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.

This week’s message challenges every believer to ask themselves if we are changed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. To be changed means to repent and grow in continued sanctification. Union with Christ bears fruit in sanctification bears fruit. Therefore, ongoing fruit-bearing is only possible as we abide in the vine, the Lord Jesus; apart from Him, we can do nothing (Jn. 15:4-5).

Last week’s message reminded us of the Christian’s hatred of sin after repentance and possessing the mind of Christ. This marks the beginning of the Christian life. The old man used to love sin, but by the grace of God the old self is replaced with a new inner man that hates sin and loves God. So then how can we examine our hearts if we have hatred of sin as a result of repentance? Do we have a desire to be like Christ? We cannot be passionate about the Lord if we do not mortify sin.

True repentance bears good fruit (Lk. 3:7-8; Jn. 15:2; Jer. 2:21). Before repentance, we only bear bad fruit; that is, the deeds of the flesh. When God gifts the believer to possess saving faith, they are able to trust and obey the word of God with a sincere heart. In verses 10-14, Jesus describes different groups of sinners that approach that make up the crowd: tax collectors and soldiers and the lovers of money (i.e. greedy). Essentially, these groups represent all sinners. The only proper response for any sinner is to repent of unbelief and self.

When Jesus states one must deny themselves in order to follow after Him (Matt. 16:24), only the truly repentant are able to do so by the power of God. If we do not kill the self, we are unable to believe in the gospel of Christ and by no means bear good fruit. Self-centeredness produces only bad fruit wrought by man’s depraved sin nature.

But the result of a changed heart loves God above all (Matt. 22:36-40). Repentance results in a life that transitions from loving self to loving God and others. We love the Lord by obeying His Word and will. In Scripture we see those that are repentant possess a whole other nature the enables them to follow the Lord’s will (Acts 8:1-2; 9:3-6; Phil. 1:8).

Moreover, faith, hope, and love characterize a genuine and sincere Christian. The sincere in faith towards God hope in Him and love Him that leads to a life of bearing much fruit that exhibits change as one gives to those in need, a life of honesty and integrity, and true contentment in Him, which the world cannot ever offer.

Richard Baxter once said Christians are elected to repent. Repentance is essential and the starting point of our salvation. Often repentance is seen as a negative but rather it is an encouraging and refreshing subject.

‘Bear fruit’ implies that there is life. Christians have many names and characteristics, but one key aspect is life. Christians are the only ones that have life, the life of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:4). How do we obtain this life? First, realize how wicked you are, that you are spiritually dead (Luke 3:7). If you still consider yourself good, then you cannot repent (Luke 13:8). True repentance confesses their complete sinfulness and inability to stand before the holy God (Luke 5:8). Once acknowledged, then leave everything and follow Christ (Luke 5:11).

Why must we repent? Not only are we sinful, but we are also hopeless. There is no Plan B for salvation. God has already established repentance as the means. In verse 8, John the Baptist knew that his hearers would not like the message of repentance and that they would instead turn to their heritage of Abraham as a means of salvation. Their ancestor and religion was their Plan B. To the Jews, Abraham was a monumental figure, their founding father (John 8:39), and their pride in Abraham was greater than their faith in God.

Repentance has always been the pattern of salvation since the fall of Adam and Eve. From calling Abraham out of his people to commanding Moses to take off his shoes to decreeing fasting and covering of sackcloth in Nineveh, God has required repentance. This is such a wonderful example of God’s mercy and grace, God saving the sinner through repentance.

Many people have a sort of spiritual Abraham, a thing they rely on besides repentance.

• Age: People think they have a long life ahead of them and can repent later (James 4:14). They delay their repentance without realizing that both time and repentance is a gift of God and cannot be obtained whenever they want.
• Family heritage: We trust the faith of our parents or family members instead of our own. Apostle Paul is the classic example of an impressive heritage that was worthless for salvation (Philippians 4:5). Repentance is individual, no one can repent for you (Ezekiel 18:4)
• Religion: Every other religion besides Christianity has one common denominator which is man’s work. They teach that man can achieve salvation. Another flaw is their wrong view of sin. They do not hold the right view of sin and so they cannot repent before holy God. Also, Christianity without love is religion.

Why must we repent?
Because repentance is God’s idea. The aforementioned false ways of salvation are all man’s ideas (Romans 1:23). These false repentance or false salvations do not bear fruit (Luke 13:6). They might look appealing and even look spiritual, but there is no true righteousness. Righteousness is the fruit of repentance. Many in the church claim to believe and repent but they do not bear the fruit of repentance (Hebrews 6:4-6). Only biblical repentance leads to righteousness. A. W. Pink says ‘Repentance is a heartfelt realization of how dreadfully I have failed, all through my life, to give God His rightful place in my heart and daily walk’. Daily walk means being righteous.

