Good morning, Reformation Covenant Church. It's good to be with you all this Lord's Day. If you're visiting with us, my name is Britton Brewer. I'm one of the pastors here. We're very glad to have you worship with us this morning. This morning's passage comes at the tail end of several statements that Jesus makes on judgment that's coming to the people that he's speaking to. And now, as he finishes up that talk on judgment, he now gives them the means by which they can prevent it, the means by which they can move away from it, namely repentance. We're gonna be covering today what many probably consider to be the basics of Christian faith. And yet, it's still good for us to return to these things, to remind ourselves what it is that the Lord requires of us. So let's ask the Lord now to help us as we consider his word. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you that even as you wrote it down 2,000 years ago and beyond, that it still speaks to us. And by the words and the mouths of the apostles and the prophets, you have given us everything we need for life and godliness. I pray, Father, as we now attend to the words of Christ, that you would help us. Help us to be a people who walk in repentance. Help us to be a people who love your word. And Lord, we pray that you would turn your face upon us to shine it upon us that we may be saved. And it's in the name of Jesus that we pray. Amen. Many of you, I'm sure, if you've been to New York City or a college campus, you're walking through the streets or through the quad, you'll eventually come upon a person who looks a little weird, they may seem a little disheveled, they may have a microphone or a megaphone, and they're saying something to the people passing by, and generally it sounds something like this, God is coming back, you need to repent or you will go to hell. Have any of you encountered those evangelists you see? Now, for many of us, I think, we're tempted to, when we walk by, pretend like we don't see them, either because we think we don't need to heed their message, or perhaps, I think maybe more commonly, we don't want to be associated with these people. We don't want to be associated with the Christians that make a big fuss about this. We don't want to be perceived like the Westboro Baptist people. But the thing about those people is they're giving the same message that Jesus gave 2,000 years ago. And if our attempts to deflect or our desire maybe not to be associated with them, we're actually disassociating ourselves from the word that Jesus gave. It's the word that Jesus gives in this passage, that unless you repent, you will perish. That word that Jesus spoke is the same word that so many of us don't want to emphasize. Maybe we want to emphasize the healing and the life and the goodness and the joy that Jesus brings, and that's absolutely true. We've seen that in the Gospel of Luke. Jesus comes preaching, he preaches life, he frees people from demons, he heals the sick. But what we forget is the fundamental message that he comes preaching. Repent, or you too will perish. Repent or your fate will be worse than anything you've seen on earth. Repent or the judgment of God is coming. Again, maybe we feel in our hearts the desire to deflect. Maybe we're thinking, oh my goodness, there's visitors here and he's preaching on this. But this is the good news that Jesus brings, repent. And this passage is clearer than almost any other, I think, in the gospel of Luke about what it is that we are required to do. If we are to take Jesus at His word, if we're to hear the gospel message and to respond accordingly, what is it we are to do? Jesus makes it very clear, repent. In this passage today, I want us to see two things when it's speaking about repentance, okay? First of all, I want us to see the need for repentance. The need for repentance. And what we'll see, I'm gonna give you the shorthand version here. We all need it. There's no surprise. We all need it. It's the fundamental need. If we're going to come into the presence of the living God, if we're going to have communion with him, if we're gonna have communion with each other, As saints, the thing we need is repentance. That's the first thing we're going to see. The second thing is this, what is it that leads us to repentance? The need for repentance and then second, what it is that leads for repentance. And this second one, what leads us to repentance is often the thing that we forget. The thing that leads us to repentance, again, I'm going to give you the answer here, is the mercy of God. It's the patience of God. It's the forbearance of God towards sinners like you and me. So what is it that we need? We need repentance. What is it that leads us to repentance? the kindness of God. Ultimately, the kindness of God showed to us in the Lord Jesus. Well, in our passage, as we come up to it, like I said, we're coming on the tail end of a long chapter on judgment. Jesus is speaking to those around him. And probably in this context, they're hearing of judgment, they're hearing of things. And Luke tells us that in the midst of all this, there are some in the crowds who are possibly, there's two options, either they're