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Repentance According to the Scriptures

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• Well, let me just mention this. I have two messages that I just finished yesterday that I want to be able to bring probably in the next two Sundays. And I titled them, "Cursing God." And you'd be absolutely astounded how easy it is to curse God. And you're going to find that an awful lot of preachers, as well as an awful lot of Christians, do indeed curse God without using profanity. So it's astounding what the Word of God teaches on those subjects. For today, though, I want you to look in Jeremiah chapter 31, and we're going to be reading verses 18 and 19. The title of the message today is this, "Repentance According to Scripture." So notice, if you would, Jeremiah chapter 31, verses 18 and 19. The Word of God says, "I've surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus."

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• "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."

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• Now, the doctrine of repentance is much like the other doctrines in modern-day Christendom. It's barely ever considered, thought about, sought after, understood, and yet, according to Scripture, it's an absolute necessity in salvation, in sanctification, and in Christian growth. Repentance is also a neglected doctrine. I think it's neglected because, number one, it upsets and offends modern man. I can just see some of them, in fact, I know of some who have actually taken this attitude.

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• How dare God imply that I'm wicked, or that I'm a sinner, and I'm vile. And how dare the preacher get up and say something like, I'm totally depraved, and I'm sinful, and I'm wicked and vile. Oh, no. In fact, listen, he's condemning my parents and my grandparents. We've always lived like this. I mean, what's wrong with us? So, obviously, it's a neglected doctrine. And when you begin to think about this one truth, usually you cannot build a very huge ministry when you're upsetting people all the time and pointing out their sins. And so a lot of people, a lot of preachers, will kind of water down the Word of God in order that they might have what they deem a successful ministry. And the truth of the matter is, success according to the Bible is not something great, it's not something huge, it's not something big, it's faithfulness. When you stop and think about Noah, never had one convert, and yet he's in the heroes of faith.

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• And look at Jeremiah and Isaiah, they never saved their nation, never saved their society, as far as we know. They never really had any followers at all. In fact, most of the people wanted to kill Jeremiah. But these men were listed as heroes of faith, that is for sure. So let me point out also that repentance happens to be a doctrine that is very easily and readily perverted by modern-day man. Because repentance is presented usually as something that man can do, and it's very easy, very simple, and it's in his power to accomplish it. It's in his power to perform it at his will. But I can assure you of one thing according to Scripture, and that is this, that many vainly believe that everything is in their hands when in reality, it's not in their hands. And some stupidly and unwisely believe that somehow they're going to continue sinning right up to the point of their death and then they're going to repent and they're going to find their way into heaven. Like one individual said, many individuals who plan on dying at midnight actually die at 11:30.

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• So it's not always in your hands. It's not something that you can do. So repentance then is not in the power of man to accomplish at his whim and in his pleasure.

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• Now before we look at Jeremiah 31 verses 18 and 19, and we're going to do that, I want to lay out for you several biblical truths before I begin so that you can see the exposition of Jeremiah 31:18-19. And I want you to see these verses in light of the analogy of faith. That would be the teaching of the entirety, basically, of the Word of God. So let me begin by saying this, first and foremost, the truth is that repentance is not optional. It is absolutely necessary. In fact, God demands repentance. The Scripture tells us that the only option other than repentance is perishing. I want you to hold Jeremiah 31, but I want you to look in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Luke chapter 13, and notice if you would what our Lord says very clearly and very plainly. So in Luke chapter 13, let's begin reading there with verse 1. Luke 13 and verse 1.

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• The Bible says, "There were present at that season some that told them of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices." They were murdered while they were worshiping God. And Jesus answered, said unto them, "Suppose you that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, nay. But except you repent, you shall all likewise perish. Are those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, nay. But except you repent, you shall all likewise perish." So our Lord is saying, do not think just because some horrible catastrophe or some terrible tragedy afflicts some individuals and you think that they're super abundant sinners. Our Lord says, no, no, no, no. Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish.

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• In other words, the only option to repentance is perishing. Now, there's another passage that is very important, and you'll find that in Acts 17, verses 30 and 31, where the Apostle Paul is preaching on Mars Hill, and he says this, "And the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent." So here's a good question. Why does God command all men everywhere to repent? Well, verse 31 answers that question. Here's why.

