We have been looking at this great theme of repentance heralded by John the Baptist
We are looking at historical events
His headline: John the Baptist is preaching a gospel for the forgiveness of sins
How do we make sense of the world and personal tragedies
We have a disease called sin
There is an answer in God - the forgiveness of sins
Today is still a day of grace
What will it be like / will I be ready?
Jesus Christ has come to remedy our deep problem of sin - we cannot do this
Explanation of Jesus Christ
The entrance requirement of heaven is perfection
Jesus lives a perfect life that we couldn't live
Jesus dies the death we deserved
Jesus rose again
The disciples turned the world upside as they saw the risen Jesus Christ and were empowered by the Holy Spirit
I heard in 1976 and repented
Repentance - ongoing
Repentance is ongoing in the Christian life
There is the initial repentance of salvation
When we become a child of God
Nothing can ever change this
It has not made us perfect (until heaven)
We still sin, though our desire has been changed
The old nature battles against us
There needs to be continual repentance
We need to keep short accounts
God never stops being our Father
God never stops loving us
We pray for forgiveness of sin for an ongoing relationship with God
We must bear fruit
Personal example
Trees are pruned to produce more fruit
God prunes the works of the flesh ...
... to encourage the fruit of the Spirit
We must yield to Him
Repentance - why so vital?
v7 - "Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" / v9 - " And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."
It is Jesus Christ who takes away sin
John the Baptist is heralding the first coming of Jesus Christ
He is also pointing towards the second coming of Jesus Christ
Judgement Day - the day of wrath
The wrath of God
Not human anger
"His settled opposition against sin"
There is currently a restraint against His wrath - but it will be revealed one day
Paul tells us the wrath of God is being revealed against men
There is a time when God's wrath will be revealed in full
There will come a time when things come to an end (examples) ...
... the culmination of all things
At His second coming
He comes to deal with sin that has not been resolved through Him
All will be there / the dead will be resurrected
Divided into two groups
If your sins been forgiven - you are on the side of the Lamb
If you have not responded to the gospel - you bear the responsibility of sin yourself
Jesus bears our sin in Himself
Repent, belief and turn to Him
Today is the day of salvation
We do not want to be those told to depart from Him
Aim to encounter Christ
There is a third death that we do not want to encounter - an eternal death
Example of Pilgrim's Progress
A sign of being a Christian is Joy
(There should be no proud Christians - from this morning)
There should be no grumpy Christians
Examples
Christian gives three leaps for joy and goes on his way rejoicing
Closing Remarks
Fleeing to Jesus and keep on fleeing to Jesus Christ
