Gift of God's Grace

In this part of the sermon: The sermon transitions to defining the nature of biblical repentance. Martin outlines two approaches (illustrative passages or formal definition) and chooses the latter, promising…

Martin uses the humorous analogy of someone putting a gun to your ribs and demanding a definition of repentance to emphasize the importance of memorizing the formal definition.

So if somebody puts a gun to your ribs down there and brought and marked it in New York and says, give me a definition of repentance or I'll shoot, you'll be able to give him a good, clear definition of repentance. It might save your life. So you'd better learn it.

7:13 - 7:28 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The sermon transitions to defining the nature of biblical repentance. Martin outlines two approaches (illustrative passages or formal definition) and chooses the latter, promising…

He introduces the central metaphor of a tree (with soil, roots, trunk, branches, foliage, fruit) to represent the broad outlines of biblical teaching on repentance, with each part corresponding to an aspect of the doctrine.

And then the second thing that I want to do is to use not only a formal definition but a simple illustration which will bring together the basic facets of scriptural teaching on the subject of repentance. So we're going to have a formal definition and then I'm going to draw a tree with my hands and as you see that tree with its soil, with its roots, with its trunk, with its branches, with its foliage and its fruit, every time you think of a tree, I hope you'll be able to think of the broad outlines of biblical teaching on the subject of repentance. Well, I've told you where I'm going. Now let'...

7:30 - 8:09 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Introducing the 'tree' illustration, Martin identifies the 'soil' of repentance as the grace of God, arguing that true repentance, involving turning from self and sin to God, can…

He uses Spanish moss, which grows in the air, as a contrast to a tree that requires soil, to emphasize that repentance must have a specific 'soil' to grow.

Or it's not a parasite that grows in the air on telephone wires like the Spanish moss that you see down south. My wife calls it witch's hair. Perhaps you've not seen it. But a tree must have some soil in which to grow.

9:46 - 10:00 Read in full sermon

Driving home: the realization is the room is on fire and I don't have the key in my own pocket will set me to banging on the door and crying out for the help of another who alone has the key

This story illustrates that if people believe they have the 'key' (free will) to repent whenever they choose, they will remain passive even as danger (hell) approaches. If they realize they don't have the key, they will desperately cry for help.

won't that lead to passivity people just sitting back waiting for God to do something no just the opposite is true listen if you're convinced you must repent and in the light of scripture I hope you're convinced of that except your repentance will perish but if the power of repentance doesn't lie in you what will that do that won't lead to passivity that will make you desperate let me illustrate here's a couple of cronies who've gotten together for a card game and they've locked themselves in and one of the fellows has got the key in his own pocket and he's so they're having their card game su...

28:08 - 29:37 Read in full sermon

Driving home: the realization is the room is on fire and I don't have the key in my own pocket will set me to banging on the door and crying out for the help of another who alone has the key

The story of blind Bartimaeus is used to demonstrate that a desperate realization of one's helplessness and the unique power of Christ leads to an urgent, persistent cry for mercy, not passivity.

the story of blind Bartimaeus beginning with verse 46 Mark 10 46 and they come to Jericho and as he went out from Jericho with his disciples and a great man multitude the son of Timaeus Bartimaeus a blind beggar was sitting by the wayside and when he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene he began to cry out and say Jesus thou son of David have mercy on me and then he rebuked him that he should hold his peace common 20th century idiom they told him to shut up exactly what it means they told him shut up be quiet be still but he cried out them all a great deal saying thou son of David have mercy o...

31:47 - 33:16 Read in full sermon