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• Because He hath appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained, Jesus Christ, whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead. So here's what God is saying. Number one, there is a judgment day. Number two, Jesus Christ is going to be the judge. And number three, to demonstrate that truth, I raised him from the dead. So just as surely as God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, there's going to be a judgment. Therefore, God says, I command all men everywhere to repent. So repentance is necessary just simply because God commanded it, and He has assured us that there is a judgment and that we will be judged. Now, when you think about repentance, repentance was a theme not only in the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, but of John the Baptist and of all the other apostles as well. For instance, in Matthew 3 and verse 2, John the Baptist came saying, "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

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• And then in Matthew 4, verse 17, from that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand." And then one of my favorite verses that I've quoted for years, Mark 1 in verse 15, saying, "The time has come, the kingdom is at hand. Listen to this one: repent ye and believe the gospel." In other words, indicating you can't really believe the gospel without repentance. Repent ye and believe the gospel. And then in Mark chapter 6 in verse 12, talking about the disciples, "And they went out and preached that men should repent." Now since we understand that God commands repentance, and repentance was preached by our Lord and John the Baptist and the Apostles, we have to ask this question, what is repentance?

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• Well, let me try to answer it like this. The Greek word that is used for repentance over and over is the word metanoia. It actually, noia comes from the noun nous, which refers to the mind. And so actually, the word metanoia literally means a change of mind. So when you repent, you change your mind concerning God, concerning man, concerning sin, concerning righteousness. In other words, you change your mind about a lot of things. But it's not just a change of mind. It is a change of mind that results in a change of attitude, a change of actions, a change of conduct, a change in the course of life. Now, the interesting thing is, the Word of God teaches that we have some good examples and shows us exactly what repentance is.

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• And I want you to see that. So if you will turn in your Bibles holding Jeremiah 31, I want you to look in 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 and look, if you would please, at verses 9 and 10. The Thessalonians are an excellent illustration of what it means to repent. So the apostle Paul says, 1 Thessalonians 1 and verse 9, "For they themselves," that is the Thessalonians, "they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how you turn to God from idols."

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• "To serve the living and true God and await for his Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come." Now, interestingly enough, if you'll note, these lives of the Thessalonians or the Thessalonicans were totally and completely changed. They turned from sin unto God. They turned from rebellion to obedience. And they turned from idolatry to the worship service of the Lord Jesus Christ.

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• Now this is exactly what John the Baptist preached. Now I want to give you two scriptures and I want you to listen carefully because John said, first of all in Matthew 3 and verse 8, when he saw the Sadducees and the Pharisees come to his baptism he said, "Oh you nest of vipers, you bunch of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"

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• "Bring forth fruits meet for repentance." And then he said it a little differently in Luke chapter 3 in verse 8, but it's the same. He said, "Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance. And think not to say within yourselves that we have Abraham our father, for God is able of these stones to raise up children of Abraham." So what does it mean then to bring forth fruits meet for repentance and bring forth fruits worthy of repentance? Those two verses just simply means that they were to bring forth fruit which evidenced and manifested true genuine biblical repentance. So let me just put something out for you to consider. When someone says to you, "I repent," but there is no fruit, there is no evidence, the repentance is a lie. Anytime there's going to be real, genuine repentance, there's always going to be fruit that will evidence that repentance.

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• So the very first thing we need to keep in mind before we look at Jeremiah 31, that God does command repentance and that repentance is absolutely necessary. The second thing we have to keep in mind before we look at that is that repentance is just as much the gift of God as is faith.

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• Now everyone in this room probably could quote Ephesians 2:8-9. Most Christians can quote at least two passages of John 3:16 and Ephesians 2:8-9, where God says, "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast." So we can say yes, faith is God's gift. It is not a man. It is not a works. You can't work up faith. You can't manufacture faith. Faith is God's gift. He must give it. Well, that is true. And although many Christians can quote Ephesians 2:8-9, very few could ever quote any verses that said that repentance is also God's gift. So if faith is God's gift and you cannot believe without God giving you His gift, repentance also is God's gift and you cannot repent without God giving you His gift. Now I'll give you some scriptures that will teach that. The first one is Acts chapter 5 verses 30 and 31, where the Bible says, "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you slew and hang on a tree." And listen now, "Him hath God exalted with or at His right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel." Now the word give is the Greek word didomi, which means

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• it's a gift. He has to give repentance. Now, how about this one? You remember this passage from—well, I'll quote it in Acts chapter 11 verse 18. In Acts chapter 10, Peter is going to the house of Cornelius, who's a Roman soldier, had all those family and friends there, and Peter preached to them and God saved them. Wow. And so when Peter got back to Jerusalem, they were really ready to jump on him because he went into the house of a Gentile. He went in the house of someone who was unclean, which they, the Jews, did not do things like that. So Peter then explained to them the vision that God had given him, how that Cornelius had sent men to Joppa, how he had gone with witnesses and preached to them, and God gave to these men the same exact gift that He'd given to them. And he said, "Who was I that I could withhold baptism since God saved them?" And then you get to Acts 11 verse 18. Listen to this one.

