Clean Transcript

The Necessity Of Repentance - Part 2 of 2

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• To Jeremiah 31, verses 18 and 19. This is the second part of the message I started last week, and so I will review and try to tie everything together for you this week. So the message is "The Necessity of Repentance, Part Two." So look at it if you would, Jeremiah chapter 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. Surely after that I was turned I repented, and after that I was instructed I smote upon my thigh. I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth." So last week I began this message on the necessity of repentance. I trust that you will remember a good bit of it, and at least some of the truths have sunk deeply into your mind. So let me begin by giving you a quote I gave in the introduction last week. Here it is: Repentance is not a needless doctrine.

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• It is a necessary doctrine. Repentance and faith go together. It is impossible to have one without the other. You might say that repentance and faith are the two sides of one coin. So if one truly, savingly repents, at the same time he truly, savingly believes. If someone truly, savingly believes, at the same time he truly, savingly repents. So we are commanded in the Word of God to preach repentance. Just think, if you would, momentarily of the rebellion of a lot of preachers in this land and churches in this land who will not preach or will not allow repentance to be preached. The Bible tells you in Luke chapter 24 and verse 47 that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And of course, if you will hold Jeremiah 31, but look in your Bibles to the book of Mark chapter 1, because our Lord himself began his ministry by preaching repentance. So if you'll look at Mark 1 and verse 14: "Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." Note, if you would, he said, "Repent

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• ye, and believe the gospel." And so I pointed out last week that this is not two calls in reality. This is one call, because the little word "and" in verse 15 is the Greek word kai. When he said, "Repent ye, and believe the gospel," that little word kai is oftentimes translated in our Bibles as "even." So you could read that, "Repent ye, even believe the gospel." So no one really believes without repenting, and no one really repents without believing. So I actually covered three points last week.

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• I'm going to give them to you today and just review them briefly. I pointed out the definition of repentance, the demand for repentance, and the duty of repentance. So let me begin by summarizing the definition of repentance first. We looked in the Old Testament and saw the Hebrew words. Then we went to the New Testament and saw the Greek word, especially metanoia. And these words in the Old Testament in Hebrew and the word in Greek

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• basically have the same meaning. In other words, metanoia and the Hebrew word shub and the other Hebrew word all refer to a change of mind, which produces a godly sorrow, which then also results in a change of direction. And I pointed out, and I'll point out again today, that repentance and faith are actually two parts. There is a turning from and there is a turning to as well. So Louis Berkhof in his systematic theology points out the three elements of repentance, and I want to read this. He describes, number one, the intellectual element of repentance as a change of view and a recognition of sin as involving personal guilt, defilement, and helplessness. Then secondly, the emotional element is a change of feeling, manifesting itself in sorrow for sin committed against the Holy God. And thirdly, there's the volitional element, which is a change of purpose and an inward turning away from sin and a disposition to seek pardon and cleansing. So actually, that is 100% correct, because based upon these Greek words and the Hebrew words, you always have the intellectual element when you understand. You also have the emotional element when you begin to have a godly sorrow, which we'll talk about later. And then, of course, the volitional element, and that is when

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• you actually turn from sin to God. Now repentance is not only defined, repentance is also demanded. And it's demanded because of our transgression and because of our sin. And I pointed out, and we looked at this in detail last week, according to Jeremiah chapter 31 and verse 18, he gave us a wonderful illustration for the demand of repentance. Because he said, "Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke." So a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke, or a bullock unbroken, is one that is headstrong, uncontrollable, unusable, and unsafe. An unbroken bullock is one that has no concern for its owner, its master, or his wishes or his desires. And so the Bible is giving us this picture even again of people in Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 15. And I quoted this last week where God says, "But Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked. Thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness.

