Repentance

I recently was in a bookstore, and I was just walking around and I picked up a book by Penn from Penn and Teller, if you know who that is.

He's a comedy guy, a magician, I think in some ways, but I haven't really seen his act before.

He's a very, very outspoken atheist as well.

So I knew that, and I picked it up, and I just kind of started reading some stuff.

And I do not at all suggest you reading the book. It is very, very vulgar and very profane.

But through that, it's just like in reading it, in a couple of chapters of it, it was just kind of a good reminder, I guess,

of how much some people in this world really do hate Christ and hate the gospel and hate us that promote it.

That's the world that we live in.

It's a world that hates Jesus. It's a world that despises the Word of God.

It's a world that flees from obedience to it, that suppresses all the truth that's contained within it,

in their unrighteousness and in their sin.

And in light of that, I just wanted to kind of make the point by saying that it is our responsibility, I think,

in light of what was just said, to love Christ all the more, to make up for their loss,

and also to show them the joy and the blessing, just the benefit of being a child of God

and being a son of Jesus Christ, a brother of Christ.

So, tonight, we're going to be discussing the doctrine of conversion.

And to put it simply, if you haven't experienced the converting work of the Holy Spirit,

then you are not a Christian.

That is very important, I think, to understand from the outset of things,

is that conversion is how someone is transformed from dead in their sin,

from unregenerate, from a hater of God, to saved and a lover of Christ,

and obedient to God's Word.

The road of salvation is very narrow.

The gate of entry to that road is very small,

and few there be, says Matthew 7, that find it.

Salvation is a very specific thing,

and the world would have you think otherwise.

The world would have you think that salvation can be achieved or attained

through various ways and mediums,

and that Christ is not the only way to heaven,

but He says very specifically of Himself that He is.

There is only one way to get to God, and that is through Christ.

He is the door of our salvation.

And faith is the opening of that door,

and repentance, you can think of it as the key that unlocks it.

Okay?

The doctrine of conversion, in fact, is composed of those two things.

It's composed of faith, it's composed of repentance.

And so, when we're dealing with conversion,

again, the idea of Jesus being the door,

faith is the thing that opens up the door,

and the key to unlock the door is repentance.

They work hand in hand.

They all have a function.

They are two different things, faith and repentance are,

but they are always together.

Like best friends, they can't be separated.

To lessen or to diminish one is to dishonor the other,

because they are married to each other.

If you were to dishonor your spouse,

or you were to do something dishonoring,

just in general,

then your spouse would also receive that dishonor,

as being unified with you.

These are two doctrines that are meant to be unified as one,

that are meant to be seen,

and spoken of,

and pictured as one.

They are the gatekeeper that stands before the city of heaven,

and if you wish to enter,

you must enter by them.

Christ is their Father,

and they carry His traits.

Jesus Himself came preaching the Gospel of,

repent and believe in Me.

John the Baptist said the same thing,

repent and believe,

for the Kingdom of God is at hand.

Peter said the same thing.

Paul said the same thing.

Repent and believe,

repent and believe,

repent and believe.

They always came together.

Believe, obviously, being referred to as faith.

So we need to listen carefully to the words of repent and believe.

We need to study them.

We need to obey them,

because apart from them,

you cannot be saved.

Apart from a right understanding of what it means to repent from your sins,

and to put your faith in God,

you cannot be saved.

For many of us in here,

we're already Christians.

So to make it practical for you,

understanding this message is how we take the Gospel to the lost world.

If you're a missionary in India,

if you're a missionary in Donovan,

if you're a missionary in wherever,

if you do what I do on a Thursday night,

or what Clay does on a Thursday night,

or what Chris does on a Sunday morning,

no matter what your capacity is for teaching and preaching the Gospel,

this is the Gospel.

Repentance and faith is the Gospel.

And being able to communicate that is very important.

How frightening would it be if you were to die one day,

and you find out at the judgment that you never truly repented of your sins,

and you never truly trusted in Christ as your Savior.

Matthew 7 says,

Many will say to me on that day,

Lord, Lord,

did I not fill in the blank?

Did I not perform miracles in your name?