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• "And when they heard these things, they held their peace, saying, Then has God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life." And the word granted is the same Greek word as didomi. Then has God also given unto the Gentiles repentance unto life. Note, if you would, repentance is unto life. Okay? If you want to see this one, look in your Bibles to 2 Timothy 2. It's a very plain passage, 2 Timothy 2.

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• And we'll begin reading there with verse 24. 2 Timothy 2, look in verse 24. The Word of God says it like this: "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 acknowledgement of the truth, and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken

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• captive by him at his will." So you can ask these questions. Verse 26: When the men recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, and verse 25 answers, when they acknowledge the truth. Well, when the men acknowledge the truth, and that is when God gives them repentance. So in each of these passages, repentance happens to be the gift of God. It is something that God must give. Now,

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• I want you to understand that it's a flat-out lie from the flesh and the world and the devil that man can repent whenever he wants to repent and can change whenever he wants to change. Modern day Christendom says men can repent at will. That is not true. Repentance is not the work of the flesh. Repentance is not the work of man. Although it's worked in man, and man must repent, it is still the gift of God. Fallen man cannot work up repentance. Fallen man cannot work up faith. As children, everybody heard, "Well, if you believe something now, it's gonna come true." What's that Walt Disney song? "When you wish upon a star." Wow, come on now. I wish—let's see. I wish away. I wish I might have the wish I wish tonight. That's what—yeah, you—I got you. I knew you said that. Well, I wish for a million bucks. I wish I was slender and handsome and had a head full of hair. Yeah. Yeah. Come on. You know we cannot make ourselves believe anything. Not scripturally, not spiritually. And neither can we—we cannot work up faith and neither can we work up repentance.

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• I like what I read about one man. He said, "Quitting smoking is easy. I've already done it 250 times." Which means he never really quit. He just started back over and over and over.

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• Now, so the point is, repentance and faith are in reality the two sides of one coin. So if a man genuinely and savingly repents, he also believes. That's why the Bible said a while ago when we read in Acts 11, verse 18, "Then if God granted them repentance unto life." And if someone ever really genuinely and savingly believes, he also repents. You cannot believe without repenting. Neither can you repent without believing. It's impossible to do either of those apart from the gift of God, because God must give faith and God must also give repentance as well. Now, with these two truths in mind, number one, God commands men to repent, and repentance is absolutely needed and necessary. And then the fact that repentance is God's gift.

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• I want you to turn back to Jeremiah chapter 31. And I want us to look at verses 18 and 19. And I want to see this truth put together. Look at it. We're going to take verse 18 first. "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, when you see the word Ephraim in the Bible, you have to know that that word is used a number of different ways. First of all, Ephraim will happen to be the name of one of Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Ephraim is also the name of the leading tribe in Israel. So sometimes it refers to an individual, sometimes it refers to a tribe, sometimes in the Bible the word Ephraim is used of the entire northern kingdom, not just the tribe. And then sometimes the word Ephraim is used of all of Israel, north and south. So regardless of how the word is used here, it doesn't matter if we're talking about an individual, an individual tribe, or the nation itself, God is giving us here a very clear illustration of repentance.

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• So when you think about a tribe, a tribe is made up of individuals. When you think about a society, a society is made up of individuals. A family is made up of individuals. A nation is made up of individuals. So I don't care if we're talking about a familial repentance, ecclesiastical repentance, societal repentance, or national repentance. No nation can repent unless the individuals repent. Okay? So obviously when we talk about a national repentance, we're not even necessarily talking about every individual repenting, but we're talking about a sufficient number repenting that will change the course of that nation. OK, now.

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• So let me put it to you very plainly here. Let's look at this. He said in verse 18, "I've surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus." Now, let me just stop with bemoaning himself. The very first step that leads to biblical repentance is that which we know as bemoaning oneself. I'm going to give you another word. That's the word conviction. It's when we bemoan ourselves, when we are convicted, that we realize that we are wrong, that we're wicked, that we're sinful, that we've transgressed God's law. Here is the Hebrew word for bemoaning. It is the word nud. It's translated as bemoaning.

