Unless you Repent

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Praise to God that He is not willing that any should perish, but that all come to repentance. And that’s our worthy weekly study today from the International Gospel Hour. Let’s study together.

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Hi, this is Jay Webb for International Gospel Hour. Welcome to our broadcast today. For over 90 years, Churches of Christ have proclaimed God’s Word through our broadcasts. Just ahead is another Bible-based lesson with Jeff Archie of International Gospel Hour. Let’s begin.

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The Word Repentance

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Let us always be thankful for the patience and the goodness of God. For due to his patience and goodness, one must repent. Romans 2 in verse 4. And thanks be to God that we can change our lives. Thanks be to God we can change in him, in Christ, from his word. In both testaments, by the word of God, his servants declared and commanded repentance. Let’s think about the Old Testament for a moment. From the book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel 18, verses 30 through 32. Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent and turn yourselves from all your transgressions, so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions whereby you have transgressed. and make you a new heart and a new spirit. For why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dies, saith the Lord God. Wherefore turn yourselves, and you live. Friends, do you think Ezekiel or the Lord through Ezekiel was clear about repentance? How Israel needed to turn and change and not keep living the way they were living? What about the book of Jonah? If you spend time in Jonah, the third chapter especially, and you look at the preaching and the faith of those in the preaching in verse 5, and the plea of letting them turn in verse 8, and the turning in verse 10, Nineveh changed the way they were living. And of course, the power of Jonah’s preaching on behalf of the Lord made that difference. Let’s think about the New Testament. What about John the Baptist in Matthew 3 and verse 2? He commanded those who were listening to him to repent, or literally, you turn, or turn you. Jesus Christ in his teaching while walking this earth. In Matthew 4 and verse 17, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. As well as in Mark 1 and verse 15. What about Luke 13, verses 1 through 5? As Jesus was instructing of how they were to live, He said in verse 3, “‘Nay, I tell you, except you repent, you shall all likewise perish,’ and said the same in verse 5, using the Old Testament commandments and examples therein. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He said, Part of the Great Commission of Luke 24, verse 47, would be that repentance and remission of sins would be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And that’s what they did when we go to Acts chapter 2. The apostles on the day of Pentecost, the message that they preached indeed was repentance and remission of sins, for when they were pricked in their hearts in Acts 2.37, what shall we do was the question they asked themselves. Peter and the apostles replied, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. You see, friends, repentance and remission of sins was proclaimed. Go over to Acts 3 and verse 19. Repent you therefore and be converted so that your sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. We noted moments ago of Romans 2 and verse 4 how the goodness of God leads man to repentance. Let’s continue other teaching from Paul earlier in his life when he was in Athens in the 17th chapter of the book of Acts. Verse 17 explains how he disputed with individuals. A simple reasoning with the scriptures when one parallels Acts 17 and verse 2. Using the word of God, he preached Jesus and the resurrection. He also preached concerning the idolatry they were bringing forth with the plea on behalf of God, Acts 17, 30. But now commands all men everywhere to repent. He is moving them from their idol gods unto whom they call the unknown God. And Paul said, this is the one I’m declaring unto you. Who through the Son commanded us to repent? Who through the Son, through the apostles, preached repentance as a command? Paul taught Agrippa that the Gentiles should repent and turn to God and do works meet for repentance, Acts 26 and verse 20, the latter part. What about Peter, not only in Acts 2, but in 2 Peter 3 and verse 9? God is not willing that any should perish, but all come to repentance. Now when we look at repentance, friends, we want to make this very clear that that repentance is not the only thing a person does. We will see more