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• Then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation." So again, a sinner is pictured then as a bullock that is unconcerned about the owner or the master. So an unbroken bullock is one that is stiff-necked as well. He cannot be turned. He's almost unstoppable in his ways. And I gave you a good illustration from the mule I used to have as a boy, old Crip. And mules and bullocks are certainly in the same regard in that sense of the word. But an unbroken bullock has no regard for his master or anyone else. What the bullock needs is meekness, submission, and control. And that is exactly what is demanded in repentance. And then I pointed out, thirdly, the duty of repentance, and the duty is based upon the plain commands of God, our Creator, Owner, and Sovereign. And our duty then arises from the fact that the Sovereign God of heaven and earth has commanded us to repent.

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• There's none greater than him. He is the commander-in-chief. He is the absolute authority. He's a sovereign authority, and he's commanded it. I'll ask you to look at this one more time in Acts chapter 17, holding Jeremiah 31, but if you will turn to Acts chapter 17, this is where we ended last week when I was explaining that duty to repent. In Acts chapter 17, beginning there verse 30 and 31, notice if you would what the Bible says. Acts chapter 17, beginning there with verse 30, the Bible says, "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." I pointed out the fact, number one, God commands all men everywhere to repent. And so once that command has been issued, that is sufficient in and of itself, but then he gives some underlying foundational reasons

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• as to why he gave that command, and verse 31 explains those. Number one, because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness. In other words, there is a judgment. It is coming. Then he goes farther and even tells you who the judge is going to be: by that man whom he hath ordained, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. We then look back to John chapter 5 and we saw that the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son. So notice if you would, not only now has he told us there's going to be a judgment, not only has he told us that it's going to be the Lord Jesus Christ who's going to be judge, now he's given us an absolute assurance of that fact when he says, "whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he raised him from the dead." So just as surely then as God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, there's going to be a judgment. And hence he says, "I command all men everywhere to repent in light of these facts." Just the very fact that he commands would be sufficient in and of itself, but now he gives undergirding foundations

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• of that command as well. Now, so I ended with the duty of repentance. Let me say this as I get started today, and I will cover the last two points in this message. But duty does not equal ability. Responsibility does not equal ability. Simply because we have a duty, simply because we are responsible, simply because we have an obligation, does not necessarily mean that we have the ability in and of ourselves to fulfill that duty, that obligation, or that responsibility. So duty and responsibility differ greatly from ability. So I could explain this very easily. So if you had a wonderful idea of how you were going to make an awful lot of money, but you needed to borrow some in order to get your project off the ground, and so you could either go to a bank or you go to a Christian brother, and let's suppose you borrow twenty-five or thirty thousand dollars. And you're responsible to pay that money back. Yes. Are you duty-bound? Yes. Are you obligated? Yes. And you say, "Well, nothing. No problem.

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• I will do it." But suppose you get involved in a head-on wreck, and the next thing you know you wake up in the hospital six months later. And then when you do wake up, the only thing you can do is sit in a wheelchair while someone feeds you. You are totally incapacitated. You not only have lost a job, you've lost the ability to even function. So here's my question.

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• Do you still have the duty, the obligation, and responsibility to repay that money? And the answer is yes. But do you have the ability to do so? And the answer is no. So there's a vast difference between responsibility and ability. So although we have the duty, and although we've been demanded and commanded to repent, that does not mean that we have the ability in and of ourselves to do so.

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• Now, let me point this out. One of the wiles and one of the lies of the enemy, and one of the wiles and one of the lies of the flesh, when we're enticed to sin, when we're seduced to do something, you think, "Well, listen, there's an easy repentance. All you have to do is just simply confess and it's over and that's it." And what we forget is this: repentance does not belong to the devil to give. Moreover, repentance is not in us.

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• We cannot work it up. We cannot repent just at our leisure. There have been people who have been seduced into sin and they think that somehow, you know, they can stop whenever they want to. And they find out later they can't stop, and they end up being destroyed totally. Because repentance is not in us. I'll say this again: you cannot work up repentance. You cannot repent in and of yourself. It's impossible. Here's why. Here's my fourth point, and that is the donation of repentance. And when I use the word donation, I simply mean that it is a gift. I pointed out the fact not only last week, but also again the introduction today that repentance and faith are the two sides of one coin. Let me say this another way: repentance and faith are conjoined together. You've heard of conjoined twins. Well, repentance and faith are conjoined together. And here's why they are conjoined together: because both are the gifts of God. And just as faith is his gift, so repentance is also his gift. And just as you cannot believe without his gift of faith, you cannot turn from sin without his gift of repentance.