Did I not cast out demons in your name?

Did I not do all these mighty works in your name?

And he will say to them,

I never knew you.

Depart from me,

you workers of lawlessness.

There's a lot of people on the last day that are going to be confused.

They're going to be really confused,

confounded,

afraid,

terrified,

of the fact that they didn't know Christ,

genuinely,

and with a heart that was sincere.

They think they did.

They were deceived people.

Even what's said there in Matthew 7

could be likened to pastoral work.

So there's pastors that don't even know Christ.

That don't even love Christ genuinely.

It's a frightening thought.

And I don't want that to be true for you.

So this topic can't be overestimated,

but often it is underestimated.

It's cheapened by phony altar calls

with dim lighting and lit candles

and an extra stanza or two from the choir.

How quick we are to apply

to ourselves

a false forgiveness

and a fake peace

by responding to a moment

and not a message,

by responding to a method

and not a man.

A lot of your friends,

a lot of the people that you know,

maybe even you yourself,

have been duped into believing

that you know Christ

because you had some experience

in the past.

Because you prayed a prayer

when you were seven years old

and walked down an aisle

and signed a card

and got baptized.

That doesn't save you.

That doesn't save you.

True repentance is a different thing.

And it's my hope

to explain to you what that is.

So don't apply that false forgiveness.

Do not apply that fake peace.

Let God apply it to your heart

in His own timing.

We must learn to wait upon God

to give us peace.

Because His peace is a peace

that surpasses all comprehension.

It is a supernatural thing

that you can't apply to yourself.

You can't manufacture it.

You can't contrive it.

You can't create it.

It's a spiritual work

done by Christ in the heart.

Turn to Zechariah 12.10.

I know we're in the Old Testament

a lot tonight.

But it's a good thing

to do a little Bible drill

right now, no?

Zechariah 12.10.

It's really towards the very end

of the Old Testament.

One book away, in fact.

Just to prove my point

that this is a spiritual work

done by the Holy Spirit

that you can't make yourself repent.

That a lot of times

what you see as repentance

is not repentance.

It is false.

It is fake.

It is manipulation.

Zechariah 12.10 says this,

And I will pour out

on the house of David

and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem

the Spirit of grace

and of supplication.

So He's going to pour out

the Holy Spirit on these people

so that they will look on Me

whom they have pierced

and they will mourn for Him

as one mourns

as for an only son

and they will weep bitterly over Him

like the bitter weeping

over the first one.

So you see in that passage

what?

That the Spirit of grace

is going to be poured out

on a body of believers.

They're going to receive that Spirit.

They're going to,

through that Spirit,

then see Him

whom they have pierced.

You see in Acts

different places

where it says

where Paul or Peter

preaches the Gospel

and then the people

are cut to the quick.

It says.

Or they're pierced to the heart.

Or they're convicted

of their sin, basically.

And they cry out

in anguish,

you know,

what can I do?

What should I say?

And he says,

repent and believe in Christ.

So this is the work

of the Spirit.

Repentance is not reciting

a systematized prayer

that we learned

in vacation Bible school.

It is wrestling with God.

It is a very violent thing.

It's not for the faint of heart.

The Scriptures are so adamant

about waiting on the Lord,

tarrying along with Him

in prayer,

being patient

in your repenting,

and then He will be patient

and plentiful

in His forgiving.

If you're patient with God

in your repenting,

He'll be patient,

I keep saying patient,

I mean plentiful

in His forgiving.

Those who truly seek God

will never be neglected,

but you must learn

what it means

to truly seek Him.

So tonight,

we're going to be discussing

repentance exclusively, okay?

And then next week,

we're going to discuss faith.

Because I don't want to

leave each other out,

but I don't also,

at the same time,

have enough time tonight

to teach on both of them fully.

So,

one at a time.

Tonight is repentance.

So first,

let me explain to you

what repentance is not.

Okay,

I have three little points here.

What repentance isn't.

What false repentance looks like.

Think about this, okay?

The Scripture says

in 2 Corinthians 13

that we should test ourselves

continually to the Scriptures

to make sure that we're in Christ,

to make sure that we know Christ,

that we love Christ.

