Attendants of Repentance

Driving home: any attempt to change the figure to build a superstructure of Christian experience on a defective foundation of repentance is doomed to fail for no superstructure is any more stable than its foundation.

Martin uses the extended metaphor of a tree (soil, roots, trunk, branches, fruit) to organize the biblical material on repentance, with 'attendants' being like leaves or more fruit.

And in the midst of an exhortation to profess Christians to go on to maturity, he simply states by way of passing that this doctrine of repentance is one of the facets of the true foundation of Christian experience and Christian truth. Therefore, any thinking of the Christian life that is not straight in the area of repentance, any attempt to change the figure to build a superstructure of Christian experience on a defective foundation of repentance is doomed to fail for no superstructure is any more stable than its foundation. And so, because of the great importance of this doctrine in the rev...

0:33 - 1:58 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Our sins have not only had a vertical perspective, but a horizontal one as well.

David's prayer 'against thee, O God, and thee only have I sinned' is used to emphasize the primary vertical dimension of sin, even in cases of adultery and murder.

One of the necessary attendants of true repentance is this matter of making right our wrongs against our fellow men wherever possible. Our sins have not only had a vertical perspective, but a horizontal one as well. In this entire study on the doctrine of repentance, we have sought to put the emphasis where Scripture puts it, namely that the main element of sin is to be found in its vertical perspective. David, guilty of the sins of adultery and murder, yet prays against thee, O God, and thee only have I sinned.

7:26 - 8:08 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Our sins have not only had a vertical perspective, but a horizontal one as well.

A quote from the Westminster Confession of Faith is used to comprehensively state the principle of private confession to God and public confession to those scandalized, leading to reconciliation.

For when man is not right with his God, it will show up in his relationship to his fellow man. And conversely, when he gets right with God, it must show up in making right relationships on the horizontal plane as well. Now this is not just some strange conclusion to which I have come, but as usual, I like to check out my conclusions from Scripture with some of the old standard statements of faith and confessions. And when I was re-reading the section on repentance in the Westminster Confession, I came across this statement that states so comprehensively what I am saying by way of introduction.

8:58 - 9:36 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19) is expounded as a prime example of restitution, with Zacchaeus immediately pledging fourfold restoration. This is connected to Old Testament laws…

Bishop Ryle's commentary on Zacchaeus's fourfold restitution is quoted to highlight the thoroughness and completeness of his repentance, exceeding legal requirements and demonstrating severe self-judgment.

of full purpose to make right his wrongs because this is a necessary attendant of all true and genuine repentance Bishop Ryle has an interesting comment and I want to read that comment in his expository thoughts on the Gospels I restore fourfold this expression deserves notice it shows how thorough and complete was Zacchaeus' repentance it was restitution far exceeding what the law of Moses required one commentator remarks Zacchaeus imposed upon himself the severest measure enjoined by the law concerning anyone convicted of theft you notice how these last two passages said restore the full mea...

21:01 - 22:30 Read in full sermon

Driving home: often the acid test of the genuineness of our repentance is right here because it's a very real sense in which you can kid yourself that you're confessing your sins to the Lord honestly and from the heart and it doesn't …

The analogy of teenagers running away to big cities like LA, Chicago, or New York to get lost and indulge appetites is used to explain Onesimus's flight to Rome and human nature's unchanging tendency to seek anonymity for sin.

impartation of the life which I give he longs to make right his wrongs even at great personal expense and personal humiliation that's the kind of salvation I came to bring I came to seek and to save that which was lost with the very salvation that I see manifested in your life no rebuke of legalism no rebuke whatever but every encouragement to believe that this is one of the true attendants of what God all genuine repentance and faith alright the second key passage Philemon the little letter to Philemon now you remember the setting of this letter Onesimus was a slave of this man Philemon who a...

23:59 - 25:26 Read in full sermon

The point: Deal with issues of restitution in the flush of new repentance, rather than letting them fester and sear the conscience.

Martin shares his personal story of being convicted years after his conversion about cheating in a French class in college, illustrating the Holy Spirit's persistent work on conscience and the peace that comes from making restitution, even if it means humiliation.

come before me blessed is the man blessed is the woman who in the flush of new repentance deals with the issues that must be made right I can never forget when the hand of God began to be heavy upon me about my cheating in school now I'm not saying this is the way the Lord will deal with you I'm only telling on myself I feel this kind of thing it's easier to tell on myself than anybody else and I can't be accused of betraying confidence the Lord didn't deal with me about it when he saved me as a senior in high school never remember once pushing down any prickings of conscience he didn't deal w...

31:19 - 32:47 Read in full sermon

The point: Honestly and sincerely plead for the forgiveness of your wives when you have been irritated and angry.

Martin recounts his mother's saying, 'It takes two to make a fight,' to illustrate that both parties in a conflict (e.g., husband and wife) bear responsibility for sin, regardless of who 'started it.'

your Christ I don't blame them because they instinctively know that if they've sinned against you and there's a restlessness until they've made it right with you you ought to feel the same way to them what about you husbands in relationship to your wives I don't care who started it that's not the issue the words of my dear mother come back to me again and again it takes two to make a fight whenever one of us would come yelling mama mama mama so and so did this and so did yeah but he started she'd stop and say wait a minute if one or the other you backed off and went the other direction there'd...

42:38 - 44:08 Read in full sermon

The point: Ensure that restitution and confession are rooted in the hearty acknowledgment that sin is against God and in the embrace of His free forgiveness in Christ, not merely for self-relief.

The story of a man who turned himself in for murder after 17 years, seeking 'peace of conscience,' is used as an example of graceless restitution, done purely for self-relief without apparent reference to God or true repentance.

he carried out the obedience of true repentance my friend this is not to be approached legalistically if you go to man before you go to God thinking that until things are made right there I can't have the joy of the Lord's forgiveness this will be legalism and it will lead to a sense of condemnation and the catechism of the confession states this so beautifully a man is bound to make private confession of his sins to God praying for the pardon thereof upon which and the forsaking of them he shall have mercy then if he scandalized his brother he's to go and make it right with him but we go to G...

57:26 - 58:55 Read in full sermon