Instrument of True Conversion: The Gospel of God

Introduction to the Pre-Membership Class and the Foundational Question

0:02 The following message was delivered on Sunday, February 23, 1992, in the Adult Sunday School class of the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. This is lecture number two in the pre-membership class.

0:20 Let's pray and ask for the Lord's help upon our study this morning.

0:30 Our Father, we thank you for this opportunity to consider your holy word together as we contemplate the blessed gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, a message of peace and hope which you have revealed to us. We pray that you would be pleased to come upon us and to give us a fresh sight of the wonder of that gospel, the joy and the hope that we had in our hearts when we first heard it, and the peace that came from embracing it. We pray, our Father, that we might have a clear understanding of that gospel, not only that it might be more precious to us. But that we might be enabled to proclaim it more clearly to others.

1:09 We ask these things in Christ's name. Amen. Now, it is our intention in this pre-membership class to present to those who have a desire to join the church in a more comprehensive and orderly way those things which should help to prepare them for a...

1:45 Pre-membership interview. And therefore, we determined as elders to have a special class which would cover topics of particular concern to people who were desirous to join the church. If you notice on the handout, concerning the pre-membership class, there are four topics covering 13 weeks. The first topic is true conversion.

2:13 Secondly, Christian baptism. Thirdly, our church distinctives. And fourthly, the responsibilities, privileges, and liabilities of membership. There are four questions covered in these various topics.

2:31 Questions which are of special concern to a person who is desirous to become or questioning whether he should or she should seek to become a member of Trinity Baptist Church. The first question. The foundational question that has to be faced is this. Are you saved?

2:54 Are you converted? Are you in a state of grace? That's the foundational question for anybody who's thinking or questioning whether they should join the church. They need first and foremost to face the issue of whether or not they have been saved.

3:13 The second question. Have you been baptized? And since the Lord in his will and providence has associated with identification corporately with the people of God, the religious ritual, the ordinance of Christian baptism, the second question is, have you been baptized? Should you be baptized?

3:33 But then the third question that someone has to face once they've come to grips with the matter of conversion and baptism is they need to know something about where this church stands. What are the distinctives of this church? What does it distinctively believe? Where does it stand?

3:53 And then the fourth issue that has to be faced is the matter of commitment. What are the terms of membership? If I were to join this church, what commitment would I be making? What privileges?

4:05 What liabilities? What responsibilities? What are the terms of joining the church? And so these questions, which are basic and foundational, are the issues that a person's person in that state would have to come to grips with.

4:20 Are you saved? Where do you stand with the issue of baptism? Where does this church stand in terms of what it believes as the things most surely believed among us? And what are the terms of membership in Trinity Baptist Church?

4:37 Now, this morning, we will begin to cover the subject of true conversion. The first installment on the foundational question. And we decided it was best to let the whole congregation participate in this class for the first time through it, for the reasons that Pastor Martin articulated last week. And it's going to require both for you and for me a bit of imagination on our part.

5:12 Because in reality, you are not a group of people who are seriously considering. Whether or not you should apply for membership in Trinity Baptist Church. I think I can safely say that. That is not the case.

5:33 But it is my intention in this class to speak to you as though you were. So as I say, it's going to require a little imagination. We're going to have to pretend. For some of us, it's going to mean we don't have to go back too far.

5:51 Perhaps only a few months. For others. It's going to be. We have to go back five years or ten years.

5:56 And for others, maybe ten, fifteen, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty years ago. When you first contemplated whether you should join the Church of Christ. Of course, fifty years ago, there was no Trinity Baptist Church. But in any event, you follow what I'm saying to you?

6:13 You're going to become flies on the wall in a pre-membership class as though you were actually there. And as though you were contemplating. Contemplating whether or not you should be applying for membership at Trinity Baptist Church. Now, having said that, by way of introduction.

