If Repented, Part 2 – Luke 3:4-6

4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight.
5 ‘Every ravine will be filled,
And every mountain and hill will be [a]brought low;
The crooked will become straight,
And the rough roads smooth;
6 And all [b]flesh will see the salvation of God.’”

As a coin consists of two sides, salvation also consists of two sides; that is, repentance and saving faith. The negative side of salvation is repentance whereas the positive side is faith. Having repented of sin and placing one’s faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, we publicly declare the inner workings of this supernatural work through water baptism. Christian water baptism is a picture of a person dying to self and being raised unto life in God, which symbolizes the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. John’s baptism, referenced in today’s message, focuses on the repentance aspect, which was to prepare sinners’ hearts to receive forgiveness of their sins through Jesus, the promised Messiah.

What is biblical forgiveness? Forgiveness means no longer being at enmity with God. God adopts forgiven sinners as His own children (1 Jn. 3:1). The forgiven are no longer the object of God’s wrath. God’s holy wrath, however, must remain on unforgiven sinners leading to judgment and condemnation (Jn. 3:36). Scripture warns the unrepentant not to underestimate the wrath of God. The good news is God quickly forgives and demonstrates His fatherly love because Jesus’ substitutionary death was the propitiation for our sins. Consequently, God does not remember the sins of the forgiven having been washed by the blood of Jesus. Rather, God celebrates the forgiven. This is demonstrated in the parable of the prodigal son. As the son is overwhelmed under the guilt of sin the father celebrates the son who was dead and has come to life (Lk. 15:21-24).

God alone can forgive sin (Acts 4:12). For by grace we have been saved through faith (Eph. 2:8a). Have you been forgiven? If so, how often do we acknowledge the ultimate blessing of being forgiven (Ps. 32:2-5)? In addition of being blessed, we have the pace of God, which surpasses all understanding (Phil. 4:7). More so, we possess the joy of the Lord; that is, an inexpressible joy (1 Pet. 1:8). We must be weary of the many false peace and joys in this life, but in order to possess true peace and joy it can only be given by the Lord. What is your source of joy today? Is it something other than the joy that comes from God’s forgiveness? If it is, it is merely a temporary joy, and we must heed God’s warning to examine our hearts if we are truly forgiven so that we might have the joy of salvation.

Forgiveness of sin cannot only be obtained by repentance. Salvation is a work of the Holy Spirit; however, it is man’s responsibility to confess one’s sin and repent before God. In other words, God’s effectual grace leads the sinner to repent of their sins in order to receive forgiveness. “True repentance is not the work of nature but of grace; not of a man’s own spirit but of the Spirit of Christ… True repentance, which is an evangelical contrition of heart and a fixed resolution of spirit to turn from all sin to God.” (John Colquhoun). “Forgiveness is a two-way process: repentance on the part of offender and pardon on the part of the offended” (Allison Stevens).

Biblical repentance is a continuous way of life for the truly forgiven (Prov. 28:13; 1 Jn. 1:9). “Repentance is not a thing of days and weeks… To be got over as fast as possible.  No, it is the grace of a lifetime, like faith itself…that is not true repentance which does not come to faith in Jesus and that is not true faith in Jesus which is not tinctured with repentance” (C.H. Spurgeon). Christians are assured of their forgiveness by their true biblical repentance rather than by feeling forgiven. “If we confess our sin and ask God for forgiveness through Christ, we can be assured that He forgives us” (R.C. Sproul).

Therefore, we are to proclaim a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins through the gospel our Lord Jesus Christ having personally been forgiven by God. If we have not been forgiven it is no wonder we do not share this good news of salvation to others.