And actually,

the Greek phrasing there

is like,

be continually testing yourself.

It's not a one-time thing.

It's an all-the-time kind of thing.

And let your heart just,

you know,

be sensitive to this moment

and test yourself genuinely

to know whether or not

you are truly a believer

in Jesus.

So number one reason,

or number one,

what repentance isn't.

Repentance is not a fear

of punishment.

Repentance is not a fear

of punishment.

A lot of people,

having continued in their sins

for a while,

have at some point

felt strong conviction

of sin.

This may be you.

Maybe you sinned

for a long time

in a certain way,

then all of a sudden

you felt a strong conviction

of sin.

Finally,

at last,

you were found out.

And like a thief

or an adulterer

who's caught in the very act,

you are filled

with anguish

and fright

because of your shameless deeds.

You're filled with fright

and anguish

and you shy away,

you bow your head

and you shy away

from any kind of sin,

from whatever sin

that might be

that you were caught in.

And it seems like

you've repented from it.

You cry out

in shame.

You feel exposed.

But then,

eventually,

that terror

that you once felt

subsides.

and you're not

the guy

in the spotlight anymore.

And since they have now,

and since you have now,

in a sense,

tasted of the bitterness

of sin,

you've tasted of its anguish,

you've been upset

with it for a time,

you think

that as a result of that

or you conclude

that you have now repented

because of your shame,

because you drew away

from it

for a time.

Even though deep down

you still loved your sin.

And you will return to it

as soon as you possibly can,

as soon as it's safe.

So is that you?

Have you turned

away from sin?

Have you repented

at one point in time

in your life?

Have you fallen away

from that pattern of sin

that you once lived in

and then all of a sudden,

when the time comes,

when the terror subsides,

when the conviction

is cooled off,

gone back to it again?

In a habitual way.

In a loving way.

In a joyful way.

In a thankful way.

Don't be deceived.

That's not repentance.

A thief feels remorse

when he's caught.

Not because he stole,

but because he was caught.

A sinner who feels remorse

because he is caught

is not regenerate.

When Judas betrayed Jesus,

he felt troubled,

the Bible says.

He felt guilty.

He felt remorse.

So much so that he

went and hung himself.

He didn't repent though.

Because you see,

he didn't have a love

for Christ.

He had a love for himself.

Judas didn't have a love

for Christ.

He had a love for himself.

He knew that he was damned

and because of this

damnation that he felt,

he was incited towards sorrow

and towards remorse.

So have you repented

only because you wish

to escape punishment

or shame

or because it's embarrassing?

That's not repentance.

That's not godly repentance.

Secondly,

repentance is not merely

resolution against sin.

Repentance is not merely

a resolution against sin.

Fear is a powerful thing.

And many men

have made empty resolutions

as a result of being afraid.

Suppose a banker

was taken hostage

and put to gunpoint.

And then he was asked

this question,

will you tell us the code

to get into the vault?

And sure enough,

the banker responds

by saying,

I'd be happy to.

You know,

it's da-da-da-da-da,

you know,

it's 5, 7, 6, 5, 4, 5.

Although this banker

had previously,

okay,

promised,

when he first took the job,

to never divulge

that information.

He had promised

his boss,

I will never tell the code,

it will be between

myself and the vault,

and that's it.

But with a gun to his head,

he's changing his resolution.

He's saying,

oh yeah,

of course,

I'll do that.

Or maybe you can put it

another way and say,

I'll never do that again,

you know,

because of whatever

the situation requires.

A man will say

and will do anything

to escape the judgment

of God.

Revelation 6, 8 says,

I looked,

and there before me

was a pale horse.

Its rider was named

Death,

and hell was following

close behind him.

What will the sinner

not do?

What vows will he not make

when he knows

that he must die

and stand before the God

in judgment?

Self-love

raises a sickbed

repentance.

There's a lot of people

that have tried to get

repentance

on their last days

and they feel sick

when death is staring

them right in the face

and they don't want to be

judged for what they've done.

But it's not a love

of Christ.

It's a love of

self-preservation.

But when this sick person

supposedly recovers,

the love of sin

will prevail against it.

