Repent or Perish

Introduction

The title of my message today is Repent or Perish. Sounds harsh, doesn’t it? Repent or Perish. It’s like saying, “in or out,” or “dead or alive,” or “off or on.” In those statements there is no room for ambiguity, no alternate interpretations, no sitting on the fence. It is either one or the other. Another one might be “saved or lost.”

In Noah’s day, people had turned their back on God.

1 Peter 3:20 ESV

20 because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.

Eight people were brought safely though the water, which means the rest of humanity perished. Repent or Perish

In Jonah’s day he preached repentance to Nineveh:

Jonah 3:1–6 ESV

1 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, three days’ journey in breadth. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. 6 The word reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

Unlike the people of Noah’s day, the people of Nineveh repented and were spared. Repent or Perish

Jesus preached repentance to us;

Mark 1:14–15 ESV

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

So as we think of repentance, exactly what are the:

Elements of repentance

Is it penance? That is a voluntary self-punishment inflicted as an outward expression of repentance for having done wrong. I imagine each of us has been in that position before. We did something that we know it wrong, so we punish ourselves over it for a period of time. That is penance, but it’s not repentance.

How about sorrow? Is sorrow repentance? We often suffer sorrow over something we have done or something we have said. We regret that it happened, we regret that we did it, but is that repentance. No, that’s not it either.

Or how about confession? Is confession repentance? The taking ownership of our mistakes, making an admission of the failures in our behavior or character. Is the fact that we have confessed our sins repentance? No, that’s not repentance either.

Now each of these things may very well follow repentance; penance, sorrow, confession, but they are not repentance. So, what is repentance?

Let’s look at Paul speaking of repentance.

Acts 20:17–21 ESV

17 Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. 18 And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Repentance is a change of mind, and even more so, a change of attitude and a change of purpose which results in the forsaking of sin, and in faith in our Lord Jesus Christ:

Then Paul continues in Acts Chapter 26:

Acts 26:19–20 ESV

19 “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.

Paul mentions here performing deeds in keeping with their repentance. Repentance requires some action.

Have you seen these commercials on television for the motion detector doorbell cameras? The ones where the porch pirate, the package thief, is about to take a package off of someone’s porch when the alarm whistles at them and they quickly turn around and leave. Did that thief repent? Not likely. He might have a change of mind, but not a change of attitude or purpose.

Or think of it this way, you hear your chickens making an awful racket out in the coop. You figure there must be some kind of critter out there, so you come out the back door with your shotgun to check it out.

The coyote sees you and he makes a run for the wood line. Do you think mister coyote had repented of stealing your chickens? I don’t think so. He had a change of mind, but not a change of attitude or purpose.

Sometimes we are like that package thief or that coyote. External forces many have caused us to change direction for a short time, but as soon as the coast is clear we are back at the old game.

So, what we are looking for in repentance is a lasting:

Change of mind

Change of attitude

Change of purpose

Now that we have discussed the elements of repentance, what are some of the:

Reasons for repentance

1) Because we will be judged by God

2 Corinthians 5:10 ESV

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

When I was in North Carolina I got a speeding ticket one day on base. I was going 28 in a 25 mile an hour zone. I had to go see the base Sargent Major, the senior enlisted person on the base. He had the role of traffic court judge, prosecutor, and jury. You didn’t get fined, but you did get points on your record and an unpleasant lecture.

About a month later, I got another ticket. This time for going 27 in a 25 mile per hour zone. I knew I was going to be judged by the base Sargent Major, and I was not looking forward to that meeting. I got an even sterner lecture, what I mean by that is that I left there feeling like the vilest criminal that had ever lived, and as punishment, I got my car kicked off base for two weeks. I had to find another way to get to work while my sentence was carried out.

I still remember that occurrence forty years later. I was scared to death to face the base Sargent Major over that minor traffic infraction. Imagine what it will be like for the unrepentant sinner to come face to face with God on judgement day.

Romans 14:10–12 ESV

10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” 12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Some people live their lives thinking that they will never get caught, never have to take responsibility for their actions, never pay the price for disobedience, clearly scripture paints a different picture.