there already, or another way to translate that they were present is they were arriving. Okay, so people who were already there or possibly people who were arriving near the end of Jesus' discourse, they hear this. Sorry, there's all of a sudden a ledge here that there was not previous. They hear this, they hear the word of judgment that Jesus is bringing, and probably, at least this is in my read, they begin to think of things that sound similar to what Jesus is saying. They begin to try to figure out what this judgment might look like, what this discipline, this punishment might mean when it's realized in history. And those present, they come to Jesus and they tell him news of a horrific slaughter of Galileans. It tells us that there were Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. Now, as they're bringing their sacrifices, that means this was likely in or around the temple. Galileans, if you know your Bible, right, that's the hometown of Jesus, so Jesus maybe perhaps would have known some of these people, perhaps, or had some affinity for them. Nevertheless, they ask him, or they speak to him about this news. Now, what's interesting about this is we don't have a record of this event in any other source outside the Bible. Obviously, some people will take that as an excuse to mean it didn't happen or it's not reliable. That's not the case. We do have several accounts of what happened under the reign of Pontius Pilate, and he was not a good man. Based off what we know, how he treated the Jews, how he treated the enemies of Rome, something like this should not surprise us. This was the kind of man Pilate was. This was the kind of thing that often, not all the time, but often occurred in Roman occupied territory. Now, we're not clear about why exactly they bring this up. Again, I'm suggesting to you it's because they're trying to put these pieces together of what judgment looks like, but Jesus responds. It says he answers them. He answers them. If you notice, they didn't ask a question. but it says he answers them. Now, I think there are two options for us, and they're not mutually exclusive about maybe the implied question that was given. The first option that we can see from the text that based off Jesus' response is that the implied question is, what did they do to deserve this? What did they do to have their lives taken and their blood mixed with their sacrifices? That's one question. But the other question, I think this is also a good one that many commentators have seen, is the implied question of, Jesus, what are you going to do about this? What are you going to do about all the enemies who continue to kill us? Now, we don't have to choose. Both are there, I think. But Jesus addresses the main one, primarily that first one. What do they do to deserve this? Now, this is not an unfamiliar question to us. We ask it still today whenever there's a national tragedy. Whenever a horrific event occurs, we hear all over the place, what do they do to deserve this? We see this throughout scripture. God's judgment is often associated directly with the deeds of wicked men. We see this in Job. We see this in John with the man born blind, where the Pharisees and the Jews are saying, you're a sinner and you were born blind. And Jesus says, no, it's not him or his parents, but that God might be glorified. Even just a few weeks ago in China, a bridge collapsed and killed 34 people. These horrific events that occur that we wonder what it is that caused this, what it is that brought this upon them, And what they don't realize is they're asking a question, the answer to which they are not expecting and they really probably don't want to hear. What I was thinking of when I came to this and was meditating on this passage was some people in the kindness of their hearts will come to me and ask me what I'm researching for my dissertation. And as soon as they ask me and I start answering, I see the look of regret on their face that they would ask. And they start sort of reaching behind them, trying to find someone who's walking by They're asking a question, good natured, and they have no idea what they're about to get. Similarly, these Jews, perhaps implicitly, are asking this question. They don't realize what it is that Jesus is going to say to them. Again, they may be expecting the counsel of Job, excuse me, the counsel that was given to Job. You're a sinner. These things happen. Repent and you'll go better. or they may have been expecting, again, a more overtly political statement, this is horrible, I'm coming to overthrow these wicked Romans. That's not what Jesus says. Jesus says this. Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered in this way? Truly, this is horrific suffering. This is horrific injustice done against these people. This could have been a platform for Jesus to do all manner of things if he was coming to bring political revolution. He could have said a number of things that would have furthered his mission in order to incite revolt, to incite the people, and he doesn't. Here's what he says. No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Again, he could have said, yes, it's horrific, and I'm coming to kill the bad guys. Or he could have said, they were war sinners, and you can not worry about yourself too much, as long as you're good enough. That's not what he says. Unless you repent, you are going to die and perish. After this, Jesus then refers to another event. Apparently, in that time, a tower, again, not something we have record of outside of the Bible, but again, doesn't take us long to imagine that an event like this can happen. A tower outside of Siloam, which was just outside of Jerusalem, a specific portion of Jerusalem, a tower fell and killed 18 people. The first event, Jesus is addressing the works perpetrated by a sinful man, grievous, oppressive, unjust. The second event, far removed, again, not brought up by the questioners, but now Jesus is going to the natural world, An unfortunate circumstance. A tower falls, a rock gets unlodged, and the whole building collapses. What about that? Are these people worse? And Jesus again responds with the same thing. Do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. He gives the same answer. Whether it's wicked men doing wicked things or it's the consequences of living in a world wrought by sin and wrought by death, whenever we look at it, Jesus is saying, this is an opportunity not to reflect on victimhood, not to reflect on political upheaval, not to reflect on how good you are or how good you could be. This is a moment to reflect on unless you repent, you too will likewise perish. Now, picking up on something that Pastor Bo has discussed, it's very likely, and I think there are good reasons for us to be justified in seeing this, that he's speaking concerning, firstly, the destruction of Jerusalem that's going to be coming in 40 years. But if we leave it there, if that's all we see, we're actually falling into the trap that Jesus is trying to prevent us from seeing. Okay, or excuse me, prevent us from trying to fall into. Because then that would mean the Jews, they're way worse sinners and we never have to worry about that ever again. That's not what he says. Unless you repent, you too will perish. The message is just as much for us as it was for them. Because ultimately he's not talking about just dying. Remember what Jesus says, don't fear those who can only kill the body. Don't fear those who can only hurt your physical form and then afterwards can't do anything. Don't fear the events that only crush your bodies and squash the life out of you. Don't fear those. Don't worry about those. What you really need to worry about, what you really need to be concerned about is the one who can do that and then condemn you. That's the perishing that Jesus is talking about here. He's not talking about physical death. He's talking about the weight of judgment that's coming upon each and every sinner unless they repent. And so for us, that message should hit our ears in the same exact way that it hit these people's ears 2,000 years ago. Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Now for many of us, I think, we probably, we sort of hold up our hand in the air and we think, well, I've already repented. I've already come to Christ. I've already turned from my sins. If you know your Reformation history, you know what the very first thesis was that Martin Luther put when he nailed the 95 theses on the door of the church. He said this, our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when he said repent, willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance. So on the one hand, it doesn't matter what you decided 10 years ago, or 20 years ago, or five years ago, or a week ago. It does not matter. The call of Christ is the same. Are you repenting now? Are you turning from your sin now? Are you heeding the call now? Because regardless of your growth in grace, the presence of sin remains abhorrent. regardless of how sanctified you are, regardless of how much you grow in love to obedience, the remnant of sin in your life is enough to warrant condemnation. It doesn't mean you sin once and you're outside the grace of God. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is the right and just desserts of any sin is eternal perishing. So when Jesus says repent, what he's calling for each of us to do is this, that is to recognize that anything short of eternal damnation is grace. Anything short of eternal separation from God is the grace of God. to see your sin in that light, to know so clearly about what it means when you snap at your wife, or when you allow that lustful thought to take root in your heart, or when you consider those around you and you let bitterness creep in. Do you realize that that sin alone is worth eternal damnation? We like to quantify things, we like to qualify things. We like to compare our sin to other person's, you know, maybe I did that, but I didn't do that. If you think that, you are so far missing the point of what Jesus is saying. He's not saying unless you're good enough, you too will perish. He's not saying if you keep track of your virtue and you tabulate it up and your goods outweigh the bads, then you'll be fine. No, unless he repents, because each and every one of us has the same problem. Our problem is, is at the