Repentance

So folks, I'm driving to Aldi last Friday night.

It's 7pm.

And I've got Radio 2 on in the background.

And the presenter slash DJ

!

New Year nonsense.

Why?

Because there was nothing wrong

with last year's you.

And we're straight into Express Yourself by Madonna,

which is a decent tune.

But my first thought when I heard her say that,

and there's a reason that she gets prime time

on a Friday night on the radio, isn't there?

Because she's telling people exactly what they want to hear.

But my first thought when I clocked that and heard that was,

she clearly never met me last year.

And I want to put it to you,

I'd imagine that she probably never met you last year.

And all that takes us to the good news

of this passage in Matthew chapter 3.

Matthew 3 · chapter mention

Have you got it there?

Summed up in that one word you get in verse 2.

Do you know what Matthew 3 is?

It is the complete antithesis of Michelle Visage.

And it's really, really good news.

Do you see that word at verse 2?

Here it is.

Repent.

And it comes up three times in this passage.

Repent.

Let me just do a little bit of work on that word.

Maybe you hear that word,

and you have an instant allergic reaction.

This man, John the Baptist,

that we've been reading about,

he is, if you're honest,

everything that puts you off Christianity.

I mean, here's a guy

dressing like he's from the Bronze Age.

Here is a guy who's telling us

by his life that he is anti-vegan.

Yeah?

Here is a man who's peddling

a religious ritual that reeks of being a cult.

Here is a man who's preaching

a dated Turner Byrne message.

And you hear this word, repent.

You see this man, John the Baptist,

and you think,

how on earth is this word, repent, good news?

Well, here's why.

See, if you were to Google the word repent,

you would find a number of dictionaries

throwing at you a definition,

which means something like

to feel deeply sorry about something.

Right?

And dictionaries are always a good place to go

when you're looking at words,

because they tell you not so much

what the word means

as much as how we use the word

in modern day culture, right?

So the dictionary is throwing up

that definition of feeling deeply sorry

about something.

But when the Bible uses that word,

it's talking about something

way more all-encompassing.

That word means, at its core,

to change your thinking.

Right?

Saying to yourself,

I'm leaving behind my old way of life

because I'm choosing

to walk in a new way of life

and perform the very thing

that your driving instructor told you

never ever to contemplate doing.

and do a complete U-turn.

Which raises the question,

turn from what?

And this is where we need to get into

the Bible story as a whole.

See, at the beginning of the Bible story,

we read Adam and Eve eating

from the fruit in the garden

that God told them not to.

And the thing about that

is that it's not just

a momentary lapse of judgment.

What is going on there

is something cataclysmic.

What they are doing in that moment

is declaring,

as they dethrone God,

that they want to exalt themselves.

themselves.

And as they do that,

they are embracing

a total recalibration

of their reason for existence.

Sin is fundamentally

human beings turning away

from their creator

and worshipping ourselves

and created things

rather than him.

And because of who this God is,

because he is all glorious,

because he is supreme,

because he cannot tolerate

and look upon evil,

God is rightly

banishing them

from the garden,

from his very presence.

He would be denying himself

if he didn't do that.

They are his enemies.

Mankind is deserving

of his just judgment,

but not only that,

think about it.

What do you get

when you turn away

from the source of life

and light?

What do you turn to?

You turn to darkness

and death, right?

And I cannot think of two

more apt words

to describe the news

than I see on BBC

every single morning.

Right, let me put it like this.

Here's Tim Keller,

Uncle Tim.

He's always good for a read.

He puts it like this, okay?

In his wonderful book

that I read over the Christmas period

called What's Wrong With The World.

Right?

He wrote this.

What's wrong with us?

What could lead human beings

to do things like this?

If you don't ask that question,

if that question

doesn't burn in your heart,

your head is in the sand.

You hear what he's saying?

So the call to repent

is the gracious wooing

from a holy, mighty,

yet merciful God,

his invitation to flee

from our old sinful ways.

Flee from them

and run to him.

And in so doing,

run back to the source

of life and light

and return to the very thing

that we were made for,

which is to delight in God,

savour him,

live for him

and serve him

and love him forever.