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• Now, it is our duty and our responsibility to seek his gifts. Our duty, our obligation, our responsibility. Well, let me show you something. I want you to hold Jeremiah 31, but turn in your Bibles if you would to Matthew chapter 9. In Matthew chapter 9, and look if you would beginning there with verse 11. Matthew 9 verse 11: Our Lord is eating with publicans and sinners. Verse 11: "And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Now notice what our Lord said: "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick." Now is there anyone in this room that would wake up one morning and you say to yourself,

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• "I feel absolutely wonderful. I mean, this is a great day. My body's in great shape. I'm just ready to go to work. I'm ready to do whatever I need to do today. I mean, I'm in just wonderful health. But I think before I start, I'm just going to run by the doctor's office and let him look at me and give him three or four hundred dollars just to check me out." You're not going to do that, neither am I. So if you did not wake up feeling absolutely wonderful, you know what you're going to do? You're going to go to your medicine cabinet and you're going to take what you think is going to help you. And if you take what you think is going to help you and it doesn't help you, then what you're going to do is say, "Hmm, let me call Steve over there.

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• See if he's had any symptoms like I've gotten. If so, what did he do?" So you call Steve. Steve said, "Man, you called me just right, because yeah, I've had symptoms just like that." "Well, what did you do, Steve?" "Well, I ate some chocolate cake and some ice cream and put some grits and oatmeal in it and a dill pickle, and man, I got well." And next thing you know, you're trying that yourself, because if it worked for him, it'll work for you.

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• No, you understand what I'm saying? The point is, if you feel badly, you're going to do everything you can to heal yourself. And if you can't, then you're going to call your friends and your neighbors. And if they can't, when you get absolutely helpless and you realize if you're ever going to get well, you've got to go to a doctor, somebody that knows what to do. This is what our Lord is saying: as long as sinners do not realize their sin and the depth of their sickness, they'll never seek him. They'll never ever want him or desire him.

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• Now I want to show you something. Just like a healthy person would not go to a physician, a sinner by nature will not seek the Lord Jesus Christ. Want to show you why some do. You say, "But I did." I know, but let me show you why. Hold Jeremiah 31, but look in your Bibles first of all to the book of Acts chapter 5. Acts chapter 5, and we're going to be looking at verses 30 and 31. Acts 5 verse 30 and 31. Look at it: "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." Now I want you to note the word "for to give." Now turn on over in your Bibles to Acts chapter 11. You'll remember in Acts chapter 10, Cornelius the centurion, the Roman soldier, and his household has been converted. When you get to Acts chapter 11, Peter now is being reproved because as an Israelite he went into someone who was unclean. And so he tells them what happened, how God gave him the vision, how he was not to call anything that God had cleansed

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• unclean. And he goes on to tell them how that when he spoke to them, that God gave them the same gift that he did unto them when they believed. Now watch this. Let's begin reading in Acts chapter 11 and verse 17. Peter says, "Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?"

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• Now watch carefully this wording: "When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life." Look at the word "granted." I'm going to come back to that word momentarily. Now if you would turn right over in your Bibles to the book of 2 Timothy chapter 2. 2 Timothy chapter 2, beginning there with verse 24. Watch carefully. 2 Timothy chapter 2 and verse 24: The Apostle Paul writes, "And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare

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• of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will." So let me ask a question: When do men recover themselves out of the snare of the devil? Well, according to verse 25, it's when they acknowledge the truth. And so here's another question: When then do men acknowledge the truth? And here's the answer: When God gives them repentance. So without repentance, there's no acknowledging the truth. And without acknowledging truth, there's no recovery from sin and the snare of the devil.