very root of our heart, we hate and rebel constantly against God. And even when we've come to Christ, that remnant, that residual sin that lies in our heart continues to direct us away from him. And unless repentance is the posture and the habit of our lives, it's going to very quickly work out poorly for us. So the question is, it's not did you repent? It's not have you repented, it's are you repenting? Are you repenting? Some of you will come to Pastor Bo or myself or any of the other pastors for pastoral counseling, and one of the things you'll hear us talk about so often is, are you repenting? What's your sin? Where must you be convicted? The only reason we do that is not because we're sticklers for the rules. It's not because we just want people to be sorry. We do it because that's what Jesus did. In fact, Jesus puts his finger firmly and perhaps for many of us might sound harshly on what the main problem is. It's repentance. Are you repenting? If you don't, you allow yourself to be mired in sin, the threat of perishing remains. Repent. I don't think the application that I'm trying to make is unclear. I think it's pretty simple. How does this text speak to your life? Repent. We all need it. We all have to do it. If we don't, we will be severed eternally from God. That's the first point. The need for repentance. Here's the second point I want us to see in our passage this morning. And this is what is it that leads us to repentance. If this is what repentance is, recognition of the weight and the guilt and the desserts of our sin, turning from it, what is it that leads us there? Because so often I know, for many of us I'm sure, if you're anything like me, Repentance, true repentance, true remorse, true grief over sin, sometimes the smallest sins. Oftentimes it's the smallest sins. It's difficult to manufacture. It's difficult to produce. If we don't feel guilty already, it's very hard to work that up in us. So the question is how do we get there? How do we get to repentance? And here's the answer that this passage gives us in the form of a parable, the answer is this, like I said, it's the forbearance, it's the patience, it's the kindness of God that should lead you into a true grief and a true hatred for the sin that clings so closely. Here's how we're gonna look at this. We're looking at the parable, verses six through nine. Based on the context, it's quite clear, grammatically, that Jesus, after calling them to repent, immediately he moves into this parable. He tells them a story of a man who plants a fig tree in his vineyard. Now, it sounds like a weird thing, a fig tree in a vineyard, but it's not. It was quite common, actually, to have in your vineyard a variety of different fruits and fruit-bearing trees. And like any person who plants a fruit bearing plant, the whole point of planting that plant is to get the fruit. You don't plant it to look pretty, although many of them look pretty, you plant it because you want fruit out of it. That's exactly what the master does. He plants this tree and for at least for three years, not for at least three years, but for three years, he comes and he checks and he looks and he sees if it's bearing fruit. Now, there's nothing, I don't think, any reason that we should read into the three years. This was a general time frame that one should give for fig trees to start bearing fruit. They often didn't start immediately, but it took time, up to three years. And so, the master of this vineyard, he's doing what he should do. He's just checking in, he's giving it ample time, giving it a completely appropriate amount of time. And yet, still, after three years, the fig tree is not bearing fruit. So to his dismay, when he sees finally after three years that this fruit is still not coming, he says to the vine dresser, rip it out. Rip it out. This soil is perfectly good soil. We shouldn't waste it on this fig tree that's not bearing fruit. Just rip it out and get rid of it. And the vine dresser says, I understand, I get it, you know, you're right to do this in one sense, but give me time, let me cut around it, let me dig into it, let me apply compost and fertilizer and tend to it and see if in another year, already well past, the time that should be allotted to letting a tree bear fruit. At least this kind of tree to bear fruit. Let's see. Let's see what happens. See if at the end of this year it begins to bear fruit. And if not, then yeah, you can cut it down. Cut it down and get rid of it. Now, a brief reminder on parables. Parables are not meant to be read allegorically. We're not meant to find in every detail some parallel to reality. In fact, if we tried to read this parable allegorically, we would end up in a whole lot of confusion. But the main principle is this. It tells the story of God's patience with his people. It tells the story of God's patience with his people. The fig tree in the vineyard, that's Israel. And I think more largely considered, that's just the people of God. We read in Isaiah that God had planted a vineyard. In other portions of scripture, Israel is compared to a fig tree. This is the people of God that God planted and he's expecting fruit. That's why he