Substance of Repentance

The point: Do not deny the reality of perishing if you do not come to repentance.

Martin uses the analogy of walking onto a busy road and denying a moving vehicle can hurt you to illustrate the futility of denying God's reality of perishing without repentance.

But that all should come to repentance. If we do not come to repentance we shall perish. It doesn't matter if we say I don't believe in perishing. Any more than if you walk out onto change bridge road or horse neck road.

3:35 - 3:51 Read in full sermon

Driving home: So the source of repentance is the grace of God. If any sinner ever comes to repentance. Is because God has been working in him that which he doesn't deserve. It is the grace of God.

He cites 'Good News for Modern Man' as an example of modern translations that, due to theological bias, render 'repentance is a gift of God' as 'God has given opportunity to repent,' obscuring the gracious donation of God.

And let me say by way of an aside. I looked at it again this week to make sure my memory was serving me right. Beware of certain modern translations. That say we are going to put the Bible into the language of the common man.

6:13 - 6:26 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He expounds on the first element, using 2 Corinthians 7:8-11 to show that 'godly sorrow works repentance unto salvation.' He illustrates this with the parable of the Pharisee and…

The parable of the Pharisee and the Publican is used to vividly contrast self-righteousness without sorrow for sin (Pharisee) with humble, sorrowful repentance (Publican).

We're righteous. We are in ourselves what we are in our cultivation of religious practices and duties and rituals. If there's any god who needs to be pleased with his creatures, then certainly we please him. They trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and they looked down their religious snout at all others. They set all others it not. We're the holy ones. And the Lord's telling a parable to expose this horrible self-delusion. Now the parable. Two men went up into the temple. The one, a Pharisee, and the other, a publican, a tax collector, a man treated like a scumbag by these Pharise...

21:55 - 23:14 Read in full sermon

Driving home: I say unto you, this man went down to his house justified, declared righteous, possessing gospel forgiveness. He went down to his house justified rather than the other four.

The Pharisee is likened to a peacock spreading its feathers, illustrating his pride and self-exaltation before God, devoid of grief or shame.

And God, if what I am not, does not give me full acceptance, let me remind you of what I do. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I get. Whatever was true of this man, there is not the slightest suggestion of any grief or sorrow in the presence of God. He's like a peacock spreading his feathers, saying, oh God, look at all of them. Ain't they pretty?

23:33 - 23:57 Read in full sermon

Driving home: I say unto you, this man went down to his house justified, declared righteous, possessing gospel forgiveness. He went down to his house justified rather than the other four.

The publican's bent posture and inability to lift his eyes are described as a man 'overcome with something,' illustrating the profound shame and sorrow of true repentance.

But now look at the contrast. But the publican, the tax collector, standing far off, probably just came inside the precincts where a Jew could come. At your court of the Gentiles, the court of the women. You had this court where the Jews were welcome to come. Maybe he just barely stood six inches inside. The publican would not so much, standing off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven. Notice it doesn't say he wouldn't lift up so much his head or his face, but his eyes. The picture is he's bent over. And he's not even looking up. You see, I'm bent over, but I'm looking up and I c...

24:13 - 25:06 Read in full sermon

Driving home: I say unto you, this man went down to his house justified, declared righteous, possessing gospel forgiveness. He went down to his house justified rather than the other four.

David's prayer in Psalm 51 after his sins of adultery and murder is presented as an illustration of a broken spirit and contrite heart, showing God desires genuine inward sorrow.

In the presence of God as a sinner, there will be a measure of true grief and hatred of our sin. What is taught in 2 Corinthians 7 is beautifully illustrated here. One other illustration that comes out of God letting us put, as it were, a speaker to the very heart of a broken, penitent man. Psalm 51. David, you remember, has been charged with his horrible sins of adultery and murder by proxy. The arrows of God have found their mark in the heart of David, and he's broken before God. Psalm 51 is the prayer that comes out of the heart of this man. Notice in the midst of it what he says in verse 1...

27:05 - 28:00 Read in full sermon

The point: Repent from your sins of self-righteousness, self-will, and self-love; get out of the 'God business' and stop running your own life.

Martin criticizes modern evangelistic methods like 'bow your head, close your eyes, and pray a little prayer' or 'walk an aisle' as leading to self-deception for multitudes who know nothing of true repentance.

He didn't say bow your head close your eyes and pray a little prayer after me. He didn't say walk an aisle and go in and have a a non ordained Protestant priest absolve you when you pray a little prayer that he puts in your mouth all of this nonsense that sweeps multitudes into self deception. Thank God he saved some in spite of it. I know that if you sit here and say well God save me in that bless God but for everyone that gets truly saved hundreds are sent to hell with gross deception who know nothing of repentance nothing of turning to God.

38:37 - 39:16 Read in full sermon

The point: Forsake your way and your unrighteous thoughts, and return to God, taking His way and living by His thoughts revealed in His Word.

Isaiah 55 is described as God becoming a 'street hawker,' inviting those with nothing to 'buy wine and milk without money, without price,' illustrating the free offer of gospel mercy.

the face of the burning eye of God. It sees your stinking pride when it comes out in the middle of preaching. It makes you want to vomit. You're determined to put away your evil from before the eye of God. You say, yes, Lord, I'm willing to be obedient. By your grace, I want to serve you. Isaiah 55, one other beautiful illustration that in its very essence, repentance is not only genuine sorrow and hatred of sin, but a resolute turning from sin unto God. Look how these two elements are brought together beautifully in Isaiah 55. The first five verses of the chapter are another wonderful, free, ...

43:41 - 44:42 Read in full sermon

The point: Forsake your way and your unrighteous thoughts, and return to God, taking His way and living by His thoughts revealed in His Word.

The prodigal son's 'coming to himself' and decision to return to his father is used to illustrate the turning from one's own way (the 'living hell' of sin) to God.

Isn't that one of the beautiful strands in the parable of the prodigal that Jesus told? When he came to himself, what were his first thoughts? Look at them afresh in Luke chapter 15. Remember what we're doing now. We're just establishing that a vital element in the very substance of repentance is turning from it, that is our sin, unto God. He's trying to bring many scriptures to bear upon that one simple but oh, how vital principle. Luke chapter 15 and verse 17. But when he came to himself, he said, how many hired servants of my Father.

48:15 - 49:00 Read in full sermon

The point: Declare war with your specific sins and name them before your mind as God will in the day of judgment.

Martin uses the Puritan analogy of repentance as the 'vomit of the soul,' where the spiritual stomach turns to expel sins once relished as delicious food, signifying a real divorce from sin.

I asked my wife on the way in, honey, should I use the analogy that one of the old Puritans used? He said, you know what repentance is? It's the vomit of the soul in which we vomit out, not someone else's sins, but the sins we have taken down as delicious food. And when the Spirit of God works in us the grace of regeneration, He turns the spiritual stomach to vomit what went down with such relish and delight.

56:44 - 57:16 Read in full sermon