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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.
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:
Unlike the people of Noah’s day, the people of Nineveh repented and were spared.
Repent or Perish
Jesus preached repentance to us;
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.
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:
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
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.
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
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
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
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
This is probably the number one obstacle, the love of sin.
2) Love of evil companions
It’s not fun to be thought of as an outsider.
We don’t like to be found to be different.
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