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• Now, when you look at Acts 5 in verse 31, "for to give repentance," Acts 11 verse 18, "God granted repentance," and now in 2 Timothy 2 and verse 25, "if God peradventure will give them repentance," in each instance the word "give" and "granted" are the same Greek word didōmi, which means a gift, a grant. It means to give to someone, to deliver to someone. It means a donation. And it's something that is given. It's something that you did not have before. It's something that you absolutely needed. Now we understand Ephesians 2:8-9: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." What is the gift of God? Faith. That not of yourselves. God must give faith. But the same is true with repentance. God must actually give repentance. Someone says, "Well, all men have faith.

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• They just need to use it." No, that's not true. If you look in your Bibles to 2 Thessalonians, just go back a few pages, 2 Thessalonians chapter 3, notice verses 1 and 2. Look what the apostle says.

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• "Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith." All men do not have faith. You may say, "Well, all men may have a natural faith," but there is a vast difference between a natural faith and a saving faith. So when I sat down in this chair, I really exercised a natural faith because I believed this chair would hold me up. But that's vastly different from a saving faith in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. That kind of faith is the gift of God and the gift of God alone. So God must give faith, and likewise God must actually give repentance. Now if God does not give me the gift of faith, then I cannot believe. If God does not give me the gift of repentance, then I cannot turn. And if you do not have the gift of repentance, you will die in your sins.

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• It's just that simple. Our Lord said to those Jews in John 8 and verse 24, "I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." So let me just spell this out: Where there is no faith, there is no repentance. Where there is no repentance, there is no faith. Faith and repentance are conjoined.

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• They go together because both are the gifts of God. So if you will turn back in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 20, you'll see the Apostle Paul is talking to the Ephesian elders and he's telling them basically what he preached, what he taught. And here's what he said. Look at it. In fact, let's read verse 20. He says, "And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you," which means he taught the whole counsel of God, "but have shewed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." Repentance and faith go together. If you look in Acts chapter 26 and verse 20, Acts 26 verse 20, look what he says. He's talking to King Agrippa and he says, "But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance." They should repent and turn to God. That is turning from sin and turning to God in faith. Repentance and turning to God in faith are necessary unto salvation, for both are the gifts of

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• God. And so, you not only have the definition of repentance, the demand for repentance, the duty of repentance, now you see the donation of repentance. God must actually give us repentance exactly as he gives us the gift of faith.

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• Now, there's one last point I want to cover, and that is the discharge of repentance. And when I talk about the discharge of repentance, that has reference to the fact when we actually repent, when we actually turn from sin. So let me explain it like this. Did I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? Yes. Did I turn from my sins? Yes. When I believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, I was simply exercising the gift of faith that he gave me. When I turned from my sins, I was simply exercising the gift of repentance that was given unto me. Faith is the gift of God. Listen carefully: faith is the gift of God, but God does not believe for me. Repentance is the gift of God, but God does not repent for me. So God gives me his gift of faith which enables me to believe, and God gives me the gift of repentance which enables me to turn from my sins. So when I believe and when I repent, I'm merely exercising the gifts that God has given unto me. Now I can truthfully say I believed. I can truthfully say I repented. But I can also truthfully say I would never have believed and never have repented unless God had given

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• me the gifts of faith and repentance. Okay, so let me show you. Look in your Bibles at 1 Corinthians chapter 4, because the Apostle Paul is asking some very, very pointed questions. Watch if you would, 1 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 7. And so he asks this question: "For who maketh thee to differ from another?" Why is it you believe when others don't? Why is it you study the scriptures and others do not? Why is it your life has been a blessed one instead of a cursed one? Who made you to differ from another? Why were you not born in the darkest continent in this world under heathen deities and heathen worship? Why were you born where you could hear the scripture? Who made you to differ? Now, what's the next question? "And what hast thou that thou didst not receive?" And everything you have, God gave you. He gave you the gift of faith. He gave you the gift of repentance. Now look at the next question: "Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?"