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• But here's what it actually means. It means to sway back and forth, to show grief, and to bemoan oneself. Understand that a lot of people when they get really down depressed they start shaking, they start shaking their head, "Oh God, what am I going to do?" That's exactly what this word means. They're swaying back and forth. They are bemoaning themselves. They're covered with grief. Now I told you I was going to give you the word conviction as another word for bemoaning. You'll find that word used in the New Testament in the Septuagint as well.

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• But how about this passage in John chapter 8 and verse 9 where these men were condemning the woman that was taken—they said in the very act of adultery. I've often thought about this and kind of smiled. If she was taken in the very act of adultery, where was the man? Why didn't they bring him? Anyhow, the Bible says that Jesus knelt down and he wrote on the ground. I have no idea what he wrote, but I've got a pretty good thought. I think what he did was he put down the dates and names of individuals that these men had committed adultery with. Because our Lord said, "He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone." And here's what John 8 in verse 9 said: "And they went out being convicted of their own conscience. And they went out one by one, beginning with the eldest, even to the youngest." So the Bible said they were convicted.

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• Now the interesting thing is the word convicted is the word elegcho in the Greek, and it literally means to convict, it means to refute, it means to find shame, it means to expose fault, it means to expose failure, to sin, and to call oneself into account. So what in the world is happening when Ephraim here, whether an individual, whether a tribe, whether the whole nation, they're bemoaning themselves? They're convicted. They're seeing themselves as sinners and sinful and wicked and now they're coming to the point that Isaiah came to in Isaiah chapter 6 in verse 5 when he saw God in the holiness and righteousness of God and what did he say?

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• "Woe is me! For I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the Lord of hosts." Woe is me. In other words, he's bemoaning himself. Look at me. I'm sinful. I'm wicked. Look at the people that I'm dwelling upon and with and in and around. They're wicked and sinful. Woe is me. So he's bemoaning himself.

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• Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to—hold Jeremiah chapter 31. But look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 9 in light of this. Here's why it's necessary and I'm going to show you just momentarily why it's necessary that we are indeed convicted. So in Matthew chapter 9, if you look there beginning with verse 10, Matthew 9 and verse 10. Look what our Lord says. Matthew 9 verse 10: "And it came to pass as

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• Jesus was at meat in the house, behold, many publicans—tax collectors—and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, 'Why does your master eat 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.'" So it's interesting that our Lord said very plainly in this, He said, "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick." There's not a person in this room that would wake up in the morning feeling absolutely wonderful and great, the greatest you've felt in years and years, and you think, "This is so wonderful.

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• I feel so good I think I'm just gonna go to the doctor and give him a couple hundred bucks just to check me out." I mean, you're not gonna do that. And the truth is when you get sick, you still are going to the doctor, you're going to your medicine cabinet. And when that doesn't work, you're gonna call Steve or you're gonna call Joshua. You're gonna call somebody and say, "Man, I've been down the last three or four days. Everything I'm taking is not working. Have you ever been sick like this?

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• If so, what did you take?" And "Oh man, I had this peanut butter mayonnaise banana and pickle sandwich. It took care of me." And that's what you're gonna have for supper that night. I mean, because you're gonna try it. And when you get finally to the point you can't doctor yourself and your neighbor can't doctor you, you finally break down and you go to the doctor.

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• Now, our Lord said, "I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." So here's the point. Our Lord is saying, if you don't think you're sick, you're never going to call the doctor. If you don't think you're a sinner, you're never going to need a Savior. If you don't think you're wicked and wrong and helpless and hopeless, you will never, ever come to me. So unless you see yourself as lost, you will never, ever think that you need a Savior. It's astounding to me. The old Puritans had a great saying, and I've often quoted it.

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• They always said, "The scarlet thread of the gospel must be preceded by the sharp needle of the law." Or "The sharp needle of the law must precede the scarlet thread of the gospel." In other words, if you're not convicted, if you're not bemoaning yourself, if you don't see yourself as lost, you're never ever going to want the gospel. You'll never ever believe it.

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• Now here's something that I find astounding, and that is how most sinners can literally not just sin gladly and willingly, but after they do, they're proud of it. They boast about it. "Well, I did this and I did that. Boy, I can't wait till I do it again." I mean, come on. "We had the most fun."