Do you know that's the reason

that you were made this morning?

Friends,

repentance is

throwing open

the doors of your soul

before the Lord

and saying,

would you come in?

Now John might look strange,

give you that,

but his message

is the constant drum

that God's been banging

through the pages

of the Bible story,

right?

It's nothing new

as it were,

all the way through

the Old Testament

as God sends prophet

after prophet

to his people

to address them

and to address

the nations.

And it's the exact same message

that Jesus will preach

and it's the exact same message

that the apostles

as they take the message

of the gospel

to the world

that they will preach.

So repentance,

the call here,

is not something new.

Jesus will say

the very first words

of Mark's gospel,

the very first words

that Mark recalls

coming out of his mouth,

repent,

repent,

turn back.

And all I want to do

this morning

is allow this text

to tell us three things

about repentance.

And here's number one

and this is verses one to six

if you want to scan

your eye over it.

It's that repentance

means confession.

Okay?

Repentance means confession.

Now it would be so easy

to think about John

and what he's doing here

that it's kind of like

some novel

social media craze

that's taken off

on TikTok, right?

Everybody wants this

because it's novel,

it's new,

it's strange.

What's this all about?

But we've got to see

that his arrival

in the scene here

is not random.

It is both timely

and it's hugely significant.

It's so significant,

in fact,

that all four

of the gospel writers,

Matthew, Mark, Luke,

and John,

spotlight his ministry.

So it's a big,

big deal here.

But what Matthew

is doing

in particular,

remember,

he's writing

for his fellow Jews

to help them understand

who this Jesus is.

He's wanting them

to show

that as John

comes on the scene here,

that this is the moment

we've all been waiting for.

Right?

Do you see verse 3?

You got it there?

Do you see how he quotes

from the prophet Isaiah?

Do you see Isaiah 40 there?

And the context

of that quote

is everything.

God's people,

if you remember the reading,

are about to be taken

into exile

by the Babylonians.

That's the context.

Not because the Babylonians

are stronger

or scarier

or mightier,

but they're about

to be taken into exile

because God is using them

as the instrument

by which to punish

the sins of his people.

But God is promising

in chapter 40

that he's one day,

if you picked it up

in the reading,

he's one day

going to come

in the future

personally

to rescue his people

from their biggest problem.

And the biggest problem

is not another superpower.

Their biggest problem

is their sin

against him,

a holy God.

And you'll know

that that day

is about to hit

when you hear the voice

of my messenger.

That's what Isaiah 40

is saying.

When you see my messenger,

when you hear his voice,

when you hear his call

to repent,

you can bet your bottom dollar

that I'm about to turn up

to save you.

And this messenger,

his job is going to be

simply

to get you

ready

for my coming.

And that's John.

Do you see him here?

Remember,

there's no words

in this text

that are wasted.

There's no filler here.

Do you see the description

of him?

Come here.

Leather belt,

camel's hair,

eating locusts.

Yeah,

anti-vegan.

We're not doing that

if you're vegan, right?

Do you see that?

Why is he telling us

that, Matthew?

He's telling us

because

he's trying to get us

to see that this guy,

John,

is dressing like

Elijah.

Elijah.

If you know the Bible story,

this guy Elijah

that comes up

in the Old Testament

and his ministry,

his message

is to say to the people,

to the nation,

you need to turn back

to God.

He's challenging

the religiously compromised

of his day,

Elijah,

saying,

you've got to pick

who you're going to serve.

Right?

If Baal is God,

worship him.

Just go for it.

Go for it.

But if Yahweh is God,

if the Lord is God,

then worship him.

But you're doing

this whole half-hearted thing.

It's like the hokey-cokey.

You're in, out, in, out.

You've got to choose.

And John is

dressed like Elijah.

He comes on the scene here

in the spirit of Elijah.

And here's the question

as this guy rocks up.

How do people respond

in the text?

Do you see verse 5?

Again, remember,

none of this is filler.

People didn't stay away.

Do you see it?

Thinking,

who is this guy?

They came to him

in droves.

Do you see it?

All sorts of different people.

You get that

in the other Gospels.

But Matthew wants you

to see

they're from all sorts

of different places.

