The Gospel of Luke chapter 13 verses 1 to 5. There were present at that season some who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. Jesus answered and said to them, Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners? than all other Galileans because they suffered such things? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. You can almost sense, can't you, a note of frustration almost in the way Jesus replies to these people. It's as if he's saying, why are you asking the wrong questions? It seems the human race has the propensity to, our propensity to ask the wrong questions, it seems to climax in times of tragedy. They don't seem to hone in on the right question, the relevant issue. It is as if the Savior is saying here, the real question here is not, why did this happen to them? The real question is, why has this not happened to all of us? That's the real question. The real question is not, why is there suffering in the world? The real question is, why is there no more suffering in the world? When you think of the way we treat God, we say, we don't think He exists. And if we do happen to think He exists, then we just give Him little service. And then some tragedy happens. And we blame God. If we do happen to think He exists, you see, we think He exists there for our convenience. So if something goes wrong in our lives, just pray to Him. That's what He's there for. As someone has said, we think of Him, or this age seems to think of God as a kind of Santa Claus in the sky. He's just there when you want something good. Just call Him when you're in difficulty, when you're in problems. He's there for your convenience as it were. What is the answer? What is the explanation to why God does not make us suffer more when we ignore Him? And the answer is in 2 Peter chapter 3 when Peter explains the answer is the long suffering of God. There's two things about it. Number one, one day is with the Lord of a thousand years. And a thousand years are as one day to God. Time, you see, doesn't refer to God. Time refers to you and to me. Time's important to you and me, not to God. He's an eternal being. God can wait. God can wait a thousand years to bring His judgments and chastisements on His people. It's you and I that are impatient. And then there's the other thing. God is long-suffering. He delays the execution of what our sins deserve. He delays it to give us time to repent. To see if we'll see our folly. To see if we'll see that if we're left to ourselves, we'll ruin the cosmos. We'll bring trouble on ourselves. That's the explanation. The explanation is God is long-suffering. He's waiting. to see if we will turn. You see, when we rebelled against God, God had the right to instantly consign the whole human race instantly to a lost eternity. That was what our sin deserved. And the fact that it hasn't happened is a matter of God's grace. God's long-suffering just waits. We read there, you see, in the next chapter about the barren fig tree. Three years, that's how long a fig tree took to bring forth fruit. If it didn't bring forth fruit in three years, there was something wrong. But you hear, there's the pleading there, spare it another year. Give it an extra year. We'll give it extra special attention to see will it bring forth fruit. And the husband says, if not then, after that, cut it down. Now as we think of this incident, people worshipping the Galileans, worshipping as it were in their temple, and their enemies come and they destroy them, kill them, massacre them in the midst of their worship. Or these, as it were, innocent 18th people walking past the towering silo and it crumbles and crashes upon them. You'd think, well, isn't it a logical question to ask? Were they greater sinners than all the others in Jerusalem and in Galilee? But you see the point is this, it's only logical to ask that question if you've been conditioned to think. You see, we are conditioned by our environment. We are conditioned to think in a certain way. It's a very important principle. The way we live, our friends, our neighbours, they are all a part of our environment and they teach us to think in a certain way. I remember when I was in school, I remember a little joke they used to play, they played on me. I said, George, are you good at spelling? Oh, I said, yeah. Well, what is this? And they said, what is M-A-C-L-E-A-N? I said, oh, McLean. Oh, that's fine. What is M-A-C-L-E-O-D? Oh, that's McLeod. What is M-A-C-D-O-N-A-L-V? Oh, I said, McDonald. What is M-A-C-P-H-E-E? That's McPhee. And what is M-A-C-H-I-N-E? And I said, Makhine. Makhine. No, no, it's machine. You can't spell, you see, but I was conditioned to think in a certain way. I was conditioned to think, oh, expect. another Scottish surname. Now that is happening to us all through life. We are being conditioned by our environment. We are led by practice to expect certain things to happen and to think in a certain way. Now what are the conditioners, we might say, to our mentality, to our mindset. The books we read, they teach you to think in a certain way. The films you see, they condition us to think a certain way. The soaps, definitely the soaps you watch, will get you to think a certain way. The friends you have, what they say, what they speak, how they live, we're all conditioned by that. So, what they all do, we say, well, that's the standard. That's the way to think. You see, through such things, our values in life are set. Through these things, standards are accepted. We say, well, that's normal practice. What is correct practice? What the Word of God says? What our Maker has stipulated? That's what we should be reading and listening to and measuring things by. The standards God has given to us. Now, it is true, whether we like it or not, the media are very, very selective in what they report. Very selective in the films they show us. Very selective in the programs they present to us. There actually is a disguised message conveyed through the mass media. A corruption that teaches us to think a certain way, so that when a crisis happens, we come out with this. but it's not the correct question to ask in certain circumstances. Unconsciously, we are