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• Now, what they meant was they indulged in sin so greatly and their flesh enjoyed it. And I find it astounding that once they're convicted and converted by the grace of God, all that boasting stops and you turn out to be so shamed and so sorrowful. Wow. What kind of change happens? Well, you see, here's what happens. When you're beginning to bemoan yourself, that means you're being convicted and you're being convicted several ways.

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• Number one is by the Holy Spirit. Let me mention this, and I've said this so many times, but it's got to be understood. When you're talking about God, we refer to the ontological trinity, we refer to the economical trinity. The ontological trinity is based on the word ontos, the Greek word ontos, which simply means being. All the ontological trinity is, is the logical order of being: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. That's all it is. But the economical trinity is how God works. And when you study the scripture, everything is out of the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit. So the Father ordained salvation, God the Son purchased salvation, and it's God the Holy Spirit who applies what the Son purchased. So that is known as the Economical Trinity. So, when you get to John chapter 16 verse 8, our Lord says this concerning the Holy Spirit.

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• "When he has come, he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment." So it is true conviction is by the person and power of the Holy Spirit. However, the Holy Spirit oftentimes, and I would say, generally speaking, uses means. And when I say that, what I refer to is the means of the Word of God. It's just like that Puritan quote, "The sharp needle of the law must precede the scarlet thread of the gospel." You know the Bible tells you in Ephesians 5 in verse 11, "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" or rebuke them. How in the world would you rebuke them? You could say, "Well, you ought not to be doing this" or "You ought not to be doing that," but usually the way you rebuke is, "You should not do that because thus saith the Lord. Here's what God says. This is what you should be doing." And then when you get to 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 2, the apostle Paul tells Timothy, who was a pastor,

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• he says, "Preach the word, be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine." And the word reprove literally means convict. How do you convict people that they're wrong? Well, number one is the Holy Spirit that does so, but we convict by using the Word of God and the Holy Spirit takes the Word of God and convicts the individual. Now so the beginning of real repentance is when we are convicted and we begin to bemoan ourselves. It's when God the Holy Spirit applies the Word of God and He opens our eyes to see. He opens our ears to hear. He opens our heart to receive.

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• And we understand then not only our sins and our wickedness and our transgressions, but we also understand the desperate situation that we are in. That Jesus Christ is the only way out. He is the only Savior. So I want you to go back now to Jeremiah chapter 31. I want you to look at this because here's what God does. Watch verse 18. He said, "I've surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus: Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised." Now wait a minute. In biblical repentance, when we are bemoaning ourselves and we're convicted, all of a sudden we are shown the hand of God in afflicting us with what you and I would call sadness and sorrow, but we would also include instruction. So he said, watch it again in verse 18. He said thus.

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• He said, "Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised." Now let me tell you first of all what the word chastise means. The Hebrew word happens to be yasar, and it means to chasten. It means to discipline. It means to instruct. It means to admonish and to teach and correct. Now, if you look at verse 18 again, he said, "Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised." In the first clause, the chastisement itself is met. In the second time it is used, it is the beneficial result of the chastisement. So you could say, "Thou hast chastised me, I was corrected" or "I was instructed" or "I've benefited from that chastisement." So here we go.

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• Psalm 94 and verse 12, the Bible says, "Blessed is the man whom thou chasteneth, O Lord, and teacheth him out of thy law." So real biblical chastening involves teaching. Okay. David said it like this in Psalm 119 verse 71: "It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes." It's good for me that I've been afflicted that I might learn thy statutes. And when we have realized the hand of God has been upon us and has taught us, that is when we say, with David in Psalm 119 verse 75, "I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in thy faithfulness hath chastened me." God is faithful.

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• Now, let me show you. I want you to look so far at verse 18. He said, "I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus: Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised." Okay, let's stop right there just for a second. I told you the word chastisement refers not just to discipline or whipping, as you and I would say, but it also refers to instruction and teaching. Sometimes, sometimes, it does take discipline to instruct us. I've told you this before. There's an easy way to learn. There's a hard way to learn. Hmm. The easy way is to hear the words of God and obey. The hard way is Micah 6 verse 9: "Hear ye the rod and him who hath appointed it." God said, "I can teach you by chastening you." But I want you to see this.