of that momentarily. A person must have faith in Christ. The faith in Christ moves a person to change his or her life. There’s repentance. Baptism comes after repentance. And friends, we’ll be looking at this more throughout our study. But let’s define repentance. And actually, folks, a beautiful parable that Jesus taught in Matthew 21, verses 28-31, is probably the best definition and best commentary on repentance one can find. We’ll read Matthew 21, 28-31. Jesus says, But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not. But afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said, Likewise, or the same thing, go work today in my vineyard. And he answered and said, I go, sir, but he did not go. Then Jesus asked the question, Which of the two did the will of the Father? They said to him, The first. And Jesus said to them, Assuredly I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. Now we notice especially verse 29. When the son said, I will not. But afterward he regretted it. Or older translations simply say he repented and went. He regretted it. But he did not remain, well, I’m sorry, and still did the same thing. He made a change in his life. Not only a change of mind, but a change of direction. When we research the word, and we give credit to Vine’s expository dictionary of the New Testament, that takes words in the original Greek language and gives us a definition of which we can understand, Vine defines it, page 525, this change of mind involves both a turning from sin and a turning toward God. Again, friends, the simple words of Christ from Luke 13, 3 and 5, unless you repent. That’s the title of our study today. And we’re going to continue this study in just a moment. But first, allow me to pause and mention some dear friends out of Parkersburg, West Virginia, D.J. and Sarah Curry. They have a wonderful work called AddedToTheChurch.com. It’s a website that you can easily access, AddedToTheChurch.com. You’ll find exceptional articles by them and others, and you can subscribe, get this folks, you can subscribe free to two digital publications. the Mountain Messenger, and the New Testament Expositor. So please check them out at addedtothechurch.com. Once again, that’s addedtothechurch.com. Unless You Repent. The title of our broadcast today, let’s consider some matters. Unless You Repent. Well, friends, let us see what is not repentance. Let’s see what repentance is not. First of all, repentance is not regret. Now we noted earlier from Matthew 21 verse 29 how the young man regretted it and went. He didn’t only regret, he made a change in his life. You see, there may be the immoral person who will regret what he has done because he or she got caught or has been exposed. But would they have responded otherwise? If the regret drives one to a godly sorrow that will bring repentance, now you’ve got it. Because biblical repentance eliminates the regret. 2 Corinthians 7 and verse 10 says, For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted. But the sorrow of the world produces death. So it’s not only a regret, oh, I wish I had not have done that. But will it change your life to no longer do it? And will it allow you to go in a better direction? Repentance is not merely a reforming of one’s life. You know, John the Baptist declared those that came to his preaching in Matthew 3 and verse 8, Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance. Bring forth your proof of your change. You know, a person may cease doing something because of health. An individual who is an alcoholic that the doctor says you need to stop because you’re killing yourself, a person may cease doing that. A lot of times people may cease doing something for any other reason than doing what God has commanded. So it’s not merely a reforming of one’s life. Let’s consider this one. Simply being sorry. Well, you know, Herod was exceedingly sorrowful, Mark 6, verse 26, but he still went on and beheaded John the Baptist. And it’s godly sorrow that will move one to repentance. Someone says, I’m sorry for what I’ve done. Yes, but are you going to repent? Does that sorrow drive you to repentance? A scripture and an illustration. 