Unless You Repent

Kid time - what does repent mean? Turn around.

Luke 13:3 KJV

I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Introduction

Repent is a little-big word.

It is unusual for me to bounce around much in my sermons. I might quote or reference a lot of different Scriptures, but since I think one of the most important things I can do in my weekly preaching is to help you see how to read your own Bibles better, I like to work through books, passage by passage and line by line. Today, however, I am going to take a slightly different approach. We will take the beginning of this chapter and the end, leaving the middle for the next two weeks.

[Read text]

Repent - Remember We Are No Better

Explain: After major tragedies, you always have self-proclaimed theological experts who are ready to explain what these people did to deserve it. Earthquakes, plagues, tsunamis - whatever it is, it is because they have done something bad. We are happy and comfortable because we have not. Maybe it is a way of dealing with some kind of subtle guilt: I am going to sleep comfortably tonight while someone else is dying. I must be better.

The same basic thing is happening if I drive past a pan-handler and turn up my nose. I work hard and they don’t, which is why they are hungry and I am not. Of course, that is not true at all. But it isn’t new either. Look in verse 1.

Luke 13:1 KJV

There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

Secular history does not record this event, but that is not really surprising. Josephus, the main Jewish historian of the time, is worn out listing atrocities commited by the Romans. There was nothing particularly unusual about Pilate killing worshippers on their way to offer sacrifices to God. The crowd has an unspoken question, revealed to us in Jesus’s response: why? What did these people do to deserve this fate? What sin had they commited where God would allow them to die in this way? But they don’t need to say their question out loud. Jesus knows their hearts. Look at verse 2:

Luke 13:2–3 KJV

And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Did they think that these Galileans were somehow bigger sinners than they were, and that their continued protection and prosperity was something they earned? They were quite wrong, Jesus said. The question was not why the other Galileans had been killed, but why God allowed the rest of them to live! We are all sinners, and God would be perfectly just in condemning any of us to death at any time.That is what He told Adam and Eve back in the garden - in the day you eat of the fruit, you shall surely die. But His grace gives us time to repent - time to turn from our sins and turn back to Him. So it is God’s patience, and not our goodness that keeps us.

The Galileans were killed, and they died because the wages of sin is death. But after their final breath, their troubles were either over or just beginning. Jesus had warned them in the previous chapter not to fear those who can kill the body but to fear God - who can cast into Hell. Pilate can kill, but his judgment does not necessarily reflect the judgment of God. We must all repent, or face God.

But what about those who die of natural disasters? Surely God alone was responsible that. Look in verses 4-5.

Luke 13:4–5 KJV

Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

No, natural disasters are no different. The tower fell and the people died, but the fact that this roof stays over our heads now is not because of our righteousness but because of God’s grace.

Imagine the ten commandments blazing before you. Don’t have any other Gods before me - we are all idolators who have put other things before God. Thou shalt not bear false witness we are all liars before the One who is the Truth. Thou shalt not commit adultery or murder, which Jesus said were just lust and hatred given their full expression. Does God owe anyone in this room our next heartbeat? Would He be unjust if He brought the place down around our ears?

A thousand times no. The proper question after tragedy would not be, “How could God let that happen to such good people”?” but “What took Him so long? How could He wait so long to bring about His justice?”

Illustration: I read the story of a church member who read Romans 9, where God says “Jacob have I loved, but Esau I have hated,” and came to her pastor to ask how God could say he hated Esau. The pastor replied that it was a tough passage, but she was asking the wrong question: the challenge was not how God could hate Esau but how He loved Jacob!

Apply: Non-Christian - My friend, if you are here today and have never trusted Jesus as your Saviour, then you are playing a very dangerous game. We like to grade on a curve, saying that we are not so bad compared to other people. But God does not work like that. It does not do any good to have the best failing grade in the class. Except you repent - turn from your sinful unbelief and trust God for salvation, you and I will die the same as Osama bin Ladin, Pol Pot, Hitler, and Genghis Khan. We are sinners, the same as them, guilt of treason against the King of Kings.