We must repent because we are doomed by the wrath of God. The wrath of God is holy and just anger towards evil and is a “fearsome and terrifying thing”. It is not a future wrath but a current and present wrath. “Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees” This does not depict a God who is preparing to chop down the tree, it shows that God is beginning the act of swinging! It is not a future wrath and judgment but current! (John 3:18) Like a geyser ready to erupt, God’s wrath is collecting underneath every day. (Psalm 7:11) Hell is the terrifying and horrible outcome against the unrighteousness of men.

Though God’s wrath is present, God is also patient in His judgment. He shows overwhelming mercy, desiring the repentance of sinners. (2 Peter 3:9) He wondrously offers salvation to undeserving sinners through repentance. So you must repent now! There is no other way and no other time. Repent and turn to Him for salvation and He will powerfully save you from your sin.

Repentance is a change of mind, a change of heart, and change of action. True repentance bears fruit. The first, vital step to saving repentance is to first know who you are.

John the Baptist rightly calls out to men, “you brood of vipers.” We were all, without exception, dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1). Every single person is totally depraved. Therefore, there is no one who is good, no one who is righteous, no one who seeks for God on his own (Ro 3:10-12). Total depravity does not mean that a person is wholly evil to the greatest extent all the time. Rather, it means that sin is totally distributed through every component of human nature (understandings, affections, and will). It is the human condition of fallenness. We sin because we are sinners (R.C. Sproul).

By God’s standard, you are not good.

1. The law of God says man is not good. Through the law comes the knowledge of our sin (Rom 3:20). “Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all” (Jas 2:10).
2. The human conscience convicts us. The conscience bears witness because the work of the law is written on our hearts (Rom 2:15).
3. Man undermines the Scriptures. “The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart” (Ps 19:8).
4. Man rejects the gospel. Christ died, was buried, and was raised on the third day for our sins (1 Cor 15:3-4). “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it… We saw His glory” (Jn 1:5, 14). Jesus Christ came to be our substitute, and yet He was unwelcomed. “The word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Cor 1:18, 25).
5. Man hates Christ, rejects, and doesn’t believe in Him. Christ only loved us and showed us His grace, did nothing wrong, and yet He was hated, even in his death.
6. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). The glory of God is for us to be like Christ. Yet everyone, without exception, has fallen short.

Why is the doctrine of total depravity so important? When you reject God and reject the idea that you are totally depraved, you are claiming to be self-righteous. Self-righteousness is damning. You fall into the danger of comparing yourself to others or being satisfied in merely being ethical. Augustine said, “Deliver me, O Lord, from that evil man – myself!” Self-righteousness can also quickly lead to legalism, in which your heart is corrupt, however righteous you may appear outwardly. God sees through the façade and right through the heart.

When you are self-righteous, you reject your need for a Savior. Self-righteousness hinders you from being sorrowful over your sin, and because of it you will be met with God’s wrath. “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom 1:18).

We are doomed because we have failed. We must reflect ourselves in the light of God’s truth to know who we truly are before Him. “Until we really know how damned we are, we can’t appreciate how glorious He is. Until we comprehend how doomed we are, we can’t understand how wondrous is His love to redeem us” (John Macarthur).

The fifth verse of the passage describes man’s heart; that is, man’s heart is filled with sin and death, full of pride, crooked, and rough. Last week’s message taught of man’s sinful heart and separation from God (i.e. ravine) along with man’s pride and turning to idols (i.e. mountain and hill). This week’s part 2 of the series will tackle how man’s heart is crooked and a rough road.

The crooked heart is related to deviation, twisting and manipulation (Romans 1:21-23). In essence, man’s sinful heart distorts the truth of God’s Word. Before sin entered the world, God created all things, including man, without sin; thus, was straight. When Adam and Even disobeyed God’s Word, sin and death entered the world, and man’s heart became crooked. The crooked heart is unable to see Jesus for who He truly is (Mark 6:3-5); therefore, they do not believe in Him. When the truth of God’s Word is not taken straightforwardly, they cannot repent and see the salvation of God. Even though the gospel of Christ is clear as day, the self-deceiving heart does not allow an unrepentant heart to see or hear clearly the gospel. But Scripture gives good news as the crooked will become straight.

The crooked are only able to become straight through God’s divine gift of repentance. God alone is able to grant repentance that leads to life (Acts 11:18). We see this effectual grace taking place in the life of Paul as his crooked heart is made straight and remaining at a street named Straight when meeting Ananias (Acts 9:5, 11). The way of salvation through Jesus is straight and narrow (Matthew 7:13-14).