Biblical Basis for the Question of Conversion and Church Membership

6:34 We come then this morning to the first question. And I want to say just very briefly the biblical basis for even considering this question. Turn with me, first of all, in your Bibles, please, to Acts chapter two. Why are we concerned with the question of conversion?

6:51 What does that have to do? What does that have to do with church membership?

7:06 Acts chapter two. Peter preaching the gospel on the day of Pentecost. When they said to him in verse thirty-seven, what must, what shall we do? Peter said to them, repent and be baptized into the name of Jesus Christ to the remission of your sins.

7:28 And he tells them that the promise is to them, it's to their children, it's to as many as shall be called by the Lord. And with many other words, he testified to them, saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation, verse forty-one. Then they that received the word were baptized, and there were added unto them in that day about three thousand souls. What was the prerequisite for being added, being identified with, joining the church of God, was receiving the apostolic word, that is, repenting and turning away from you,

8:09 openly confessing your sins, openly confessing Christ, submitting to the ordinance of baptism, receiving the word and being baptized, and in accordance with that prerequisite, they were added unto the church. Notice that this principle was continually implemented in the apostolic church. You read in verse forty-three and following, how that the people of God were all of one mind and of one heart, and they were worshiping God with singleness of mind and gladness of heart. Then in verse forty-seven, praising God and having favor with all the people,

8:49 and the Lord added to them day by day those that were saved, or could be those that were being saved. The Lord added to them day by day those that were being saved. Consider that the distinguishing trait and mark of those who were being added, added to the church, is that God was converting them. God was working in their heart an act of saving grace, changing their hearts, giving them new hearts, giving them the gifts of repentance and faith, causing them to hear and to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ.

9:29 And so therefore, perhaps it is evident, but therefore, we are concerned first and foremost, first and foremost, that if you want to join Trinity Baptist Church, the very first and foundational thing that you should be concerned with and that we are concerned with, is that you are saved. That you are in a state of grace. That you have experienced real biblical conversion.

The Gospel as the Instrument of True Conversion

10:07 And so, we study that first. Now, the very first aspect of conversion, that we consider, and you can see study number one is entitled, The Instrument of True Conversion, The Gospel of God. The Instrument of True Conversion, The Gospel of God.

10:32 Now, if you're going to face the subject of whether or not you're converted, then the first thing you want to ask yourself is, how does somebody get converted? And then, what is conversion? And then, what is the evidence that I am converted? How does someone get saved?

10:53 And what does it mean to be saved? And what's the evidence that I have been saved? And those are the questions that we'll face. And when we address the question, how does someone get saved?

11:05 What is the instrument? By what means is someone converted? The Bible very clearly tells us, that the way a person is saved, is through coming into contact with the gospel, and by believing the gospel. Turn with me, please, two passages in the Bible.

11:27 First, Romans chapter 1, Romans chapter 1,

11:37 and verse 15 and following.

11:40 So much, he says, Romans 1, 15, so much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel, to you also that are in Rome. For, I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God to salvation, to everyone that believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. The gospel is the power of God to salvation. It is the instrument in God's hand, which he is pleased,

12:22 to use to save sinners from every kindred tribe and tongue, whether Jew or Greek, from every nationality. There is only one gospel for the whole human race. And if you are saved, it is through that gospel that you have been saved. For it is the power of God to salvation.

12:47 And consider also one passage in the book of 1 Peter. The book of 1 Peter, 1 Peter, chapter 1.

12:59 1 Peter 1 and verse 22 and following.

13:13 He says that you have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another from the heart fervently, having been begotten again, not of incorruptible seed, but,

13:33 sorry, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, having been begotten again through the word of God, which lives and abides. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord abides forever. And this is the word of good tidings, which was preached unto you.

14:08 What is the word by which you were born again? It was the word of God. What word of God? The word of good tidings, which was preached unto you.