Do you see that?

They're from Jerusalem.

They're from all Judea

and the whole region

of the Jordan.

So this is not just

one and twos.

This is people

in droves

coming to see

what's going on.

So this is big news.

And what do they do?

What's the word?

What do they do?

They confess.

Now can I call

a time out

at this point?

Just think on that

for a moment.

According to the Bible

for you and I

to get right with God

we need to not

present him

with a portfolio

of all the reasons

that he should

accept us.

According to the Bible

we need to rather

confess to him

every reason

that he should

reject us.

Now how

counterintuitive

is that?

You see it?

And they get

baptized.

Now why would

anyone want to

do that?

You know

growing up in Scotland

we were made

to

study this book

called Macbeth.

And so

etched in my mind

every time

I read something

like this

is that line

from Lady Macbeth

just after

she's committed

murder

and she cannot

wash the blood

off her hands.

Do you know

the line?

Oh damn spot

out I say.

This is what she says.

She cannot

make herself

clean.

She's guilt ridden

and she cannot

change.

Friends

going down

underneath the water

do you see

people are publicly

declaring symbolically

that I feel

like I'm covered

in dirt.

and I cannot

carry the

sense of

shame

and guilt

and regret.

I am tired

of pretending

and I need

to be made

clean.

Now let me

just make two

real quick

fire bits

of application

at this point.

as we seek

to be a

church

that is

seeking

to

make

confession

great

again.

Okay.

When we think

about this word

confession

friends

this should

be a

natural

thing

that we

do.

We are

saved by

grace

we are

united

to

Jesus

the moment

we put

our

faith

and

trust

in

him

but the

Bible

is

calling

us

to

that

lifetime

of

repentance.

Where is

God calling

us to

change?

What is

he putting

the finger

on in

our life?

Here is

number one

bit of

application.

That our

churches

shouldn't be

easy places

for sin

but they

should be

safe places

for sinners.

Can I say

that again?

Our churches

shouldn't be

easy places

for sin.

I was on a

safeguarding call

the other day

doing the

training.

We need

to make

sure that

happens.

But they

should be

safe places

for sinners

where we

can be

honest about

our

failings

and the

ways that

we struggle

and the

fact that

we need

each other

in our

lives.

We've got

that saying

in our

culture

made popular

by Elton

John

and I

think

Blue

did an

incredible

cover of

it back

in the

90s.

What

seems to

be the

hardest

word?

Sorry.

Yeah?

Here's a

question I

ask myself

in response

to this

this week.

When was

the last

time I

said sorry?

I said

sorry to

God because

my sin has

offended him

and I'm

pleading the

blood of

Jesus on

my behalf.

But I

said sorry

to the

people that

I've

sinned

against.

Do you

know what

one of the

wonderful

things that

is a sign

of spiritual

maturity and

I'm trying to

make this

more a

prayer of

mine and

invite you

to do

the same.

that the

time lag

between us

sinning and

us repenting

and coming

clean and

saying sorry

the time lag

there gets

not greater

but shorter.

And so

this asks us

to think

about the

ways that

we have

wronged the

Lord and

wronged his

people and

just the

people that

we rub

shoulders with

every day.

number two

friends what

though might

the Lord be

laying specifically

on your

heart and

my heart

this morning

that we need

to confess.

The claim

here is that

there is one

who is coming

who is able

to deal with

your sin

and my sin.

And so the

invitation here

is to not

deny it.

Don't

bottle it

but come

clean honestly

come to the

Lord with it

and experience

the joy in

Christ of

being forgiven.

You know my

friend Paul

Reese down at

Charlotte Chapel

I remember he

did a funeral

of an old

man in his

church family

a number of

years ago

and he went

to visit the

family at

the home

and they

showed him

this man's

old Bible

and he had

circled the

word I think

it's Psalm

130 about

the joy of

forgiveness and

he'd gone to

town just

circling this

word forgiveness.

This man had

found joy in

the forgiveness

that Jesus had

won for him

and so that's

the invitation

with this

word confess.

You are

declaring in

this moment

we are

declaring that

we are

patients that

need to get

to A&E

because we

desperately need

a doctor to

heal us

and Matthew's

gospel the

rest of this

story is him

showing us how

Jesus is the

great physician.