planted it there. That's why he redeemed the people. That's why he brought them out of Egypt was to have fruit. The master and the vinedresser in this parable, both of those are God. We shouldn't see like God the father and God the son. No, bad, really bad. This is God. God the just judge and God the kind and loving father. But the main point, the central detail of this parable is the fruit. That's the main detail that we wanna see, it's the fruit. And here's what's a little different than maybe what we expect. When we think of fruits, we think of perhaps what John the Baptist preached, bear fruits in keeping with repentance. That's what we'll hear or what we think. And that's absolutely right. The fruits in keeping with repentance are obedience. Obeying God's law, God gives us plenty of instructions on how to obey him, how to love him, how to serve him in the Bible. They're all over the place. And these are good and right that God gives us to them. But in this parable, the fruit is not necessarily obedience, okay? The fruit in this parable is repentance. The fruit that God is expecting from His people, first and foremost, is recognition of their sin and turning to Him for mercy. That's what He wants. All manner of obedience and good things flow out of that, but the thing that God is looking for is a penitent people. He's looking for a people who know their position, who know Him, and what does Isaiah say? Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts. This three times holy God and us, these people, that's the kind of people that God wants. And that's where obedience begins. seeing yourself, seeing God, seeing your sin and turning from it. Grief and hatred unto God. That's the central detail, okay, the fruit. And what is it? Like I said, it's repentance. Here's the main point though of this parable. When God could have done perfectly, justly, and already shown, has He already shown enough forbearance as He's let this tree grow three years, He would have been perfectly vindicated and just to have ripped it up and thrown it away. There would have been no issue, no one could call foul. And what does He decide to do? He gives more grace. He gives more time. And not only that, he actually puts himself into it and begins to apply his hands to a tree that's not bearing any fruit. As we think about this parable, what it tells us, what it shows us, is that in the midst of us, of people like us, impenitent, so slow to recognize our own sin, and so careless in our thoughts, God in His justice, God in His equity, God in His righteousness, would be perfectly justified to do away with us. to get rid of us. But he doesn't. No, instead, he shows his mercy to you. He shows his kindness to you. He delays. He disciplines, absolutely, and the discipline is meant to be painful to lead us into repentance, but all of it is a demonstration of God's mercy, God's love, God's grace, that we as a people rightly deserving destruction. he would forbear. A people who regularly hammer away and resist his will, nevertheless, he bears patiently with us. In the Hebrew Bible, the phrase is this, he's long of nose. He's slow to anger, showing his mercy and his steadfast love to thousands. This kindness, this mercy, this grace that he shows us, though it has a purpose, it has an end in sight, it is meant to effect a result. Romans 2, it is God's kindness that is meant to lead you into repentance. Or 2 Peter 3, the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient towards you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. The thing that leads us, people like us, slowly but surely into repentance is the grace of God. And I don't mean just, I do mean this in one sense. First of all, the fact that you are here And perhaps if you're an unbeliever, if you've not repented of your sin, the fact that you still have air in your lungs is a demonstration of God's kindness because he's giving you more time. He's giving you opportunity. He's giving you a chance. And chance after chance after chance. That is God's kindness. As He delays, as He shows patience, as He allows people to grow, as He slowly and tenderly and carefully brings people out of their sin. But the other one is this. When we see God's grace, when we understand what it is, when we understand what God could have done and it's right to do so and then what he does instead, the only thing that that should produce in you is gratitude and worship and awe. Because you rebelled against an infinite and eternal, a thrice holy God. And he has allowed you to continue to breathe. and he gives you good gifts, he makes the sun to shine on the wicked and the just alike, he gives you food, he gives you clothes, he calls you into his people, he feeds you by his word, he feeds you at the table. The only thing that that should evoke in you is awe at the grace and the kindness of our God. The danger of this, the danger for each one of us that looms very close at hand for all of us when we hear this word is the thought that we can presume upon this grace. You have a few more minutes. I've got a little bit more time. I can push off repentance, let me just, I know I'm supposed to be good, but let me just have