14:21 It was the gospel of God. The gospel of God came to you with power. You heard that gospel, and the Spirit of God owned that gospel, and used that gospel as the instrument in His hand of regenerating you and giving you repentance, and faith, converting your heart, and making you alive when you were dead in your trespasses and sins. The gospel is the power of God to salvation.

14:52 Now, people are saved in various ways, and when you come for your membership interview, the elders are going to ask you to give your testimony.

15:03 People are saved in any number of circumstances. They're saved in any number of environments. There are so many different stories, and it's a great delight. It's a joy to us.

15:15 It's a marvel to us to hear the stories of the people of God and the way that God has dealings with them, each in their own way, God reaching down, taking them where they are, and drawing them to Himself, and saving them. It's a great privilege to sit and hear those stories, but one common denominator we find, sooner or later, no matter what the circumstances, or the age, or the way, or the time, sooner or later, they all come to hear the gospel. Sooner or later, whether it's through the preaching of an evangelist, or whether it's through a word on the radio, whether it's through reading a Bible, whether it's through the witness of a friend, sooner or later,

15:59 they all come to hear the gospel of God. And it is through the hearing of that gospel, and through the power of God working with that message, that the people of God are brought to you. And that's the message of the gospel. It's always that way.

The Three Headings of the Gospel: Problem, Provision, Requirement

16:16 And if you truly are saved, then that also is true in your life. And so, this morning, I would like to focus with you upon the gospel, and upon the subject of what that gospel is. Now, I've written on the board that the substance of this message, which is called the gospel, can be broken down under three major headings. The gospel, first of all, is a message of God.

16:46 The gospel, first of all, is a message from God which focuses upon a problem. And secondly, it's a message from God which provides for the solution of that problem. It embodies a provision. It's the proclamation of God's own provision, or solution, for that problem.

17:04 And this message from God, which points out a crucial problem and shows us as well the provision, also brings with it a requirement, which is either obeyed, in which case you have embraced the gospel, or which is disobeyed, in which case you have rejected the gospel.

17:31 Now, I'd like to tell you briefly and simply what this problem is, what the provision is, and what the requirement is. So, turn please to the book of Romans, chapter 1. Romans 1 and verse 1.

18:03 We read the following words. Paul, servant of Jesus Christ, called an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God. It is God's gospel, which he promised afore, through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning his Son. Concerning his Son.

18:29 This gospel is a message from God. And it is a message from God which focuses upon God. His Son. The Apostle Paul summarizes what he's going to say about the exposition of that gospel in Romans 1 and verse 15 and 16.

18:48 He says, So as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you also that are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God to salvation to everyone that believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. This is what the gospel does. Blessed by the Spirit of God, it is the power of God to salvation.

19:16 Why does the gospel do what it does? The gospel does what it does because the gospel is what it is. See verse 17. It is the power of God to salvation for therein is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith as it is written, but the righteous shall live by faith for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress or hinder the truth in unrighteousness.

19:54 First of all, the gospel presents a problem.

19:59 It is the problem of sin and wrath. Secondly, the gospel proclaims a provision. That provision is Christ. And thirdly, the gospel brings with it a requirement.

20:21 And that requirement, repentance,

20:35 you get nothing else out of what is said this morning. I hope that you will be able to take with you these three simple, basic things. The gospel addresses a problem, a major concern. And that problem is sin and wrath.

20:58 The gospel proclaims a provision. And that provision is Jesus Christ. And the gospel makes a requirement. And that requirement is repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

21:20 As you go throughout your Christian life, you will no doubt learn much more about sin. And you will no doubt learn much more about Christ. And you will no doubt learn much more, much more about repentance, and much more about faith, much more about all of the implications of what God has done for you, of what God has done in you. But now it is at least appropriate that you take to heart, if you are going to ask the question, have I been saved?

21:54 These three fundamental, basic things about the gospel. It addresses a problem. Sin and wrath. It proclaims a provision.