Christian, do not think you are off he hook either. If your son throws himself on the ground in HEB, screaming and kicking and begging for candy, he does not stop being your son. But you might very well take him home before he embarrasses you anymore. The book of James talks about a sin unto death - a sin where God takes his children home before they cause Him any more embarrassment. Except ye repent, ye likewise shall perish.

It may be in a sickbed after 100 years of life. It may be today. It may be anywhere in between. But it is coming.

Transition: This has been heavy, I know. But the text is heavy. There is nothing that can happen to you or to me in this life that would be unfair. So why does God delay? Why do we live at all? That is where the good news comes in.

Repent - God is not willing that any should perish

Luke 13:6–9 KJV

He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

Explain: This parable is simple enough to understand. A fig tree should bear fruit every year. This one has gone three years in a row, and has not gives its first spoonful of preserves. It is wasting space and sucking the nutrients that other, productive trees could use. So the owner of the vineyard comes and commands for it to be cut down. But the worker asks for just a little more time. Let me fertilize it. Let me dig and break up the dirt around its roots. Then let’s give it one more year. If it bears fruit - great. If not, then we can cut it down.

The application is easy. God has given Israel plenty of time to bear fruit. It has not. Even as Jesus is speaking to them, it would not be unreasonable or cruel to simply cut the tree down. It has had plenty of time without the slightest hint of life.

But God offers a little more time. A little more fertilizer. A little more water. There is grace - but there is also urgency. The delay will not last forever. This is not the abandonment of justice; it is the delay of grace.

Preachers have been announcing that Jesus is coming soon and we need to be ready for two thousand years. Jesus will judge those who reject Him and vindicate His people once and for all. But He has not come yet. Why?

The Apostle Peter knew this would come. Keep your finger here and turn to 2 Peter 3.

2 Peter 3:3–4 KJV

Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

There are some who say, “When will Jesus return? Things are the same as they have always been. There won’t be any judgment, I can keep living the way that I want to live.

Illustrate: They are like the man who jumped out of a hundred story building. He looked at each floor and said, “It’s alright so far, its alright so far, its alright so far.” It was alright until it wasn’t.

Explain: But they are right. Things are delayed. Why is that? Is it because God doesn’t care? Of course not. Go down a few more verses

2 Peter 3:8–9 KJV

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

The word “slack” here means “delay” - like when someone is slack at their work. God’s time is not our time. A thousand years is like a day or a day is like a thousand years. His concern is not time as we understand it, but timing. Christ’s return and the great judgment might be delayed from our perspective, but it will always arrive just in time. The axe has not been laid at the root of the tree because God does not want to see it cut down. It is not His will that nay should perish, but that all should come to repentance. He does not want you to be a slave to your sin - He wants you to live! God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. But some of the wicked will die anyway; not because it is what God wants but because of what they want. I shudder to think - not because of what God has chosen (He gave His only begotten Son to give you a way out), but because of what some of you here today will choose.

Illustrate: Adrian Rogers told the story, I’ve shared it with you before, [full quotation is for my reference, I will paraphrase]

• Imagine that you get sick. You go to the doctor, and you say, “Doctor, I’ve been feeling very badly. Doctor, would you examine me?” And the doctor examines you, and the doctor gets an ashen look on his face. And you say, “Doctor, you’ve got such a serious look on your face. Doctor, I believe something must be very serious with me. Please, Doctor, tell me the truth.”

He says, “Do you want me to tell you the absolute truth?”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“You have a very serious disease, and you’re going to die in a matter of weeks.”

“Well,” you say, “Doctor, I don’t want to die. I have so many plans. There is so much I want to do, Doctor. Doctor, is there no remedy? Is there no cure?”

And the doctor says, “There is a cure, but it’s so rare and so costly. There is a serum—there is a medicine—that can save your life, but it would cost a king’s ransom. Do you have any insurance?”

“No, sir.”

“Do you have any savings?”

“No, sir. But Doctor, you just can’t let me die. Doctor, if there’s a serum, if there’s a way, there must be a foundation; there must be something. I don’t want to die. Please, Doctor, do something.”