being shaped and influenced in the way we think and what to expect in life by our environment, by the ethos, by the conditions we live in. And without realizing it, we are being subtly educated in a worldly mindset. That's why it is so, so important to have regular pro-Christian input into our lives. We should have Christian friends, read Christian books, listen to Christian truth. I'm not saying we weren't friendly to the world, but we should never have intimate, worldly friends, or unconsciously they will give us our standards. They will teach us what's acceptable. And because everybody else in the class does it, everyone else in the factory does it, everyone else in the neighborhood does it, we say, well that must be okay. But it's not okay unless our maker, unless our lawgiver, teaches us that's the standard. All the time, unconsciously, we are being conditioned. And the lesson that we've got to learn is this, we must learn to see things from God's point of view. Not from our neighbours, not from everybody else's point of view, but from God's point of view. Now, Jesus here, he is correcting A false Jewish idea that suffering is the direct result of specific sins. Some Jews taught that certain specific behaviour led to certain specific suffering. Jesus is correcting that view. What is correct of course is that suffering is the general indirect result of sin on society as a whole. And as we have often said, part of that curse on the human race for sin and rebellion against God, part of the curse is the uneven distribution of trouble. And not only were you and I, not only was the human race cursed through sin, but the earth was cursed. The earth will now bring forth weeds. Now the weather, there's storms. The animals are affected. Do you know that Adam brought the lion to him, examined them and said, now you're going to be a lion. He called it tiger. He called all the animals too. He was in control of them. They weren't fierce, they weren't dangerous. Before sin. But once sin came into the world, nature as they say is red in tooth and claw. The effect of sin. But as a general effect, we cannot say as you very well know, You cannot say in the Western Isles, well, February was a wet month, March will be dry. You cannot say on this island, we had all our gales for the year, you only get so many gales a year, we've had all our percentage in February, we're going to be OK in March. It doesn't work that way. You know that very well. That's part of the curse. There's not an even distribution of trouble. It's uneven. And so, however much trouble this year has been to you, we cannot assure you, ah, it will be better for the rest of the year. Can't promise you that. That's part of the curse on the whole human race. You see, sin, one of the words, the original word used for sin is, I think we mentioned this recently, or maybe it wasn't here, lawlessness. two ways, lawlessness, with regard to its origin. Supposing tonight you were granted an interview with Adam, and you say to Adam, Adam, remember when you were in the garden, was it good when God placed you in the garden? Was it good? Oh, he says, it was wonderful. It was wonderful. It was so peaceful. The sun was always shining, the animals were there, the flowers were there, everything was so conducive to happiness. Adam, was God bad to you in any way? Oh no, no no, God is good to me. Now Adam, tell me, why did you do it? Why did you sin? What was the reason? Why did you bring this curse on the whole universe? What would he say? I don't know. There's no explanation. You see, sin is lawless. It's lawlessness. There are no principles. He just does his own thing. There's no logic. There's no rhyme or reason. And Adam, oh, why did I do it? He can't tell. Sin, from the very source, is lawlessness. No principles, no logic, nothing. You can't work it out. You go right to the end and say, what are the effects of sin? Well, just as we said, the uneven distribution of the curse. There's no law, no principle. There's no saying, well that's your 5% for this year, next year you'll get another 5%. No, no, you can't tell. There's no principle, there's no standards, there's no logic. It's lawlessness all written over sin. There's no law. Lawlessness. No logic to sin. Now, Jesus is effectively saying here, the whole human race is in exactly the same position as those Galileans in verse 1 and those people of Jerusalem in verse 4. The fact that not all are instantly consigned to hell is a matter of God's grace. That's the explanation. That's the only explanation. You know, if you think God likes You don't have a problem explaining suffering and adversity. Your problem is explaining prosperity. How is it some people prosper when we're all wicked, when we all deserve eternal death, when we all should be abandoned to a lost eternity? The real question is how are there people prospering and blessed in this world? And of course the answer only through the grace of Christ. And it's a matter of grace. But you see, we're conditioned to think differently from God. Have you ever noticed, when angels appear on earth, they seem to be startled at the way we think, our mindset. Acts chapter 1 verse 8, remember when the Saviour ascended up on high, the disciples were gazing up and the angel comes and says, why are you gazing up into heaven there? Now you and I might say, well isn't it logical? He's just gone up there. But the angel would say, wait a minute, you're looking at him as if he's not coming back. You're looking at him as if you'll never see him again. Didn't he say back? Didn't he say he was going away so that he could come back? Is his word not good enough? Do you not believe his word? Do you remember when the angel were at the tomb, the empty tomb with the women, and they were so distressed he wasn't there? And the angel said, why are you searching for the living among the dead? What are you doing looking for him here? Did he not say he'd rise? What are you doing here? Didn't he say he'd rise? Is his word not good enough? Do you not believe everything he says first time? The angels are straight, are confused at our behaviour. Think of the transfiguration. Moses and Elijah, you see, they