Now I'm deeply and sincerely desirous
that the Lord make this message a blessing to me and to you. The word repentance is used frequently
and misused frequently. And I want you, when you leave
here tonight, to know something about true repentance, what it
is, what the Bible talks about when it talks about repentance. Now, look first at John chapter
9, verse 1. And as Jesus passed by, he saw
a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him,
now this is the disciples asking this, Master, who did sin, this
man or his parents, that he was born blind? Even the disciples were misguided on this subject. Many of the Pharisees and leaders
suggested that, like in the case of this man
sitting there blind, that they suggested that judgment, like
this blindness or deafness or lameness or something like that,
came upon people because of some special sin. of them or their
parents. They suggested that death or
severe judgment was an indication that this family was more notorious
and guilty of greater sins and crimes than other people. That's
the first thing that entered the mind of Job's friends when
the calamities came in the life of Job. when he lost all of his property
and all of his cattle and lost all of his children, that these
three friends came running over there and suggested that he was
guilty of some notorious crime, some terrible sin that caused
God to descend upon him in wrath and deprived him of all these
things that he owned. And we find that cropping up
again over here in Luke 13. Turn over here to Luke 13. And our Lord deals with it as
he did in John 9. I'll go back there in a minute
and show you what he said. But here in Luke 13, verse 1,
they were present at that season. son that told him, told Christ,
of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their
sacrifices." Now, this was a... There arose a man called Judas
of Galilee, back during the taxing. You can read about this in Acts
5, but this fellow rose up among the Jews and endeavored to draw
them away from Rome, away from Herod and Pilate, and told them
they didn't have to pay taxes to Rome, that it was unlawful
for God's people to pay taxes to Rome. So Pilate sent a band
of soldiers down there where they were, and they were observing
the Passover. And Pilate sent some soldiers
down there and murdered those people. It says here in verse
1 that whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.
Those soldiers came down then while these people were worshiping
God and offering the Passover lamb. They killed every one of
them, and their blood flowed with the blood of their sacrifices.
A terrible experience, terrible. And Jesus said in verse 2, He
answered these people. He knew why they were asking
that. Same thing His disciples were. Indicating and suggesting
that this man that was born blind That he was more notorious or
his parents were more a more notorious sinners than everybody
else and Christ said in verse 2 Do you suppose? That these
Galileans were sinners above all Galileans Because they suffered
such atrocities Misfortunes and pain? I tell you, no. That answers the question, no. And over here in John 9, turn
back over there again, let's see. In John 9, verse 3, Jesus
answered his disciples when they suggested this man was born blind
because his parents were notorious or more wicked than other people,
or he was, neither, Jesus answered, neither hath this man sinned,
of course he sinned, but in a particular fashion. Neither hath this man
sinned any more than anybody else, or his parents any more
than anybody else, but that the works of God should be made manifest
in him. In other words, God has a sovereign
purpose for every person. every family, every situation,
whether it be his sons or sons of Adam, whether it be for the
glory of his grace or the glory of his justice. But as pertaining
to judgment and wrath, he doesn't visit men with affliction only
for that cause. He does it to fulfill his purpose,
like he said of Pharaoh, I raised you up for this purpose. that
I might show my glory." So that's what he's saying here, that this
man's blindness was not an indication that he nor his parents were
more notorious sinners than others. I'll go back to Luke 13 and verse
4, he tells another incident. Our Lord said, or those 18, verse
4 of Luke 13, upon whom the Tyre were in Siloam fell and slew
them. Now there was a pool near Jerusalem.