22:07 Jesus Christ. And it makes a simple requirement. Repent. Believe.

The Problem: Sin and Wrath (Romans 1-3)

22:15 Now, in the remainder of our time this morning, what I would like to do is to open up in a bit more detail the problem, the provision, and the requirement of the gospel. The problem is addressed in great detail in Romans chapter 1, all the way through Romans chapter 3. The apostle focuses upon the problem. He dwells upon the problem.

22:48 He introduces the gospel by stressing this problem. He says, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. And then he describes the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who live in gross outrage and outward wicked lifestyle. And then he opens up the coming of the day of judgment in which the wrath of God will be brought to its full expression.

23:23 And then he speaks about the sins of those who have been raised in a religious environment and whose hope is based on some religious ritual through which they have been taken. And their hope is in something they have done religiously. They might be outwardly decent or they might be living a double life. But whether they are outwardly decent or living a double life, the point is this.

23:51 Their hope is in some religious ritual. They were circumcised or to put it in modern language perhaps they were sprinkled as an infant. And they went through this ritual of sprinkling and confirmation. And now having gone through sprinkling and confirmation they figure they have done the right thing or perhaps in our day, they have gone through the ritual of raising their hand or the ritual of walking down an aisle.

24:15 They have gone through the proper religious ritual and they have submitted to an ordinance of baptism or some other thing that they were said they have to do. They have gone through the ritual and that is their hope. The Apostle Paul throughout this whole section is seeking to expose the sinfulness of all of those various ways of thinking. And he comes to his summary and he says, We have laid to the charge both of Jews and of Greeks that they are all under sin.

24:49 There is none righteous. No, not so much as one. There is none that doeth good. No, not one.

24:58 To be saved the very first thing is that you must come to an awareness of and a biblical conviction of your sins. The gospel tells you first why you need Jesus. Now if you look at the summary statement of the Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 3 verses 19 and 20 we come to see one of the major misconceptions that people have

25:39 about their sin. It focuses upon our own sinful actions in Romans 3 19 and 20. Now we know that what things so ever the law says it speaks to them that are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may be brought under the judgment of God because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. The Apostle here is explaining to us the place that the ten commandments has been given by God

26:23 in religious experience. And the place given to the law the ten commandments is to show men and women and boys and girls the reality of their sinfulness. You see by nature we all are inherently proud and self-righteous. We tend to think of ourselves as basically good and it is a wound to our pride and to our self-righteousness to have to come to grips with the reality that we are not basically good.

26:57 It's so easy for us to deceive ourselves, to trick ourselves, to lie to ourselves, to fool ourselves. The truth of the matter is we are not basically good. There is none righteous. No, not one.

27:17 There is none that seeks after God. There is none that understands. And what instrument has God what surgical instrument has God the spiritual surgeon designed in order to cut away that blindness from the law? The law shows us our sin.

27:37 It shows us what we really do. It shows us how we really live. It exposes the truth of our sinfulness. And there are some who live lives that are openly outwardly wicked.

27:54 And there are others who live lives that are outwardly decent. But whether you have lived a life that has been upright and outwardly decent society looks upon it with disdain. The truth is there is none righteous. No, not one.

28:15 We are all under. And it is the law of God designed by God to show us that. Now my question is you say you want to be a member at Trinity. Have you had dealings with the law of God or should I say has the law of God had dealings with you?

28:32 Has the law of God shown you your sinfulness? I see that in your actions, thoughts, feelings and words you have indeed sinned against God. You have disobeyed Him and rebelled against Him. But you see sin doesn't stop with what we do.

28:57 Sin really has its root in what we are. It's not just that we do things sinful and say things sinful and think things sinful and feel things sinful. It's that in our hearts by nature we are sinful. Have you come to grips with that?

