Would you turn back to Mark chapter
6. Tonight I'm going to be preaching
upon this subject from Hebrews chapter 2. We see Jesus. And I want to attempt to preach
upon that subject. We see Jesus. Verse 7 of Mark chapter 6, And
he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth
by two and two, and gave them power over unclean spirits, and
commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey,
save a staff only, no script, no bread, no money in their purse,
but be shod with sandals, and not put on two coats. And he
said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house,
there abide, till ye depart from that place. And whosoever shall
not receive you, nor hear you when ye depart thence, shake
off the dust under your feet, for testimony against them. Verily
I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah
in the day of judgment and for that city. And they went out
being sent by the Lord and preached that men should repent. I have entitled this message,
Men Should Repent. Now this summarized the message
that Christ gave his disciples to preach that men should repent. Men ought to repent. You and I should repent. It's what we ought to do. Now this word repentance is a
compound word in the original. It means literally to change
the mind. You and I ought to change our
mind. We ought to change it 180 degrees. Men ought to repent. Now in this thing of repentance,
there is a change of mind and whenever there's a change of
mind, there's a turning. You're going in one direction
and you go the other direction. That's what happens when men
repent. And if there's not a return, if there's not a turning, if
there's not a changing, there's no change of mind. You and I
ought to repent. We ought to change our mind. We ought to change our direction. You believe you ought to repent? When our Lord began his public
ministry, he began with these words, repent and believe the
gospel. That's how he began. And when
he ascended back into glory, he left his disciples with these
marching orders that repentance and remission of sins should
be preached in his name. Why should men repent? Why should
I repent? Now this thing of repentance,
it's a change of mind. I actually change the way I think
and I go in a different direction than I was going. It's a 180
degree turnaround. Now why should I repent? Well
let me give you two compelling reasons why you and I should
repent. First, because Acts chapter 17
verse 30 says, God commandeth all men everywhere to repent. That's a compelling reason. God
commands me to change my mind. repent. Now here's a second compelling
reason. We will not be saved if we don't. Our Lord said in Acts or Luke
chapter 13 verse 5, except you repent, except you change your
mind, you will likewise perish. Turn with me to Acts chapter
2 for a moment. This is Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost.
Acts chapter 2. He's summing up his message and
he says in verse 36 of Acts chapter 2. Therefore, let all the house
of Israel know assuredly that God hath made this same Jesus
whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ." Now, when they
heard this, now remember, these were the murderers of the Lord
Jesus Christ. When they heard this, they were pricked in their
heart, and they said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles,
Men and brethren, what shall we do? We're in a mess. We're
in trouble. What shall we do? And how did Peter answer? Then
Peter said unto them, Repent. and be baptized every one of
you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and
you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. You see, Christ
came for this purpose. He said, I came not to call the
righteous but sinners to repentance. Repentance is the will of God. for all who believe. 2 Peter
3 verse 9 says, God is not slack concerning His promises. Some
men count slackness, but is long-suffering to us. We're not willing that
any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. According to Luke chapter 15
verse 7, there's joy in heaven over one sinner that repents. And verse 10 of the same chapter
says, there's joy in the presence of the angels. Now, who's in
the presence of the angels? Christ himself. There is joy
in the presence of the angels over one sinner that repenteth,
that changes his mind. Now, without any question, you
and I ought to repent. We ought to change our mind about
God. We ought to change our mind about
ourselves. We ought to change our mind about
the world. We ought to change our mind about
the direction we're going. It's a turning. Now, if this
change of mind doesn't produce a turning, the change wasn't
real. Let me give you a couple of examples. Let's say a man
hears the gospel of God's grace. He says, I believe that. I believe
what he's preaching. I believe it's what the Bible
teaches. Salvation is of the Lord. It's of the Lord from beginning
to the end. It comes as good. I believe that.