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• I want you to hold Jeremiah 31, but I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of John chapter 6, and let me put this together for you. This should make this passage come alive in one sense of the word. Remember now, he said, "Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastened." In other words, there was a beneficial result. You whipped me, you taught me, and I've learned. So look in John 6 and verse 44. Our Lord says it like this: "No man can come unto me except the Father which has sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day." Now remember, can is a term of ability. No man has the ability to come unto the Lord Jesus Christ. May is a term of permission. Can is a term of ability. So he says, "No man can come unto me, here's the only exception, that the Father which hath sent me draw him, and I will raise him up in the last day." Well, how does the Father draw us?

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• Oh, look in verse 45. "It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me." Isn't that amazing? He said, "Thou hast chastised me and I was chastised. I learned. I came." Yeah. When God chastens us, when God teaches us, when God opens our eyes, we come to Him.

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• Now, I want you to go back to Jeremiah 31 and look, if you would, next to what he gives us. He gives us a wonderful picture here of what we were like before our conversion. He said in verse 18, "I've surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus: Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke." As a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. Now, that's a perfect picture of a sinner. So, most of you in here know that I've got about a 3,000 pound bull by the name of General Hampton. So, let's see, Joshua and Clay are probably the two youngest in here, youngest men. So I've never plowed with Hampton. I've never had a yoke or bridle on him. So I'd like you to go wrestle him down and go put a yoke around his neck.

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• You're not willing to do that. Uh, I understand why. Well, the point he said, "as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke." What good is a bullock for plowing if he can't put a yoke on him? So if there's no yoke on him, that means he's uncontrollable. He does what he wills. It's just like the fence I have around the pasture. I tell everyone, General Hampton stays within that fence at his own pleasure. And he does. He can walk through at any time he wills, any time he wants to. Now, let me give you another—let me give you some scriptures first. I'm gonna give you another illustration. But in Deuteronomy chapter 32 in verse 15, here's what God says, listen carefully: "But Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked." Wow!

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• "Thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness. Then he forsook God, which made him, and lightly esteemed the rock of his salvation." So he's talking about a big bullock that's just uncontrollable, untamable. So in Exodus chapter 32 and verse 9, "And the Lord said unto Moses, I've seen this people, behold, they are a stiff-necked people." And that is true, a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke.

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• Now here's another illustration that I can give you that would help explain this. And some of us will identify with this a little easier than the bullock. But when I was a boy, I rode mules, I drove mules, I plowed mules. I remember when I was seven years old, my father took me into a building in Fitzgerald, Georgia, and the building is still standing. I can show it to you. It was a long building, and when we went in the door, I've never forgotten it. On the left-hand side all the way down, except for the little office up front, on the left-hand side all the way down were horses and mules for sale. On the right-hand side, all the way down, were cars and tractors for sale. Isn't that amazing? Because when I was a boy, tractors were just coming into use.

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• So, when we plowed a mule, of course we had the collar and the ropes and the leather, but the trace came back to the single tree. And if you were plowing two mules, it was called a double tree because you had two single trees together or one long one. And as long as that mule stayed within the trace that came all the way back from the neck all the way back down to where the plow was, as long as the mule stayed within that trace, you could control that mule. But every now and then, the mule would do something which was called jumping the trace. When the mule jumped sideways or stepped sideways out of the trace, you couldn't control the mule.

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• And if the mule got scared, she took off across the field, dragging the plow, and if you didn't turn loose, you'd be attached to the plow as she was dragging it. Oh, she was uncontrollable. So this is what he is saying in Jeremiah chapter 31 in verse 18. 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." In other words, sometimes you have to take measures to make that bullock go. What is it the Lord said to Saul in Acts chapter 9?

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• "It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." You know, the prick was that long sharpened stick that you jabbed the ox with to make him go or to make him do what you wanted him to do. And so he said, "I was like a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke."

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• Now, I want you to look at this. Look, if you would. He's saying, "I didn't wish to obey. I didn't wish to follow. I didn't wish to plow like you wanted me to." Do you realize? It takes the Lord Jesus Christ to put a yoke on a sinner. That's why He said in Matthew 11 verse 29, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, I'll give you rest. Take my yoke upon you." For it is light. Words, yeah, I will yoke you. I will make sure that you find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden light. His yoke is not like the yoke of sin. It's not like the yoke of wickedness. Now I want you to look at verse 18 again.