Do not trust

in a passionate resolution.

It is raised in a storm,

said this one author,

and will die in a calm.

So maybe you get aggravated

because you're confronted

by your sin.

Somebody says something

that accuses your conscience

and yet

you make some silly resolution

but you don't ever

come through it

because you don't have

any love for Christ.

Thirdly,

repentance is not

leaving

of some sins

for others.

Repentance is not

the leaving

of some sins

for others.

Repentance is not

the leaving

of some sins

for others.

A slave can be traded

from one master

to another

and yet he's still

a slave.

So a sinner can trade

one kind of sin

for another

but he is still

a slave of sin.

John Owen said this,

He that changes

pride for worldliness,

sensuality for Phariseeism,

vanity in himself

or thinking highly

of himself

to the contempt

of others,

let him not think

that he has killed

the sin

that he seems

to have left.

He has changed

his master

but is a servant

still.

A lot of people

do this.

A lot of people

think

that they are

maturing

in their Christianity

because they have

left one certain sin

and yet they have

taken on a brand new one.

One certain sin

has maybe diminished

a little bit

in their life.

There's a lot of reasons

for that.

Maybe shame

because of the sin.

Maybe that sin

is not as profitable

to them as it once was.

Maybe it's not as beneficial

as it once was.

Maybe it brings a lot

of dishonor or shame

or whatever to the families

it once did.

But that sinner

is going to find

a new way

to express himself.

So look for that.

Just because somebody

doesn't do one thing

doesn't mean

they're not a slave

of sin

in some other way.

Don't think

that you've repented

when all that has

really happened

in your life

is a trade

and not a transformation.

Now I'm not saying

that we're ever going

to be perfect

or sinless.

That's why we need Christ

because we're not

going to be.