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• Now I repented, yes, I believe, but the only reason I did was because of the gifts and the grace and the mercy of God himself. Now I want you to go back in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 31. I worked on this passage last week, I'm going to finish with it this week. I want you to look at verses 18 and 19 together. Here it is: "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. Surely after that I was turned I repented; and after that I was instructed I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth." Now, let's ask a question: Why was Ephraim bemoaning himself? Here's the answer: "Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke." Now, let me just tell you, there is a play on words in verse 18. So when he said first, "Thou hast chastised me," that means that God whipped him, God disciplined him. When he said, "and I was chastised," that is not saying the same thing. That's not like me looking at Steve and saying, "In whipping I will whip thee." You know, that'd be saying the same thing. So when he says, "Thou hast chastised me," that refers to the punishment, the chastisement, the affliction of whatever it was. And "I was chastised"—the phrase "and I was chastised" then refers to the instruction or the result or the benefit of having been whipped and chastened to begin with. So let me try to explain it and give you a verse that will show it to you. So if you will look in your Bibles, hold Jeremiah, we're coming back there, but look to Psalm 94 and verse 12. Psalm 94 and verse 12. Here it is. Look what it says: "Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord." Now here's the result of that chastening: "and teachest him out of thy law." So that's exactly what is meant when he said, "O Lord, thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised." In other words,

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• I was whipped, I was convicted, and I saw the truth and I had some beneficial results. I saw that I was a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. Now I want you to watch carefully. Go back to Jeremiah 31, because I want you to see the next plea. Look at this now. We're talking about repentance. He said, "I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke." So God has chastened him and God has opened his eyes. But look at the next plea: "Turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God." So when he is chastened and the result of that chastening is he's taught, he has his eyes open, and he now sees his absolute inability and helplessness, and he prays, "Turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God." Now help me out, because you understand in this instance God moved first. God initiated it. I would have never believed on

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• the Lord Jesus Christ if God the Father had not given me faith. I would have never turned from my sins if he had not given me the gift of repentance. I would never have known my own helplessness, that I needed a Savior, had he not opened mine eyes and showed me. So the point I'm trying to make right now: our Lord said in John 15 in verse 5, help me out, he said, "Without me ye can do how much?" Nothing. That's why he says, "Now that I've been chastened and the results I see, now I'm praying, 'Turn thou me, O Lord, and I shall be turned.'" So I want you to hold Jeremiah, but look back in your Bibles to Psalm 80 and then we're going to go to Psalm 85. I want you to see this plea over and over in Scripture. Here it is. Look in Psalm 80 and we're going to look at verse 3. Psalm 80 verse 3. Look at this prayer request: "Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved." "Turn us again,

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• O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved." Skip down to verse 7: "Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved." Look in verse 19: "Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved." I hope you're getting the idea that we must be turned individually. We must be turned familially. We must be turned ecclesiastically. We must be turned nationally. If God does not turn our nation, we're headed for straight destruction. If God does not turn us individually, we're headed for straight destruction. Look in Psalm 85 and verse 4. Psalm 85 verse 4. Here again, he says, "Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease." And God's anger is only going to cease when we are turned by him and there is real genuine repentance. Now let's go back to Jeremiah 31 because I want you to follow this. Look at it. Look

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• at it. Let's read verse 18 again. He said, "I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised. I saw where I was as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. Now here's my plea: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God." Now watch: "Surely after that I was turned I repented." Wow. After God gives him the gift of repentance and God points him in the direction, he said, "I was turned." God moved first, and when God gave his gift of repentance, then there was the exercise of repentance. Now look at the latter part of it: "and after that I was instructed I smote upon my thigh. I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth." Now notice if you would please what he says: "After I was instructed I smote upon my thigh." Yea, he said, "and I did bear the reproach of my youth." Now I want you to turn in your Bibles, hold Jeremiah 31, but turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 7 verse 10.

