God's Inescapable Command

In this part of the sermon: He questions the source of authority for such a command, asserting that it comes from the living God Himself, not merely a religious symbol, and that sin has darkened human…

This analogy illustrates that people disregard commands from sources without authority but obey those with recognized authority, emphasizing God's inherent right to command repentance.

If someone in the process of my driving home today should step off the curb down there on Westville Avenue or on Bloomfield Avenue dressed in summer short-sleeved shirt and tie as I am dressed and stick up his hand and say, hey, pull over, I would... I would probably promptly ignore him because though he's giving me a command, I do not recognize in him any basis of authority for that command.

3:53 - 4:21 Read in full sermon

The point: Listen intently when God commands you, because He is your Creator and Sustainer.

Martin uses the example of an invitation to hear an Indian holy man teaching pantheism to contrast it with Paul's teaching of God as distinct Creator, highlighting the error of equating God with creation.

thought. Their philosophical frame of reference was either that of the Epicureans or that of the Pantheists. The Pantheist is the man who believes everything is God and God is everything. We received in our church mail sometime this week a mimeograph sheet inviting us to come and hear some Indian holy man who's coming to Passaic. And we were informed that he's going to teach us that God is everything and everything is God and God is within us and until we discover the God within us we never discover God. That's just plain old Pantheism that has plagued the world since the fall of man. But you ...

8:21 - 9:13 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not live in a fool's paradise, but seek a painful sense of your own sin and deserved wrath.

This analogy explains that people only flee from a danger they perceive as real and imminent, illustrating that true repentance involves a genuine, painful sense of one's own sin and deserved wrath, not just a general acknowledgment of sin.

You don't find people in the middle of the plains, the prairie states up in central Canada, running from the lava that may pour down from some active volcano in the Philippines. It's the people who live under the shadow of the sparks and the constant reminders of the activity of that volcano which when they begin to see it bellowing up skyward, they flee. Why? It's a real danger to them.

28:02 - 28:30 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not live in a fool's paradise, but seek a painful sense of your own sin and deserved wrath.

The story of the publican smiting his breast in prayer is used as a 'beautiful example' of a painful sense of sin and deserved wrath, showing genuine contrition rather than ritualistic performance.

God have mercy on you to see that your sin cries out to heaven for betterment. It cries out to almighty God for judgment. And so the first facet of true repentance is that painful sense of sin and its deserved wrath. What a beautiful example of this you have in the story of that publican who went up to the temple to pray.

29:19 - 29:45 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He contrasts true repentance with mere self-pity or temporary cessation of sin, using the example of the woman at the well to show that grace comes with God's government and…

This vivid metaphor distinguishes true forsaking of sin from mere self-pity, emphasizing a decisive and permanent break with sinful habits and relationships.

telling Delilah to get off your lap and kiss her goodbye forever.

37:51 - 37:56 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He contrasts true repentance with mere self-pity or temporary cessation of sin, using the example of the woman at the well to show that grace comes with God's government and…

Martin describes conscience as an internal monitor that condemns, and how some people temporarily cease sinning to quiet it, only to return to sin when it 'goes back to sleep,' illustrating that this is not true repentance.

See what I mean? Oh, it's easy. Because conscience, that little monitor within our own minds and hearts, condemns us. It's a hellish thing to live with a nagging conscience.

37:58 - 38:10 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He contrasts true repentance with mere self-pity or temporary cessation of sin, using the example of the woman at the well to show that grace comes with God's government and…

The encounter between Jesus and the woman at the well is used to demonstrate that God's grace comes with His government, requiring individuals to confront their sin and submit to His demands as part of true repentance.

It's turning from the sin. That's why when that woman at the well, you know, she was all ready to make a decision. Come in parlance. The Lord's been talking to her in John 4 about living water.

39:00 - 39:12 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The parable of the prodigal son is used to illustrate the elements of true repentance: a painful awareness of sin, confidence in the father's mercy, and a sincere forsaking of…

The parable of the prodigal son is presented as a clear example of the elements of true repentance: awareness of sin, confidence in mercy, and forsaking of sin to return to the father's authority.

All of this is put together so beautifully in such vivid pictorial language and description in the prodigal son. Though the main purpose of that story of the prodigal is to magnify the grace of the God who receives sinners, there are many secondary things, and you have one of the clearest examples of these elements of true repentance in that parable. I want you to consider with me briefly what those elements are. First of all, you remember what happened to that young prodigal in Luke 15.

41:09 - 41:41 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He details the judgment day as appointed by God, with Christ as the chosen and validated Judge (by His resurrection), who will judge the world by the inflexible standard of God's…

This analogy posits a hypothetical global vote on whether there should be a judgment day, concluding that humanity would overwhelmingly vote against it, highlighting mankind's innate desire to avoid accountability.

Now, look at what Paul says about that day very quickly. He says it is an appointed day inasmuch as this God has appointed a day in which He will judge the world. If men could get together, say on July 1st, and all around the world in every little hamlet and village and tribe as well as the great centers of the world, Paris and New York and London and Cairo, Egypt and Peking and all the rest, and we're going to have a worldwide referendum. And here is the issue at stake.

49:01 - 49:40 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He details the judgment day as appointed by God, with Christ as the chosen and validated Judge (by His resurrection), who will judge the world by the inflexible standard of God's…

The metaphor of God's 'appointment book' illustrates the unchangeable certainty of the appointed day of judgment, emphasizing that no human effort can alter God's divine decree.

Oh, how men would love to blot out, the reality of that day. They can't do it in their own conscience, let alone in reality. And the reason they can't do it in their conscience is because Almighty God Himself has appointed that day and nobody's going to change His appointment book. No secretaries can take God's appointment book and scribble out His appointments in writing on it.

50:20 - 50:43 Read in full sermon

Driving home: An empty tomb in Palestine is the certain pledge of somebody who's going to sit on a throne and judge me.

This analogy suggests that if judgment day couldn't be canceled, men would try to choose a bribable or manipulable judge, contrasting this with God's unalterable appointment of Christ as the righteous Judge.

If men couldn't pass their referendum to cancel out the judgment day, they'd love to do the second best thing, pick their own judge, one that they could pay off, one they could bribe, one whom they could threaten, one who could be cajoled into altering the standard of inflexible judgment. But God's already made the choice of His judge and He's not going to alter it. He has not only appointed the day, He's appointed the judge. And He says it's that person whom He has raised from the dead in order to give assurance of His appointment.

51:09 - 51:43 Read in full sermon

Driving home: An empty tomb in Palestine is the certain pledge of somebody who's going to sit on a throne and judge me.

This analogy describes how people apply a 'sliding scale' to judgment, excusing their own sins while condemning similar actions in others, contrasting this with God's inflexible standard of righteousness.

Oh, how we love a sliding scale of judgment. Let somebody else say what they say, and that's gossip. But then we adjust the scale, and to us it is just just criticism.

53:34 - 53:46 Read in full sermon