But if you have never

seen in your life

and in your heart

any growth

in your love

for Jesus Christ

and if you have never

seen any kind

of diminishing

of sin

if your affections

have not been

turned towards God

and away from Satan

and the devil

and his ways

and sin

if you don't despise it

but you love it

but you enjoy it

this isn't repentance

this is

empty resolution

this is

leaving some sins

for other sins

okay

in light of that

we need to examine

ourselves

we need to pray

to God

like David did

in Psalm 139

turn there real quick

I want to show you

this

Psalm 139

this is the prayer

this is the

the request

to God

from a truly

penitent man

a truly

broken man

Psalm 139

David wanted

every kind of sin

that he had

in himself

to die

he didn't want

to keep any of them

verse 23

he says

search me

oh God

and know my heart

try me

and know

my anxious thoughts

and see if there

be any hurtful

way in me

and lead me

in the everlasting way

search me

he begged God

expose me

show me

where I'm falling

short

let me see

where the sin

is in my heart

let me see

where I'm defaming you

let me see

where I'm dishonoring you

let me see

where my love

is inferior

for you

try me

know my anxious heart

the ways in which

I'm not trusting you

see if there be

any evil

or wicked

or harmful

way in me

and lead me

in the path

everlasting

lead me in the way

everlasting

he wanted to walk

in righteousness

this is the true heart

of any true believer

they want to walk

in obedience to Christ

they love Jesus

okay

so those are the three things

that I'm going to

try to point out there

for what repentance

isn't

but next we're going to

move on to four things

that repentance is

number one

repentance is

seeing one's sin

repentance is

seeing one's sin

getting excited

Paul's commission

by Christ

was to

open their eyes

it says this in

Acts 26

God said

Jesus said to them

open their eyes

so that they may

turn from darkness

to light

and from the

dominion of Satan

to God

that was Paul's

commission

that was his

responsibility

in the Lord

was to turn

help them to see

their sin

help them to turn

away from it

from those

ways of darkness

and to light

to Christ

this is our salvation

and this is our mission

that's the heart of it

we saw our sin

for what it really was

and we hated ourselves

for it

if you're a Christian

in here

you saw your sin

one day

and you hated it

you despised

the thought of it

that you would do

something so heinous

to somebody you love

so much

and then you saw

Jesus

and your heart

burst with love

for him

because you saw

him on his cross

you saw him

bloodied and battered

and beaten down

and killed

and destroyed

and the wrath of God

poured out upon him

for your sake

and he became your savior

and you became his slave

and his son

repentance begins

with the recognition

of sin

this is where it starts

there's a lot of

different levels

to repentance

I simply thought of

repentance before

I was doing all this

study as just

turning away from sin

that is

one of many

aspects of it

okay

the first part

of it

is recognizing

one's sin

seeing it

for what it really is

the prodigal son

some of you guys

know this story

some of you may not

I'll tell you

to you briefly

there was a son

a younger son

and an older son

the younger son

was known as

the prodigal son

which means

kind of like

wayward

basically

he was

really

probably know

what a prodigal

is

it's kind of

a common term

so

anyway

he was

he was a prodigal

and he

asked for his father's

inheritance

before his father

had died

so basically

that was like

saying

dad you're dead

to me

give me my money

I'm taking off

so he gets the

inheritance

the father

gives it to him

freely

he runs off

and does what's

in the bible

is called

loose living

that's a very

2000 year ago

kind of term

for that

loose living

and then

sure enough

finds himself

poor

and impoverished

and in a

puddle of mud

with some pigs

and he's like

I gotta get back

to my father's house

not as a son

but maybe just as a servant

I can get some food

that way

I'm starving to death

so he goes back

to his father

and he says to him

father please

forgive me

for what I've done

to you

in a sense

he says

I'm not worthy

to be called

your son

please hire me

as a servant

so we see

actually in Luke

15 17

this whole thing

is accounted

that the penitent

this prodigal

came to his senses

in the scriptures

came to his senses

or came to himself

so he recognized

or he saw himself

in that moment

as a sinner

and nothing but a sinner

ok

that was the turning point

for this man

that's what made him

that's what gave him

the humility

to go back to his father

and to ask

to become his servant

he came to himself

he saw himself

rightly

we must know

we must learn

and know

from this passage

that we are

reprobates

that we are

wicked

that we are

cast away

that we are

not of God

apart from Christ

that's what I want you

to learn from that

we must see ourselves

as God sees us

Thomas Watson

said this

the eye is made

both for seeing

and for weeping

sin must be first

seen

before it can be

wept for

so the prodigal

having come to his senses

says what

this is in Luke 15

21

father I have sinned

against heaven

