Gospel

We're going to read a number of scriptures tonight. I would like to consider a topic with you in the gospel that maybe isn't taken up very often but I think it's very important. So we're going to turn first to Acts chapter 20, Acts chapter 20.

I want to talk to you about what the Bible says about repentance. And we're going to discover that if a person doesn't repent before the Lord, it is not possible to be saved. And so if you're not ready to meet God tonight, you need to understand what it means to repent.

So let's see what the Bible says about this. In Acts chapter 20, Paul is in Ephesus. He had spent a number of years there spreading the gospel and now he was passing through and wanted to visit the elders of the assembly there to review and prepare them.

Here's what he said. He's talking about his time there. And he says, Acts chapter 20, he says, how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you but has showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house.

There was a variety in his venue. He preached publicly and he did house visitation. Verse 21, I testified both to the Jews and also to the Greeks.

There was a variety in his audience. It didn't matter who he met, he would tell them the gospel. And what did he say, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

These are the two components of the gospel, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Now we'll investigate what repentance is, but just plainly put, repentance comes from the word that means a change of mind. And so the way we're born into this world, we don't have the right thoughts about God.

Some people don't even believe there's a God, maybe you're not like that, but other people think that they can make their own God. And you know, they have the idea that, you know, I'm not all that bad, there's people worse than me in the world. And when people talk like that, they don't realize but they're making their own God.

Because the one true God says that there is no difference, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. So there's no difference between you and me and the other guy, we're all the same. We're sinners before God despite what we have done that we might consider noble.

And so repentance is to change our mind and to agree and to put up the white flag of surrender and to admit that God is God and I am wrong. And when Paul came to Ephesus, he preached this message. But you know, it wasn't just in Ephesus.

If you go back to Acts chapter 17, you'll find something else. Acts chapter 17, repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus. The reason I mention this is that often, you know, people will say and maybe I asked, if I asked some of the kids here tonight, how do you get saved? A lot of people would give the age-old answer, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, Acts 16.

And it's true. But remember who those words were spoken to. They weren't spoken to somebody who had flippantly asked and said, oh, you know, I'd like to know how to be saved.

No, that was a jailer who was burdened about his soul. He was about to commit suicide and in desperation he came to the preachers whom he had heard no doubt speaking before and he had caught their lingo and he said, what do I have to do to be saved? You see, those glorious words, believe on the Lord Jesus, are for somebody who has realized that they are a sinner on the way to hell. And they're like a lifeline to heaven, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved.

But a lot of you, I know you're saying, I believe but I'm not saved. And you're calling God a liar, but that's beside the point. The problem is you don't realize where you stand before God.

You've never changed your thoughts and repented that you're wrong. So Paul preached it in Ephesus, repentance toward God and faith. But he also preached it in Athens, take a look.

Acts chapter 17, he was speaking to people who worshiped idols. And in verse 30 he says the times of this ignorance God winked at, he overlooked. But now commands all men, all people everywhere to repent.

This wasn't just something for Athens or something for Ephesus, this was something global for everybody. God commands all people everywhere to repent. But you say you're focusing on what Paul said, turn back to Luke chapter 13.

Because Paul wasn't the only one who preached this. Our Lord Jesus Christ himself talked in these terms. And if you look in Luke chapter 13, you'll see it.

Luke chapter 13, some people had been killed in a very terrible tragedy. And some folks were sort of doing a bit of analysis and they were saying maybe the reason that they were killed was that they were sinners. Here's what the Lord Jesus had to say about that news flash.

Verse 3, he said, I tell you no, that's not why they died. But unless you repent, you shall all likewise perish. And he repeated it in verse 5, I tell you nay, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

And so if you don't repent, if you don't change your mind about God and admit that you're lost and going to hell, Jesus said, you will perish too. Now this preaching has gone out of vogue in the religious world. And as a consequence, there's a phenomenon.

There's a Brother Ray Comfort who has preached a sermon, I refer you to it, it's called Hell's Best Kept Secret. And he documents this. A certain denomination in the United States that had 11,500 churches one year while ago had 294,000 decisions for Christ.

Well, you say, that's good. But a year later, there was only 14,000 of these people to be found. 280 of them had vaporized and somebody says they backslid.

Well, but they didn't backslide from anything. They never went anywhere. They just said a prayer.

They just said a few words. They were just told to give their hearts to Jesus and to believe on Jesus. But there was never a work of conviction in their soul.