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• I'm not quite through with it. Look at this. He said, "I've surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus: Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke." Well, wait a minute. Look at it. "Turn thou me, and I shall be turned, for thou art the Lord my God." So what is happening so far? This bemoaning is conviction. He said, "I'm chastised, I'm being afflicted. I'm being taught. I'm being instructed. And you might have had to take that prick to me, Lord, because I was a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke." But when all of a sudden he sees now how absolutely needed and necessary the hand of God is, how helpless and hopeless he is, the convicted sinner now says, "Turn thou me, and I shall be turned, for thou art the Lord my God." In other words, we see our own helplessness, we see

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• our own hopelessness without Him. We begin to understand that repentance is His gift. We understand that faith is His gift. We understand that we must be quickened. We must be turned. Let me give you some scriptures right quickly. Psalm 80 and verse 18. The Word of God says, "So will not we go back from thee? Quicken us, and we shall call upon thy name." And then Psalm 143 and verse 11: "Quicken me, O Lord, for thy great name's sake, for thy righteousness' sake, bring my soul out of trouble." And then in Ephesians 2 and verse 1, everybody can quote it: "And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins." And then finally, in Psalm 85 and verse 4: "Turn us, O God, of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease." So let me try to put this together before we look at verse 19. Faith is God's gift.

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• But He does not believe for us. We must believe. Repentance is God's gift. But God does not repent for us. We must repent. And yet the truth is we cannot believe without His gift of faith and we cannot repent without His gift of repentance. We could say it like this: The responsibility to believe, the responsibility to repent belongs to us. But the ability to do so belongs to God. God must give us the ability to fulfill our responsibilities. And unless He gives us the ability, we will never fulfill our responsibility. Now I want you to see the whole picture here. So I want you to look at verse 18 again.

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• He said, "I've surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus: Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastened or chastised as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. Turn thou me, and I shall be turned, for thou art the Lord my God." Well, what happens when God turns us? Look in verse 19. "Surely after that I was turned"—that is the hand of God, the power of God, the grace of God, the mercy of God was upon him—"Surely after that I was turned, I repented." God must turn us. God must give us repentance. Then he says this, look at this. Ha ha, he said, "Surely after that I was turned, I repented, and after I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh." Have you ever smitten yourself upon your thigh? Think about this.

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• You know, I remember as a boy seeing older people do that. I don't know that I ever did it per se, but especially women. I've seen the older women, they would do something like this. "Well, Lord, have mercy." And they take both hands and just hit both. "Lord, have mercy." Why does it say here that "I smote upon my thigh"? And the answer is because smiting yourself upon the thigh, biblically speaking, was a sign of the deepest grief. Let me show you.

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• Hold Jeremiah 31, but look in your Bibles to the book of Ezekiel chapter 21. Ezekiel 21 and verse 12. Ezekiel 21 and verse 12. Look at this. Ezekiel 21 verse 12. God says, "Cry and howl, son of man. For it shall be upon my people. It shall be upon all the princes of Israel. Terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people. Smite therefore upon thy thigh." The words, it's coming. It's going to be grievous. It's going to be difficult. Smite therefore upon thy thigh. So smiting upon your thigh indicates that you've got great grief. You've got great sorrow. So he says, "Surely after that I was turned, I repented, and after I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh." Now you notice what's next?

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• "I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth." Do you know something? Biblical repentance always produces a godly sorrow. It's a sorrow based upon the fact that we have sinned. We have sinned against a loving, gracious, merciful, kind, and good Heavenly Father. We violated His law. We've transgressed His commandments. We've grieved and insulted the Holy God. We've spurned His grace and mercy.

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• We refuse to honor and glorify Him. We realize that. And it shames us. And it confounds us. And He said, "because I did bear the reproach of my youth." It's usually in our youth that we quote-unquote sow our wild oats. I usually tell young people, when I have the opportunity to preach to them, if they want to have a very peaceful, contented, and happy old age, be as holy and as godly as they can in their younger age.

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• That is for sure, because then you do not have the regrets. You do not have the memories that you have to fight with. He said, "Yea, I was ashamed, yea, even confounded." Now, let me show you. Turn in your Bibles if you would to 2 Corinthians chapter 7. 2 Corinthians chapter 7 and look if you would very quickly beginning there with verse 9. 2 Corinthians chapter 7 verse 9. Here he says this now.

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• "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." Now look at this text: "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of, but the sorrow of this world worketh death." So there is a godly sorrow. It attends repentance. And even in repentance, there is still a godly sorrow.

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• Everyone in this room would be sorrowful for what you did in your youth, you'd be sorrowful for what you did in your adult life, you'd be sorrowful for what you've done in your elderly life, of course. Now let me ask you a question. Suppose I said, "Well, for the next 30 minutes what I'm going to do is I'm just going to allow each one of you to stand up and tell us of all the sins that you committed when you were 18 and younger, or all the sins that you've committed from 30 and younger, or all the sins that you've committed from 60 and younger." How many is going to volunteer to do that?