You read about it in that same chapter, verse 9, chapter 9 of
John, verse 7. Our Lord told that man that was
born blind whom he healed, he said, you go wash in the pool
of Siloam. And this pool of Siloam was near
to Jerusalem. And it was a pool with some religious,
special religious significance. And there was a tower there,
a huge tower beside that pool of Siloam. That's where people
went. Whatever their beliefs were,
I'm not sure, but they went there to be purified and different
things of this nature. And the people were there in
a religious observance, and that tower fell on them and killed
18 of them. And this is what our Lord is
asking these folks, do you think that these people, upon whom
the tower in Siloam fell, that they were sinners above all men
that dwell in Jerusalem? Did that happen to them because
they were more wicked than everybody else? I tell you, verse 5, no. But, except you repent, you shall
all likewise perish. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. And God commands all men everywhere
to repent. Let's turn, if you will, to Acts
17. Repentance is not just for a
few, it's for everybody. We all have sinned and come short
of God's glory. There's none good, no, not one.
There's none that understand it. There's none that seeketh
after God. In Acts 17, verse 29, the Apostle
Paul is speaking here in Athens, and he says, Forasmuch then as
we are the offspring of God, Acts 17, 29, we ought not to
think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone,
graven by art, and man's device. The times of this ignorance God
winked at, overlooked, put up with in his long suffering, but
now he commandeth all men everywhere to repent." That's you, that's
me. All men everywhere to repent,
because he has appointed a day in which he's going to judge
this world in righteousness. "...by that man whom he hath
ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that
he raised him from the dead." Our Lord said it's not just for
those who are considered to be more wicked or more sinful, but
repentance is a matter to be dealt with by every person, except
you repent, except I repent, we'll perish. And in Acts 20,
let's look at this. I mean, Paul, the Apostle Paul,
gave this summary of his of his preaching. In Acts chapter 20,
verse 20 and 21, he said, And I kept back nothing that was
profitable unto you, but I have showed you and taught you publicly
and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews and also to
the Greeks, two things, repentance and faith. repentance toward
God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So the subject that I've
got tonight, the subject I have for you, is vital and imperative
for me, for you, for every person, is repentance. So let's look
at it. Have I repented? Am I repenting? You might ask that same question.
Am I repenting? Have I repented? Well, here are
three facts. If you want to take notes, you
may do so. I've got some things that I believe
are just a revelation on this subject
of repentance. Now, here are three facts. Number
one is this. You can't separate these two
things that Paul says is a summary of his message, repentance and
faith. You can't separate these two. If I have faith, I have
repented. If I have repented, I have faith. They cannot be separated anymore.
You can separate justification and sanctification. In other
words, the Scripture says if any man be in Christ, he is a
new If he's in Christ, he's a new creature. If he's a new creature,
he's in Christ. If he's justified, he's sanctified. If he's sanctified,
he's justified. Again, if any man have not the
spirit of Christ, he's none of his. If a man is his, he has
his spirit. And again, no man can call Jesus
Lord except by the Holy Spirit. So where you find faith, you
find repentance. Everybody who has believed on
Christ has repented, and is repentant, and will continue to repent.
And everybody who has repented has believed on Christ. For example,
repentance and faith are like a sheet of paper. You can't have a sheet of paper
without two sides. It's impossible to have one side,
impossible. A sheet of paper's got to have
a front and back. Turn around this way, still got
to have a front and back. And actually, it's impossible
to tell which comes first, repentance or faith. To turn to Christ is to turn
from your idols. To turn from your idols is to
turn to Christ. Isn't that right? To believe on Christ is to cease
to believe on anything else. If a person believes on the Lord
Jesus Christ, he has renounced all other foundations, if you
really believe. To follow Christ as Caleb followed
Christ, and there's just one way to follow him, and that's
to follow him fully, is to disown all other relationships. To trust
his righteousness is to count mine but lost. Isn't that true? Turn to John 6. Peter sums this
thing up. You can't separate faith and
repentance. You can't separate belief and
obedience. It's an impossibility. If any
man be in Christ, he is a new creature. If a man is justified,
he's sanctified. If he's following Christ, he's
turned from all other ways of salvation. If he believed on
Christ, he's discounted faith in anything else. In John 6,
verse 66, all these folks had departed from him. He preached
his gospel, the gospel of substitution, the gospel of satisfaction, the
gospel of his blood, his righteousness. In verse 66, John 6 says, from
that time, many of his These were followers, learners, not
the twelve. They went back. They walked no
more with him. And then said Jesus to the twelve,
will you go away? Then Simon Peter answered him,
Lord, to whom shall we go? That's repentant. To whom shall
we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. And we believe and assure that
thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. If he's the
way, then like Peter, there's no other way. If he has the words
of life, then nobody else has them. If I believed on him, I've
discounted any confidence in anyone else. So repentance and faith are inseparable. If I'm sitting here thinking,
well, have I repented, I better also say, have I believed? Everybody
who has believed has repented and does repent. Everybody who's
repented believes. Oh, here's the second thing now.