The doctor says, “Very well, let me see what I can do.” And he goes off, and he stays for several days. And then, he comes back to your bedside, and when you look at him, you can hardly recognize him. He doesn’t look like the man that left. His eyes are sunken back in his head. Dark circles are under his eyes. His hair is disheveled. He has several days’ growth of beard. And, besides that, his clothes are torn and bloodstained. His hands are trembling. But in his hand he has a little vial of medicine, a serum.

You look at him, and you say, “Doctor, is that you? Doctor, where have you been? What has happened to you, Doctor? Tell me.” He said, “I’ve been to get this medicine.” He said, “I went to every foundation, every board. I didn’t have enough money; and so, I took my own money out of the bank. And that was not enough money; and so, I mortgaged my own house in order to get this medicine for you”—have you ever known a doctor who would do that?—“I mortgaged my house to get this medicine for you. And on my way over here I was in such a rush to get to your bedside, I wrecked my automobile. And my only son was in the car with me. I’ve just come from the morgue. My precious son is in the morgue. The blood that you see on my shirt is the blood of my little boy. Here’s the medicine bought with the fearful price. Take it. You’ll live. Take it.”

Now, suppose you took that medicine. You held it up for a while and looked at it and then dashed it on the floor. And the vial broke, and the contents ran out on the rug as the horrified doctor looks with incredulity at what you’ve done. And then, suppose you pointed your finger in the face of that doctor and said, “Doctor, if I die, it’ll be your fault.”•

No—ten thousand times no! If that man dies, it’ll be his fault, amen? And I want to tell you, if you die and go to hell, you will never be able to point your finger in the face of God and say, “God, it was your fault.” I want to tell you that God bankrupted heaven that you might be saved. I want to tell you that the Great Physician, Almighty God, gave His only begotten Son that you might be saved. And I, as His representative tonight, am here to offer you salvation. And I say receive Jesus, and you’ll live; refuse Jesus, and you’ll die. But if you do, it won’t be my fault; and indeed, it will not be God’s. Judas kissed the door to heaven, and he went to hell. He was so close, but he never received Jesus Christ.

Adrian Rogers, “Why Did Jesus Choose Judas?,” in Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (Signal Hill, CA: Rogers Family Trust, 2017), Jn 6:70–71.

Apply: Do you see it? When we refuse to trust Jesus as our Savior because we think we need to do a, b, or c first, we throw it on the ground. We act as if he wants us to perish.

Consider all of the fertilizer He has spread to make it possible for you to bear fruit. First, you live in the United States, with blessings that many people would- and as we have seen some in the news lately - and do die trying to obtain. Second, you were born in the twenty-first century. God has given you technology, several good translations of the Bible, and the technology to drive to a Bible believing-church. How many other things do you and I have for fertilizer? Did you have a mother who prayed for you or a father who set a godly example? Do you have a friend who shared Jesus with you, a job that gives you the chance to be off on Sundays, a teacher who taught you to read, a Sunday school teacher who showed you Moses, Paul, and Jesus? Even things you don’t see as blessings might be the spade of the Lord, breaking up the hard ground. Has God parked your home right next to an unbelieving neighbor, or given you a job where you can demonstrate Christlike patience and forgiveness?

Transition: God has put in the work to prepare you and I for a bumper crop. But whether we bear that fruit is up to us. The decision is now. The Devil doesn’t care how good your intentions are, as long as you are determined to start tomorrow. Jesus never says, “come to me tomorrow.” He doesn’t say, “Let me check my calendar-you can be whole next Thursday.” That’s our third point: Jesus is calling now.

Repent - Jesus is Calling Now

Luke 13:34–35 KJV

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Explain

I know the Bible doesn’t tell us that Jesus wept on this occasion, but when I read this passage I always hear tears in His voice. Jerusalem, of course, stands here for the whole nation. He came to His own and His own received Him not. The whole Old Testament is the story. God sent Moses, the pwople worshipped the golden calf. He sent the judges, the people rejoiced and forgot. He sent Elijah and the people followed Jezebel. Isaiah, Ezekiel, and dozens of others called the people to repent, yet they drifted away from God all the time. Not long before Jesus spoke, the last of the old era of prophets - John the Baptist - had joined the long legacy of prophets killed by those who built the tombs of the prophets. Over and over again, God tried to gather His people, and they refused.

