The End of Genuine Repentance – Luke 3:15-17

The gospel can heal anyone or anything. Many so-called “celebrity Christians” often use their influence to mislead the public. True Christians understand how sin impacts their lives; they know their sins can only be washed away by the blood of Jesus. They reflect on their sin personally and realize that the wrath of God is real. They receive the true Messiah, Who can be seen only by true repentance.

After the people truly repented, they sought out the Messiah. They wondered in their hearts whether John was the Messiah (Lk 3:15). Their need was not for careers or worldly pleasures or possessions, but for the Messiah. They were “pierced to the heart” and wondered “what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37-38). Repentance is a turning to God, a turning from darkness to light, from the dominion of Satan to God (Acts 26:17-18). Are you thirsty for God? Are you hungry for His Word?

True repentance leads people to believe and trust in the true Jesus. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). He is a God Who is mighty, much mightier than John the Baptist. “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes” (Dt 10:17).

When we truly repent, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, protected and secure in Him. The Holy Spirit convicts us. Through Him we believe and understand the truth. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Cor 5:17). And with the Holy Spirit, we have no fear of man (Acts 5:29). The Holy Spirit helps us to continually thirst for the Word (Rev 21:5).

True repentance is the only way to avoid God’s wrath. “His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn, but He will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Lk 3:17). God is ready to judge; His winnowing fork is already in His hand. The chaff will immediately be met with fire, but the wheat will be gathered into His barn. However scary this judgment is, we know that God’s wrath is just. And if have truly repented, we know that we will not be harmed.

True repentance and saving faith are two sides of the same coin. Saving faith is more than just accepting facts. It is believing in the Person of Jesus Christ and receiving Him for all that He is. “It means both confessing in Him as Savior and yielding to Him as Lord. In fact, Scripture often uses the word obedience as a synonym for faith” (John Macarthur). If we have truly repented, if we have true saving faith, we can be confident in our salvation. Our salvation will be kept, even in the day of judgment.