There is a false repentance and a false faith. There's an outward form of repentance
that's brought on by circumstances. which is not true repentance,
it's mostly temporary and emotional. Let's look at 2 Corinthians 7,
2 Corinthians chapter 7. There's a false repentance, just
like there's a false faith, there's a false religious experience.
You know, John talked about the folks that departed from the
church, departed from the faith. They went out from us because
they weren't of us. If they had been of us, they
would have continued with us. And here in 2 Corinthians 7,
verse 9, Paul says to this church at Corinth, I rejoice, not that
you were made sorry, but that you sorrowed to repentance.
For you were made sorry after a godly manner. that you might
receive damage by us in nothing, for godly sorrow worketh repentance
to salvation, not to be repented of, but the sorrow of the world
worketh death." In other words, Paul says here, there's a godly
sorrow that operates on the soul and the mind and the thoughts
and the inner man. A godly sorrow that brings true
repentance. But there's an earthly sorrow
that doesn't touch the soul, but it has to do with circumstances
and events and happenings that cause men to be sorry. There's a godly sorrow and there's
an earthly sorrow. And godly sorrow works true repentance. That's what he said. It works
repentance to salvation. We're going to look at that in
a minute. And then there's a, I'm going to give you some, let
me give you some examples of this, of this earthly sorrow,
of this emotional, you call it passing fancy. It
just flies through. Turn to Genesis 4. Genesis 4. Here it came. There is a fear of punishment
that does not produce true repentance, it produces a false repentance
and a false sorrow. Now you listen to Cain talk.
Here in Genesis 4 verse 9, And the Lord said to Cain, Where
is Abel thy brother? Oh God, forgive me. I killed my brother. Oh God. I'm so broken and sorry and repentant. Can you ever be merciful? Is
it possible that you could forgive me? Now listen. I know not. Am I my brother's
keeper? The Lord God said, What hast
thou done? The voice of thy brother under me from the ground. Now
art thou cursed from the earth, which has opened her mouth to
receive your brother's blood from your hand. And when you
till the ground, it will not henceforth yield unto you her
strength. You will be a fugitive, a vagabond, shalt thou be in
the earth." Oh, the king said, Oh, no, my punishment is greater
than I can bear. Oh, he's repenting. See what
I'm saying? He's overwhelmed. He's overcome
because it's costing him something. That's not repentance. That's
circumstances. That's the moment. That's a clear
punishment. If he could get rid of the punishment,
he could get rid of the pain. That's not repentance. Remember,
I'll give you another one. Let's turn to Acts 8 and listen
to Simon Magus here, Acts chapter 8. Here's another example of
a false repentance, brought on by fear of punishment. In Acts
8, verse 20, verse 19, well, I'm sorry, verse 18, we've got
to go back. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the
apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money. He said, say, give me this power. That on whomsoever I lay hands,
he'll receive the Holy Ghost. Peter said, Your money perish
with you, because you thought the gift of God could be purchased
with money. You don't have any part or lot
in this matter. Your heart's not right in the
sight of God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness,
and pray, God, if perhaps the thought of your heart may be
forgiven you. that you're in the gall of bitterness and the
bond of iniquity." And then he answered, oh, listen, listen,
listen, pray ye the Lord, pray to the Lord for me, that I'll
be forgiven of my sin. No, that none of these things
we've spoken come upon me. Now, that's not repentance. And
I'll tell you something else if you turn to Hebrews 12. This
is not repentance, loss of benefit. loss of honor, loss of influence, things being taken away from
us that we put great value upon. In Hebrews 12, 17, you know that Verse 16, lest there be any fornicator
or propane person as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his
birthright, you know how that afterwards then he would have
inherited the blessing. He was rejected, and he found
no place of repentance, though he sought it with tears. He wanted
that birthright after he lost it. But not till after he lost
it. That's what he wanted. It went
to somebody else, and that's when he repented, or tried to. And then I'll tell you another
thing, 1 Samuel 26. You know, you've heard of people
having a close call with death, automobile accident, they're
the only ones that survived, or something tragic happens and
they their lives are preserved and saved and here's King Saul
and David had he was he was pursuing David and David was in the caves
in the mountains and God was protecting David God had hedged
him about and Saul was lying down there asleep in the valley
David up in the mountain saw him and David slipped down And
David took his water jug, and I believe he cut a piece off
of his robe. He could have killed him, but he wouldn't touch God's King.