There would be no more chances. The next time that He came to them, it would be in glory. Those who remained would say “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” and mean it! But in the meantime, their house is desolate. The tower has fallen. The tree is cut down.

Illustrate: Years ago, I heard or read a story about the eruption of Mount Saint Helens. As I tried to verify it last week, I couldn’t, and so I suppose it isn’t true. But the picture is too good to pass up. Take it as a fable.

After the eruption of Mount Saint Helens, as workers were walking among the scorched remains, they found the blackened body of a mother hen. Absentmindedly, one of the men kicked it, and the body disappeared in a cloud of ashes. And a group of tiny chicks scattered. Their mother had gathered them under her wings, and protected them from the flames and the fury.

As I tried to hunt that down, it did make sense that the story was probably just an urban legend. But isn’t that exactly what Jesus did for us? He put us in the shadow of his wings and all of the flames of God’s wrath were poured on Him. With that wrath satisfied, we were safe. His life for ours. For the people of Jesus’s day, it is too late. They all made their decisions long before any of us were born, and their eternity is now fixed. But not for us! Jesus sits over the hill, calling us to Himself. He still wants to gather you in the shadow of His wings, like so many times before. He wants to pull you from the scorching heat of sin. He wants to set you free, if you will come to Him.

Apply:

Not one of you will go to Hell without stepping over the broken, bloodied body of Jesus. His arms are stretched out to you until they ache - held up by the nails that He allowed to be placed there. His voice calls your name until He is hoarse. Except that isn’t true - His voice never grows hoarse. He calls your name until your own ears go deaf from ignoring Him. Each time, you reject Him, it is a little easier than before, until you do not hear Him at all.

Whether you are saved or not, there will be a last time that God calls you to repentance. There is an old song that says, “When He was on the cross, I was on His mind.” I think you have been on His mind ever since too. What is Jesus calling to you? Freedom from some sin? An act of obedience, like baptism, evangelism, ministry, serving? He calls out through the ages:

O Justin, O Justin, how often I would have taken you like a sheep to the greener pastures of fellowship with Me, but you craved the familiar thistles. O Alvin, O Alvin, how often I would have gathered thee as a hen gathers her brood and ye would not! O AMBC, O AMBC, how often I have called you to greater service and my greater glory, and ye would not. O you - what does Jesus say? How will you answer?

The axe is at the root of the tree. You and I have been given every opportunity. There are no excuses left. We can either turn to Him or refuse. Jesus is ready to receive you, not grudgingly but with eager love. You do not have to find Him - He came from Heaven to seek you. For your life He died!

If you are Christ’s, no one can ever take you out of His hand.

Repent - we are no better than anyone else!

Repent - Jesus is not willing that any should perish!

Repent - Jesus is calling you now.

Conclusion

There is a tremendous old hymn called “Before the Throne of God Above,” written by a woman named Charitie Bancroft. You almost certainly do not know any of her songs, except maybe this one, a masterpiece she wrote at 23:

Before the throne of God above I have a strong, a perfect plea; A great High Priest, whose Name is Love, Who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on His hands, My name is written on His heart; I know that while with God He stands No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair, And tells me of the guilt within, Upward I look, and see Him there Who made an end of all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died, My sinful soul is counted free; For God, the Just, is satisfied To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there, the risen Lamb! My perfect, spotless Righteousness, The great unchangeable I AM, The King of glory and of grace.

One with Himself, I cannot die; My soul is purchased by His blood; My life is hid with Christ on high, With Christ, my Savior and my God.

That is what God offers you.

Why will ye die, O house of Israel? Look and live! Turn from your sin, and turn to the one with your name imprinted by nails in His flesh. Now is your time to move.