2) God has commanded you to repent

Matt 4:17

Matthew 4:17 ESV

17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

And what if you don’t follow God’s commandment to repent? That brings us to the third reason we should repent:

3) God will allow you to perish unless you repent

Luke 13:1–5 ESV

1 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or 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? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

These few verses give us a little bit of the local news around Jerusalem. Pontius Pilot was not known for his gentleness, in fact, he was known for his cruelty, especially to the Jews who got in his way. We don’t know any of the details, and this account is not recorded anywhere else in Scripture, but apparently a conflict arose between Pilot’s troops and Jews from Galatia who were making sacrifices at the temple.

I believe Jesus is making two points in this passage. Number one is that these Galatians were not killed because they were some of the worse sinners. In other words, don’t take it as a sign that you are right with the Lord because the Lord did not smite you as was the case with these Galatians. Sure, the Lord could take you out anytime it suits Him, but someone dying a tragic death does not mean that they perished because of the sin in their lives, which was a popular Orthodox Jewish belief in that day.

The second point I believe Jesus is making is that your life can come to an end at any time. A lot of people have a plan to live anyway they choose and then just before they die, confess and repent, and be in good with God. But you see in the case of the Galatian worshipers and the 18 killed by the falling of the tower, you may not have that chance at a deathbed conversion. Death could come to you suddenly in Jerusalem, but you know what, death can come just as swiftly in our modern society. We should always be ready to meet The Lord.

The last reason I want to look at as to why we should repent is that:

4) God is good

Romans 2:3–4 ESV

3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 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?

God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.

Lastly let’s look at some of the obstacles to repentance:

Obstacles to Repentance

1) Love of sin

John 3:19–21 ESV

19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

This is probably the number one obstacle, the love of sin.

2) Love of evil companions

Job 21:12–15 ESV

12 They sing to the tambourine and the lyre and rejoice to the sound of the pipe. 13 They spend their days in prosperity, and in peace they go down to Sheol. 14 They say to God, ‘Depart from us! We do not desire the knowledge of your ways. 15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’

It’s not fun to be thought of as an outsider. We don’t like to be found to be different. We want to be accepted, we want to feel like we belong, and this can lead us to pick poor company. If we fall in with the wrong crowd, we will find ourselves doing things that we normally would not do just to fit in with our companions. This is how many people are easily led by the world.

Another obstacle to repentance is:

3) Religious Arrogance

Have you ever known someone who was arrogant in their religion? Because they had this certain religion, or because they were of this certain denomination, they had no fear of hell, or judgement. What they really had was no fear of the Lord. Growing up in Oklahoma I had very little contact with Catholics. After spending a great deal of time in Montana and then later Michigan and Washington DC, I had a lot of encounters with Catholics.

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Catholics. I have attended mass in the Catholic church many times. I have known some Catholics that were fine people, some of whom I am convinced have a relationship with the Lord and are saved by the blood of Jesus.

And then I have tried to witness to other Catholics who made it quite clear to me that the Catholics are of the true church and are the only people who are bound for heaven, not because they are saved by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, not because they are redeemed by the blood, but because they are Catholic. In other words, don’t speak to me of spiritual things because I am Catholic and you are not.

Now, not just Catholics feel that way, there are a great many denominations who feel the same way. I’m not a big fan of denominations. Denominations did not exists in Jesus’ day and I think that is a good thing.

4) The pride of learning

I’m not talking about learning itself, but the pride of learning. Some people feel they have been educated beyond needing a relationship with Jesus. Sometimes it happens when kids go away to school. A Barna research study showed that 70 percent of people who start college with a faith background will leave that faith behind during college.

They leave the faith not just because of the things that are taught in a lot of universities these days. They leave primarily because their parents are not there keeping them in church, their friends they went to church with are no longer an influence and their new college experience gives them many activities to devote themselves to that has little to do with their faith life.

If you separate yourself from those foundations of your faith, your faith is liable to waiver.

Conclusion

In conclusion, let’s look at a passage where we get some insight to what Jesus thought of some of the people He was trying to minister to. People that had heard His message of Repent or Perish:

Matthew 11:20–24 ESV

20 Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Repent or Parish. The message seems pretty clear. If you have some un-confessed sin in your life, if you have that rebellious nature that keeps you from repenting of the things that you know are wrong in your life, it is not to late to change your mind, change your attitude and change your purpose.