He wouldn't do that. He took that back up in the mountain,
and then he called Saul and told him. He'd been there, and Saul
saw evidence that he had. And in verse 21 of 1 Samuel 26,
then Saul said, I have seen. It escaped. I have seen. Oh, return, my son David. I will
no more do thee harm. Because my soul was precious
in your eyes this day, I was delivered from death. Behold,
I flayed the fool, and erred exceedingly." Is this repentance?
Oh, no. Well, preacher, how do you know
it's not real? Because he still chased David afterwards. He still
tried to kill him. This is emotional. This is loss
of influence or power or benefits or escape from sickness. Got sick and you were delivered
from dying and you just, boy, I'm going to straighten up. And
then I'll tell you something else. Sorrow over a fall into
sin. I'm going to show you two reactions
to the same sin. Turn first of all to Matthew
chapter 27. You know, Matthew 27, Judas denied
the master. He betrayed the master, sold
him out. In Matthew 27 verse 3, then Judas
which had betrayed him, terrible sin, he sold Christ 30 pieces
of silver, $18. When he saw, he was condemned,
repented. When he saw, he was condemned.
And brought again the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priest
and elders, saying, I have sinned in that I betrayed innocent blood. And they said, what is that to
us? See thou to it. And he cast down the 30 pieces
of silver in the temple and departed and went out and hanged himself. I'm saying that sorrow over a
great sin may or may not work with Temple. In this case, it
didn't. But in the case of Simon Peter, when our Lord was taken into
Pilate's hall, the judgment hall, to be beaten and abused and later
crucified, sitting out there with these enemies of Christ.
Someone said, you're one of his disciples. No, I'm not. He denied
the Lord. Three times he said, finally
on the third time he cursed and swore that he didn't know him. He looked up into the eyes of
the Master, looked up and saw him. You know what Scripture
says? And went out and hanged himself? He went out and wept
bitterly. That's different, isn't it? Wept. Godless self. See what I'm saying? And I tell you, here's another
thought, too. And I'll get into the third point
here. Emotional response under a powerful sermon. And this is
one of the dangers. I wish all the preachers could
see it. You have a service and preach
a message, and a special power and function and emotions of
whatever. And under that particular time,
sometimes people make decisions and make vows and promises and
do things that, given a little space to think about it, they
wouldn't do. And this is what happened here in Mark chapter
6. Let me show you something. Mark
chapter 6. Here was a fellow that really He was really impressed
with John the Baptist. He went to hear him on a regular
basis. His name was Herod. He was a king. And in Mark 6, verse 20, it says,
in Mark 6, verse 17, himself had sent forth and laid
hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake,
his brother Philip's wife, for he had married her. But John
had said to Herod, It is not lawful for you to have your brother's
wife. Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would
have killed him, but she could not, for Herod feared John. Knowing
that he was a just man, and a holy, and observed him, went out to
Herod. He protected him. And when he
hurt him, he did many things and hurt him gladly. There was
a time, this man that later killed John, there was a time when he
was one of his most ardent killers. That's not repentance. And then
turn to Acts 24. Let me show you a couple of other
psalms, Acts chapter 24. I'm spending a lot of time on
this, but it's so important to recognize that there is a false
repentance, an emotional response and reaction that's brought about
by certain circumstances that is outwardly and not of the heart. And here in Acts 24, listen,
verse 25, here's Felix, and as Paul reasoned, of righteousness
and temperance and judgment to come, Felix trembled. He was impressed, and he answered,
you go your way for a time. When I have a more convenient
season, I'll call on you. This is one of these powerful,
powerful Roman rulers listening to God's preacher Paul, and he's
trembling. And listen over here in chapter
26 of Acts. Most preachers would say, Paul,
why didn't you give him an invitation? Why didn't you sign him up? He
was trembling. If you see a man trembling, Acts 26, listen to verse 27.
