Luke Series #63 April 21, 2002
Introduction: Welcome to New life in Christ. As is our normal practice, we are currently going through the Gospel of Luke verse-by-verse. We do this so we receive a complete and therefore healthy spiritual diet of God’s word. Currently we are in Luke Chapter Twelve and this is part two of a message I began last week entitled, "The Message Nobody Wants To Hear." It is entitled this because in our text last week, which was Luke 12:49-56, and in our text this week Jesus speaks about the judgment of God i.e. the punishment for sins. This is a subject that many would rather not hear about and thus the title. Now let’s go to our text for today.
Read Luke 12:57-13:9
Illustration: On May 18, 1902 a storm with devastating tornadoes ripped through Goliad, Texas taking 114 lives, 40 as they sat in a church service. Many other storms followed in the first half the century.
Things are better now because by the 1950’s, Air Force meteorologists began to understand how tornadoes were formed. Within a few years, warning systems were set up. Storm chasers, Doppler radar, television and radio crews warn us of approaching danger. Sirens blast. People have time to take cover.
(Blown Away by William Hauptman, July 1996, p.67).
Warnings are only good if they are responded too appropriately. Since the 1950’s their have several killer tornadoes but with ample warning times but many people have still died because they have chosen ignore these warnings and continue life as usual, with tragic results.
Last week we saw that Jesus was very straightforward in warning us that judgment was coming. In fact this was one of the main message of verses 49-56.
I. We Need To Recognize That Judgment Is Coming.
I hope that all of us will accept and recognize that judgment is coming. It is a reality, but recognizing a warning is only the first thing that needs to be done. We must also respond to that warning appropriately if the warning is to do any good. The previous story concerning the tornadoes illustrates this truth. Warnings must be heeded to be effective! Jesus has given us a serious warning about the Judgment that is coming so now the question is, “How should we respond to this warning?” The answer to that question is what Luke 12:57-13:9 is about. The basic message of these verses is this:
II. We Need To Repent Because Judgment Is Coming.
In fact Jesus gives us three specific reasons why people need to repent in consideration of the coming Judgment. Before I begin to share and explain these three reasons for repentance, I need to explain what repentance is and is not.
Repent and repentance are words you find quite often in the Bible and hear in church services but not everyone understands the true meaning of repentance. Repentance just means to make an “about-face” or a U-turn. It means to stop going one way and start going another way. In biblical settings it means to stop doing wrong and start doing right. Repentance involves real change; a change in the way you think and a change in the way you live! Repentance is not just acknowledging wrongdoing or feeling remorse/sorrow and for your sins. This fall far short of genuine repentance, which is a real commitment to change and to go in another direction.
Illustration: Several years ago the Peanuts comic strip had Lucy and Charlie Brown practicing football. Lucy would hold the ball for Charlie’s placekicking and then Charlie would kick the ball. But every time Lucy had ever held the ball for Charlie, he would approach the ball and kick with all his might. At the precise moment of the point of no return, Lucy would pick up the ball and Charlie would kick and his momentum unchecked by the ball, which was not there to kick, would cause him to fall flat on his back. This strip opened with Lucy holding the ball, but Charlie Brown would not kick the ball. Lucy begged him to kick the ball. But Charlie Brown said, "Every time I try to kick the ball you remove it and I fall on my back." They went back and forth for the longest time and finally Lucy broke down in tears and admitted, "Charlie Brown I have been so terrible to you over the years, picking up the football like I have. I have played so many cruel tricks on you, but I’ve seen the error of my ways! I’ve seen the hurt look in your eyes when I’ve deceived you. I’ve been wrong, so wrong. Won’t you give a poor penitent girl another chance?" Charlie Brown was moved by her display of grief and responded to her, "Of course, I’ll give you another chance." He stepped back as she held the ball, and he ran. At the last moment, Lucy picked up the ball and Charlie Brown fell flat on his back. Lucy’s last words were, "Recognizing your faults and actually changing your ways are two different things, Charlie Brown!"
Source : Sermon “Second Chances” by Jeeva Sam
Repentance isn’t just recognizing your faults; it is also changing your ways, with God’s help. This is an important distinction because Jesus said, "Unless you repent you too will perish."(Luke 13:3,5) Jesus was referring to more than sorrow or confession of wrongdoing. He was saying that there must be a commitment to change your direction or you will perish. Having established an accurate definition of repentance we can now look at the first reason Jesus gives us that we should repent of anything in our lives that is not right.
First: We Should Repent Today Because It Is A Wise Decision.
Read Luke 12:57-59
Jesus is saying here that repenting is the smart thing to do. It is the wise choice to make. He starts off by saying, "Why don’t you judge for yourself what is right?" In other words, why don’t you decide what the best and wisest course of action is? When you consider that the signs already point to the fact that Judgment is coming, doesn’t it only makes sense to get things straight with God now! Isn’t the smart thing to do to be reconciled? Wouldn’t it be prudent to make your peace with God today?
Illustration: When I was in the Army I was not living as a Christian. When you are not living as a Christian you do some pretty stupid things and I was no exception. Shortly before my discharge some friends and I decided to celebrate by having a few drinks. A few drinks soon turned into many drinks and I became drunk. You tend to do stupid things when you are drunk and again I was no exception. After using the men’s room facility in the barracks, I decided that it would be a good idea to punch the bathroom wall. Who knows why? So in front of several witnesses I punched the wall and, because it was dry wall, it left a huge hole!