He is the one

who is able to

heal your

every spiritual

need and we

come to God

confessing that

we have blood

on our hands

what he does

in this moment

the spirit

says I will

take you to

Jesus and

his blood

spilt on

your behalf

for your

sins.

He died so

that you don't

have to.

Repentance

means

confessing

but secondly

repentance

means

change.

Do you see

verses 7 to

10?

Do you see

again?

Not filler.

See the two

groups of

people who

come to

see what

on earth

is going

on here.

Right?

Matthew names

them as the

Pharisees and

the Sadducees.

Do you see it

there?

These are two

religious groups

in Israel

who although

they believe

different things

are both

passionately

devoted to

religious

observance

and they

are both

intrigued by

John's

message and

we've got to

ask ourselves

why do these

guys come all

the way down

to see what

the fuss is

all about?

Do you know

why they're

coming?

They're coming

because what

John is saying

is a threat

to their whole

way of life

and it's the

fellow Jews

who are going

to this man

John and

saying what

he is saying

is resonating

with us in a

way that what

they are teaching

isn't?

And do you

see how

John he

clocks them

coming and

he lets fly

right?

And how about

this for an

opening line?

Students you

can use this

in your

lecture hall

tomorrow but

you've got to

get the tone

of the text

here okay?

He's not

looking for

friends.

He's not

looking for

popularity.

He's looking

for these guys

to repent as

well.

Do you see

it?

What does he

say?

You brood of

vipers.

You pet of

snakes.

That's what

he's saying.

Because John

perceives that

here are two

religious groups

who are

assuming that

because of

their religious

looking lives

and their

Jewish roots

and links

to Abraham

that they have

a free pass

and all

this

repentance

stuff.

It's what

they're

presuming.

John

smells

presumption

in the air

and he wants

to rock

them, shake

them out

of it.

But we've

got to ask

the question

at this

stage

friends,

what might

we,

what might

you be

presuming on

this morning

when it comes

to being right

with God?

Maybe you

think my

parents

christened me

as a

child.

Maybe you've

been reading

Jordan Peterson

and you're

thinking,

I'm sympathetic

to Christian

morality.

Maybe you do

your bit for

charity,

maybe you say

grace at

mealtimes,

the list could

go on.

But all the

things that

maybe we're

tempted to

think when it

comes to this

whole repentance

and coming

clean before

the Lord,

that that

doesn't apply

to me.

can understand

how it

applies to

Putin,

but I

can't see

how it

applies to

me.

Friends,

what's the

proof of

repentance?

See it in

the text.

What is the

proof that

the love of

God has

totally

transformed and

invaded a

human heart?

What's the

proof of it?

Deep,

convictional,

tangible,

fruit.

You see

him say it?

You know,

it's a true

story told

about Harland

and Wolf

shipbuilders

in Belfast.

Famous for

being the

place where

the Titanic

was built.

They always

tell us that

it was fine

when it

left there.

Famous for

being the

place where

the Titanic

was built,

right?

At its

height,

it employed

some 35,000

men in its

workforce.

You can

imagine with

that number

of people on

a building

site,

construction

site.

When the

bell went

at the end

of the

day and

that number

of people

left en masse,

what people

soon discovered

is that it

was the

easiest thing

in the

world just

to steal

something.

So they

used to

put,

many of

the men

used to

put little

bits of

copper or

lead pipe

in their

back pocket

in their

jacket and

just walk

out.

Nothing

that they

could do

about it.

But see,

during one

of the

periods of

revival in

Northern

Ireland,

many of

those men

repented and

became Christians,

put their

faith in

Jesus.

And what

began to

happen is

that one

by one,

all these

men began

to bring

back to

the shipyard

the stuff

that they'd

stolen over

the years.

To the

extent that

the shipbuilders

had to put

out an

announcement

over the

airwaves,

telling people

to stop

bringing back

the stuff

that they

had stolen

because they

didn't have

room enough

in their

warehouse to

store it

all.

But do

you see

what John

is saying

and how it

connects to

that?

