As you may recall, our current series of messages deals with the love of God. I hope you’re enjoying this series and benefiting from it. I know I am. Because this is one of the most uplifting and spiritually enriching topics we could possibly consider. In fact, the process of thinking about God’s love, seeking to understand it, dwelling on it, meditating on it -- this is a sure-fire way to deepen our experience of God. Why? Because the things which occupy our minds are the things which will shape our ideas and opinions, our attitudes and desires, and ultimately, our actions and our futures. That’s why Paul gave us this command:
"… brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." -- Philippians 4:8
And what could be more noble, and pure, and excellent than the love of God? Nothing.
So far, we’ve seen that God’s love is personal, that it comes from a personal being rather than some divine force, and that’s it’s directed toward you and I as individuals. We also saw that it’s holy; God’s love toward us is pure and perfect, and because of that, He is constantly working in our hearts to purify us and make us more like our Saviour, Jesus Christ. After the terrorist attacks on September 11th, we were reminded that God’s love is powerful; that ultimately He will completely triumph over sin and evil, both in our hearts and in the world. And finally, we’ve seen that regardless of our circumstances, God’s love can banish all fear, replacing it with His perfect peace.
This morning, I’d like to continue our inquiry into the love of God by considering another of the effects of God’s love. When the love of God comes into contact with a human heart, what happens? How does it change us? This is important, because you can’t see God’s love; you can’t directly observe the Holy Spirit working. You can only judge by the results. You can only infer that a person has come to know God’s love by observing the fruit which His love produces in their life. And this particular fruit I’m going to be speaking on this morning is so universally lacking in the population at large; and at the same time so basic, so fundamental to our identity as Christians, that its presence or absence is a pretty good indicator of whether God has been at work in someone’s life. In other words, if this fruit is genuinely and consistently evident in your life, then you have good reason to conclude that you have come to know Christ. On the other hand, if it is rare or nonexistent, then it may be time for some soul-searching and some spiritual reappraisal.
Now, to suggest that we should examine ourselves to see if we are truly converted may strike you as shocking, even heretical. I know that. Because many of you come from a religious background where entertaining any doubt as to a person’s salvation was considered out of bounds. So if you prayed a prayer, or were baptized, or could give some kind of testimony of an encounter with the Lord, then you were to be regarded without question as a Christian. In fact, not only were you told to believe with all your heart that you were saved, but you were actively discouraged from ever again entertaining any doubts about your spiritual condition. Does that sound familiar to anyone? But here’s the problem: Praying a prayer doesn’t make you a Christian. Being baptized doesn’t make you a Christian. "Going forward" in a church service or an evangelistic crusade doesn’t make you a Christian. Having warm thoughts about God and Jesus doesn’t make you a Christian. Having some kind of emotional experience doesn’t make you a Christian. Attending church, or singing in the choir, or teaching Sunday School, or putting money in the offering, doesn’t make you a Christian. None of the things which we tend to accept as evidences of conversion are what makes a person a Christian. The only thing that makes you a Christian is a work of God’s Spirit in your heart, producing faith and repentance and a changed life. And here’s the scary thing: our feelings can deceive us. We can be deceived about our own spiritual condition. We can be convinced that we are Christians when we still belong to the world. Is that really possible? Yes. Listen to the words of our Lord:
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it . . . Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. "Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, `I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’" -- Matthew 7:13-23
"Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." "Many will say to me on that day, ’Lord, Lord’ . . . Then I will tell them plainly, ’I never knew you’" Yes, it is possible to be deceived about our own spiritual condition. And I’m not just talking about the terrorists who thought that committing suicide by flying a plane into a building would guarantee them a place in heaven. It is a terrible, tragic fact that on the day of judgment, many will learn, to their surprise and horror and eternal regret, that their so-called Christian faith was only a façade, and that they never really knew Christ at all. I pray that none of you will have that experience. Think of this: even the ability to perform miracles is no evidence of salvation! If we had someone in the congregation who could raise people from the dead, and heal people of sickness, and make the blind see and the deaf hear, wouldn’t we think that certainly, this person knows God? Yet Christ tells us that even miracles are no evidence of salvation. The only reliable sign of conversion is the fruit of a changed life; a life of obedience and righteousness.