And yet, he'll go to a church where that's not preached. He
never repented. He wasn't sincere. Let's say
a man is in a adulterous affair and he's caught and exposed and
he says I repent I repent but he refuses to leave that he never
repented did he it was insincere I love what brother Mahan said
regarding repentance he says it's a change of mind that comes
from a change of masters and it results in a change of motives
and a change of manners. That is true. Repentance. Did you know that every time
we hear the gospel, we're to repent? Every time we hear the gospel,
if we heard with hearing ears, we'll leave different than we
were than when we came in. Every time. You know, the word repent may
not even be used, but the entire message is a call to repentance. I had a man write me not that
long ago and he said, give me a summary of what you believe
is involved in preaching the gospel. And I wrote him back
and I tried to talk about preaching Christ and Him crucified as the
sinner's only hope. And I quoted several scriptures
and he wrote me back and he said, What about repentance? I thought,
what? I think if somebody believes
the gospel, they're repenting, aren't they? Our Lord said, repent
and believe the gospel. When you believe the gospel,
you've changed your mind concerning what you did believe and the
direction you were going. Every gospel message is a call
on men to repent. Now what produces this repentance,
this change of mind? It's an obvious fact that some
men do repent and some men do not repent. Now what is it that
brings upon us this change of mind? I want to give you some
things the Bible teaches about this thing of repentance, this
change of mind. First, just like faith, repentance
is the gift of God. It's what He gives to His elect. It's not something worked up
by the flesh. It is the gift of God just as
much as faith is. Remember that scripture, by grace
you're saved through faith and that not of yourselves? It's
the gift of God. It's not the product of man's
free will. It's the gift of God. Repentance is the same thing.
Acts chapter 5 verse 31 says that Christ is exalted to give
repentance to Israel, the forgiveness of sins. Acts 11, 18 says, Thou
then hast God also to the Gentiles granted, graciously bestowed
repentance unto life. You see, we will not repent unless
God causes us to. Now let me show you this in the
scripture. Turn to Jeremiah chapter 31. Jeremiah 31. Verse 18. I want you to look
at this passage of Scripture with me. This is such a blessing
to me. Jeremiah 31, verse 18, I have
surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus, thou hast chastised
me, and I was chastised as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. Turn
thou me, and I shall be turned. For thou art the Lord my God. Now before we go on reading,
do you find that prayer in your heart? Lord, turn me and I'll
be turned. Now look what he says next, verse
19. Surely after that I was turned, I repented. And after that I
was instructed, I smote upon my thigh. You see, it's the goodness
of God. Romans chapter 2 verse 4. that
leads you to repentance. If you repent, it's because God
is good and merciful and did something for you that you didn't
deserve. You see, this is the work of God's grace in a man's
heart. This thing of repentance, it's being turned by God Himself. Now, this change of mind that
is involved in repentance, when God turns us, it is always in
response to the Word of God. Let me show you that in the Scriptures.
Turn to Luke chapter 16. Luke chapter 16, verse 27. This is the story of
the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man is in hell and he
says to Abraham, beginning in verse 27, then he said, I pray
thee therefore, father, that thou would send him, Lazarus,
to my father's house, for I have five brethren, that he may testify
unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham
said unto him, Will they have Moses and the prophets? Let them
hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham,
but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they
hear not Moses and the prophets, if they don't hear the Word of
God, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. You see, repentance is a response
to the Word of God. Turn with me to Job 42. Job 42. Here's where
repentance comes from. Job says in verse 5 of Job 42, I have heard of thee by the hearing
of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore, I abhor, I hate myself,
and I repent. in dust and ashes. Now if a man does not repent,
he obviously has never seen the living God. It's a sight of the
living God that necessitates repentance. If you ever see who
God really is, not just hearing with the hearing of the ear and
hearing audibly, but if you, by the grace of God, see who
God really is, you will repent. You will change your mind and
you will change directions. Now, what does repentance actually
do? We talk about this change of
mind. Well, first of all, repentance, true repentance, that which is
the gift of God's grace, that which is produced by the grace
of God in the heart of every elect sinner that Christ died
for, true repentance is repentance toward God himself. It's a change of mind regarding
God himself. We read in Acts chapter 20 verse
21 where Paul spoke of repentance, a change of mind toward God and
faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. It's a change of mind toward
God. Now, in my experience, I used to dislike the absolute
sovereignty of God. The fact that he was in absolute
control and I was in his hands and he could do with me whatever
he was pleased to do. He could send me to hell and
it would be just. He could save me. It was all
up to him. Now I used to dislike that. I
thought that's not fair. That's not right. That doesn't
even give me a chance. There's nothing I can do. I don't
have any control of this thing. I used to dislike that. I've
changed my mind. I love it. I love the fact that
God's in control and I find my only hope of salvation in His
absolute sovereign will. I've changed my mind. In repentance, there is a change
of mind regarding all the wrong thoughts we have of God. Where that's not changed, there's
no true repentance. When someone truly repents, they
change their mind about themselves. Now you listen to me real carefully. There was a time when I believed
that one of these days I could get things straightened out.