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• I referred to this passage last week, but I want you to see it in light of verse 19 of Jeremiah 31. So you have 2 Corinthians chapter 7, and look if you would please at verse 10. 2 Corinthians 7 and verse 10. Here it is. The Word of God says, "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death." So he makes a distinction now between a godly sorrow and a worldly sorrow. You must remember that there is a difference between a worldly sorrow and a godly sorrow. Worldly sorrow would refer to the fact that you're upset because you got caught, or you're upset because now you're embarrassed, everybody's found out about your sin. Worldly sorrow is that you just wish it had never happened and you wouldn't have gotten in all this trouble. But a godly sorrow is sorrow over sin, and it's sorrow that it was ever done. It is sorrow that it offended a holy God. It is sorrow that it was a violation of God's law, and it's sorrow that leads to a change of direction in one's life. Godly sorrow, he said, is not to be repented of, but the sorrow of this world worketh death.

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• So here's a good question: How does one distinguish between a godly sorrow and a worldly sorrow? How do we know which one is which? How do we tell the difference? And the answer is, we can tell the difference by the fruits of each one. When our Lord said, "Ye shall know them by their fruits," that is true not only of individuals, but it is also true in the area of repentance as well. For instance, let me give you—and stop and think about this. Cain was sorrowful that he was punished. You know what Cain said?

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• "My punishment is greater than I can bear." He wasn't sorry that he murdered his brother. He was sorry that he got punished and it was a heavy punishment. Judas, the Bible said, he came back and threw the silver on the floor, saying, "I have betrayed the innocent blood," and then went out and hanged himself. You look at the people that are jumping out of windows and that have gotten caught stealing millions upon millions. Yeah, they're embarrassed and they just end up killing themselves.

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• There's no real sorrow over the fact that they've done wrong. They just don't want to face the responsibility and the punishment for their wrongdoing. Esau was exceedingly sorrowful that he lost his birthright, but there was no genuine repentance. You see, a lot of times worldly sorrow is just, "I'm embarrassed. I got caught. I don't want to be punished. I know I'm going to be, but I don't want to be." It's very simple when you think about that. Now oftentimes a worldly sorrow makes someone very bitter and vindictive. So if I'm doing something wrong and Clay catches me and exposes me, and now I'm facing not only the frowns of my friends, I'm facing prison.

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• I could say to him, "You just wait. I'll get you back. I'll nail you. I will plan." In other words, my worldly sorrow is I'm not sorry for my sin. I'm sorry I got caught, and now I'm bitter that this man has exposed me, and I'm going to try to get him back. That's worldly sorrow. That has nothing to do with godly sorrow. Godly sorrow produces repentance, and also it brings forth the fruits of repentance.

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• So let me show you. I want you to turn to two passages. I want you to turn to Matthew chapter 3 and then to Luke chapter 3. Matthew chapter 3 and then we're going to go to Luke chapter 3. Okay. So, here we go. John the Baptist, of course, is preaching. So in Matthew chapter 3, look if you would please at verse 8. In fact, let's read verse 7.

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• "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance."

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• Now notice, if you would, he called the religious leaders of his day vipers. Then he says, "Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance." Meet—think about that word. Actually, it means bring forth fruits evidencing, manifesting repentance, fruits that are worthy of repentance.

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• Now go back in your Bibles to the book of Luke chapter 3 if you would, and let's read verses 7 through 14. Here we go: "Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

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• And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire." And the people asked him, saying, "What shall we do then?" And he answered and said unto them, "He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise." Then came also publicans to him to be baptized, and said unto him, "Master, what shall we do?"

