Repentance and Belief
Introduction:
You don’t have to look very far to see that we are in a mess. Just look at the headlines for November 22, 2011:
“Cardinal Bernard Law, who resigned in disgrace as Boston's archbishop in 2002 after the priest sex abuse scandal exploded in the United States, has left his subsequent job as head of a major Roman basilica.” （Fox11）
“New York City Police Arrest Alleged Terror Suspect” （Fox112）
“Police Search for Missing Orlando Mother Who Disappeared After Appearance on Court TV Show” （Fox111）
What in the world is going on? It seems that we are being torn apart at the seams. Does any of this make any sense? Why are we going down a path that seems to lead to utter destruction and chaos? It is obvious that we are completely lost and are wandering around this world with no idea of what in the worlds we are suppose to be accomplishing. Why are we here?
There also seems to be many differing “answers” that are given by different so-called religious leaders. One website lists the different world religions and their membership:
• Christianity: 2.1 billion
• Islam: 1.5 billion
• Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 1.1 billion
• Hinduism: 900 million
• Chinese traditional religion: 394 million
• Buddhism: 376 million
• primal-indigenous: 300 million
• African Traditional & Diasporic: 100 million
• Sikhism: 23 million
• Juche: 19 million
• Spiritism: 15 million
• Judaism: 14 million
• Baha'i: 7 million
• Jainism: 4.2 million
• Shinto: 4 million
• Cao Dai: 4 million
• Zoroastrianism: 2.6 million
• Tenrikyo: 2 million
• Neo-Paganism: 1 million
• Unitarian-Universalism: 800 thousand （Adh11）
With all of the infinite possibilities I believe that there is only one true Way that we can extricate ourselves from the mess that we are in. There is only one True God and He has a plan for our life.
The text that I would like for us to look at today is…
Mark 1:14-15
14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” （1982）
Context:
The author of the Gospel of Mark is John Mark and the gospel was written in the late to mid- 50s AD. Although Mark did not actually witness the events that are in his gospel, most scholars believe that he gathered his writings from sermons of the Apostle Peter.
Mark starts his writing out in the form of a statement, “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ.” He then goes on to speak about Jesus’ adult life after quoting from the Old Testament. As we read the Gospel of Mark we find that it is more a collection of sermons than a biography or historical document. （Wessel，1984p.611）The use of the word immediate of the writing is significant.
Mark presents Jesus as the authoritative Son of God in Mark 1:1, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God” （1982）and this theme runs throughout the book. Mark focuses more on the deeds of Jesus than on His teachings and tells his readers about the humanity of Jesus more than any other Gospel. Mark presents Jesus as the suffering Servant which is portrayed in Mark 10:45.
The Gospel of Mark starts out with the ministry of John the Baptist who came to prepare the way for the Messiah. John preached for the repentance of sins so that their sins could be forgiven. Our text is wedged between Jesus being tempted in the wilderness and the calling of the first disciples.
In verse 14 we see that John had been put into prison. This is significant because it signified the end of one public ministry and the beginning of another public ministry. John had served his prophetic calling well which was that he was to herald the coming of the Messiah. The meaning of the words “put in prison” in the original language is actually the word Mark used (paradidomi) means to hand over and is used to refer to the betrayal and arrest of Jesus in 9:31; 10:33; 14:21, 41. Its use with reference to John suggests that his death foreshadowed that of Jesus. The use of the passive voice implies that what was done was in accordance with God’s purpose. （Brooks，2001）
As Jesus came to Galilee it was obvious from His message that something exciting was about to happen. John had preached repentance and baptism for the remission of sin, but Jesus was saying that “the time had been fulfilled” and the “the kingdom of God is at hand.”
Jesus took the same line as John and proclaimed both repentance and the arrival of the kingdom of God. It is a significant fact that John looks backward to the promise of the coming of the Messiah and signalizes the fulfillment as near at hand (perfect passive indicative). （Robertson，1997）
The question is what is the kingdom of God? The phrase “the kingdom of God” was used 14 times in Mark’s Gospel and in the Synoptic Gospels it is a major theme of Jesus’ message. The “kingdom of God is near”, presents a key feature of Jesus’ message. “Kingdom” (basileia) means “kingship” or “royal rule.” Involved in the term is the sovereign authority of a ruler, the activity of ruling, and the realm of rule including its benefits. Thus “the kingdom of God” is an active concept that refers to God’s sovereign activity or ruling over His Creation. （Walvoord，1985）
The Messiah was here! What was His message to the Jewish nation? What is His message to us today?
