Placing Priority Upon Personal Repentance

PLACING PRIORITY UPON PERSONAL REPENTANCE—Luke 13:1-9

Jesus highlighted the priority of repentance.

Repentance is to take priority in the lives of all.

How is repentance to be prioritized?

2 responsibilities revealing the priority of personal repentance.

*Previously(12:35-48 & :49-53 & :54-59) Jesus had exhorted His disciples(both the 12 & the others) to be Wise Discerners of the time at hand. The time called them to be Discerners of their Stewardship(12:35-48)—Watchful & Responsible; Discerners of the Divisiveness brought by commitment to Christ(12:49-53); & Discerners of the Obvious presence of God’s salvation in Christ(Imminence) before them(12:54-59)....

....As well as discerners of Priority of Repentance....

1—The priority upon personal repentance is met thru

ACCEPTANCE OF TRAGEDY(:1-5)

Explanation:(:1-5) Unexpected/Unanticipated Tragedy

:1—“There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.”

Origin of Tragedy—Human determination or accidental —Undeserved.

HUMAN DETERMINATION—Sin driven, God allowed

“Season/Occasion”—??????—Due measure; A measure of time—Fixed or definite—Opportune or seasonable— Right— Limited period. A definitely limited portion of time with the added notion of suitableness.

“Mingled/Mixed”—???????—Such a mixture as merely blending or intermingling of them promiscuously, as in a mechanical mixture.

:2—“And Jesus answered & said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?”

“Worse/Above”—????—From, of at, by, besides, near

“Sinners”—?????—To be affected or have been affected, to feel, have a sensible experience, to undergo. In a good sense, to be well off, in good case; In a bad sense, to suffer sadly, be in a bad plight.

“Suffered”—?????????—Devoted to sin, a sinner.

:3—“I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

“No”—????—Not, by no means, not at all.

“Repent”—????????—To change one’s mind, i.e. to repent; To change one’s mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one’s past sins.

“Likewise”—???????—In like manner

“Perish”—????????—To destroy.

:4—“Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell & killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?”

ACCIDENTAL

:5—“I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

“Likewise”—??????—Likewise, equally, in the same way.

—Argumentation:

*The application from both incidents, is that a like fate will overtake anyone who does not “repent.”....

*Something horrific will happen to anyone who refuses to seek Jesus for salvation.

Life’s tragedies cannot be avoided—Therefore repentance is urgent for the lost!

Likewise....

Life’s tragedies cannot be avoided—Therefore repentance is urgent for the saved!

Prov. 3:25-26—“Do not be afraid of sudden terror, Nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; For the LORD will be your confidence, And will keep your foot from being caught.”

Ps. 46:1—“...God is our refuge & strength, A very present help in trouble.”

—Illustration:

IRS chooses to audit/You more apt to be thorough with your tax return?/Your ACCEPTANCE OF TRAGEDY

—Application:

?Your ACCEPTANCE OF TRAGEDY yielded?

?You Prioritized Personal Repentance?

2—The priority upon personal repentance is met thru

ACCEPTANCE OF OPPORTUNITY(:6-9)

Explanation:(6-9)

:6—“ He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, & he came seeking fruit on it & found none.”

“Parable”—????????—A placing of one thing by the side of another, juxtaposition, as of ships in battle; A pithy & instructive saying, involving some likeness or comparison & having preceptive or admonitory force; A proverb; An act by which one exposes himself or his possessions to danger, a venture, a risk.

“Fig Tree”—Lost Person

“Keeper of the vineyard”—Christian/Church

Responsiblility for encouraging fruition.

“Vineyard”—???????—A vineyard.—Place of nurture, encouragement, growth—Opportunity!

:7—“Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree & find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’”

“Cut it down”—???????—To cut off, cut off.

“Use up/Cumbereth”—????????—To render idle, unemployed, inactivate, inoperative; To cause to cease, put an end to, do away with, annul, abolish

:8—“But he answered & said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it & fertilize it.”

“Dig around”—????? ???? —??????—To dig.

Vision—#1—Develop Positive Relationships

“Fertilize/Dung”— ???? ??????—?????— To throw or let go of a thing without caring where it falls—??????— Dung, manure.

Vision—#2—Develop Christian Involvement

:9—“And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’””

—Argumentation:

Rom. 7:7-25—“What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead. I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived & I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, & by it killed me. Therefore the law is holy, & the commandment holy & just & good. Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, & bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.”