It was always tomorrow. But tomorrow, I'm going to do
something to make things better. I can turn things around. I mean,
I can seek God. I can believe. I can repent. And I intend to do it. I intend
to do it as soon as I get all this other stuff taken care of.
But I intend to do it. I believed that I had the ability,
that I had the will to do that whenever I wanted to. I repent
of that. I repent. I see that I in and
of myself am nothing but sin and I don't have any spiritual
ability at all. I'm completely dependent upon
the grace of God. I repent. Repentance is an acknowledgment
of the truth. Turn with me to 2 Timothy chapter
2. I want you to see this scripture with me. Verse 24 of 2 Timothy chapter
2. And the servant of the Lord must
not strive getting in fights with people, but be gentle unto
all men, apt to teach, patient in meekness instructing those
that oppose themselves. If God peradventure will give
them, remember repentance is the gift of God. The only way
you and I will repent is if God gives it to us. If God peradventure
will give them repentance, to the acknowledging, to the embracing,
to the bowing to the truth. And this is what repentance does.
Repentance, when my mind is changed, I acknowledge, I bow to, I embrace
the truth. I embrace the truth concerning
God. What the Bible teaches concerning
him is absolute sovereignty, his holiness, his justice, his
mercy, his wisdom. All of God's attributes I acknowledge
and embrace. I don't so much understand them,
but I bow to them. I bow to everything God says.
Whatever God says, I believe and I bow to it. That's what
repentance does. You see, it's submission to the
Word of God. I bow to the truth concerning
myself. You know why I believe that I in and of myself am nothing
but sin? You know why I believe that?
Because the Bible says it. Isn't that enough of a reason
to believe something? There's none righteous, no not
one. There's none that understands,
There's none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of
the way. They are together, become unprofitable.
There's none that doeth good. No, not one. That's what the
Bible says. I believe God's Word. That's why I believe that concerning
me. Believe what the Bible says about you. I acknowledge the
truth of salvation. Salvation is of the Lord. That's
what the scripture says. Salvation is by grace. By grace
are you saved. I acknowledge that. I embrace
that. It comes as good news. I believe
what the Bible teaches regarding how God saved sinners, how he
elected a people before time began. I believe that. The Bible
teaches it. I believe that Christ died for the elect and literally
accomplished their salvation. I believe that God the Holy Spirit
gives these people life. Regeneration is a sovereign work
of God. I believe they will persevere all the way to the end. Repentance
acknowledges the truth. And when someone doesn't acknowledge
the truth, they haven't repented. Repentance, true repentance,
that which is the gift of God's grace, acknowledges the truth. And repentance gives God all
the glory. Let me show you a scripture in
Revelation chapter 16. Would you turn with me there? Verse 8, Revelation 16 verse 8, And the
fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun, and power was given
unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great
heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which had power over
these plagues. And they repented not to give
him glory. You see, wherever there's true
repentance, it gives God all the glory in whatever He does. That's what repentance does.
