Definition of impenitent - IMPEN'ITENT, a. Not penitent; not repenting of sin; not contrite; obdurate; of a hard heart.
They died Impenitent.
IMPEN'ITENT, n. One who does not repent; a hardened sinner.
*Noah Webster 1828 dictionary
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 13:3-9 "And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."
INTERPRETATION: Matthew 13:18-23 "Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."
PROPOSITION: To use this text and others to show that there are three types of impenitent bad soil hearers of the gospel and also to show that those who receive the word of God in good soil (a contrite heart) are the only ones who are converted to Christ.
1.) What are the three types of impenitent hearts represented by Jesus in this parable?
A. The wayside is a place where the ground has been trodden under foot of men and beast, this made for a very hard surface for the seed to fall upon, this type of a hard packed ground represents an impenitent heart, a heart so hard that that the seed of the word of God never penetrates it, this is a type of impenitence which shrugs off all conviction of sin, and never even makes a profession of Christ.
Zechariah 7:12 "Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts."
Romans 3:3-4 "For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged."
B. The stony gound has a thin layer of surface dirt right above the rocks and because of this when it rains that thin layer of dirt becomes very moist and sprouts the grain quickly with the sun shining down on it like an incubator, but after it sprouts the same sun begins to dry out the ground very quickly so that that which has sprouted becomes scorched and never produces any fruit, a stony ground hearer is one who has what apears to be a surface tenderness for the word of God and professes a belief in Christ. but right underneath the surface is a heart that is impenitent, a heart in love with sin and self and the world "when he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended."
C. The thorny ground is a ground that has a rival crop growing, and because of this rival crop the seed is robbed of fertilizer, micronutrients, and moisture and it becomes unfruitful, there are those who make a profession of believing in Christ but in their heart they are really in love with the things of this world they attempt to serve God and mammon at the same time, but Jesus has told us that this is impossible. The thorny ground hearer is a picture of an impenitent belief in Christ, one who draws nigh unto Christ with his mouth and honors him with his lips but his heart is far from him. the thorns are a representation of his idols and of his impenitence.
Matthew 6:24 "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
Colossians 3:5 "...covetousness, which is idolatry"
Jeremiah 4:3 "For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns."
2.) Why is it that an impenitent belief in Christ cannot save a soul from destruction?
A. Because an impenitent belief in Christ is in actuality nothing more than a demonic faith, it believes in God and believes in Christ because these things are self-evident but the heart remains impenitent.
James 2:19 "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble."
B. Because an impenitent belief in Christ never turns from sin to Christ, it attempts to embrace darkness and light at the same time.
Acts 3:26 "Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, IN TURNING AWAY EVERY ONE OF YOU FROM HIS INIQUITIES."
Ezekiel 18:30 "..."Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin."
C. Because an impenitent belief in Christ never receives imputed righteousness from the Lord Jesus Christ, and where there is no imputed righteousness there is only a filthy rags type of righteousness that the sinner possesses in his natural state.
James 2:23 "Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God."
Isaiah 64:6 "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."
D. Because an impenitent belief in Christ never receives a great change in heart, the inner man never becomes dead to sin, every person is either dead in sin or dead to sin.
Romans 6:2 "God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"
Ephesians 2:1 "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins"
E. Because an impenitent belief in Christ is only storing up wrath, true believers are said in the scripture to be saved from wrath, it is only the impenitent who are storing up wrath against the day of wrath.
Romans 2:5 "But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;"
Romans 5:9 "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."
F. Because an impenitent belief in Christ never received the gift of repentance, the scripture indicates very clearly that God gives repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, but those who come to Christ impenitently are never given repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.
Acts 5:31 "...for to GIVE repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins."
2 Timothy 2:25 "...if God peradventure will GIVE them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;"
Acts 11:18 "...Then hath God also to the Gentiles GRANTED repentance unto life."
G. Because an impenitent belief in Christ will always take a soul to hell to suffer missery. sin and hell are always married they have said their vows and kissed each other and they shall never part unless repentance proclaims an eternal divorce.
Revelation 21:8 "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."
Revelation 9:20-21 "...yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts."
H. Because an impenitent belief in Christ is rejected by Christ. They might believe in him but he doesn't believe in them so he rejects them as he aught to.
John 2:23-25 "Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, MANY BELIEVED in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. BUT JESUS DID NOT COMMIT HIMSELF UNTO THEM, BECAUSE HE KNEW ALL MEN, And needed not that any should testify of man: for HE KNEW WHAT WAS IN MAN."
I. Because an impenitent belief in Christ never has any godly sorrow for sin, it is a rebellious belief? We read in Scripture that "rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft."
2 Corinthians 7:10 "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death."
J. Even though an impenitent belief in Christ atempts to claim the benefits of salvation, such as eternal life, forgiveness, justification, reconciliation, redemption, imputed righteousness, etc, these claims can never be true for a soul who is covering sin and impenitent.
Proverbs 28:13 "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy."
K. Because an impenitent belief in Christ is in actuality nothing more than a scheme used by vile sinners to obtain salvation while remaining unchanged and impenitent, it is a way of flattering oneself, and telling oneself that you are saved because you have believed, even though deep down in their heart they know their belief is impenitent, and that they do not really know Christ, and that their mind is at enmity with him through wicked works.
Psalms 36:2 "For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful."
L. Often an impenitent belief in Christ makes a claim that it has turned from one darkness, the sin of unbelief, and has therefore repented, in this way an impenitent belief can keep the darkness of their remaining sins and keep its impenitents.
Acts 26:18 "To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me."
M. Because an impenitent belief in Christ never hates sin, there has never been a change of mind concerning sin, and because of this the heart remains hard, unpenetrated, undisturbed, and impenitent.
Proverbs 8:13 "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate."
N. Because an impenitent belief in Christ believes with the head but never believes with the heart, it is impossible to believe upon Christ with the heart until the heart becomes penitent, contrite, repentant.
Romans 10:10 "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
O. Because an impenitent belief in Christ is a belief that lacks humility and the reason it lacks humility is because it is impenitent, unmoved, and untouched therefore God resists it, hates it and abhors it.
James 4:6 "Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."
3.) Why is the good soil hearer the only contrite heart of the four soils Jesus spoke of?
A. Because in the good soil the seed got in and the roots got down and there was no rival crop, and because the ground was good it brought forth much fruit, which is a picture of a contrite heart, there was in the good ground a "repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ", the true convert bares the fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in their life, and this can only happen by the mighty moving of the Spirit of God upon the soul through regeneration, and the Spirits fruit production.
Matthew 7:20 "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."
Psalms 34:18 "The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and SAVETH SUCH AS BE OF A CONTRITE SPIRIT."
CONCLUSION: An impenitent belief in Christ will never save a soul from hell, because it is impossible to have an impenitent heart and have a believing heart at the same time, this is why Jesus said "except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish."
Romans 2:5 "But after thy HARDNESS AND IMPENITENT HEART treasurest up unto thyself WRATH against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;"
Romans 10:10 "For with the HEART MAN BELIEVETH unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
Mark 1:15 "And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: REPENT YE, and BELIEVE THE GOSPEL."