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• And he said unto them, "Exact no more than that which is appointed you." And the soldiers likewise demanded him, saying, "And what shall we do?" And he said unto them, "Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages." Now notice if you would, fruits worthy of repentance and fruits meet for repentance are fruits that evidence and manifest genuine repentance. Let me say it like this: it is insufficient just to say, "I repent. I'm sorry." You have to understand there

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• are some sins that cannot be undone. So if I pulled out a pistol and shot Steve between the eyes, there's no way in the world I can undo that. I mean, it's done, it's over. I can't undo it. But if I steal from him, I can make that right. I can come back and return what I've stolen and make restitution as well. Okay, so when we're talking about fruits evidencing repentance, we're talking about fruits that verify and manifest and evidence that that repentance is real and genuine. So a drunk, if he repents, becomes a sober man. That doesn't mean that he's sober for a day or two or a week or two.

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• It means he lives a life of sobriety. A thief, if he genuinely repents, not only ceases stealing, he becomes an honest man working with his hands, giving generously and helping others.

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• Now, the evidence of repentance is always in the area of specific sins. Now it is true that all men are sinners. There's not one individual in this room or outside of this room that is not a sinner. We're all sinners. But that does not mean that we all have the same sins. Some sins exclude others. For instance, a miser is never going to be a spendthrift. Usually a covetous and a greedy man is not going to be a sluggard and indolent, because he wants everything that he can get and he's going to work his fingers to the bone just to make sure that he gets it. So there's some sins that exclude other sins. But I want to show you what I'm talking about.

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• I want you to look in your Bibles to Luke chapter 3 in verse 10. "And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?" Look in verse 12: "Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?" Then look in verse 14: "And the soldiers likewise demanded him, saying, And what shall we do?" So the question that is asked in verse 10, verse 12, and verse 14 is the same. The answers that John gave are different to each group. So now he has just gotten through saying, "Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance," and he said, "The axe is laid to the root of the tree. Every good tree is going to bring forth good fruit, and if it doesn't, it's going to be chopped down and put in the fire." And then the people

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• come and ask him, "So what shall we do then?" In other words, what shall we do to manifest that our repentance is real and genuine? And John said to these people—watch what he said in verse 11: "He answered and said unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise." Why did John tell them that? He did not say that to the publicans. He did not even say that to the soldiers. Why did John say this to the people? Here is why: because what he is doing is addressing the predominant and prevailing sins of the people. The predominant and prevailing sin of the people was that they were covetous. They were selfish. And John said, "You say you repented. Here's the evidence for you: since you're so covetous, since you're so selfish, if you've genuinely repented, if you've got two coats, give one to someone who doesn't have one. If you've got enough meat to eat, give some to someone who doesn't have any meat to eat at all." In other words, you're going to manifest evidence of repentance in your

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• predominant and in your prevailing sin. It's just that simple. Look at it if you would please in verse 12: "Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?" Now he said to them, "Exact no more than that which is appointed you." Now the publicans worked for the Roman government. They were paid by the Roman government to collect the taxes. And so since a publican now has a job where he's getting paid, he comes to Gary and he says, "Gary, your

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• tax bill is 300 bucks," when it was actually 200. But he charges 300. So Gary pays him because he's the publican. So the publican then takes 100, puts it in his pocket, gives the Roman government 200. Publicans were notorious thieves. You want a good example of a repentant publican? Look at Zacchaeus. He's the one that climbed up the tree to see Jesus. When Jesus came that way, he said, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must abide at thy house." And Zacchaeus said, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold." And our Lord said, "This day is salvation come to this house." So he evidenced his repentance because he's willing to restore that which he had taken away. He's willing to be generous and give half his goods to the poor.

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• Then if you look in verse 14: "And the soldiers likewise demanded him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages." Well, the predominant sin then of the soldiers was violence, fraud, rioting, and rebellion. So John said, "If you want to prove that you're genuinely repentant, you're not going to be unnecessarily violent toward anyone. You're not going to be defrauding anyone."