29:19 That the carnal mind is enmity against God and in sin did my mother conceive me? Have you come to grips with the fact that it's not simply that you have done a few things that are wrong here or there or said or felt some bad things. But that in your mind and in your feelings and in your will and in your conscience mind, will, conscience, feelings in everything everything, every aspect of your inner being is polluted by sin. Have you come to see that about yourself?

30:02 Have you come to conviction of sin at that level? That it's not just outward but also inward? What you are is a sin. Then have you come to accept and I think that's the right word by the testimony of the word of God how you got that way and not blame God for it?

30:33 You come to realize that you got that way because of the fall of the human race into sin and that when Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil when he ate you ate when he fell you fell and you were born and conceived all together dead and trespassed and sins because you were included in that fall or are you here this morning thinking that's not fair that's not right I don't deserve that God's wrong to do that if you're thinking in that way

31:17 may I suggest to you that there's something really inadequate in your sense of conviction of your own sin because when you come to conviction of sin you stop pointing the finger against God that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may be brought guilty before God has God brought you to silence do you have nothing more to say against God do you confess the reality that sin is your fault what you are what you do and how you got that way and stop blaming God have you come that far

32:01 in the experience of conviction of sin to face your sinful actions your sinful heart and even the reality of your sinful record and not only was that sin of Adam put on your sinful record when you were conceived and born but all of the other sins that you've done have been added to that record and now you have a record as long as the record of some monster but yours is not in the court record books of the civil government but in the court and record books of the government of heaven you've come to grips with that

32:43 then you've got to come to a second issue about your sin as well it's not only the reality of the sin but what does that sin deserve you see because it says for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men the wrath of God upon your sin have you come to recognize the fact of what your sin deserves not only that you sin and that you are a sinner by nature but what your sin deserves that it deserves wrath that it deserves eternal punishment

33:28 to be inflicted upon the judgment day upon all who know not God and all who obey not the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ who shall be punished with eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might have you come to grips with that or do you say well alright I've done something bad and sin is a problem but it's not all that bad I'm not so bad that I deserve to go to hell because when you come to the interview one of the questions that the elders are going to ask you is this I can assure you you'll be asked this question and the question is do you deserve to go to hell are your sins really that bad that they actually

34:11 deserve eternal punishment and that the wrath of God against your sins is just and deserved have you come to that point see that is biblical gospel conviction of sin and that's the first thing and there are many many I'm sorry to say many misstatements and many in our day misconstrue the real issue at the heart of the gospel and perhaps you've been exposed to some of this stuff and perhaps you've been told well if you're lonely Jesus is for you heal your loneliness

34:55 and perhaps you've been told if you're unhappy Jesus is for you and he'll make you happy if you want to be happy and you want to have companionship what you should do is you should accept Jesus in your heart and you should join the church for fellowship and companionship that really is not coming to grips with the issue the issue is not whether you're lonely and unhappy and whether you need fellowship and companionship and joy the issue is have you come to grips with the reality of your sin and the wrath of God upon your sin have you come to face the real problem but then I must hasten on here to come to address the subject

The Provision: Jesus Christ (Romans 3 & 5)

35:38 of the provision because if you're going to join the church you can't be a person who's running around preoccupied lost hopeless miserable focused on your problem focused on your misery you also in the gospel thankfully have come not only to see the awful problem of sin and wrath but you've also come to see that there is a solution and that the solution is not of your own making but that that solution is of God's making and the solution is in his son Romans chapter 3 verse 21 and following we read but now apart from the law

36:21 righteousness of God has been manifested being witnessed by the law and the prophets even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all those that believe for there is no distinction in Jesus Christ is everything you need to be right with God all of the provision required to solve this great problem with God the problem of sin and wrath all of the provision is in the gospel and all of that provision is in his son Jesus Christ the apostle in this book

37:05 refers to all that virtue of Jesus as the righteousness of God the virtue of Jesus first of all is the virtue of his perfect life look over at Romans chapter 5 and verse 19 the virtue of his perfect life for as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners even so through the obedience of the one shall the many be made righteous you could never keep the law yourself perfectly you could never provide for yourself that obedience and virtue necessary for you to be accepted with God but in