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• Even if you could remember them all, you wouldn't want to do it because you're ashamed of them. I don't know about you, I'm ashamed of my sins. And I still acknowledge my sins. I still confess my sins every time they come to my mind. I say, "Oh God, I'm sorry. Would to God I'd never done that. Would to God that had never happened." But it did. And I'm thankful that the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin.

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• But I've got news for you folks. The memories are still there. Those are the consequences of our sins. But godly sorrow worketh repentance not to be repented of. What's the difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow? Worldly sorrow is, "Oh man, I wish I hadn't gotten caught. I should have been smarter than this. Why did I do? I was so stupid. Next time I'll be smarter." That's worldly sorrow. You're sorry you got caught. You're not sorry that you violated God's law. You're not sorry that you grieved a holy righteous God. You're not sorry that you transgressed Him and spit in His face. No, no, no, no. Godly sorrow, not worldly sorrow.

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• Now, I don't care how old you get. You still regret the sins of your youth. You still regret the sins of middle age, and you still regret the sins of old age. That is just godly sorrow.

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• Now, we have to understand two things. I'm going to give you these by way of applications. Here's the first one. I want you to look in Romans 11 and verse 29. It's a very short verse, but I want you to see it in light of what I'm about to say. Romans 11 and verse 29. Romans 11, verse 29. Look at it.

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• "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance." So that means when God gives a gift, He does not call it back. He does not take it back. When God gives a calling, He does not take it back. Okay? So, let me put it to you very plainly. The gifts and the calling of God are without repentance. So God gives you the gift of faith which enables you to believe and you do believe. Guess what? God is never going to take that gift of faith back. You will persevere in faith until you die. God's not going to take it back. Moreover, God gives you the gift of repentance. God is not going to take it back. Let me tell you very plainly, I've done far more repenting since I've been saved than when I got saved, because when I got saved I was convicted of several sins, but you know, very particular sins. But since then, man, I found out there's a whole lot more worse in my life than those few things. So just like I continue to believe, I have to continue to repent when I see where I'm wrong from the Word of God. I have to turn and make it right and do that which is right. So repentance is a lifetime gift like

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• faith is a lifetime gift. We are to never ever tire of believing and we're never ever tired of repenting because those gifts are without repentance. Now here's the second application that I want to make and that is this: It's the sinner's responsibility. It's the sinner's responsibility to seek God for His gift of faith and repentance. Someone's gonna say, "Well, you know, if I'm gonna be saved, I will be saved. If I'm not gonna be saved, I'm not gonna be saved." Wait a minute. Hang on. Hang on.

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• You are God's creature. He is the Creator. He has authority over you. Moreover, you are a sinner. You've sinned against the Holy Righteous God. You are accountable. You're answerable. You're responsible to Him. And whether or not you ever repent or whether or not you ever believe, you are still responsible and accountable to seek Him for the ability to fulfill your responsibilities. And if you do not, it will be just added to your judgment and increase your condemnation. You're responsible. You're accountable. Why? Because God has commanded you to repent.

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• You know what the Bible says in 1 John 3? "This is His will, that we believe on His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ." Well, you're responsible to believe. Whether you do or not, you're responsible, you're accountable to. You ought to remember this. There's a vast difference between ability and responsibility. You might be responsible and not have ability. I've used this illustration for years. Here's a 15-year-old boy that gets a 15-year-old girl with child. Guess what? He's responsible to support that child and marry that young girl and support her. He's responsible, but didn't have the ability. Men are responsible to God, although they are unable to fulfill that responsibility. And when you think that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance, it means we should be thinking of faith and repentance on a regular basis. Whenever we see something wrong, what does the Bible say? Let's see.

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• "Open rebuke is better than secret love. The kisses of an enemy are deceitful. For the wise hear rebuke." So when we are wrong, we need to confess it. We need to acknowledge it. We need to repent because God has given us this gift of repentance and it is in our being. We can't escape it. We can't escape it. Repentance is the gift of God, and it's the lifeblood of sanctification and Christian growth, just like faith. You'll never mature in the faith without belief and repentance.

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• Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. We pray, Lord, that you would indeed enable us to understand repentance according to the scripture. The Lord, that we not only may apply it to ourselves, but we may help others as well. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T01:16:57Z