this, let me see what the world's like, and let me just do this, and then I'll come and repent. That's the very thing that Paul and that Jesus and that the rest of the Bible constantly warns us against. Because when you presume upon God's grace, you move yourself further and further and further and further away from the intended result. If you, right now, are aware of a sin in your life that you know is causing you to wrong someone else, to offend the holiness of God, to offend the glory of God, and you think, I'll repent tomorrow. I'll change my ways tomorrow, I'll just take it easy today. You are fundamentally misunderstanding the grace that God has given you. Hebrews says, as long as it is called today, as long as it is called today, you are not promised tomorrow, you're not promised anything else except what the Lord has given you now. And this very moment is a gift of God to show you your sin and to lead you into repentance. Here's where I want to conclude. I want to tell you what it is that when we catch a glimpse of it, is a thing that really and should rightly be what forces us into repentance. Here's what it is. Like I said, it's the goodness, it's the kindness, it's the mercy of God that leads us into repentance. The greatest act of God's goodness, the greatest act of God's kindness, actually Paul in Titus 3 calls it God's philanthropy, his love of man, his benevolence towards us, was when he took the perishing that you deserved, that was coming to you, and he put it on Jesus. when he took the condemnation that rested upon you, and then he placed it on Christ, the one who did no wrong, who never sinned, who did nothing to warrant such punishment, in fact, the opposite, to see that, to see your judgment placed on him. should be the thing that illuminates for you just what it means for God to be gracious for you and just how horrific your sin is. John Duncan, Scottish pastor whom I've quoted before in one of his class lectures, asked his students, do you know what the cross was? Do you know what it was? He said, it was condemnation. and he took it lovingly. He took it lovingly for you. He took it because the judgment of God laid upon your head and he took it because he loved you. So inside of that, inside of what God has done in Christ, Will you repent? That's the question. Will you repent? It's what Jesus asked 2,000 years ago and what he's asking you now. Will you repent and will you come to him and will you trust him? Let's pray. Father, we thank you that your kindness, your grace, your love is the thing that you have used to move us and to lead us into repentance. Father, I pray that for all of us, as we heed the word of Christ, that you would help us to turn to you and to repent. That we come to you conscious of our sin, conscious of the ways that we have failed, and we would find in you a kind and a loving and a forgiving God. Help us, Lord, in our weakness, sustain us as we fail, and guard us and preserve us from our own sin. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen. Our communion homily is from Romans chapter 6, verses 8 through 11. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again. Death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Amen. Every week, we say this every Sunday, that we gather to participate in this meal commemorating, remembering Christ's death. But every week that you do this, that you and I partake of this meal, we're actually here to celebrate another death. We're here to celebrate the death that you and I died to sin when we believed in Christ. Because what this meal tells us is not just that Jesus died and lives, but it reminds us that we too have died. And we live with Him. And more than that, we get to eat with Him, and we get to drink with Him, and we get to be called friends of the living God. What that means for you, if you're coming to this table, if there's something that's preventing you from repenting, from exposing your sin, from bringing it into the light, you need to remember something. First of all, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For those who believe in Christ, you relate to your father as a father. You're not under the law of sin. You're not under the law of death. You have died to it. And you can come freely in repentance because you know and you're assured Now, the God who calls you to repentance is actually your father, and he's the one who's done everything necessary to assure and to secure your union and communion with him. Now, if you're not a believer in Christ, you stand outside of that. This meal is not for you if you have not turned from your sin to Christ and called on him by faith. This meal is not for you, but repentance is. And you can come freely, you can come readily and quickly. But if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, this meal is another demonstration of God's kindness. that even as you live with Him, even in the sin that continues in your heart, He still calls you His own, He still calls you a son, He calls you a daughter, because you live in Jesus and you get to come again and again in fellowship with your Father. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us keep the feast.