37:49 God's mercy in the glory of his gospel God provides that for sinners and that provision is in the perfect obedient life of Jesus which is all the virtue you need to be accepted with God and then look back at Romans chapter 3 because with reference to this problem there's also the matter of sin and the punishment of sin and the wrath of God against sin notice verse 24 of Romans 3 being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God set forth propitiation that's a big word but it's a very

38:33 important word in the Bible it's a word that you should learn the meaning of and even if you're not a member yet you can still learn the meaning of the word propitiation it's a very important word and it's a word which is being distorted and efforts are being made to actually destroy its meaning today because there's an opposition to the idea of the wrath of God but it really its meaning is not all that complicated it simply means to pacify wrath means to appease or to pacify that's what it means the wrath of God against your sin that's the issue how could you pacify that wrath yourself well the only way you could pacify it yourself

39:18 was to suffer in hell for all eternity and that is not an acceptable solution but God has provided another way and the way which God has provided is in the cross of his son propitiation through faith in his blood the appeasing of wrath is in the blood of Jesus shed upon the cross where God gave to Jesus the liability the responsibility all the guilt all the debt of the sin of his people all of that was transferred to his record and when he died upon the cross God poured out all of his wrath upon him and all of that debt was paid and all the demands of justice satisfied and all of that wrath pacified and put away

40:03 that's God's provision that's the atonement of Jesus Christ and so the provision is in the perfect life of Jesus and the provision is in the atoning death of Jesus this is the divine provision so the question that you're going to be asked in the membership interview is this if you deserve to go to hell why should God let you into heaven why should he let you go to heaven why should he let you in on what ground on what basis

40:45 what about the punishment of your sin what are you going to say to God about that what about the righteousness that is required for you to be accepted with God where do you look the question you have to come to grips with is this have you embraced God's provision have you embraced Jesus Christ as your only hope of getting to heaven as the only ground of your acceptance with God his perfect life and his atoning death the only hope of your sins being pardoned and justice being satisfied and wrath being pacified

The Requirement: Repentance Toward God (Acts 2 & 20)

41:29 because of your sin is that what you hope for is that what you look to is it God's provision and God's provision alone that brings me then to the third issue the third issue to be faced is a requirement requirement of repentance and of faith would you turn with me please back to the book of Acts

42:00 chapter 20 the apostle says in Acts chapter 20 in verse 20 he says he wasn't afraid he did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable and teaching you publicly and from house to house testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ said there were two

42:45 requirements which he always proclaimed when he preached the gospel he preached the requirement of repentance toward God and the requirement of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ well you can see first of all if you turn back to Acts chapter 2 the requirement of repentance Acts chapter 2 the requirement of repentance beginning in verse 37 the apostle Peter preaches and tells them that they must repent to be saved

43:30 now when they heard this they were pricked in their heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles brethren what shall we do he said to them repent and be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus unto the remission of your sins I'm not going to focus upon baptism this morning but only upon the first which is repentance the apostle Paul preached the same when he was speaking to the Greeks in Athens and he said the Lord commands all men every where to repent so it was preached both to Jews and to Greeks it is the one message now today you may have heard some teaching that you can be saved without repentance this is false for except you repent

44:14 you shall all likewise perish you cannot be saved unless you repent of your sins and what is repentance in the old testament we read whoever covers his sins shall not prosper but the one who confesses and forsakes them shall obtain mercy the very first thing about repentance if you're going to confess and forsake your sin the very first thing about repentance is a sorrow or a remorse over your sin begins by being sorry grieved sad

44:58 there's no way that you can be saved except you go through a process of grieving and you have to be sorry and grieving sad over what you have done and over what you are that's the first thing and being sorry for your sin then confessing your sin confessing your sin to God and in the language of the public and oh God be merciful to me the sinner in the language of the prodigal father I have sinned against heaven and in my it's the confession of sin but then there's the forsaking of sin a reformation of life a resolution

