Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is from Luke 13. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- Human beings love to spread the news about disastrous things, especially if it involves human death and carnage. The amount of negative and tragic news stories to positive and inspiring stories is quite lopsided in favor of the tragedies.
- Often these stories are told with an unspoken edge: We are fortunate, or blessed, to have escaped. The underlying message is that we are good people and therefore God protects us and blesses us richly. This is a horrid error that Jesus seeks to correct.
- Any time we compare ourselves favorably to another person, it is the pot calling the kettle black. And any time we do so, we only make ourselves worse, more guilty, less loving, more hideously proud and arrogant.
- This is disastrous to us spiritually. It is a form of impenitence and self-righteousness. “REPENTANCE IS ESSENTIAL,” for as Jesus taught:
I. Without Repentance We Will All Perish In Unbelief
Text: “Jesus answered them, ‘Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
A. After All, All Of Us Have Sinned Much
Rom. 3:23 “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”
B. Therefore All Need God’s Gracious Redemption
Rom. 3:24,25 “And [all] are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Whom God put forward as a blood atonement by His blood, to be received by faith.”
Statement: How easily we recoil upon hearing of the utterly wretched sins that others have committed – as if our sins were not nearly as dark or shameful. This in itself is a horrendous evil – that we think this way; and Jesus sets about to correct it!
Application: He came to take away our sin, and He is eager for us to know just how much He suffered for each and every one of us, for our sins, to bring us God’s redemption. He wants us to know this just so that we will not engage in such petty distinctions, or hypocritically judge other people! But alas, we can hardly stand to join the crowd of sinners. We much prefer to stand out from others as examples of goodness.
Transition: In so doing, we actually negate any chance we have of goodness, for:
II. The First And Most Preeminent Fruit That God Looks For In Human Beings Is Repentance And Faith
Rom. 3:10-19 “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.”
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Mark 1:14,15 “Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’”
Statement: God’s Word states: “But apart from faith it is impossible to please God.” [Heb. 11:6]. And apart from repentance there can be no genuine faith, for faith grasps the gift of God’s gracious forgiveness and mercy in Christ Jesus, the Lamb of God. So anyone who thinks that without repenting and throwing ourselves on the mercy of God, and rejoicing in His merciful love, that he can still be doing good works is utterly deluded. No mere human being can do good or even think to do what is truly good, without the presence and power of God’s love in Christ. But this requires faith first.
Application: This is the most sure and certain mark of a real Christian, a real child of God, that he/she humbly confesses our sin, as we did a few moments ago. Now, some can say the words of confession in hypocrisy, not really meaning them. But every Christian both says them and means them, and puts his faith and trust in Jesus, in God’s gracious love!
Transition: And once these fruits are in place, more fruits are sure to follow, for:
III. Repentance And Faith In Jesus Compel Love, And Even More Good Fruit
1 John 4:19 “We love, because He first loved us.”
John 15:12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
John 15:8 “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples.”
John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
Statement: So you see the pattern that must be in place if human beings are to bear fruit, even much fruit. “REPENTANCE IS ESSENTIAL,” that repentance which brings us to believe the good news of God’s redemption in Jesus.
Application: So we must allow the truth of God’s Word to sweep out all hypocrisy and self-righteousness from us, and to bring us to true, genuine, and deep repentance. Then we will be truly ready to grasp and to know the true sweetness of God’s wondrous love for us, and we will indeed believe in Jesus. Such faith not only pleases God immensely, it also works in us to bring about love, goodness, and kindness. In this way we contribute to the Father’s glorification!
Conclusion: In all of this we find our true solidarity with all mankind, at least what is common to us all, our sin. We find our true solidarity with God by believing in His gift of forgiveness and eternal life in Christ Jesus. We find solidarity with all other believers in the precious love and mercy of God.
It is for all. God wills all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth! God grant each of us steadfastness in our life of repentance and faith in Jesus, and that His love might bring forth much fruit in us. Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.