Perhaps they never realized that they were sinners. Perhaps they never confessed that they were going to hell. I don't know their situation.

All I know is that this is a global tragedy. And it's happening. People think that they can just believe on Jesus, sort of like a good luck charm.

And it will take them to heaven. But what I want to tell you is what the Bible gospel is. Repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

He illustrates it this way. Because the folks who preach this way generally say, you know, come to Jesus and he'll make your life peaceful and happy and everything will be good. And, I mean, who wouldn't refuse a message like that? I mean, it sounds too good to be true because it is too good to be true.

And so these folks, they believe that Jesus is going to make them happy and healthy and wealthy. And they believe on Jesus. And then the first bump that they hit, no one ever told them that the Lord Jesus said that he would give you peace along with tribulation.

That Christians have problems just like everybody. But we have the Lord. We have a Savior and we have a shepherd.

But nobody ever told them that. And so it's like two people going onto a plane. And they're both given parachutes and they're told to wear them.

And the first fellow, he's told, they say to him, you know, wear this parachute. It will make your journey very comfortable. And so he puts it on and it's hot and it's heavy.

And everybody's laughing at him. And so after a little while he thinks, this is ridiculous. I sold a raw deal here.

And he takes the parachute off. He says, enough of that. I'm not going to wear it anymore.

The second man is told something different. He's given the parachute and he's told, put this parachute on because halfway through this flight, at 34,000 feet, you're going to be jumping out. And this parachute's going to help you.

And he has the same experience. It's hot. It's heavy.

Not comfortable. And people laugh at him. But he doesn't care.

Because he realizes one of these days I'm jumping out. That's what I want to tell you. One of these days you're going to be jumping out to meet God.

And that's why I urge you before the living God to repent before him, to fall down before him, and to admit that you are lost and you are sinful, to repent and to believe the gospel. That's what it is. So what then is repentance? Well, let's turn over to Luke chapter 3. Luke chapter 3. Because there was a man in the Bible that preached about his repentance, and his name was John the Baptist.

I've told you that repentance is a deep sense of regret and change of heart about my sin. In fact, it's described in the Old Testament. There were some people in the book of Ezekiel, and they were very, very wicked sinners, and God accused them.

And after this they changed, and here's what it says. It says, Then shall you remember your own evil ways and your doings that were not good, and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. They heard the word of God that they were sinners, that they were liable to God's judgment, and they hated themselves for it.

That was genuine repentance. You know, genuine repentance is not like the fellow that owed tax to the government. And he hadn't paid it for years, and he was feeling kind of bad about it.

So he sent a check off to the IRS here in the U.S. He sent a check off to the IRS for $500, along with a little note, and here's what it said. It said, If I can't sleep, I'll send in the rest. Now that is not repentance.

Just trying to get the government off his back. You see, repentance is coming clean with God, and saying, God be merciful to me, the sinner, like that Republican. God be merciful to me, the sinner, or that Publican that we were hearing about this afternoon.

But people don't like to hear about this. Take a look. Luke chapter 3, Verse 2, John, the son of Zacharias, is in the wilderness.

And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his path straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come? You see, the message of repentance is not always well received. John was not given a cathedral or a synagogue in which to preach this message. He was off in the desert.

Not people don't like to hear about this. They say, tell us new things, things that will make us feel good. They say, why do you preach about this sin and judgment? It's because we need it, we're lost, it's the truth.

People don't like to face it. You know, there was a young boy, and he couldn't say his R's very well, and so his teacher gave him a little sentence to practice. Here was the sentence.

It was, Robert gave Richard a wrap in the rib for roasting the rabbit so rare. The teacher said, you practice that sentence, and that will help you with your R's. So a week later, the teacher asked him, he said, how's it going, Jimmy? He said, I've been working at it.

He said, well, give it a try. He said, okay. Here's what he said.

He said, Bob gave Dick a poke in the side for not cooking the bunny enough. And there was a smart, cunning boy that was able to say the same thing with not one R. And a lot of people, they think I'd like to get into heaven without coming before the Lord and admitting that I'm lost, that I'm a sinner, but it's necessary. That's what John was teaching these people.

He said, the Lord is coming, and in view of that, you folks need to repent because repentance is necessary for the Lord to come in. And more than that, he said, there we read in verse 8, we read that the wrath is coming because repentance is necessary, because judgment is soon going to arrive. And so I urge you, I urge you tonight in God's name to repent and believe the gospel, to fall before the Lord.