come back from heaven, as it were. And they are locked in conversation with Jesus there on the top of the mountain. And remember Peter, James and John have fallen asleep. And you say, what's Moses and Elijah and Christ talking about so intently? Why are they locked? What's keeping them locked in conversation so much? Do you know what the answer is? They're locked in conversation over the very thing that put the disciples to sleep. And what was that? He told them, I must suffer, I must go to Jerusalem. And they said, oh he's on about that again, we can't get our head around that, we can't fathom that. And there's Moses and Elijah intent on, obsessed with this decease that was to be accomplished at Jerusalem. It's keeping them going. It's enthralling them. They've been to heaven, you see. They have a different mindset now. A different mindset. So, what all is Jesus saying here? Well, He is saying this, all of us, all of us are similarly perishing if we do not repent. If we do not repent. If we just carry on living our lives without any major paradigm shift we will Do you believe that? Are you just living your life? No intention of any major mindset change in your thinking? Well, you'll perish. Unless you repent, Jesus said, you will all have a similar end. You will all likewise perish. You need a major paradigm shift in your mentality, in your mindset, in your whole lifestyle, in your whole being, in your whole heart, in your whole soul, in your whole person, in your whole lifestyle. There needs to be this major change. You'll And he is saying this too, you know. In a very real way, the way to avoid such a miserable end is to repent. And he is saying, when he is saying that, it is the only way to avoid it. Your end, my end, is similar to these people, unless we repent. It's the only way to avoid such a miserable end. Now I'm not talking about your physical death. I'm talking about your eternal death. You see in the Bible death does not mean the end. That's not what death means. Death means separation. Physical death is separation of body from soul. That's just physical death. Spiritual death is separation of your behavior from God's law. Living apart from, separated from God's law. That's spiritual death. Eternal death. It's being separate from God's comfortable presence forever. Death means separation. There's only one way to avoid it. repent. But it's not just that there's the only way to avoid it, it is a certain way to avoid it. It's a certain way, it's a sure way, it's a safe way. It was a shock to me as a student to discover Christ's first sermon. Right away I said, oh it's a sermon on the mount, Matthew 5. Actually it's not, Matthew 4, 17. What's the summary of Christ's Sermon? REPENT! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. REPENT! Maybe you're here tonight and you're saying, I thought what Jesus said in the Gospel was just come to me. I thought the Gospel was simply believe. Well, that is true. But if you really come to Christ, and if you truly believe in Jesus, the natural reaction will be that you repent. That's a natural, spontaneous effect of really believing on Christ. You see, the best way to see yourself as you really are before God is not to look in the mirror. You want to see how you are before God? Don't look in the mirror. Look at Christ. Look at how Christ reacted and responded to the situation you were in. And then you'll see how God sees you all. Look Christ full in the face. Because when you see Christ you see the perfect human person. Now there is a verse in the Bible that says Jesus is risen and exalted to give repentance and forgiveness of sins. Christ gives repentance and forgiveness of sins. Note, note carefully, repentance is a gift of God. It's not something we have naturally, it's to be given us. Have you ever asked God for the gift of repentance? But we'll remind God reverently and respectfully that His Son rose to the right hand of the Father to give repentance. And ask Him to give it to you. To give you the gift of repentance. And not something else. Not just that repentance is a gift. But will you note, repentance and forgiveness are joined together. The Bible joins repentance and forgiveness together. You cannot have one without the other. You cannot separate them. If you've got the one, you've got together. Repentance and forgiveness of sin are joined together by God. And what God has joined together, let no one put asunder. It applies in the spiritual realm as well as in the realm of marriage. God has joined these things together. Christ is there and He will give you repentance if you ask Him. Genuinely, sincerely. He will give it. He's risen for the purpose of giving it. It's a free gift. Well, just one final thing in conclusion. Unless we repent. Unless we repent. It doesn't matter what kind of sinner you are. If you don't repent, it won't matter what kind of sinner you are. We will all be clasped together in a lost eternity. The vile along with the imperfect. Maybe you're a nice, fine lady or gentleman, but you've never repented You've never seen your sins repent of. If you do not repent, Jesus says, you'll be in hell with a vial. In fact, Jesus says more than that. Do you remember what he said to the goats when he's left? When he sent them off to a lost eternity? Do you remember what he said? He said, depart from me, you cursed. into everlasting fire, prepared for you? No. Prepared for the wicked? No. Prepared for the devil and his angels. Hell was never prepared for human beings. The human beings will be there. Unleash the devil. amongst the devils. So what is the damning sin? The damning sin, the sin that will damn and condemn us to a lost eternity is not something you have done. Everything you have done can be forgiven. The damning sin is something you have not done. you have not repented, and you have not believed on the Son of God. Because the Gospel is, whoever confesses his sin, whoever believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, will be saved without exception. And so it is true, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. May God the Holy Spirit make his word effectual to all of us. Let's bow our heads in prayer.