Sermon Central
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"Jesus Teaches About Repentance"
Contributed by Ray Scott on Nov 19, 2003 (message contributor)
Summary: Salvation is MORE than "easy believe-ism". We need to see our sin the same way God sees it. Our sin should break our heart, like it does God’s heart.
“Jesus Teaches About Repentance”
INTRODUCTION: We CONTINUE in our series on ‘Lessons Jesus Taught’. We have studies what Jesus taught about: The Holy Spirit … the Tongue … Prayer … Thanksgiving.
Jesus wasn’t the only one to teach about REPENTANCE. That was the major theme of John the Baptist. Luke 3:3 – “And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;” Luke 3:8 – “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.”
In our Scripture text tonight, Jesus says that REPENTANCE is essential for salvation. Luke 13:1-5 – Read.
13:1 - A current event is brought to the attention of Jesus. For some UNKNOWN reason, Pilate had killed some Galileans while they were in the Temple at worship. History DOES tell us that Pilate set out to build a new water system for Jerusalem. To finance this, he took money from the Temple finances. This money was set aside as a gift to God, and ONLY to be used in the service of the Temple. This caused a REVOLT among some of the people. Pilate may have caught the revolutionaries off-guard, worshipping in the Temple, and killed them. See Acts 5:37 – ribbon.
13:2 – The people thought that their death was due to some sin in their life. THAT, God was punishing them because of some great sin in their life.
Jesus brings up another current event – 13:4. Some construction workers were repairing a tower on the wall of the city of Jerusalem near the Pool of Siloam. The tower fell, and 18 workers were killed. They thought that this was a judgment of God … because of some great sin in their life.
Jesus wants to teach them (us) several lessons here:
1.- Just because you have troubles (maybe more than most people) … it doesn’t mean that you are a greater sinner than others.
Trouble doesn’t always come to a person because of sin in their life.
2.- Just because you are a Christian, doesn’t mean that you are immune to troubles. J. Vernon McGee said: “You will miss the GREAT Tribulation, but you will not miss the LITTLE tribulation if you are a Christian.”
3.- When someone else has troubles and you don’t … it doesn’t mean that you are better than they are.
4.- If all suffering was due to personal sin … we would all perish … because we are all sinners. Romans 3:10 – “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”
NOTICE: The RESPONSE that Jesus gives to both events – 13:3,5. Jesus is telling them NOT to judge sin in anyone else. INSTEAD: The sin in YOUR life, if not REPENTED of … will cause you to perish.
REPENTANCE is ESSENTIAL for salvation. REPENTANCE isn’t preached very much these days. INSTEAD, most preaching about salvation is an “easy believe-ism”.
What did Jesus say about REPENTANCE and SALVATION?
Matthew 4:17 – “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
This was His message from the beginning of His ministry. Mark 1:14-15 – “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, [15] And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
After Jesus was resurrected, in His last meeting with His Disciples … LISTEN to the message that Jesus wanted to leave with them. Luke 24:46-47 – “And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: [47] And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
How is salvation preached today? “ACCEPT Jesus as your Lord and Savior.” Where’s the REPENTANCE in that? Thousands have walked the isles of churches … and have been baptized and joined the church … because they have ACCEPTED. ACCEPTED WHAT?
They have ACCEPTED:
o That what the preacher says about sin, salvation, Heaven & Hell are true.
o That what the Bible says about Heaven and Hell are true.
o That what Jesus did on the cross was real, true, and necessary for salvation.
o That if you don’t trust Jesus as your Savior, you will spend eternity in Hell.
Multiplied thousands of people have ACCEPTED all the right FACTS & INFORMATION. BUT … they have never REPENTED of their sins. Their HEADS have been converted … BUT … not their HEARTS.
