God's Goodness Leads Us To Repentance

I. EXORDIUM:

Is GOD good?

Yes, all the time.

II. AUDIENCE PROFILE:

Believers/unbelievers

III. OBJECTIVES:

To show that GOD is good and His goodness to a wicked person causes that wicked person to come to the LORD JESUS, like what have happened to me.

IV. TEXT:

Romans 2:4 (Amplified Bible)

Or are you [so blind as to] trifle with and presume upon and despise and underestimate the wealth of His kindness and forbearance and long-suffering patience? Are you unmindful or actually ignorant [of the fact] that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repent (to change your mind and inner man to accept God’s will)?

V. THESIS:

Praise, worship, glorify, adore, bless, honor, acknowledge and thank You very much LORD JESUS for You are Infinitely Good and Infinitely Kind and Your Goodness and Your Kindness have led me to repent of my sins towards You and my fellow men.

VI. TITLE:

GOD's goodness leads us to repentance

VII. EXPLICATION:

A. Author: Apostle Paul

B. Date written: 57 A.D.

C. Place written: From Corinth

D. Purpose: To prepare Roman believers for his long awaited visit.

E. To whom written: Roman Christians

VIII. MAIN BODY:

Romans 2:4 (Amplified Bible)

Or are you [so blind as to] trifle with and presume upon and despise and underestimate the wealth of His kindness and forbearance and long-suffering patience? Are you unmindful or actually ignorant [of the fact] that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repent (to change your mind and inner man to accept God’s will)?

Romans 2:4 (New King James Version)

Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

A. Don't despise GOD's goodness, forbearance and longsuffering.

"Or are you [so blind as to] trifle with and presume upon and despise and underestimate the wealth of His kindness and forbearance and long-suffering patience?"

3 Unseen things that men despised of from GOD:

1. GOD's goodness

Goodness or "chrestotes" from the Greek language meaning: usefulness, excellence, gentleness, kindness.

2. GOD's forbearance

Forbearance or "anoche" from the Greek language meaning: selfrestraint, tolerance

3. GOD's longsuffering

Longsuffering or "makrothumia" from the Greek language meaning: longanimity, fortitude, patience

GOD is teaching us all these 3 things that are one of His various, uncountable, infinitely GOD'S attributes so that we will be like Him. These I considered are the currencies of Heaven. These are the qualities GOD is looking for us to reproduce and bear fruit.

ILLUSTRATION: There's a joke that goes like this a believer goes out to pray for patience, and he said "GOD grant me patience right now!" But he can't wait on GOD to grant it, he laid his time table before GOD, not a very wise thing to do. Be careful what you prayed for, you might just get it. If you pray like this, GOD will not give you patience in an instant, but GOD will give you circumstances in life that will test your patience.

How do we despise GOD's attributes of goodness, forbearance and longsuffering:

1. When we live a life of sin

Romans 6:1 (Amplified Bible)

WHAT SHALL we say [to all this]? Are we to remain in sin in order that God’s grace (favor and mercy) may multiply and overflow?

Romans 6:15 (Amplified Bible)

What then [are we to conclude]? Shall we sin because we live not under Law but under God’s favor and mercy? Certainly not!

2. When we think GOD does not see us

Psalms 10:11 (Amplified Bible)

[The foe] thinks in his heart, God has quite forgotten; He has hidden His face; He will never see [my deed].

Ecclesiastes 8:11 (Amplified Bible)

Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, the hearts of the sons of men are fully set to do evil.

Jeremiah 7:10 (Amplified Bible)

And [then dare to] come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My Name, and say, [By the discharge of this religious formality] we are set free!—only to go on with this wickedness and these abominations?

3. When we give up thinking about JESUS's Second Coming

Ezekiel 12:22-23 (Amplified Bible)

Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel, saying, The days drag on and every vision comes to nothing and is not fulfilled?

Tell them therefore, Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall use it no more as a proverb in Israel. But say to them, The days are at hand and the fulfillment of every vision.

Matthew 24:48-49 (Amplified Bible)

But if that servant is wicked and says to himself, My master is delayed and is going to be gone a long time,

And begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunken,