A Hard Truth, Luke 13:1-9
Scripture
“Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish." Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?' "'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’” (Luke 13:1-9 NIV)
Introduction
A fisherman had planned a special fishing trip for several months. He made out a list of essentials and scratched each item off as he packed. He had his car checked and serviced. All of his appointments were under control. Everything was ready. He even made sure to leave his wife and family well stocked with whatever they might need. The long awaited time finally arrived and he eagerly bid them goodbye, hopped in his car and left.
He arrived at his fishing cabin that evening, got things tidied up and his food in order, set the alarm for 4 am, and then went to sleep dreaming of the fish he would catch on the morrow. He arose hurriedly at the first sound of the alarm, quickly ate eggs and bacon, almost gulping the food down in his anxiety to get out on the lake. Just as he was getting into his boat, he made a startling discovery: he had not brought along any bait—the bait box was empty!
Many people prepare to meet God in a similar way; they have checked all the right religious boxes, attended all the right religious services, yet they have failed in that most primary of task which is required of all who would hear the saviors call and answer in sincere earnestness; they have failed in the innermost parts to turn from self, the world, humble themselves, and repent.
Transition
“In every building the first stone must be laid and the first blow must be struck. The ark was 120 years in building; yet there was a day when Noah laid his axe at the first tree he cut down to form it. The temple of Solomon was a glorious building; but there was a day when the first huge stone was laid at the foot of Mount Moriah. When does the building of the Spirit really begin to appear in a man’s heart? It begins, so far as we can judge, when he first pours out his heart to God in prayer.” – Bishop J. C. Ryle
Thesis: We cannot have the peace of God, His empowerment for this life, until we have peace with God. We will never have peace with God until we repent and until we learn to purely, passionately, completely worship Him.
If we are to break out of the mediocrity of having religion and into the wonder of having Christ, we must learn to come to God in His terms.
My aim is simple. I will define repentance and give further definite to why it is so important to God. I will then move to the second chief stone of the “with God life” to define worship; then to define why it is so important to God. Along the way, I will point out why both are so desperately important to us.
Exposition
The best starting place for any discussion about repentance is not necessarily human sinfulness. Our sin is real. It is a constant reality in our lives. Full definition of the problem of sin, however is only available when it is juxtaposed, compared to, the holiness of God.
The sin problem of humanity, of me and you, is illuminated under the light of the holiness of God. God’s holiness is attacked by our sinfulness. But what is holiness and what it sin. In the modern pluralistic, relativistic world, these terms are simply not a part of our everyday experience and conversation.
Holiness is a punch line more often than it is a part of our life. Sin has been almost completely removed from the psyche of the culture. Where the notion of sin exists it is only to increase the lure of some pleasure.
God is Holy. That is, He is completely separate from this creation
God is completely “other” and transcendent. He is majestic. He is worthy. He is the greatest treasure in the universe. He has always been and always will be. He is self-existent. He is awesome. He is glorious. He is praiseworthy.
Listen to the words of Psalm 98: “Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant [enthralled, gripped, ecstatic] song with music; make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn – shout for joy before the LORD, the King. Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.” (Psalms 98:1-9 NIV)
That is why He is worthy of worship and adoration; because of who He is. That’s it. His worth is not contingent upon our circumstance. His worth is not predicated upon our comfort or state of mind. He is who He is and He is worthy!
But we’ll come back to that discussion in more depth in a few moments.
Because God is holy, completely other, perfect, He cannot look upon our sin passively. I am fully aware that sin has lost practical definition in our day. The root of the many of the Hebrew and Greek words which are translated “sin” in English have undertones of such notions as rebellion, wickedness, confusion, perversion or aberrance, and a breach of trust.
Why does repentance matter? Why does God so strongly desire that you and I would repent of our rebellion, our confusion, our breach of trust? It is because God desires that we would find life in Him! He is perfect and has created us to live in a state of perfect grace with Him.
He allows the difficulty in our lives for the far greater purpose of driving us to run and not walk, to hide under the shelter of His grace and mercy! God is not primarily concerned with our material comfort; but with our eternal dwelling.