2 Corinthians 7, beginning with verse 9, and we mentioned verse 10 moments ago. Paul said, Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry. but that your sorrow led to repentance. There it is, folks. For you were made sorry in a godly manner that you might suffer loss from us and nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted, but the sorrow of the world produces death. Let’s talk about being sorry. One night I was finishing up our Wednesday evening Bible study we had dismissed. And I stepped back into the pulpit to pick up a couple of things and I looked over to my left and I had a young little friend sitting on the front row. Now when a little boy around age four to five is sitting on a front row, while everybody else is mingling and children are moving around, I know something’s up. So I stepped over and asked him what’s going on. He said, I’m in time out. I said, uh-oh, did you do wrong? He said, yes, sir. And I said, are you sorry? He said, yes, sir. I said, are you willing to repent? And he just stared at me. The reason he stared at me, friends, is a five-year-old does not understand repentance. Now, he was sorry that he got caught. And he realized he was wrong. And true, he learned from that. But the point is, there’s a distinction between sorrow and repentance. Here’s something else. Someone that may respond publicly in an assembly and ask for prayers, but they’re not ceasing their behavior. One reports, but one doesn’t repent. It’s kind of like Pharaoh and even King Saul that said, I have sinned more than anybody, but they never repented. They never changed their direction. Oh, Saul appeared to do so, and then he would come back around struggling with something else. Now, friends, when I state this, I’m not stating of the individual who is truly trying, who is asking for prayers and giving it their best shot. And those that stumble, but they stumble to get up and keep going. You see, friends, when we stumble or we’re tripped up by sin that we want to deal with, the important thing is to get up and keep going. And we will pray for individuals diligently concerning that. But friends, we need to think about repentance as a change of decision that results in a change of direction. It bears sin for only so long, and then it doesn’t want to bear the sin any longer. Let’s build on this by coming with the next thought. Again, Jesus said, unless you repent. Let’s see admitting one’s sin. It was David in Psalm 32, 5. I acknowledge my sin unto you, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah. Now, as we’ve studied in other broadcasts, the word selah is written within and through inspiration to pause the individual. What you have just finished singing, what you’ve just finished reading, I want you to think about it and let it settle in. How David acknowledged his sin. He did not hide his iniquity. He confessed it and God forgave him. Think about getting rid of sin and the forgiveness of the Almighty. I mean, how did David respond to Nathan the prophet when Nathan confronted him with his sin with Bathsheba? David said, 2 Samuel 12, 13, I have sinned against the Lord. So one recognizes sin in one’s life. Sin that is unforgeaven. And there are people who will say, well, I know I’m not living right. And yes, one admits it, but the change is missing. One seems to like things the way they are. Well, I know I need to do better. I know I’m not living right. I know I’m not doing this or that. Well, if you know you’re admitting you’re wrong, but you need to make some changes. And until you admit it, you’re going to be dealing with it. Unless you repent. Well, you cannot help but to see, thirdly, a soul that is in anguish. Yes, there is a sorrow, as we mentioned, and a grief, a distress. One cannot live with what one has done. They are troubled with the sin and the decisions that have come from that sin. It is weighing on them to where they need to make changes. I take us back to 2 Corinthians 7 and verses 9 and 10 where they were made sorry, but their sorrow moved them to repentance. Godly sorrow works repentance. Now, I want you to notice with me, folks, and look at the move here. Here is a striking difference. It’s the grief. It’s the distress. It would keep one up at night to the point of just simply being miserable. That I have got to get rid of this sin. I can’t live this way anymore. And we’re driven to the lowest of the lowest, to where Jesus put it this way in Matthew 5 and verse 3. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Poor in spirit, empty, flat, rock bottom, but look what is ahead. And sometimes people say, I just don’t know what to do. Well, friends, we know one thing. We’re driven to change. I want to pause here, friends, because I realize we’re talking about repentance. And we’re seeing that repentance moves us to where we say, I don’t want the past, but I want to embrace the present. This is through our work at International Gospel Hour that everything we offer here is free. And we want to help you in your walk with God and His Word. And our free Bible study by mail has been asked by hundreds of people, even into the thousands, and how thankful we are to offer it. Would you like to try it? I mean, it doesn’t cost anything. Start working with it. See what you think. Here is our J-Web with the details of how you can receive your free Bible course by mail.