What is

the thing

that God

is looking

for?

What is

the proof

of repentance?

It is

deep,

convictional,

tangible

fruit.

The proof

that God

has gripped

your heart

is that

your life

will begin

to change.

And so

John looks

at these

Pharisees and

Sadducees

and says,

you presume

that your

lives are

producing good

fruit,

let me tell

you that

God looks

on it and

he declares

over you

that you

are producing

bad fruit.

Repentance

means change.

But let me

just do a

little bit

pastoral

work here.

Maybe

like me

you hear

that

and you

think to

yourself,

honestly,

I'm not

sure where

the power

to change,

I love

your message,

I love

that,

but I

don't know

where the

power to

change

really comes

from.

I don't

rate my

ability to

do it.

Do you

know what?

See,

if you're

there,

I think

you're

exactly

where

John

the

Baptist

wants

his

listeners

to be.

This is

not about

turning over

a new

leaf.

What

John is

saying is

that I'm

getting you

ready to

see that

God's

come to

give you

a new

heart.

God's

love.

So here's

the third

thing that

repentance

means.

Repentance

means

Christ.

Come

with me

in verses

11 and

12.

See it.

What John

knows about

himself and

he keeps

telling people,

do you see

it?

The one

that's coming

after me,

can I

paraphrase?

I'm not

fit to

strap his

boots.

John is

saying in

that language,

I am

his

servant.

Elizabeth's

boy,

right?

Jesus'

second

cousin.

I'm not

fit to

strap his

boots.

And notice

the humility

of John

in that

moment.

Don't

look at

me,

look at

him.

Wouldn't

I'd love

to see

more of

that in

your life?

I take

it that's

what spiritual

maturity again

looks like.

I want

to see

less of

me and

more of

him.

He is

not interested

in the

limelight.

He is

not

interested

in building

a following.

His

delight

is that

he would

be

totally

eclipsed.

His

one aim

in life

is to

point to

Jesus

and say,

you don't

need my

baptism,

you need

his.

Because

I didn't

see this

for years.

There's a

difference

between

John's

baptism

and the

baptism

that

Jesus

will

give

people.

Do you

see it

in the

text?

Blink and

you might

miss it.

There's a

difference

between the

baptisms.

Maybe think

of it

like this.

You know

the worst

three words

you could

hope to

hear on

Christmas

day as

a child?

When you're

standing there

with your

new present

opened.

And I

heard these

words from

my sister-in-law's

boyfriend on

Christmas

day when our

kids opened

presents.

You know

the three

words?

Batteries

Not

included.

Batteries

Not

Included.

You're

standing there

with something

that looks

incredible.

It's wonderful

in your

hands but

there is

no power

to make

it work.

That's

John's

baptism

here.

That's

what he

is

declaring.

My

baptism

has no

power to

change.

It can

get you

maybe clean

on the

outside but

it has

no power

to change

you in

the one

place that

we need

to be

changed

which is

on the

inside.

But

coming

after me

is one

who will

give you

if you

turn to

him in

repentance

and faith

verse 11

he will

give you

the Holy

Spirit and

fire.

Do you see

that language

there?

So if you're

a Christian

here today

here's what's

true.

Because

Jesus has

paid for

our sins

the Spirit

has been

given to

us poured

out on

all the

people of

God.

The Holy

Spirit is

not just

for a

select

few.

It is

for all

those who

keep their

faith in

Jesus that

he comes

to live

in our

life.

So the

Holy Spirit

there, the

very presence

of God

come to

dwell in

us.

He is

ours.

It's what

Jesus has

come to

give us.

And his

business, the

Holy Spirit, is

to transform

our hearts

from the

inside out.

It's to

animate

us.

Holy Spirit

and fire.

You may be

thinking, what is

that fire

language all

about?

I take it

it's symbolic

there of

this inner

purity.

That Jesus

has made

us clean.

And he is

committed to

making us

into a

people who

are passionate

about purity.

Because here's

what this God

does.

He specializes

in raising

up children

for Abraham

from stones.

Do you see

the language

here?

If I could

just play

on it a

little bit.

God can

make these

stones into

worshippers.

Now how on

earth is he

going to do

that?