The gospel is not primarily a means of securing comfort in this life, but a means of being reconciled to God, our Father, our creator, so that we might abandon the temporary temptations of this life in favor of recognizing the unsurpassable worth of Christ and in having Christ, we might have all things!
He cannot look passively upon sin. This is why under the Old Covenant the Israelites sacrificed the blood of precious animals. It was not barbarism. It was an exercise in the importance of the holiness of God. It was a demonstration of the ultimate sacrifice of Christ. It was an exhibition for all to see of the importance of repentance; that so serious is sin the shedding of blood is required to atone for it.
Exodus 30:10 says, “Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering for the generations to come. It is most holy to the LORD.” (NIV)
This is why Jesus primary message was one of repentance. “From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matthew 4:17 NIV) You cannot have the peace and blessing of God until you have peace with God. It’s that simple.
Do you desire to have great blessing in your life? Repent and in so doing redefine what it means to have blessing. When you turn your focus from self, from pleasure, from vain ambition, and place your focus squarely upon Christ and see Him for what He is; a matchless treasure of immeasurable worth, then you will know the blessing of His overwhelming presence.
Then you will be able to say, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20 NIV)
There on the tree of sorrow, hangs the old man who used to live unto his own glory, his own needs, and his own selfish ambition and here lives Christ!
First repentance; it is the key that opens us up to the “with God life.” We will never know the peace of God until we have peace with God and that, dear friends, will never happen until we repent, that is turn our focus and actions, from self, who is unworthy of praise, to God, who is holy and worthy of praise.
Second worship; so that we might know the fulness of the joy of our salvation. I know full well that this represents a problem for most, if not all of us. Though we are hardwired to be worshippers, in our fallen state, worship is a problem.
In our fallenness it is more common for us to desire to be praised than to praise. It is more common for us to seek out our admiration than to give it. Has this question ever crossed your mind, “who is this vain deity who demands that I worship Him?” Have you ever thought that it is usually corrupt empowers, vain kings, and celebrities with inflated egos who constantly seek praise?
When men in their fallen state seek praise it is always in some way connected to pride or vanity. This is true. God, however, is perfect, holy, and righteous, in all ways just, good, and perfectly loving. The notion of vanity is reserved for man.
If God is truly good, then it is right to praise Him. Have you ever noticed that the natural response to experiencing something which is truly good is to praise it, to boast of it? “Wow that was a great game! What a great ball club we have! What a great performance she gave! What great music!”
Praise is not only for the one being praised. Praise is a way for us to complete our joy. When we praise something that it is good, it is a way for us to bask further in the glory of what we have experienced. God, in compelling us to worship, is beckoning us to have our joy complete as we find it completely in Him.
In effect, God is compelling us to be who really are; to do that for which we were created; to find satisfaction in Him; to bring our lives into alignment with His perfect will, His perfect plan for us, and His ultimate perfection.
When we worship Go, we bask in the wonder of His glory. We are drawn by His perfection to praise Him who is worthy of praise and there, in the place of total surrender to His sovereign glory and divine will, we find all that we seek; love, forgiveness, strength, empowerment, grace.
Conclusion
It is related that once when Queen Victoria was in the Highlands, she stopped at the cottage of a poor woman, sitting for a few minutes in an old armchair. When the party was leaving, one of the number told the old woman who her visitor was. She was awed by the thought of the honor which had been hers, and taking up the old chair, she carried it into the spare room, saying, “No one shall ever sit in that chair again, because my queen sat in it.” How much more sacredly should we keep from other occupancy the place in our heart where Christ has been received as Guest! How is it, just now, in your heart?
In Matthew 21:12 it says, “Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.” (NIV) In this passage Jesus drove out the money changers in the temple because they were corrupt.
Is there any need for Christ to come with His whip of cords to drive out the traders, the sellers of cattle and doves, and the moneychangers of your life?
Be encouraged, dear friends, repentance is the pathway to empowerment in Christ as we lay down all that we are not, for all that He is. Amen.