and in your sight

I am no longer

worthy to be called

your son

he saw his sin

as an offense

against God

first

he says

I have sinned

against heaven

but then he also

saw it as a sin

against his dad

on earth

his sin was bitter

because he

in that moment

realized

or he saw

how unworthy

he was

of his father's

compassion

it was bitter

because of that

reality

he didn't deserve it

it was humbling

for him to even

ask that question

he had done

so much wrong

to his father

so much evil

so much harm

dishonored him

so in the same way

we must be

deeply humbled

and I would even

question whether or

not you have

truly repented

if you've never

been deeply humbled

like this man

once was

understanding that

you're the prodigal

in this scenario

understanding that

you did not love

Christ in this

scenario

so be deeply

humbled by your

sin against God

and you can say

that you have

repented

Romans 2

4 says

do you think

lightly of the

riches

of God's

kindness

and his

forbearance

and his

patience

not knowing

that the

kindness of

God leads

you to

repentance

okay

so it's the

kindness of

God

it's the

patience of

God

it's not the

wrath of

God

it's not the

fear of

God

it's the

kindness

and the

patience

and the

love

of God

that's going

to lead

you to

repentance

so hopefully

you don't

think you're

worthy of the

fattened calf

like the

elder brother

did

of God's

love and

forgiveness

and if you

do you're

still blind

in your

sin

you haven't

seen it

rightly

you don't

understand your

offense against

your father

one author said

the sinner knows

not his own

heart

nor what a

hell he carries

about him

under a veil

a deformed face

is hidden

people are veiled

over with

ignorance and

self-love

they see not

what

they see not

what deformed

souls they have

the devil

the devil does

with them

as the

trainer

with the

hawk

he covers

their eyes

and carries

them put

into hell

okay in

second

corinthians

four paul

talks about

how satan

is the

one that

blinds

people to

the light

of the

knowledge

of the

glory of

christ

that's his

function

that's what

he does

that's what

he's good

at

as he

blinds

you to

the reality

of the

glory of

christ

okay if

you're a

sinner

or if

you're a

saint

if you've

been saved

by god

satan is

still doing

this

by leading

you into

sin

sure enough

you are

blinded

again

not blinded

completely

but you're

it's like

you're contracting

cataracts

or something

i mean you

are really

literally

like your

vision is

getting worse

for christ

because you're

allowing all

this slime

of sin

to cover

you

that's what

sin does

to you

it keeps

you from

seeing christ

in a pure

way

blessed are

the pure

in heart

for they

shall see

god

that's my

favorite beatitude

blessed are

the pure

in heart

for they

shall see

god

number two

repentance

is sorrow

over one's

sin

repentance

is sorrow

over one's

sin

turn to

james 4

real quick

james 4

James 4:9

verse 9

and 10

it says

this

be miserable

and mourn

and weep

let your

laughter be

turned into

mourning

and your

joy

to gloom

humble

yourselves

in the

presence

of the

lord

and he

will

exalt

you

be

miserable

be

mourning

be

weeping

that's not

what i would

normally

characterize

the spiritual

life of a

christian

has

but we

probably

should

more than

we do

and let

me just

take this

opportunity

i should

have said

this

earlier

i really

feel like

i shouldn't

be up here

talking about

this

because i

in a lot

of ways

fall short

in this

area

of my

life

i said

it last

i said

it two

weeks ago

when i

spoke

that the

fact that

i don't cry

over the

sin that

i commit

as often

as i

should

the fact

that i

rarely have

fears in

my eyes

and i

rarely have

a spirit

that could

be defined

as mourning

is a

testimony to

the fact

that i'm

i'm seared

in my

conscience

in many

ways

and though

there are

times when

of course

i'm more

sensitive

than others

i'm certainly

not perfect

and i

certainly

don't

understand

how good

my god

is and how

gracious

he's been

and i

don't wake

up with

the gospel

just piercing

my mind

every morning

it's got

to be

something i

need a lot

of prayer

for

i understand

a lot

i understand

very little

of this godly

sorrow

and so i

think that we

should pray

for one another

in this way

we should

ask god to

just give us

a better

appretention

of the

sorrow that

we should

have as

christians

christ was a

man of many

sorrows

and well

acquainted with

grief

it says that

in isaiah i

believe

so we should

be like him

in that way

so you see

there's a

certain sorrow

in scripture

that is so

pure that is

so god

centered that

is so christ

exalting that

is so self

crucifying that

the world can't

emulate this

okay the

world can't

emulate what

this godly

sorrow actually

is what it

does to the

person it

isn't child's

play either

it's not a

simple little

work it's

it's it's

warrior work

um it's

deep contrition

of your

heart and

of your

mind

desires so

badly for

christ to be

honored that

anything contrary

or anything

defaming to

jesus is

despised it's

like if you

have spiders

on your

back and

somebody tells

you you're

not aware

of it and