It bows. It submits to God whatever He does is right. In true and
genuine repentance, that which is the work of God and not man,
it sees human works for what they are. Turn with me to Hebrews
chapter 6. Paul says, or whoever wrote Hebrews
says in Hebrews chapter 6 verse 1, Therefore, leaving the principles,
the foundational truths of the doctrine of Christ, let us go
on unto perfection or maturity, not having to always be laying
again these foundations The elementary truths of the gospel, he names
six things in verses one and two, and the first thing he mentions
is repentance from dead works. A change of mind concerning these
dead works. You know what dead works are?
That's works. Anything we do that we think
God's gonna respond to because we did it. Salvation by works. In true repentance, there's an
understanding of our works for what they are. Dead. No righteousness in them. No
goodness in them. You believe that about your works? Your works. Have you ever repented? Have
I ever repented of my dead works? Genuine repentance is always
a change of mind regarding the remission of sins. In Mark chapter
1 verse 4 we read of repentance concerning or regarding the remission
of sins, a change of mind, a complete change of mind regarding the
remission of sins. Now the natural man, listen to
this real carefully, the natural man thinks the remission of sins,
the forgiveness of sins, the putting away of sins, being accepted
by God is the end. If I do this, this, this, and
this, I'll get the remission of sins. If I believe this, this,
this, and this, I'll get the remission of sins. If I understand
this, this, this, and this, I'll have the remission of sins. The
gospel does not end with the remission of sins. The gospel
begins with the absolute complete remission of sins. In other words,
my sins are not put away because of something I did. They're put
away because Christ put them away. I have the remission of
sins. And we also read in the scripture
on numerous occasions of works meant for repentance. Works that correspond to true
repentance. Conduct that corresponds with
true and genuine repentance. When repentance is real, there
will be works that demonstrate that it's real, always. Now it's been said that a picture
paints a thousand words. You've all heard that. We're
going to conclude this message with a picture of repentance. It's David's Psalm of Repentance. In Psalm 51, if you want to know
what repentance is, Here is repentance. Would you turn with me to Psalm
51? Now let me give you the setting of this psalm. David, the man after God's own heart,
has committed adultery. And he has murdered somebody
to cover up his tracks. You know, the next time you say
or hear somebody say a believer wouldn't do that, remember this
scripture. You better than David. All the
Lord has to do is take his hand off you and you will prove to
be just like David. I believe that about myself.
Do you? David has sinned. And a year passes, and he has
grown hard. He didn't seem to demonstrate
any repentance. Business as usual, he just kept
going on through the motions. And the Lord sent a prophet to
him by the name of Nathan, and he told him a story about a poor
man who had a little lamb. that he loved so dearly, he treated
it as if it was his own child. That's how much he loved this
little lamb. And he had a rich neighbor who
had a lot of sheep. And a visitor came to this rich
neighbor and the rich neighbor said, well, I want to take care
of this fellow, but I don't want to use my sheep. So he had his
servants go and take that man's little lamb and kill it. He loved that little lamb like
a child. But it was taken from him and
they killed it and fed it to the visitor. And when David heard
that story, He said, get him as the Lord liveth, that man
is surely going to die. He's going to be put to death.
David was mad. And Nathan said, thou art the
man. And David said, I've sinned against
the Lord. There is where repentance begins. When I see that my sin is against
the Lord. Somebody says, well, I didn't
hurt anybody. That doesn't make any difference. My sin is against
the Lord. That's what makes it so bad.
And Nathan said to him, the Lord hath put away thy sin. And David went out and wrote
Psalm 51. And if you would ask me, what
is the passage of scripture that you go to more than any other
passage of scripture, I believe it might be Psalm 51. Now if you want to know what
repentance is, here it is. I can try to describe it, but
This is repentance. David says in verse 1, Have mercy upon me, O God. Don't give me what I deserve. Have mercy upon me, O God, according
to thy lovingkindness. Somebody once said lovingkindness
is the Old Testament word for grace. I'm not asking you to
have mercy upon me because I'm sorry or because I promise to
never do it again or because I'll improve and I'm not asking
any of those. I'm not saying have mercy upon
me because of anything I do. Have it because you're gracious.