Well I think

what's going

on here,

remember the

Christian is

someone who

is spiritually

dead.

There was

not an

iota in

my existence

that wanted

anything to

do with

God until

the Holy

Spirit flooded

my life.

A Christian

is someone

who is

internally

inanimate

but who

has had

a heart

transplant.

Something that

Ezekiel,

something that

Jeremiah had

prophesied and

spoken about the

day that God

was coming to

give his

people a

new heart

and write

his law

inside of

them.

And just

remember back

to the

beginning of

the Bible

story.

What did

God do

to Adam?

He breathed

into him

the breath

of life

and he

became a

living being.

And it's

almost as if

God,

spiritually

speaking,

he's at

it again.

What is

he doing

into stones

but breathing

into them

the breath

of life

and causing

this rock,

this stone,

because of

his grace,

to sing

out in

praise of

worship to

him.

him.

But do

you see

how I

wouldn't be

doing my

job right

and John

wouldn't be

doing his

job right

if we

didn't see

the language

at verse

12 that

he goes

on to

use.

Do you

see how

he goes

all lumberjack

on them

here?

Speaking

still to

the Pharisees

and the

Sadducees,

he says

the axe

is at

the root

of the

tree.

Again,

not a

guy looking

for friends

but looking

to be

faithful to

the job

that God

has called

them to

do.

The axe

is at

the root

of the

tree.

Jesus

has come

to save

but he's

also come

to judge.

But we've

got to see

and I think

this is what

John should

read on.

We'll meet

him again

in the

story.

It's maybe

the thing

that he

didn't

expect.

That that

judgment

that Jesus

has come

to give

isn't

now.

Today is

the day

of salvation.

Jesus'

blood is

open to

everybody

who would

believe.

But there

is coming

a day

when King

Jesus will

one day

return and

he will

judge the

whole earth.

And so

the axe

at the root

of the

tree is

this imagery

of saying

judgment

will come.

Are you

ready to

face your

maker?

When Jesus

separates the

wheat and

the chaff,

the Bible

talks about

or Jesus

talks about

heaven and

hell.

And so

the question

of this

passage that

John wants

to leave

his listeners

with and

I think

the aim

of this

passage for

us hearers

today is

are you

ready to

meet your

maker?

I'm going

to think about

more next

week about

Jesus and

the life that

he has come

to give.

But just as we

close, let me

tell you about

my friend

Pedram.

I've met

some wonderful

people in

my time

at Brunsfield.

You're all

wonderful, but

you know what

I mean.

Just people

from different

places doing

different things.

And they come

and God brings

them into your

life for a

season and he

takes them

on.

Pedram came

into my life.

He was part

of this church

a number of

years ago.

When he got

to know him

for about six

months, three

things about

Pedram.

He was Iranian.

He grew up

in London and

he worked at

Curry's PC

World.

So every time

he used to

meet for a

coffee, the

conversation

went all over

the place.

But he always

used to tell me

about how

growing up,

his life was

surrounded with

people who

were all into

gadgets and

gizmos and

the good life.

And he talked

about how he

kind of absorbed

this worldview as

to he was

thinking, those

are the things

that I want to

pursue in my

life and make

it all about.

And we used

to meet up and

every time we

did, we chat

about life and

then we crack

open the Bible and

we look at

Mark's gospel.

And early on in

Mark chapter 1,

Mark 1 · chapter mention

the first words

out of Jesus'

mouth, that

word, repent.

And Pedram

looked at it and

he thought about

it and he

mulled it over and

his response is

to this day one

of the most

profound things

I've ever heard.

He read that

call and he

said, it's almost

as if, isn't

he, Jesus is

calling me to a

life of

unlearning.

And I

thought, brother,

what a profound

comment.

Because it is

what a disciple

is.

Someone who

is learning

Jesus, seeking

to walk with

him all the

days of their

lives.

But part of

that learning

Jesus process

will be about

us unlearning

the things that

used to dominate

our lives and

our attitudes and

our ambitions.

And Pedram reads

this and he's

thinking to himself,

Jesus is telling

me in this moment

that my heart is

like a broken

compass.

He's telling

me that my