Pastor
Michael Neumann
March 7, 2010
Luke 13:1-9
Listen
to Christ’s call to repentance.
1) Repentance is
necessary.
2) Now is the
time to repent.
What is the worst tragedy you can imagine? A father and mother killed in a car accident,
leaving several young children as orphans? A child killed in a senseless act of violence? A city destroyed by a hurricane or earthquake,
killing hundreds and leaving thousands more homeless? I think everyone would agree that those are
terrible tragedies. But those things
don’t even compare to the tragedy of a person who rejects Jesus as Savior and
is lost eternally. There is no greater
tragedy than someone who loses their faith in Jesus and is condemned to an
eternity in hell.
Our salvation has been secured by
Jesus. His death on the cross has paid
for all our sins. It is finished. By the work of the Holy Spirit, we have been
brought to faith to trust in Jesus as our Savior. But that faith can be lost. The Bible is filled with encouragements for
us to stand firm in the faith and to grow in the faith. The Bible is filled with warnings not to
become complacent in our faith. We heard
one of those warnings in our Second Lesson a little earlier. The apostle Paul reminded us how some of
those Israelites who had seen God’s miraculous deliverance from
Jesus reminds us in our text of our
need for regular, daily repentance. Martin
Luther reminds us of that need for ongoing repentance in his explanation to
Baptism. Luther says, “the old Adam in
us should be drowned by daily contrition and repentance, and that all its evil
deed and desires be put to death. It
also means that a new person should daily arise to live before God in
righteousness and purity forever.” So
listen to Christ’s call to repentance. Repentance is necessary. Now is
the time to repent.
Some people in the crowd directed
Jesus’ attention to a terrible tragedy that had occurred in
When we see some great tragedy
occur, we might be tempted to think that the tragedy is a punishment for some
great sin. Some times there is an
obvious connection between sin and judgment. The person who robs a bank at gunpoint and is shot down by the police as
he tries to make his escape – the connection between his sin and the tragedy
that occurs is obvious. The person who
lives a promiscuous life and contracts some terrible disease, or the person who
abuses drugs or alcohol and suffers terrible health problems – again the
connection is obvious. But in most
cases, there isn’t such a connection between a tragedy and some particular
sin. The person killed in a car accident
or by a tornado isn’t necessarily being punished for some specific sin. Yet, we are sometimes tempted to think that
such tragedies are a punishment from the Lord.
Perhaps sometimes, behind such
thinking is the thought that I am better – I don’t deserve to have such
suffering come into my life or to meet with such a terrible end. Sometimes a person is tempted to think that
if nothing bad happens in my life or if everything goes well for me, it is a
sign that they have been living a good life. But just because everything goes well for me, doesn’t mean that I can be
complacent in my repentance. It doesn’t
mean I am any better than someone who is suffering greatly. It isn’t necessarily a sign of God’s favor. In the same way, suffering and tragedy in a
person’s life isn’t necessarily a sign of God’s disfavor.
Sin is the root cause of all evil
and all suffering in the world. So when
we see tragedies and these kinds of terrible events happening in our world, it
should remind us of our own sinfulness. It should remind us of the need that we have to repent. Tragic events are a preaching of the
law. They remind us that as God says,
“The soul who sins is the one who will die.” Since every one of us is a sinner, every one of us will one day face
death. So tragedy should lead us to consider
our own relationship with the eternal God.
So when we see some tragedy, instead
of thinking of their sins which
would make me proud, I should think of my
own which will make me humble. Instead of speculating upon their guilt, which isn’t my concern,
I should turn my eyes inward and think upon my own sin and guilt, for which I must personally answer before
the Almighty God. Then I will ask,
"Have I repented of my sin?” I don’t
need to be asking whether or not they
have: have I? Since the same or a similar tragedy could
occur to me, am I prepared to meet it? Do I, through the Holy Spirit's convincing, recognize
the blackness and total depravity of my heart? Have I been led to confess before God that I
deserve his anger and nothing more, and that his displeasure, if it comes on
me, is deserved? Do I hate sin? Have I learned to detest it? Have I, through the Holy Spirit, turned away
from it as from a deadly poison, and do I seek to now honor Christ my Lord and
Savior? Am I washed in his blood? Do I bear his likeness? Do I reflect his character? Do I seek to live to his praise? If not, I am in as great danger as they were,
and I may be just as suddenly cut off, and then where am I? So don’t ask where are they? Or why did this happen to
them? As though trying to pry
into the eternal destiny of those people who have suffered tragedy. How much better to inquire and be concerned
about our own eternity and future state!