Have it according to thy loving kindness. According unto the
multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgression. Make it to where it's no more.
Do you pray that? Lord, make my sin to where it's
not. To where it's blotted out. When
you blot out something, you erase it. It's no longer there. It's
gone. Blot out my transgressions. Wash
me. I'm filthy. Wash me truly from
mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions. I take sides with you against
myself. Here's what confession of sin
is. I acknowledge, not hide them, not say it's not that bad, I
acknowledge my transgressions and my sin is ever before me
against thee, thee only. have I sinned? Now, wait a minute. Didn't He kill Uriah, the Hittite? That sounds like that's against
Him. Well, it was, but that's not
the problem. Against Thee. Thee only have
I sinned. and done this evil in thy sight,
that thou mightest be justified when you speak, and be clear
when you judge." What David is saying is, if you judge me and
send me to hell, you are clear, just, and right in doing so. That's what repentance does.
Repentance doesn't do anything but bow to God's sovereign right
to do what He will, whatever He does is right. That is repentance. He says in verse 5, Behold, I
was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Now whenever there's true repentance,
there is an acknowledgment before God of an evil nature. I was born bad. to the bone. I was born that
way. I can't say the devil made me
do it. I was born evil. I was born shapen in iniquity. The wicked are estranged from
the womb. They go about as soon as they be born speaking lies. There's some understanding of
my problem. The reason I do the things that
I do is because I am what I am. I was born sinful. Verse 6, Behold, thou desirest
truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part thou shalt
make me to know wisdom. There's an understanding of what
God desires. Now he says in verse 7, Purge
me with hyssop, and I shall be clean. Wash me, and I shall be
whiter than snow. Now you know what hyssop is?
It was the branch that was used to dip down in the blood. and
put it up over the door of the house. And God said, get in the
house. He said, when I pass through,
when I see the blood, I'll pass over you in mercy. And here is
what repentance says. Lord, purge away my sin through
the blood of your Son. I can't do anything to make up
for it. I can't make it better. I can't make any The only thing
that can be done for me is for my sin to be purged away in the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, you purge me and I shall
be clean. I shall be pure. I'll tell you
what, repentance knows the blood of Christ is effectual. You purge
me, I shall be clean. Wash me, I'm filthy. Wash me and I shall be whiter
than snow. Verse 8, make me to hear joy
and gladness that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. I can't even hear the gospel
unless you give me ears to hear. Make me to hear this joy. Verse
9, hide thy face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities. You can't accept me as I am in
myself. Oh, I don't even see my sins. Blot them out. And that blot
out, that means they're erased. They're gone. I don't want my
sins just covered up, but they're still there. I want them removed,
taken away, blotted out, erased, purged away by the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. He says in verse 10, create in
me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me. My heart is filthy and I can't make it clean. And I'm not going to present
my heart to you. I'm asking that you would give
me a new heart, that you would create in me a clean heart and
renew a right within me. I'm wrong. I'm wrong. Everything about me is wrong.
That's what repentance says. I'm wrong and you're right. Renew
in me a right spirit, a constant spirit. Verse 11, cast me not
away from thy presence and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.
Now I deserve to be cast away from your presence. But please
don't do it. Don't take your Holy Spirit from
me. I can't believe without the Holy Spirit. I can't repent without
the Holy Spirit. I can't love without the Holy
Spirit. I can't hear the gospel without the Holy Spirit. Don't
take your Spirit from me. Now, somebody might think, well,
David, don't you believe in eternal security? Remember, David is
speaking as he felt. And he felt like he'd grieved
away the Holy Spirit. And he was saying, Lord, don't
remove your Spirit from me. Verse 12, restore unto me the
joy of thy salvation. Not my salvation, thy salvation. The salvation of which you are
the author and the finisher and the perfecter. The complete salvation
that's in your soul. Restore to me the joy of thy
salvation. I've lost it. I've lost it. Uphold me with thy free spirit.