Repentance is not some great process of emotion that you need to go through over weeks and months and years, but to just come before the Lord and say, oh God, I've been wrong. I've been a sinner and I'm lost. And I'm coming to you right now for mercy.

That's repentance. See, there's three things in the scriptures. There is a thing that's called regret.

It's a mental thing. Saul was a master of regret. He regretted his sin, but never repented.

Sort of sorry that he got caught. He disobeyed the Lord, and then when Samuel confronted him, he'd say, oh, there's no repentance, just regret. Judas took it a step further beyond the mental to the emotional, and he had remorse.

That's what the Bible word is. He was remorseful. But he didn't repent.

He didn't come to the Lord after that terrible wickedness and cast himself upon the Lord for mercy. We're going to read now about a man who really repented, Luke chapter 19. Because repentance is not just realizing that I'm wrong mentally, and feeling it in my heart emotionally.

But repentance means to turn to the Lord Jesus in faith, and it changes a person. We could have read it there in Luke chapter 3, that repentance is those people that listen to the preaching of John. And then they repented, and their lives were changed.

Now, don't make the mistake of thinking that repentance is a change of life. A lot of people hear the gospel, and they say, well, I'm going to start. I really got to improve on things here.

Repentance leads to a change in life. But tonight you could be saved where you're sitting. You say, can a child repent? Well, for a child, it's just very simple to come before the Lord and realize that I'm wrong.

I don't deserve to be in heaven. Repentance is not natural thoughts. Your friends at school won't tell you that kind of stuff.

But God does in his precious, precious word. So let's read about a man who repented. Luke chapter 19 and verse 1. Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.

And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus, who he was, and could not for the press, for he was little of stature. And he ran before and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way.

And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must abide at thy house. And he made haste and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying that he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.

And Zacchaeus stood. He didn't need people to tell him that. Zacchaeus stood and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor.

And if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. Repentance changed him. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house.

For as much as he also is a son of Abraham, for the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. And the Lord Jesus comes to Jericho on his last journey through this city. And he's going to meet a man named Zacchaeus, and this man's name means pure.

But he has lived anything but a pure life. The tricks of their trade were deceit and highway robbery. Give what Rome requires and take as much as you can get from the people.

And it seems evident that Zacchaeus had done that. But something was missing in his heart. He knew he wasn't right with God, and as he heard about the Lord Jesus coming to town, he put his briefcase on his desk and he told his secretary to take his messages.

And he said, I'm going out and I need to meet this Jesus. And he ran before, the Bible says, and he climbed up into this tree. He had decided that he wanted to find the Lord, and nothing was going to stop him.

I mean, for a man to climb a tree back in those days was a rather humiliating thing. I mean, back in those days they didn't wear pants like we wear today. They wore these big long togas.

They weren't into sort of the miniskirt thing. They were into the big long flowing dresses. And he imagined climbing a tree, this man in his toga, and it's all getting hitched around the tree.

But he doesn't care. He wants to meet up with the Lord Jesus Christ. And what does it say? He sought to see Jesus who he was.

He wanted to meet the Lord. Is there a repentant soul here tonight? Somebody in before the Lord, you're lost. I want to tell you, you're like Zacchaeus.

And the Lord, he knows you. See, Zacchaeus, he thought that he was seeking after the Lord. And he's hidden up in that leafy sycamore tree.

And the Lord starts to pass right by. And when he comes to the spot, he stops. And Zacchaeus' heart must have skipped a beat.

And the Lord looks right up. And Zacchaeus is now in full cardiac arrest. And then the Lord Jesus says, Zacchaeus, hurry up, come down.

And Zacchaeus thought that he was seeking for the Lord. But he discovered that the Lord was seeking for him. And you know something tonight? You want to be saved, but there's somebody who wants you to be saved more than you.

And that's the Lord Jesus who came to seek and to save the lost. That's why you should come out clean with him. Because when you come out and admit that you're a lost sinner, you're not telling him anything.

He doesn't know. He sees you. He knows you.

He knows you through and through. He is the seeing one. And Zacchaeus wanted to know who the Lord Jesus was.

And he discovered him to be the seeing one and the speaking one. The Lord Jesus spoke to him. And he wants to speak to you tonight.

But best of all, he discovered that the Lord Jesus was seeking after him. And he says, make haste and come down. This was Zacchaeus' repentance, the climax of it.