How tempting us to put off
repentance, to put the Lord aside until tomorrow. When I’m less busy, when this is over and that
is done – then I’ll have more time to give to the Lord and to church.
Every one of us needs to heed
Christ’s call to repentance. Every one
of us are sinners who deserve nothing but God’s punishment. Repentance is necessary.
And now is the time for
repentance. God is patient. God’s desire is the salvation of
everyone. The apostle Peter tells us,
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He
is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to
repentance.”
God’s desire is that everyone come
to repentance and faith. But God’s
patience does have its limit. The day of
judgment will come. Tragedies should
remind us that the end of our lives could come at any moment. We need to always be prepared for that day of
judgment. Jesus warns us, “Therefore
keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house
had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch
and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of
Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” We don’t know when we will be called to stand
before God to give an account and so we need to be prepared at all times. We need to live in repentance.
Repentance isn’t just sorrow over
sin. It is more than that. Repentance is a way of life. It is a way of thinking and acting. To repent really means to change your mind;
to think differently. Repentance begins
with godly sorrow over our sin as we recognize that we have offended a holy
God. But repentance also turns to God
for forgiveness. Repentance trusts in
God’s forgiveness in Jesus. Repentance
turns away from sin. Repentance means a
reworking, a changing of the way we think and act. Instead of thinking we are pretty good
people, who deserve anything from God - repentance recognizes the terrible
sinners that we are. Instead of thinking
first of ourselves, being selfish - repentance places others ahead of
ourselves. Instead of greed, repentance
means being generous. Repentance places
the Lord and his word number one in our hearts and in our lives. Repentance changes everything.
We
realize how often we fail. How many
times we struggle to change our way of thinking. It is only with God’s help that we can live
our lives in repentance. Part of
repentance is looking to our Savior and seeing his forgiveness and
salvation. That then motivates us to
live that life of repentance. Motivates
us and strengthens us to change our hearts and lives.
Finally, repentance is an act of faith. It is something that God must work in
us. As Paul writes to the Ephesians,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can
boast. For we are God’s workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us
to do.”
The only reason that we have
opportunity to repent of our sins is because of Jesus’ work. Jesus was someone who suffered – not because
of anything that he had done. He was not
guilty. He was completely without
sin. And yet, Jesus suffered a most
shameful, horrific death. He did that as
our substitute. Jesus took on himself
all of our guilt and sin and he suffered the consequences and punishment for
the sins of the world.
We see Jesus pictured in the
caretaker of the vineyard in the parable. As unfruitful sinners, we deserve to be cut down and thrown into the
fires of hell. God created us and has
the right to expect that we will serve him and produce good works in our
lives. And when we fail, he has the
right to punish us. But Jesus speaks on
our defense. He pleads for patience and
mercy on God’s behalf, because of Jesus sacrifice. The apostle John says to us, “My dear
children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does
sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the
Righteous One.” And the apostle Paul
writes, “Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who
was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” Jesus is our mediator.
Having called us to repentance,
Jesus continues to work to encourage repentance and good works in our
lives. Like the caretaker in the
parable, who carefully digs around the root of the tree and fertilizes it so
that it becomes productive, so Jesus works with his word to make us more
productive. With his law, Jesus points
out our sin and calls us to repentance. With his gospel, Jesus assures us that our sins are forgiven, assures us
that he has secured our eternal future in heaven – and motivates us to serve
him more and more out of love and thanks.
When it comes to our salvation, God
has done everything necessary so that we are without excuse. Jesus took our sin and guilt on himself to do
away with them. The Holy Spirit, through
the gospel, has worked faith in our hearts to trust Jesus as Savior.
Live your lives in repentance. When tragedy strikes, let it be a reminder for us of our own sin and our need to repent and turn to the Lord in faith. For the unbeliever who dies in a tragedy, that is a terrible thing. But what is most tragic is that person has died in unbelief and is lost eternally. For the Christian, tragedy has a very different meaning. The Lord uses suffering to discipline us, to draw us to himself and he even promises to use everything for our eternal good. Even if tragedy results in the death of a believer, that is the ultimate blessing from the Lord. That believer has now received his heavenly reward of grace. Live your lives in repentance so that you might always be prepared to greet your Lord and Savior.