You see, if you don't uphold me, I'll fall. I'll fall away. I know I will. Repentance asks
the Lord to uphold. He says in verse 13, then, when
you do all these things, then will I teach transgressors thy
ways, the way of grace, the way of mercy, and sinners should
be converted unto thee. Deliver me, verse 14, from blood
guiltiness. You know what blood guiltiness
is? It means your guilt necessitates your death. Your guilt before God, your sin
before God means that God, if he's going to remain just, he's
going to have to put you down. You really believe that? And
David said, deliver me from my blood guiltiness. Oh God, thou
God of my salvation and my tongue, You do that, my tongue shall
sing aloud of thy righteousness. Now what's that all about? My
tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. Now what David
is saying is this. You deliver me from my guilt, my blood guiltiness,
my evil sin that deserves my destruction. You deliver me from
that. There's only one way I can be
delivered from that. And that's by the righteousness, the perfect
righteousness of your blessed Son being counted to me. And
I am righteous before you through His righteousness. Now, if you
deliver me from my blood guiltiness, oh, I'll sing aloud of thy righteousness. Won't you sing aloud of His righteousness?
That's the only righteousness I know anything about, the righteousness
and merits of Jesus Christ. My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. He says in verse 15, O
Lord, open now my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. You see, when someone confesses
their sin before God, they have a real problem with anything
that comes out of their mouth. And they say, Lord, you open
my mouth and I'll be speaking of your praise. I don't want
to open my own mouth. I want to keep it shut. And the
only things that I want to come from my mouth are the things
that you inspire. Anything else is no good. Open
thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. Verse
16, for thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it. Thou delightest
not in burnt offerings. slaying of animals does nothing
to satisfy the justice of God. They're just pictures of what
our Lord did. He says in verse 17, the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart,
O God, thou wilt not despise." When something's broken, what
do you do with it? Throw it away. It's no good. There's only one thing that it's
at its best state when it's broken. The heart. A broken heart. Now, what is a broken heart?
Well, something's broke. It doesn't work. It can't be
fixed. It's no good. And whenever someone
comes before God with a broken heart, broken of all hopes of
self-salvation, broken, no good, nothing but sin. That's all it
can claim. Nothing but sin. When somebody
comes into God's presence with a broken heart, and that's the
product of the work of God the Spirit in him. A broken heart,
O God, thou wilt not despise. David says in verse 18, Do good
in thy good pleasure unto Zion. Build thou the walls of Jerusalem. When there's true repentance,
There is also a desire for God to work. You do good to Jerusalem. You build the walls of Zion. In true repentance, there's always
a desire for the good of the church, the good of all of God's
people. You're not just, you want, what
you want for yourself, you want for all of the Lord's people.
Then, verse 19, shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of
righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering, then
shall they offer bullets upon thine altar." True repentance
understands God is only pleased by what He does. When you do
these things, when you build the walls of Jerusalem, then
you're going to be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness. Now this is repentance. I repent. I repent of my wrong thoughts
of God. I repent of my wrong thoughts
of myself. I repent of the direction that
I've gone contrary to the Lord and his gospel. I repent of my
sins. I repent. Now let me tell you
one thing that proves genuine repentance. Is anybody asking
themselves the question, have I really repented? Do I know
anything about this repentance? I wonder if anybody is asking
themselves that question. Well let me tell you what is
always with true repentance. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repent ye and believe The Gospel. When Paul summarized his preaching,
he said, I preach repentance toward God and faith toward our
Lord Jesus Christ. When somebody has repented, they
rest, they believe only on Christ, and they look nowhere else. If you believe on Christ, you're
repenting. And if you're repenting, you
are believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. May God grant to each
one of us repentance unto life. Let's pray together.