Again, if you have any doubt as to whether it’s appropriate for a Christian to examine their own heart to judge whether they truly have faith, listen to Paul:
"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?" -- 2 Corinthians 13:5
Is there a danger here? Of course. You can become so introspective, so inwardly focused, that you become consumed with anxiety and worry and never enjoy any assurance of salvation. That’s not what God wants. He wants us to rest in Him. Another danger is that we will go around passing judgment on other believers, trying to determine if they are really what they seem. And God never commands us to do that. Not only is it destructive to fellowship, it’s just not possible. We can’t know what’s in someone else’s heart, and it’s not our place to judge them. We are only responsible for judging ourselves, and even then, we need the help of the Holy Spirit to judge rightly. But if those are the dangers of spiritual self-examination, the danger of not examining ourselves is far greater: that we will find ourselves standing before Christ on the day of judgment, and instead of hearing "well done, good and faithful servant," we will hear "I never knew you. Away from me."
Now I’ve said all this by way of introduction, and I still haven’t told you what result of God’s love I’m talking about; what fruit I consider to be such an important indicator of the work the Holy Spirit in our hearts. So here it is: repentance. God’s love produces repentance. Listen:
"You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?" -- Romans 2:1-4
What this verse tells us is that when a person experiences God’s love and kindness, the result is repentance. When God works in a person’s heart to call them to Himself, it produces repentance. And I’m not just talking about a one-time experience of confession and faith. I’m talking about a lifestyle. The life of a person who has come to know the love of God in Jesus Christ will be characterized by repentance. Why is that? First of all, because sin is a constant. Even though God is continually working in our hearts to wean us away from sin and make us more holy and righteous, that process won’t be complete until Christ returns and finally transforms us into his likeness. Which means that for the rest of our lives on this earth, we will be struggling with sin and needing to repent. Every day. If we’re not repenting, it doesn’t mean we have no sin. It means either that we’re blind to our own sin, or that we’re unwilling to turn away from it. And neither of those are characteristic of a Christian. A Christian is someone who not only realizes that he is a sinner in some abstract sense, but who also acknowledges the many specific ways in which he fails to live up to God’s standard on a daily basis.
The second reason that God’s love produces repentance is even more profound. It’s because when we experience God’s perfect love and acceptance, in spite of all our sins and defects, it frees us up to admit our faults. We don’t have to hide them anymore. There’s no point. God already knows the worst about us, yet he loves us anyway. God forgives us absolutely, he loves us unconditionally, there is literally nothing we could confess or admit to that would change his attitude toward us one iota. So when God’s love comes into our heart, we are finally free to openly confess our sins, to turn away from them and toward God, knowing that the need for concealment and denial has vanished.
If you look at the passage we just read, you’ll see that the person who wrote it really understood human nature. What’s the opposite of repentance? Passing judgement on others. [Romans 2:1-4]
When a person has experienced the love and forgiveness of God, they no longer need to maintain their own righteousness. They no longer need to pretend that they are better than other people, that they are somehow morally superior. They can rest in God’s love, knowing that their righteousness comes from Christ, and not themselves. If you are a believer in Christ, then God has transferred the guilt of your sin to Jesus, and his death has paid the penalty for that sin. Likewise, God has credited Christ’s perfect righteousness to you. There’s nothing you can do to add to it or detract from it. God accepts you on the basis of Christ’s perfect righteousness. However, for someone who has not truly experienced God’s love and forgiveness, then the only righteousness they have is their own. And in order to convince themselves that they are acceptable to God, they need to continually criticize and pass judgment on others, so as to elevate themselves at the others’ expense. At the same time, they are usually very unwilling to accept correction or to admit their own sin, much less repent of it. Listen to me: a proud, critical, judgmental, self-righteous spirit is inconsistent with the grace of God in a person’s heart. Listen to what Jesus says in Luke 5:
"But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and `sinners’?" Jesus answered them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." -- Luke 5:30-32
Does this mean there are some people who are so righteous that they have no need of repentance? No, not at all. The Bible is very clear on this point -- all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; there is none righteous, no not one. So when Jesus says that he has come only to call sinners to repentance, he is really speaking of everyone, because all of us have the disease of sin. But the Pharisees assume that they are spiritually "healthy" and have no need of repentance. It’s the same today. Self-righteousness and repentance are mutually exclusive. The self-righteous person doesn’t confess sin, doesn’t repent, and therefore, is not forgiven.