Message:
I. Required Repentance
A. Definition
The definitions of both the Hebrew and Greek terms are required to grasp the full meaning of repentance. The Hebrew demands “a change of action,” while the Greek demands “a change of mind.” The saved person receives a new mind and heart. He thinks differently and lives differently. Instead of “What’s in it for me?” the question is now “What is God’s will?” Repentance is not an emotion that fades or a total sinlessness, but a new relationship with the Holy One that transforms the believer progressively into a holy one. （Utley，2001）
B. False Repentance
A false repentance leads men to hardness of heart and despair. There are some people that are truly sorry for their actions because of their consciousnesses. They say, “ I am sorry for my actions.” or “I ask you to forgive me for this wrong or that wrong.” But the problem is that they are asking the wrong person for forgiveness. Forgiveness can only be given by God. When we sin, we sin can sin against someone les but the primary sin is against God. Each time we sin, no matter what the sin, it is in rebellion to God.
C.H. Spurgeon stated in his sermon entitled Faith and Repentance Inseparable,
If a person could once get the thought that God would forgive them, their hearts would flow in rivers of repentance; but no; they feel a kind of regret that they did wrong, but yet they go on in it all the same, feeling that there is no hope, and that they may as well continue to live as they were wont to do, and get the pleasures of sin since they cannot, as they think, have the pleasures of grace. Now, that is no repentance.
It is a fire which hardens, and not the Lord's fire which melts; it may be a hammer, but it is a hammer used to knit the particles of your soul together, and not to break the heart.
C. Why repent?
Repentance and faith are the required covenant acts.
Acts 2:38
38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. （1982）
Acts 20:17-21
17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. 18 And when they had come to him, he said to them: “You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, 19 serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; 20 how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, 21 testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. （1982）
It is necessary to repent as our human covenantal response to God’s offer of a free salvation. repentance is not an emotion that fades or a total sinlessness, but a new relationship with the Holy One that transforms the believer progressively into a holy one. （Utley，2001）
We have a Required Repentance and we have a…
II. Requisite Belief
A. Definition
Believe - 31.85 πιστεύωb; πίστιςb, εως f: to believe to the extent of complete trust and reliance—‘to believe in, to have confidence in, to have faith in, to trust, faith, trust.’ （Louw，1996）
What we believe requires us to have somewhat of an understanding of what we can have faith in. To often we want to have a full undstaninding of something before we believe it. remember the saying, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”? Jesus was saying here, see it…”the kingdom of God is here.” Believe it because He is standing right here in front of you!
We have trouble sometimes placing our faith in things especially when we do not see them or understand them. Here are some things that we believe or have faith in:
• our next heartbeat
• our next breath
• that the car that is coming to the stop light will actually stop
• when we get on planes that they will actually land safely
• that our families will always loves us
• that we will always have a job
As you can see we place our faith/belief in a lot of things but when it comes to placing our faith in something that is life-changing we tend to waiver.
B. False Beliefs
We have many false beliefs. Some of these false beliefs are spread through deception. Satan is the one who spreads these false beliefs around and it started in the Garden of Eden:
Genesis 3:1-5
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” （1982）
Satan ( Means "adversary) is the enemy of God. He wants to destroy everything God has created. He is also called "the devil" (James 4:7), "the evil one" (1 John 5:18-19), "the prince of this world" (John 14:30) and "the god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4). Satan brought evil into the world.
John 8:42-44
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 44
You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. （1982）
C. In what/whom?
We saw the list of all of the different religions that are offered up by man. Can I tell you that there is only One God and He sent His only Son, Jesus to be the payment for our sins. Through repentance and belief in Jesus we can be saved.
Mark 1:14-15
14 Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” （1982）
The first step is that we should repent. We need to agree with God that we have sinned against Him and that we have bought into Satan’s lies. We need to turn away from our sins. We need to ask Jesus to help us with our unbelief.
Then we need to believe. We need to have faith in Jesus that He is the Messiah, that He is God Incarnate, God in flesh.
John 1:1, 14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. （1982）
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. （1982）
John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. （1982）
Conclusion:
Someone once told of a story of a group of botanists that went on an expedition into a hard-to-reach location in the Alps, searching for new varieties of flowers. One day as a scientist looked through his binoculars, he saw a beautiful, rare species growing at the bottom of a deep ravine. To reach it, someone would have to be lowered into that gorge. Noticing a local youngster standing nearby, the man asked him if he would help them get the flower. The boy was told that a rope would be tied around his waist and the men would then lower him to the floor of the canyon. Excited yet apprehensive about the adventure, the youngster peered thoughtfully into the chasm. "Wait," he said, "I'll be back," and off he dashed. When he returned, he was accompanied by an older man. Approaching the head botanist, the boy said, "I'll go over the cliff now and get the flower for you, but this man must hold onto the rope. He's my dad!"
What are you placing your faith in tonight?
Will you repent of the sins that you have committed against God? Will you believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the Son of God that was sent for the purpose of seeking and saving the lost?
Invitation