Zacchaeus, a sophisticated, white-collared crime worker. And he's decided to go after Christ whatever the cost. He's repented.

And now he's up in the tree looking down on Jesus. But you don't get saved that way. And Zacchaeus has to come down.

Because it's only at the feet of Christ that you can look up at the man who died on the cross for your sins. And you can realize that he loved you. That's his repentance.

It's like that lady who wanted to touch the Lord Jesus. And she had to touch the hem of his garment. Imagine her as she gets right down to the ground.

And she's going there to touch the hem of the garment of the Lord. Right down low before the Lord Jesus. Because that's where people get saved.

Down low before the Lord Jesus. As guilty sinners. You know, there was a lady.

Her name was Xiaomei. A friend of mine. Mariam is her English name.

And here's a letter she wrote to me after she became a Christian. Here's a lady that genuinely, genuinely repented. She said this.

She said, thanks God. Looking back my past life, I realized God had been with me. And gave much grace to me.

But I didn't notice he exists at that time. I'm reading this in Chinglish. The way it was written.

In spite of this, he still loves me and led me to close to him. I feel so sinful now. Lord, in that let me meet my husband who was a very kind and nice man.

But I didn't treasure him. I hurted his heart with my words. You knew I have bad temper.

I newly truly cared of his feeling. Loved him and known what he thought until we came Canada. He is a man who isn't good at showing his feeling.

He is not good at expressing his love with his tongue. I am too selfish to care about others. Thanks God.

He let me become humble and see my sins in my heart. Before God, I am nothing except a sinner. He still loved me so much.

There's a lady that repented. Will you? She did. I did.

Zacchaeus did. And at the feet of Christ, they found out he was the seeking one. And the saving one.

Because he said salvation. Salvation is come to this house. He said the son of man is come to seek and to save.

That which was lost. Because a few weeks away. The Lord Jesus was going to die for this man's sin upon the cross.

Just like he died for yours. And he came to save you. Will you trust him? Years ago there was an old man invited to speak at a church of a young pastor.

The young pastor introduced him. The old man came up. Spoke a few words.

And then he told a story about years ago a man that took two boys, his son and his son's friend, out into the water, the ocean, for a boat ride. And out in the water the boat flipped. The man only had one life belt to throw.

And the old man, he said, this man was a Christian and he knew that his son was a Christian. And he had an agonizing decision. And the man decided at the same time to shout out to his son, I love you.

And to throw the life belt to the other boy because he wasn't saved. And in the church as he was telling this story, the old man telling this story, there was a few teens, you know, like teens sometimes are. They started to hear this and they perked right up.

And the man continued. And he said he rescued that boy, but the next wave that came his own son was gone down. And he used it as a little example of the father in heaven, the heavenly father, who gave his only son that sinners might be saved.

Well, the meeting ended. The old man finished preaching. The young man came up, the pastor, and said a few words.

Then they went to the back. And the boys, they came to the back. And the one boy said to the older gentleman, he said, well, that was an interesting story that you told.

But it's not very realistic for a man to sacrifice his son for somebody else. And the old man nodded. He said, I suppose it's not.

But I was just trying to show you how much the father loved you. But he said, maybe I should tell you that I was that man and your pastor was that boy. And whether a man would do that or not, it's not really the point.

There's a father in heaven who has given his son so that repentant souls like you could believe the gospel and be saved. You say, how does it come to me? Repent and believe the gospel. Years ago, there was a young boy that was dying.

Parents invited a preacher to come and visit with him. The boy couldn't even respond. So the preacher decided to share with him the words of Psalm 23, The Lord is my shepherd.

And he used the five fingers of the boy's hand. The Lord is my shepherd. He said, the, one of a kind, there's no other one like this.

Lord, the Jehovah who made you and loves you, is, he's here right now and you could be saved right now before you go out to meet your God. My, if only you would take him, he would be yours. Shepherd, he'd take you through this moment of death and allow you to arrive on the other side in the kingdom of Christ.

And he left. The boy died during the night. The parents called the pastor the next morning and they said he's passed away.

But there's one very strange thing. As he was dying and after he died, all the time, he was holding his hand like this. They said, we never saw him do something like that.

Do you know what it means? And the pastor told them the whole story. The Lord is my shepherd. And that young boy went to heaven very simply because he knew the Lord was mine.

Do you? If not, repent and believe the gospel.