Well, I’ve said quite a bit about the need for repentance, but I haven’t clearly spelled out exactly what it is. What does it mean to repent? How do I know if I’m repenting or not? Repentance has three parts. These are not chronological; they don’t necessarily happen in this order.
First, there’s an intellectual aspect to repentance; it involves the mind. Repentance means agreeing with God that you were wrong. Your attitude was wrong, or your speech was out of line, or you acted sinfully. Whatever it was, you acknowledge that it was wrong, that you violated God’s standard. No ifs, ands, or buts. No extenuating circumstances. No excuses. No blame-shifting. Just this: "I have sinned." If you can’t say that, without all kinds of subordinate clauses and explanatory footnotes and long prepositional phrases, then you aren’t ready to repent. Self-justification loves complexity and ambiguity. But repentance loves simplicity: "I have sinned." You may need to confess your sin to others, but you certainly need to confess it to God. "I have sinned."
Here’s an example of what this looks like:
"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge." -- Psalm 51:1-4
This is how David responded when the prophet Nathan confronted him about his adultery with Bathsheba. He didn’t make excuses. He didn’t deny it. He simply admitted it, clearly and forthrightly. And frankly, this is usually where the struggle is. Unless their sin is blatantly obvious, most people are very reluctant even to acknowledge that they have sinned. Instead, they deny, deny, deny. And while that may be a good strategy for a politician trying to stay in office, it is spiritually deadly for a Christian. Without the willingness to confess sin, there can be no repentance and no forgiveness.
Second, repentance has an emotional aspect. True repentance includes sorrow for having sinned. Not sorrow at getting caught. Not sorrow at what is going to happen to you, or anxiety about what kind of consequences may be coming. Not shame at what people are going to think of you. Not regret at having been so stupid as to do this thing in the first place. But sorrow at having offended God, sorrow at having betrayed the one who loved you and gave his own Son for you, sorrow at having denied the one who suffered and died for you on the cross. As Paul writes to the Corinthians:
"Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it--I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while--yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." -- 2 Corinthians 7:8-10
Repentance involves not just a change of mind, but also a change of heart. Listen again to David:
"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. " -- Psalm 51:10-17
And finally, genuine repentance is volitional, it involves a change of behavior. Again, the tree is known by its fruits. If there’s no change in behavior, then there hasn’t been any change of heart. As John the Baptist warned the Pharisees when they came to him to be baptized,
"Produce fruit in keeping with repentance." -- Matthew 3:8
Ask yourself this morning -- do I ever repent? Do I recognize sin, and confess it, and turn away from it? Is that something that happens in your life? I hope so. But if not -- if you can’t remember the last time you repented of anything, then I urge you to pray and ask God to grant you the grace of repentance. Ask that God would grant you the humility and courage to admit your sin and to forsake it.
Some of you here this morning need to repent. There’s something specific that God has been speaking to you about -- a wrong attitude, something you said, an sinful habit -- I don’t know what it is, but God knows. And you know. You need to confess it as sin, you need to adjust your attitude, and you need to set a new course. Won’t you do that this morning? Why put it off any longer? It’s only going to get harder to do the longer you put it off. Before the day is out, I pray that you’ll confess your sin to God and turn you heart toward Him in repentance.
Some of you need to repent, but it’s not so much a specific word or deed, but rather your whole approach to life. You’ve come to realize that the way you’ve been living, your priorities, your values, your attitudes, are not pleasing to God. You’ve been going your own way, instead of God’s way. And you need to repent of that.
Or perhaps you need to repent of the things I’ve been describing this morning -- pride, self-righteousness, a critical and judgmental spirit. Now is as good a time as any.
Whatever it may be that God is speaking to you about, I urge you not to delay any longer. Come to him right now, confess your sin, give him your heart, and by His power decide that you are going to turn away from that sin.
(For an .rtf file of this and other sermons, see www.journeychurchonline.org/messages.htm)