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Our long-time free Bible study course by mail is always available at Have you tried it yet? Just call us toll-free at 855-444-6988 and leave your name, address, and just say, Home Study. That’s it. You may also go to our website at internationalgospelhour.com, click on the Contact tab, and leave us the same information, name, address, and type Home Study in the message box. Study the Bible at your own pace. Again, it’s free from your friends here at International Gospel Hour.

SPEAKER 01 : 19:39

Unless you repent, one takes action. Here is a change of lifestyle. My friend and brother Mark Posey submitted the following. He said, repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change of heart that leads to a change of soul that leads to a change of desire that leads to a change of life. Pretty well explains it thoroughly, does it not? You know, in Ezekiel 18, 21 and 22, the Lord through Ezekiel said, But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he has committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him. In his righteousness that he hath done, he shall live. Well, friends, you can see a clear command of change there. Recall in the New Testament how the prodigal son in Luke 15 came to himself in verse 17 and returned home changing his ways. You see, friends, it begins a new way of life. And to become a Christian, one must repent. We noted that earlier from Acts 2 and verse 38 and Acts 3 and verse 19. Somebody says, well, there’s really nothing you can do, for by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Acts 2, or rather Ephesians 2.8. That is true, friends. But through the grace of God that brings salvation that’s appeared to all men, it teaches us that one must deny ungodliness and worldly lust, and live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. Man has a choice. That passage we just mentioned was Titus 2, 11, and 12. One must repent and come unto Christ. And when one repents and confesses their faith in Christ, then one is baptized to have those sins washed away. Remember, repentance and remission of sins would be preached in the name of Christ. And they were by his authority. Acts 2 verse 38. Even Paul, when he obeyed the gospel, In Acts 22, 16, he was told by Ananias, arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. Paul, you need to make some changes. How about in the New Testament when one’s heart, such as Simon, in Acts 8 and verse 22, when it went astray, he repented. He repented and said, as Peter told him, repent that the very thought of your heart may be forgiving you. And the command of the churches in Sardis and in Sardis as well in Revelation 3 verses 1 through 6. And the church at Thyatira in Revelation 3 verses 14 through 22. Here are Christians told to repent because they were dead spiritually and lukewarm. In other words, repentance eliminates any further behavior of the sin. The thief will no longer steal. The liar no longer lies. The individual leaves a life behind. And through one’s faith, one’s repentance, one’s baptism into Christ, sins are washed away, raised to walk in the newness of life, 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 17. And to God be the glory. Jesus said, unless you repent, repentance is a command of God that must be bathed with belief and confession and baptism into Jesus Christ. I’m going to pause for about 30 seconds. Our J-Web has a little bit more information about our work at International Gospel Hour. Then I’ll come back, summarize, and wrap up our broadcast today.

SPEAKER 02 : 23:28

Hello, friends. The Previous Shows tab is available at our website, internationalgospelhour.com, and also available on several podcast platforms. Maybe we are on your favorite podcast site. Just search for International Gospel Hour and you can find previous broadcasts. They’re always there 24-7 for you to listen or even to download, either at our website or your favorite podcast site. Check it out today.

SPEAKER 01 : 23:57

Well, friends, our study today on repentance we trust has been profitable and is profitable for you. Through our studies, and we have examined the scripture of what repentance is, a change of decision that results in a change of direction. We’ve also noted what repentance is not, and then we would note with repentance one admits their sin, and how an anguished soul takes action to respond to the commands of the Lord, to respond not only through simple biblical faith that moves an individual, but how repentance moves an individual away from From sin, faith moves an individual toward God. Baptism into Christ for the remission of our sins. Baptism in water, as we note the eunuch, for example, and others throughout the New Testament, of a forgiveness of sins and added to his church. Friends, may we desire to be added to the church we read of in the New Testament. Friends, the church of Christ is a non-denominational, pre-denominational body. It is the only one. It is the one of which we find revealed in the New Testament and therein should be our pattern. We hope that our studies today will help you toward that end. Again, please visit online our friends at addedtothechurch.com and subscribe to their two digital publications. They are free. Please reach out to us for your free Bible course by mail. Again, 855-444-6988. Leave your name and address and just say Home Study. That’s all you need to do. And we’ll send that to you absolutely free. And of course, broadcasts such as this can be found at our website, internationalgospelhour.com. You can find the previous shows tab. And if there’s a program you’re looking for that you can’t find, you can’t recall it, Well, send us an email and we’ll try to help you track that broadcast down and help you along the way. We’re thankful to help you in your study of the Word of God. We’re thankful for your choice of broadcast of which to listen. And we want you to keep tuned in to the International Gospel Hour right here through this avenue or station of which you’re listening to our broadcast. We’ll continue our studies together at another time, but for now… Thank you for joining me today on the International Gospel Hour. I’m Jeff Archie, and friends, keep listening.

SPEAKER 02 : 26:36

Thank you for listening to our broadcast today, and we hope you continue onward with your search and study of God’s Word. Please join us next time and visit our website at internationalgospelhour.com.

SPEAKER 03 : 26:51

Be with you till we meet again.