King Agrippa, here's Paul before the king. Do you believe the
prophets? I know you believe the prophets."
Then Agrippa said, Paul, almost. Paul persuaded me to be a Christian.
That must have been a powerful sermon. Almost persuaded. But you see,
repentance, what I've been saying during this whole point here,
number two, It's not an earthly sorrow. It's a godly sorrow. It doesn't
have to do with circumstances and things that pass through
at the moment. It has to do with thoughts of
the heart. Let me show you that in Isaiah
55. It has to do with the thoughts,
attitudes, inner man, soul and heart. That's where repentance,
that's where the work of faith and repentance takes place, in
the heart. In Isaiah 55, verse 6, listen,
"...seek ye the Lord, while he may be found. Call ye upon him
while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way."
Let him turn to God's way. The unrighteous man forsake his
thoughts. Let him return unto God's thoughts. And God will have mercy on him.
And to our God he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not
your thoughts. My ways are not your ways. That's
where repentance takes place. In the heart, in the soul. Turning
from my thoughts about God. salvation to God's thoughts. Turning from my ways and my religion
and my so-called wisdom to his way. However it may cross my
way, that's turning. Repentance is a, oh Brother Shelton,
you say it's a turning, but oh what a turning. Repentance is
a change, but oh what a change. It's a change forever. It's a
turning forever. It's a turning completely from
my thoughts and my ways to his thoughts and his ways. Now, if
you want to, you jot down these six statements about true repentance. And it'll tell a person whether
or not he has repented and believed. Here's the first thing. It's not the wrath of God that
produces repentance. It's the grace of God. The goodness
of God, that's right. In Romans 2, verse 4, that's
exactly what it says, Romans 2, verse 4. It's the goodness
of God that leads a man to repentance. It's not hearing about hell,
it's hearing about Christ. It's not hearing about punishment,
it's hearing about mercy. That's right, Romans 2, verse
4. Despiseth thou, or despiseth
thou the riches of his goodness, his forbearance, his longsuffering,
not knowing it's the goodness of God that leads you to repentance?
Sometimes if you read the, don't turn to it now, but I'll just
look over here for a moment. If you read the fourth chapter
of Amos, God talks about these people in In the words of Amos,
he said, I've given you cleanness of teeth. And their teeth weren't
clean because they brushed them. They were clean because they
didn't have anything to eat. I've given you cleanness of teeth,
but you haven't repented. I've withholden the rain from
you when there was just three months to the harvest. That's
a drought. Three months for the harvest, and there wasn't any
harvest. But you haven't returned unto
me. I've smitten you with blastings and mildew, and you have not
returned unto me. Your young men have I killed
with a sword, taken them away to war, and destroyed them, and
you haven't repented. I've overthrown you as I overthrew
Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a firebrand plucked out of
the burning. but you didn't return to me,
so prepare to meet thy God." Wrath does not produce repentance. You know what does? The gospel. Go ye into all the world and
preach the gospel, the gospel of Christ, his mercy, his grace,
his love, and he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.