then they

then you

see them

you shoo

them off

you're freaked

out by it

right that's

what sin

should be like

to us

i hate

spiders

that's why

i like

saying i

mean that's

that's a

good illustration

for me

because i

hate

spiders

so sin

should be

like spiders

i guess

in a sense

sorry if you

like spiders

um what

frogs yeah

same yeah

same thing i

hate any kind

of insect or

small thing

like that

uh

but sorrow

is also unique

in other ways

sorrow is also

unique in that

it brings

comfort

it brings

comfort

godly

comfort

psalm 126

says this

in verse 5

those who

sow in tears

shall reap

in joy

those who

sow in tears

shall reap

in joy

thomas

watson

said the

penitent

sinner

has a

wet

sowing

time

but a

delicious

harvest

he has a

wet

sowing time

but a

delicious

harvest

he sows

and it's

rainy and

it's wet

and it's

miserable

but then he

reaps and the

harvest is

plentiful and

bountiful and

that's exactly

what christ

and the fruits

of the spirit

should be like

to us

sow in tears

reap in joy

some of you may

say why should i

be sorrowful

though

you may ask

that why should

i be sorrowful

like what's

to be sorrowful

about we have

christ right we

have the holy

spirit right we

have you know

forgiveness right

like you know

i know i sin

every now and

again but i

mean what should

i be truly

sorrowful about

why should i

cry anymore

in light of all

the things that

god's done for

me

isn't the gospel

supposed to

liberate me from

all this sadness

let me give you

an illustration

suppose this is a

weird illustration

i thought of this

today and this is

strange but

suppose there

was a woman

who fervently

and passionately

loved her

husband

okay

and this

woman's husband

was crucified

till death

in front of

her

she saw the

whole thing

the whole

bloody thing

it was

gut-wrenching

this woman

loved to read

the newspaper

okay she

was then told

that if she

ever again read

the newspaper

that she would

be forced to

relive that

moment second

for second

if she ever

didn't read the

newspaper again

she would in a

sense crucify

her husband

afresh

okay

what kind of a

sadistic

fool

would she have

to be

to pick up a

newspaper

and read it

what if i told

you

that sin

is the

newspaper

and christ

is the

husband

seems ridiculous

in that

analogy

so would

those of you

who love

christ

still persist

in sin

how could

us

how could

we

right

persist in

sin

read a

newspaper

and relive

that

no

it's a

sorrowful

thing

how can we

trade such

a lesser

pleasure

like reading

a newspaper

for such a

for such a

greater torment

well we do

all the time

and it's a

sorrowful

sorrowful

thing

it is

only when the

woman realizes

that the

reliving of

that moment

is a

nightmare

it's a

dream

it's a

nightmare

it's not

reality

and that the

actual event

of her

beloved

husband's

death

is many

years in

the past

that she

finds any

comfort

but not only

comfort

she finds

joy

because then

she realizes

that her

husband's

death

while very

tragic

was sacrificial

and it

secured their

union in the

next life

for all

eternity

never to be

separated again

so Christ

likewise

purchased us

with his own

blood so that we

might forever

enjoy him

and his love

so why go back

to the

newspaper

Peter says

why go back

to the

vomit

it's so

stupid

it's not

worth it

but when we

do sin

and this is

the reason

why it's

worthy of

sorrow

is because

we are in

a sense

saying

God you

are not

satisfying

God I

care more

for my

selfish

sin

in this

moment

than I

do for

your

glory

and I

do for

your

cross

which you

bore on

my behalf

I prefer

that

over you

and it's

shameful

to him

and it

should be

shameful

to us

and it's

in a sense

like we're

crucifying

Christ

afresh

with that

kind of

a life

I mean

the Hebrews

writer says

it himself

it's like

if you can

do this

willingly

there's no

repentance

for you

you can't

be saved

it's impossible

to renew

this person

to repentance

if they can

willingly

mindfully

crucify

Christ

afresh

and so

of course

we can't

keep doing

this

true repentance

is sorrow

over one

sin

because sin

is the

nails

that hung

Christ

the cross

that's

why it's

sorrowful

we should

hate it

more than

we do

I should

hate it

more than

I do

I should

be crying

right now

you should

be crying

right now

we should

be praying

to God

right now

we should

be praising

him

we should

be

begging

him

for more

mercy

don't

but

I

bet

you

that

if

you

got

closer

to

Christ

by

his

word

by

prayer

that

you'd

find

it

harder

to

sin

that

you'd

find

it

easier

to

love

him

to

think

of

him

to

appreciate

him

to

enjoy

him

to

tell

others

about

him

so

we need

him

thirdly

repentance

is

confessing

one's

sin

repentance

is

confessing

one's

sin

one

author

said

this

sorrow

vents

itself

or expresses

itself

at the

eyes

by weeping

and at

the tongue

by confession

when

godly

sorrow

desires

to express

itself

it

sounds

something

like

the

tax

collector

from

luke

18

he

bowed

his

head

he

wouldn't

even

look

up

to

heaven

he's

beating

his

breast

repetitively

he's

mourning

over what

he had

done

and he

yells

out