Moreover, man’s heart is also like a rough road; a hardened heart. This rough road also symbolizes man’s idolatry (Jeremiah 2:25). An idolatrous and stubborn heart is unable and unwilling to receive the gospel of Christ (Romans 2:5). However, again, only repentance granted by God is able to soften the hard and rough heart of sinful man. For by God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8) can a man be saved for it is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). Pharaoh’s heart, before letting the Jews free, exemplifies the hardness of man’s sinful heart, and that only by the supernatural work of God is able to change the heart to repent and believe. In other words, the rough heart becomes smooth. This illustrates the grace of God that makes the sinner righteous through Christ. As David defeated Goliath with one smooth rock, it is by repenting of our unbelief once by God’s grace are we saved.

In verse 6, Luke mentions all flesh will see the salvation of God. All flesh meaning any man that repents and believes in Jesus Christ for their salvation. The word “see” in this verse is key to understand the repentant heart. This seeing signifies God at work who opens eyes to recognize Jesus Christ, which leads to repentance and faith in Him. It is not enough to be saved by merely recognizing who Jesus is, as the demons also knew who He was, but our response before the Jesus who is alive. The proper response, again, is repentance for the forgiveness of sins and receiving of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38).

Therefore, those that see Jesus Christ continually devote themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (Acts 2:42). Christians understand without devoting to the aforementioned things, we are unable to see Christ, so we practice daily the joy of being with our Lord as He allowed us to repent and see the salvation of God.

Churches often forgo the topic of repentance in lieu of more popular topics, such as love and peace. But repentance is the singularly vital topic in the church. Without repentance, there is no love, peace, sanctification, glorification, or any other aspects of Christianity, because we would still be objects of wrath.

It is only through repentance, that Christians are completely forgiven – no longer at enmity with God and able therefore to call God, “Abba, Father.”

How do we know we are forgiven by repentance of sins? The Scripture says so. What is written is what God says (v.4) so we know that there is no discrepancy between God’s Word and what God says. What was written in the Book is everlasting, just like God. In these verses, Luke quotes from the Book of Isaiah, which was written hundreds of years before by the namesake prophet and shows that what was written is valid and effective by showing the fulfilment of the prophecy. Because God’s Word will remain forever (Mt 24:34-35), we can be sure that if Scriptures says that we’ll be forgiven by repentance, then repentance is indeed the only way of receiving forgiveness. Unlike emotions, the Word is not susceptible to change, and, therefore is the final authority in the matter of truth, including repentance. The authority of Scripture is seen in the way God works in history through promises and prophecies.

In fact, there are more than 400 prophecies in the Bible that have already been fulfilled by the first coming of our Messiah Jesus. These are not coincidences – his prophecies are fulfilled because God is the Author of all History. One can even state that the prophecies that are written in the Scriptures are prophesied by God himself. Take Isaiah 40, when it reads that there is “a voice of one calling, ‘In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord.’” Whose voice is it? It is that of John the Baptist. He was a herald, a front-runner that went before Jesus. He was preparing the way before the King’s arrival, warning people to prepare themselves before His coming. What is the way of the King? It is the Highway of Holiness (Is 35:8).

What is repentance?

It begins with an understanding of our own depraved hearts. Verse 5 depicts the condition of our hearts before repentance, like ravines needing to be filled. According to the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary, a ravine is “a long deep hollow worn by a stream or torrent of water; hence, any long deep hollow or pass through mountains.” Our hearts can only be filled with the satisfaction of salvation, carried out through repentance. Before repentance, our hearts are desperately sick and deceitful (Jer 17:9), totally depraved. Total depravity, according to William G.T. Shedd, is the “entire absence of holiness, not the highest intensity of sin.” We are spiritually dead, with ravines that need to be filled.

True repentance, then, is not just about emotional response – remorse, guilt – but about the heart change that occurs by reflecting on our ideas, our choices, and actions against God’s standards. In repentance, we are forgiven, freed from sin, found without debt, and experiencing the mercy and grace of God. Our hearts must be filled with the Holy Spirit. We must be filled with the Holy Spirit in all circumstances, even through persecutions. This is not possible naturally, but supernaturally; we are completely healed when our ravines are filled with the Spirit. Only God satisfies the thirsty soul, filling it with that which is good (Ps 107:9). We are instructed to “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand” (Mt 4:17). Share with others how you have been forgiven through repentance. If you repent, you will be saved, you will be satisfied, and your spiritual ravine will be filled.

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.