It's the mercy of God that produces repentance. Secondly, that's
right, we heard about His grace and mercy to sinners, and it
broke our hearts. Secondly, true repentance acknowledges
God's sovereign right to do with me what He will. True repentance
acknowledges God's sovereign right to do with me what he will."
That's what Job said. He said, the Lord giveth and
the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
That's his way, that's his thoughts, and I bow to it. When Samuel
told Eli that God was going to kill his two sons, what did the
old man say? Well, he said, it's the Lord.
Let him do what seems good to him. That's repentance. In Matthew, our Lord Jesus said,
I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. You've hid
these things from the wise and prudent and revealed it to babe.
For, Father, it seemed good in your sight. David in Psalm 51, which Brother
Moore read a moment ago, he said, God is just when he condemns
me and righteous when he judges me. If not the potter, pile over
the clay, to make of the same lump one vessel unto honor and
one unto wrath. That's true repentance. true repentance admits the holiness
of God, and admits my sin and corruption. I read that to you
a while ago in Psalm 130, where David said, Out of the depths
have I cried unto thee, O God, hear my voice. Lord, if thou
shouldest mark iniquity, who would stand? But there's forgiveness
God is holy and righteous. If he were to mark a nick with
this, nobody could stand. But there's forgiveness in that
thou mightest be feared. In Isaiah, when Isaiah saw the
Lord, he said, I saw the Lord high and lifted up. His glory
and holiness filled the temple. And I cried, woe is me. I'm a man of unclean lips. I
dwell among a people of unclean lips. Isaiah 64 says, even our righteousness
is a filthy rag in God's sight. And I want us to read what Paul
says in Romans 7 in respect to our sinfulness and our corruption
and his mercy and his grace. Listen to Romans 7. This is the
Apostle Paul, verse 18. I know that in me, that is, in
my flesh dwelleth no good thing. For the will is present with
me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good
that I would do, that's perfection. For the good that I would, I
do not. But the evil which I would not, that I do. The things I
would think, I don't think. The things I wouldn't think,
that's what I do think. If I do that which I would not,
it's no more I that do it, it's sin that dwelleth in me. I find
then a law. When I would do good, evil is
present with me. I delight in the law of God after
the inward man, in the holiness of God, in the righteousness
of God. But I see who I am and what I
am, and another law in my members warring against the law of my
mind, bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in
my members. Oh, wretched man that I am! Who
shall deliver me from the body of this death? I'll have deliverance,
I thank God. through Jesus Christ our Lord.
True repentance, true repentance is effected by the grace of God. True repentance acknowledges
God's sovereign right to do with his own what he will, with me
what he will. True repentance admits the holiness
of God and my sinfulness and corruption. And then true repentance owns that it
lies with God's sovereign will, not mine, but his sovereign will,
to leave me in my rebellion or to save me by his grace. He's not obligated. If he leaves
me in my rebellion, I get what I deserve. If he's pleased to
save me by his grace, I get mercy and grace and give him the glory."
That's such, that's repentant. Jonah cried out of the belly
of the fish, salvations of the Lord. He can leave me here, or
he can take me out. I can't get out, I can't will
myself out, but God can. The leper came to him when our
Lord came down from the mountain. A leper met him. He said in Matthew
8 verse 1, Lord, if you will, you can make me whole. It's in
your will. It's not my will. It's your will.
We're born not of the will of man, not of the will of the flesh.
We're born of God. He said to Moses, I will have
mercy on whom I will have mercy. I will be gracious to whom I
will be gracious, so then it's not of him that willeth, it's
not of him that runneth, it's of God that shows mercy. That's
repentance. I bow to that. And a person that
cannot bow to God's sovereignty and his right to reign and his
right to do with his own what he will, hath not the potter
power over the clay? That's repentance. Well, we're
not born thinking that way, but we change our minds when we find
out who God is and who we are, when we find out his ability
and our inability, when we find out his glorious grace and our undeserving. We change our mind. When I heard the gospel, I repented,
changed my mind, changed my way.