Faith without works is dead.” Confession without repentance isjust as dead.

Do you know what repentance comes down to? Motivation. Just like cleaning your stovetop or polishing your dining room table. 

If some great person were coming to sit with you for coffee at your table, you would make sure it was clean and polished. If someone you deeply love is coming for a visit, you will clean the house. O, how much more if someone great whom you greatly love greatly and who far more greatly loves you! Or what if he’s the Savior of the World!

Our sins are not our greatest problem. Our greatest problem is our determination to hold on to them, our refusal to cast them out, our indifference, our lack of motivation.Consider porn, drunkenness, meanness, self-centeredness.

When Jesus echoed John’s words and said, “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand,” he was saying was, “You can do this if you have a good enough reason. This is that reason.

He didn’t say this because he, like John, was a prophet, but because he was the fulfillment of John’s prophecy at that moment in history. In him the Kingdom of God was manifest. He is its King.

He came first to provide for the forgiveness of those who repent, to take full responsibility for their sin, to lift their guilt off their shoulders so that in their place, he suffered judgment for their sin. 

That is why he came first. That is why God became man, went to the cross, died as he did, and rose. To free us from our guilt and from its consequences, and to bring us to repentance.

God knows we cannot free ourselves from our frail and broken humanity. But we must be delivered. The King of the eternal Kingdom has come to rescue and redeem you for himself. So repent, believe the Good News, because it is true. Repent.