Responding to Jesus- the vital place of Repentance (Heb 6)Adrian WarnockJubilee Church Lee ValleyWhat is preaching?
nEffective
Christian preachers have a compelling vision of Jesus Christ which they
communicate forcefully to their listeners to lead them to view their
circumstances differently and to respond with strengthened faith and
commitment. [1]
nTurns sinners into saints by
showing them Jesus
nTension between displaying Jesus
and calling to a commitment in this example of a sermon.
[1]Zuck, R. B. (1996, c1994). A
biblical theology of the New Testament (Page 370). Chicago: Moody Press.
The Jesus warning
sandwich
nJesus is better than
nthe prophets (Heb
1)
nthe angels (Heb
1, 2)
nMoses (Heb
3)
nJoshua (Heb
4)
nThe Levitical priests (Heb
5,7-10)
A
superior Jesus demands a superior response!
nJesus-
the God-man who died and now reigns- a truly compelling picture.
nThe
‘foundations’ of Heb 6 are essentially
how we view our circumstances differently and respond with
strengthened faith and commitment.
nRepentance
is central to the message of the Old Testament, John the Baptist, Jesus, the
book of Acts, and the rest of the New Testament.
nIs it
central today?
Bible
sermons caused a response
n
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Ac 2:38-39)
nRepent,
then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of
refreshing may come from the Lord (Ac 3:19)
nMany who
heard the message believed (Acts 4:4)
nWith
great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord
(Ac 4:33)
nThen
Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
(Ac 8:17).
What is repentance?
nRepentance is not ‘praying a
prayer’ Ac 26:20- ‘First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and
in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent
and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds’
n‘Repentance
is a conscious reversal of a person’s belief about Jesus which leads to an
outward demonstration of that change. Repentance, then, is an act of the will
involving a change in thinking (not feelings) with a resulting change in
conduct.’
(Discipleship Journal : Issue 40. 1999 The Navigators/NavPress,
paraphrased)
nBUT-
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret,
but worldly sorrow brings death (2 Co 7:10)
nIt
is neither sorrow without change, nor change without sorrow, but it is such a
deep feeling of sorrow as gives rise to a determination to change Girdlestone, R. B. (1998). Synonyms
of the Old Testament : Their bearing on Christian doctrine. (Page 89).
nHebrew-Turning
back, retracing one’s steps in order to return to the right way
nGreek ‘metanoein’ changing
one’s mind, coming to a new way of thinking
What do we turn from and to?
nHow
much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that
lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! (Heb 9:14).
nFrom Sin- ‘I
have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.’ (Lk 5:32)
nFrom attempts to earn Gods favour
nFrom attitudes
nTo Jesus and a covenant
relationship
nTo acting to please because we
know he is pleased with us.
When do we repent?
nOnce for
all as our conversion (Is this why Heb 6 speaks of not being brought back to
repentance?
nLike
marriage, it represents a final decision that has implications for the rest
of our lives
nIt is
intended to continue if real throughout our lives- there is no clear biblical
grounds for security of salvation if you are not living in repentance.
n We
have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we
had at first. (Heb
3:14)
How do we repent
nIn thought- a change of thinking
nIn word- confession of sin
nIn deed- repentance means you don’t get to do
it again!
nTo one another ‘Sorry I was wrong
with God’s help I won’t do that again!’
1 Jn 3:2-10
nDear
friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been
made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be
like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him
purifies himself, just as he is pure…you know that he appeared so that he
might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who
continues to sin has either seen him or known him. Dear children, do not let
anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is
righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has
been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to
destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because
God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born
of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children
of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God;
nor is anyone who does not love his brother. (1 Jn 3:2-10)
nPreaching
produces repentance
nIt is a
gift of God Acts 11:18—“God has also granted repentance to the Gentiles ” cf
2 Tim. 2:25, Acts 5:31
nWe are
commanded to repent! ‘We are called upon to repent in order that we may feel
our own inability to do so, and consequently be thrown upon God and petition
Him to perform this work of grace in our hearts.’
Evans, W. (1998, c1974). The great doctrines of the Bible. |
Ideal for visitors to the church or those who just want to find out more about Christianity.
Use other search engines or visit our favorite links to other websites.
To
subscribe to Jubilee Sermons and receive an email when new sermons are posted
email jubileechurch-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Links
|
Listen
to our