When I sobered up the next morning I realized that I was in huge trouble because I was guilty of damaging Government property and eventually the First Sergeant was going to see that hole. The Day of Judgment was coming for me. I had a choice to make: I could do nothing and hope for the best, I could deny my culpability but it was soon become obvious that I was guilty or I could go to my First Sergeant and confess my wrong, lay out my plans for repairing the wall and commit to never doing that again i.e. I could repent. What would be the wise choice? To repent! That’s the decision I made and because of that I was forgiven and did not need to fear the day of my Sergeant’s judgment. This is what Jesus is saying to us in regard to the real Day of Judgment that is coming.
First: We Should Repent Today Because It Is A Wise Decision.
Jesus illustrates this point further in verses 58, 59 by using the analogy of a person being sued for unpaid debts in the Court. The magistrate is the judge and the adversary is the plaintiff. In that day and time you’d be placed in a debtor’s prison for unpaid debt and you have no possibility of release until the debt was paid. So if you had a legitimate debt you owed to another person the wise decision would be to "try hard to be reconciled to him on the way (to court)." (Luke 12:58) In other words the smart thing to do was to make every effort to set things straight before it was too late and you were dragged off to the judge and to prison!
First: We Should Repent Today Because It Is A Wise Decision.
In verse 59 Jesus again emphasizes the wisdom of repenting today because if we wait until the Judgment the debt we owe God will have to be paid in full. As Jesus says, we will have to pay every last penny! The price for sin, if you have not truly repented and committed yourself to Jesus Christ, is eternal separation from God. You can never pay the debt you owe if you wait but Jesus has paid that sin debt for you. His payment of your debt only counts if you repent and place your faith in Him. Now lets look at the second reason Jesus gives us for repenting.
Second: We Should Repent Today Because It Is A Serious Decision.
We see this point emphasized in the next few verses.
Read Luke 13:1-5
Now there were some in the audience that day that did not feel the personal need for repentance; so to them Jesus call to repentance and commitment to Him were not taken seriously. They felt that God looked at them differently and that He only judged those who were “serious sinners.” In fact they brought up one of the incidents in which they felt God had judged the really bad sinners. In verse 1they brought up about how some worshippers from Galilee were killed by the Roman leader Pilate, as they were worshiping. They thought that such a terrible tragedy indicated that these Galileans must have been exceedingly guilty sinners.
Jesus knew their thoughts and so rhetorically asked, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners...?" And he answers, "I tell you, No!" He then uses another tragedy of a tower that fell in Jerusalem to express the same point in verse 4. You should not see tragedy as indicative of the sufferers being guiltier than yourself, but rather you should recognize that you are just as guilty and that these things should therefore be a wake up call to each one of us.
Every tragedy should remind us of the need to maintain a right relationship with God and to repent of our sins if we are not right with God. We should treat every tragedy as a second and maybe final chance for us to get our lives in order. Each of us should ask ourselves, "What if it had been me? Would I have been ready to stand before God?”
Jesus went on to say, "Unless you repent you too will all perish!" This is a serious issue because Judgment is not limited to those that we consider to be greater sinners and more guilty than ourselves.
Second: We Should Repent Today Because It Is A Serious Decision.
The word "perish" in verses 3 and 5 does not mean to cease to exist but rather it means to come to complete ruin. In context Jesus is saying that your whole eternity will be ruined and devastated if you do not repent. This is the most serious of issues! But you do not have to perish. One of the best-known Bible verses tells us that specifically. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes (Places their trust and commitment) in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." The choice is yours.
First: We Should Repent Today Because It Is A Wise Decision.
Second: We Should Repent Today Because It Is A Serious Decision.
Third: We Should Repent Today Because It Is An Urgent Decision.
Read Verses 6-9
Jesus is using a parable here to illustrate that we do not have forever to make this decision. There will come a time when the words, "cut it down” (Vs. 9) will be spoken about our lives. The time of Judgment will come. Now is not the time to procrastinate or delay getting right with God. Repentance is an urgent issue!
In the parable of the fig tree planted in the vineyard, the owner of the fig tree is looking for fruit. “Fruit” in this context represents the changed life that comes about as a result of true repentance and a commitment to Jesus. John the Baptist used the same imagery when he said, "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance." (Luke 3:8) and Jesus used this same imagery in John 15:2 when He said, “ He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit.” The fig tree often represented Israel so Jesus may be specifically calling for Israel’s repentance and commitment to Him, although the principle applies to all of us.
Third: We Should Repent Today Because It Is An Urgent Decision.
The owner of the vineyard had waited patiently three years for signs of fruit and would not wait much longer. Judgment was very close at hand! God is very patient but you can wait too long even for God. Repentance is an urgent issue because you do not know how much time there is before judgment. If you have things in your life that are not right (Dishonesty, Impurity, Illicit Relationships, Thievery, etc.) then today is the day to repent and begin a changed life in God’s power. Repentance is not something you put on your list of things to do some day. Time is short!
In verse 8 the owner agreed to put some extra effort into the fig tree and to give it one more year but if there were no fruit at that time then they would "cut it down.”(Vs. 9) This is what God may be doing in your life today. He is giving you an opportunity to repent. You are in your" Grace Period " where there’s still time and God is still stirring your heart to get right with Him. He is still working on you but that “grace period” will end someday and Judgment will come if you still have not genuinely repented.
In conclusion over the last two weeks we have learned from God’s Word that …
I. We Need To Recognize That Judgment Is Coming.
II. You Need To Repent Because Judgment Is Coming.
We need to repent Today because that would be the wise choice about such a serious and urgent issue. I hope you will take God’s loving warnings seriously and respond appropriately.
Closing Prayer
