Sermon Tone Analysis
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“Repent or Perish”
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Did you know across the boards there is very little difference between the people who go to church, and the people who don’t?
That is sad, and that is not the way it’s supposed to be! Jesus called Christians to be salt and light in a decaying and dark world.
Why is there so little difference between the church and the world?
And how do we correct this and become the salt and light that God has called us to be?
What is the answer to the powerlessness, and conformity of the church?
I believe I can answer that in one word-Repentance!
Too many people who claim to be Christians have never truly repented of their sin.
The way they think about sin, the way they feel about sin, and the way they respond to sin has never changed!
For true salvation and life-change to take place, a person must repent!
I know that the word repent, is not cool, or in style, and for many it is a religious joke-word.
When a cartoonist wants to depict a narrow-minded religious fanatic, he draws a picture of a half crazy guy holding a cardboard sign that reads, repent or perish.
But repentance is – believe it or not – God’s doctrine!
Now, holding a cardboard sign that says repent or perish may not be the best way to start a witnessing opportunity; but it is still true!
While some joke about repentance, and others say it is not necessary to repent to be saved; the Lord Jesus has something entirely different to say about repentance!
Jesus says it is absolutely necessary to repent, in order to be saved!
,-Read.
Do you know what that means?
It means the death of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, the cross of Jesus is absolutely worthless to you… If you do not repent!
It doesn’t matter what else you do, unless you repent, you will perish!
Without repentance you have no hope of going to heaven.
There are good people, religious people, church-going people, who believe in God, read the Bible, do good things; but they have never repented of their sins and they have never been saved.
That is why Jesus sets before us three truths about repentance.
1.
The Fact of Repentance Confronts us.
V:3-“unless you repent…
The people Jesus spoke these words to where making the same mistake people make today.
They thought that because nothing bad had happened to them they were righteous people.
Jesus makes this appeal to repent in response to two disasters that people were talking about and trying to understand.
These disasters may have been breaking news, and Jesus used them as an illustration to talk about the sinfulness of all men, and the necessity of repentance for all.
Jesus said, I know what you’re thinking; you think because these Galileans were murdered by Pilate while they were offering their sacrifices they are worse sinners than you are.
Jesus said no; they’re no greater sinners than you; and unless you repent you are going to perish one day too.
You think, that the 18 construction workers, who had the tower fall on them were worse sinners than you are; that is not true.
Unless you repent you will perish.
People still ask similar questions in the aftermath of a tragedy, or an accident.
People were asking this after September 11, 2001, when two planes slammed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center.
People were asking the same questions after the tsunami in 2004, where over a hundred thousand people perished.
Did those people do something to deserve that kind of death?
In Jesus day it was generally believed that victims of a calamity were guilty of some kind of hidden sin.
This is the same thing that Job’s friends thought when he suffered his many calamities.
They “Only the guilty get punished, so you must be guilty.”
The disciples of Jesus followed the same line of reasoning when they met the man who had been born blind.
They asked Jesus:
-“who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?’
The disciples assumed that he had to be suffering because of someone’s sin.
But Jesus told them, it is not because of someone’s specific sin that this man was born blind.
This is what the people thought when Paul, was shipwrecked, and was putting wood on the fire and a viper came out and bit him.
They said this guy escaped from the sea, but he must be a murder because this snake has bit him.
Jesus is making it plain that these tragedies did not happen because those people were more horrible sinners than anyone else.
You cannot measure a man’s sin by the degree of his suffering.
Suffering, and death entered into this world because of sin; and suffering and death come to all people.
Tragedies, terrorism, and death happens in this fallen world; and it rains on the just and the unjust alike.
Sometimes bad things happen to good people; and sometimes good things happen to bad people.
We are all sinners, and death will come to all of us sooner or later.
In both of these incidences, Jesus told them that these people were not worse sinners than other people, because of what happened to them.
Jesus rejected any concept of karma; that the fate of individuals in this life is either a reward for good or punishment for evil in a former life.
While it is true that sin brings judgment, and there are incidences in the Bible where God judges the sin of individuals, Nadab, Abuyu, Ananias and Saphara.
People often suffer in tragedies and death that have nothing to do with their personal sin.
The real issue is not when death will happen or why death will happen, but are you ready for death to happen?
Only repentance will prevent eternal death and separation from God.
From one end of the Bible to the other, we are confronted with the command to repent.
The theme of repentance is found 959 times in the Bible.
The prophets in the Old Testament came on the scene calling for people to repent, to turn from their sin, and returned to God.
-“return to me with all your heart…
The first message you hear when you open the New Testament is repent.
The first word of the gospel is not love, it is not even grace.
The first word of the gospel is repent.
From Matthew through revelation, repentance is preached.
1. John the Baptist.
Repentance was the first word in John the Baptist ministry.
-“Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”.
2. Jesus.
The very first sermon Jesus preach was repentance.
-“from that time Jesus began to preach and say, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”
Christ message of repentance was linked with faith; Jesus said in -“Repent ye, and believe the gospel”.
The first time Jesus sent out his disciples to preach -“they went out and preached that people should repent”.
Before Jesus ascended to heaven, he commanded,
-“That repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name”.
The last message Jesus preached was repentance:
-“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent”.
3. Peter.
On the day of Pentecost after the Holy Spirit came, and Peter stood up to preach he preached Jesus.
The people under conviction, asked Peter what shall we do?
He answered:
-“Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus because of remission of sins…
4. Paul.
-“Preaching both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ”.
Paul also stood on Mars Hill and said to a group of intellectual pagan unbelievers:
-“God commands all men everywhere to repent.
Repentance is prominent in the Bible, it is always presented as a necessity to be in a right relationship with God!
Why is repentance prominent in the Bible?
Because all men are sinners; and all we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every man to his own way!
Our sin, rebellious heart leads us to live a life of rebellion against God; going the wrong direction.
-“You will hear a voice behind you saying, this is the way, walk in it…
Our problem is we are going the wrong way, and God is speaking to us saying turn around and come to me! Repentance means, you see yourself a lost sinner going the wrong way, and you turn from your sin to Jesus.
Jesus sets before us the necessity of repentance.
1.
The fact of repentance confronts us.
Second of all Jesus tells us:
2. The Lack of Repentance Condemns us.
V:3,5-“unless you repent, you shall all perish”
The Bible tells us that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
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