45:42 to turn from that sin and put away that sin and where need be as the case of Zacchaeus shows us not only is there remorse and confession and reformation there is also where need be restitution there has to be a willingness to make these things right remorse or sorrow confession reformation restitution these are the elements of repentance but you need to know this too have I truly repented you may ask because there are some who say

46:26 they have repented and they have not but one of the things about true repentance is unlike say the repentance of someone like Pharaoh who said I've sinned I'm sorry take the judgment off me is that true repentance is not so much focusing upon the consequences of sin but true repentance is not proceeding so much from hating those consequences as it is from hating the sin if you're repenting of the sin and sorry of the sin it's because you hate the sin itself not in self pity hating what that sin did to you but hating the sin itself and then it's focusing on God Paul said it's repentance toward God and David said against thee and thee

47:10 only have I sinned but then repentance is a strange thing because true repentance always looks to God for mercy in Jesus Christ it's not something that goes away despairing saying there's no hope but it's always looking for mercy and then it's something that leaves no stone unturned it's prepared to deal with everything it's prepared to deal with anything it's prepared to get right with God and we need to get right with man at any cost or that's true repentance have you repented are you a repentant person and there's one final thing I want to say to you

The Requirement: Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16)

47:54 this morning and that is faith turn with me please to Acts chapter 16 the second time someone asked the question what must I do Acts 16 and he brought them out and said sirs what must I do to be saved Acts 16 30 and they said believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved thou and thy house what must I do to be saved focus here believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved the apostle said he testified repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ but what is this believing

48:39 on the Lord Jesus Christ well no one ever believed on the Lord Jesus Christ who didn't know the message about Jesus and no one ever believed on the Lord Jesus Christ who didn't confess that message about Jesus to be true and no one ever savingly believed on the Lord Jesus Christ who didn't personally trust in Jesus and cast the whole weight of his soul upon him do you know the story of Jesus I've told you this morning but if you're going to apply for membership in this church you need to know the story of Jesus that is God became human took to himself human body and human soul and in that human nature

49:24 God incarnate lived a perfect life he died the atoning death upon the cross he was raised bodily from the grave ascended into heaven sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty from where he will come to judge the living and the dead do you know that story he openly prepared to confess with your mouth that that story is true that he really is God that he really was perfect that he really died and that he really rose and that he really coming again with the same body with which he died and was raised from

50:07 the grave do you prepared openly to confess that to be true and finally do you trust him have you sought him he says come unto me have you come to him have you had personal spiritual feelings with God and Jesus Christ about your sin have you come to him cast yourself upon him and said Lord be my only hope your righteousness your perfect life your blood your righteousness and blood my only hope I cast myself upon you and upon you alone the elders going to ask you

Summary and Prayer

50:52 if you know that story if you prepared openly to affirm that story to be true and if you with your heart have cast yourself upon Jesus personally and exclusively as your only hope of going to heaven well the time of our class is gone and let me summarize what we've looked at the question is first and foremost are you saved have you understood and embraced the gospel you realize the gospel addresses the problem sin and wrath proclaims the only provision Jesus Christ makes this simple

51:37 requirement repent and believe the gospel may God be pleased to write his word upon our hearts let us pray our father we give you thanks for the wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ that glorious gospel of peace with you through your blessed provision we thank you Lord that you have brought us to see to understand this gospel when we were dead you gave us eyes and ears and life we thank and praise your great and holy name we pray you would bless this opening up of that gospel this morning

52:21 if there be any here oh God who have not known it that you would bring them this very morning to conviction of sin bring them to see the wonder of your provision in Jesus bring them to cast themselves upon Jesus as their only hope and to turn away by your enablement from a life of wickedness and sin for we ask these things in Jesus name Amen