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• You have to remember that a Roman soldier in those days could compel any man to carry his gear for a mile. That's why our Lord said, "If any man compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain." Just to make sure you're not bitter about this. You see what I'm saying? So he gives different answers, and the reason he gives different answers is because of the prevailing sin. Now if I happen to be a thief, it would do me no good to repent over drunkenness. I've never been drunk a day in my life. I've never even had a beer in my life. So I could say, "Well, I repent of being drunk," but if I'm a thief, what good is that? In other words, I have to repent in my predominant and prevailing sin. So unless I repented of my thievery and my theft, my repentance would be a fake. It would not be genuine whatsoever. Now, so the point I'm trying to make is this: Jeremiah 31, and look at verse 19. Here's where we are. He says,

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• "Surely after that I was turned I repented; and after that I was instructed I smote upon my thigh. I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth." I want you to note what John was telling these people in Luke chapter 3. You had to deal with your prevailing and your predominant sins. Everyone has prevailing and predominant sins. But we also have sins that we're totally ignorant of, or we may know about them, but they're not prevailing and they're not predominant.

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• So we should look at this. Look in verse 19 again. He said, "Surely after that I was turned I repented; and after that I was instructed I learned something. I smote upon my thigh. I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth." So the point being is this—listen carefully. When God saved me, when God converted me, I had to deal with my predominant and prevailing sins. But here's a statement of truth: I've done far more repenting since I have been saved than I did when I got saved. Because after I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh, and yea, he said, I was confounded. I was ashamed. I did bear the reproach of my youth. In other words, when I was convicted initially, I was convicted of these predominant sins. But after I begin to read and study, I found out there's an awful lot of other sins in my life that I did not even know were sins, and they had

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• to be dealt with. And that's exactly the picture that we're getting here. Repentance produces fruit, and they are going to be continually producing fruit. We can only discharge our duty of repentance by exercising the gift that God has given us. Now let me make a couple of applications. I want to tie it together. I'm going to say this again for the 15th time today: faith and repentance go together.

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• Both are absolutely necessary for salvation. It's impossible to have one without the other in biblical salvation. If it is possible to be saved without faith, then it would be possible to be saved without repentance, but both of those are impossibilities. You have to be given faith, and faith includes repentance. Here's the second thing. I want you to think about this one. Like I pointed out, prevailing and predominant sins have to be dealt with initially, but all of those other sins which are hiding in our lives, when we're seeing the truth in the Word of God or the Holy Spirit of God is enlightening our minds, that's when those sins are to be dealt with. Now listen to me.

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• I can show you in Scripture, and most of you know, that we're commanded to grow in grace, right? Do you realize it's impossible to grow in grace without faith and repentance? Can you grow in grace if you're refusing to repent of something that you know is wrong? So faith and repentance are to be continually exercised in our lives. And here's the third one: perseverance involves both faith and repentance.

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• Now it is true that we're preserved in Jesus Christ. The Bible says that in Jude 1, verse 1. We're preserved in the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, how do I know that I'm preserved? And the answer is because he enables me to persevere in the faith. And if I persevere in the faith, I'm continually exercising faith and I'm continually exercising repentance.

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• And we have to understand this. Just like the apostle asked, "For who maketh thee to differ from another?" If God has given you his gift of faith and his gift of repentance, God made you to differ, and therefore he gets all the honor and all the glory.

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• I saw a short video of a young man who was a gangster. I only saw from his waist up. He was tattooed everywhere imaginable. Had a big chain around his neck, talking about his gang. And when I looked at him, I thought, "O Lord, who made me to differ?" Apart from the grace of God, we would all be as wicked and vile and hateful as we could possibly be. It's only God's grace. It's only God's gift. Yes, we must discharge repentance. We must actually exercise it, but we can only do it as God gives it, because it is his gift.

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• Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We thank you, Father, not only for the gift of faith, but also, Father, for the gift of repentance. And we ask, Lord, that you would indeed turn us, O Lord, and we shall be turned. Lord, we need to turn individually. We need to turn familially. We need to turn ecclesiastically, and Father, we most definitely need to be turned nationally. Give us, Lord, your grace and your mercy. We ask, for we can never discharge our duties apart from the abilities and the grace and mercy that you give us. Help us, O Lord.

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• And we shall be helped. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

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• you you

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T22:53:58Z