Chapter 16 - THE PREACHING THAT PRODUCES
REPENTANCE
In all that I have written I have failed
completely to express what was surging up in my
soul if I have given anyone the impression that
I think of repentance as something meritorious
which must be produced in man by self-effort ere
he is fit to come to God for salvation. On the
other hand I hope I have made myself clear that
it is the work of the Holy Spirit producing
repentance, that leads any soul to come to
Christ in order to be saved. The formula used by
Paul the Apostle to describe the substance of
his preaching ought to make this plain. He
proclaimed to Jew and Gentile alike the
necessity of "repentance toward God, and faith
toward our Lord Jesus Christ."
Since this is the divine order it behooves
those of us who seek to give the Gospel to a
lost world to inquire as to the type of
preaching that is best calculated to produce
such results. In other words, what kind of
message is needed to bring our hearers to
repentance?
And in trying to answer this very proper
inquiry let me first say that it is not
necessary invariably to use the actual term
"repentance" in order to bring about this very
much to be desired effect. In many quarters men
have attached to the words "repent" and
"repentance" meanings that do not properly
belong to them. So that there is the possibility
that our hearers may altogether misunderstand us
if we urge them, in so many words, to repent.
They may imagine they must, by some effort of
their own, produce that which entitles them to
consider that they have attained a state where
they are acceptable to God. This is not the
truth as set forth in His Word, as every
Bible-taught preacher well knows.
But, on the other hand, it is not wise to be
too squeamish about the use of an expression
which we have seen to be eminently scriptural,
and which the Holy Spirit Himself has used in
all dispensations. John the Baptist and our
Lord, the Twelve Apostles and Paul, preached
that men should repent and do works meet for
repentance; yet in no case did the thought of
anything meritorious on man's part enter into
it. Evidently the term used had not then been
misapplied as it has been since. But what
Biblical expression is there that has not been
perverted in the interest of some false system
throughout the so-called Christian centuries?
Such words as regeneration, justification,
sanctification, yes, and even the very word
salvation itself, have all been grievously
misused and the most unscriptural doctrines have
been built upon them. Are we therefore to
discard the terms themselves, or shall we not
rather seek to present them in a right way,
clarifying their meaning so far as we possibly
can, in order that wrong conclusions may be
averted?
So in the present case we want results. How
best can men be brought to see their lost
condition, and therefore to feel the need of the
salvation God offers so freely in His blessed
Son? In endeavoring so to preach as to bring
this to pass we are not shut up to one method of
presentation, however, though the message must
always be the same. God has only one remedy for
man's lost condition and that is the Gospel of
His grace. But the manner in which this is set
forth may differ according to the circumstances
and the state of mind of the people addressed.
Thus Paul was made all things to all men if by
any means he might save some. And a somewhat
careful analysis of the few sermons recorded in
the book of the Acts will show us how
differently the truth was proclaimed upon
different occasions.
Yet in one thing they all were alike -- in
each instance Christ was lifted up; His life.
His death, His resurrection, His glorious return
personally, and His power to save, were plainly
set forth. The one solitary exception seems, at
first glance, to be Paul's sermon on Mars Hill,
in Athens. But we need to remember that he was
interrupted by a mocking crowd before he had
opportunity to finish. He began by a logical,
calmly reasoned attempt to prove the unity of
the Godhead and so to stress the sin of idolatry
-- for he was addressing a heathen people --
that they might realize their sin and folly.
Then he announced that God, who in His patient
grace had overlooked much of their past
ignorance, "now commandeth all men everywhere to
repent: because he hath appointed a day, in the
which he will judge the world in righteousness,
by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he
hath given assurance unto all men, in that he
hath raised him from the dead" (Acts 17:30-31).
He was now prepared to tell them more of the
Lord Jesus and show how God had set Him forth as
the one only Saviour. "And when they heard of
the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and
others said, We will hear thee again of this
matter" (v. 32). And so they turned
contemptuously away, thus losing, perhaps
forever, the opportunity of hearing the Gospel
of the grace of God, unfolded in all its beauty
and power.
In Peter's sermons, on Pentecost and on the
occasion of the healing of the lame man, he
could bring directly home to his Jewish hearers
their fearful guilt in rejecting the Redeemer
whom God had sent, in accordance with the
ancient oracles, to save and to bless by turning
them away from their iniquities. In great power
He pressed upon them their responsibility in
regard to Jesus, a responsibility they could not
possibly evade.
In each instance conviction seized upon many
who listened, and they repented of the great sin
of Christ-rejection, and identified themselves
with Him whom now they owned as Lord and Saviour
by being baptized in His Name.
In Cornelius' house the method of
presentation was somewhat different, for Peter
was there addressing a Gentile group, but
nevertheless a company who were through Jewish
contact quite familiar with the hope of Israel.
They had heard of Jesus, and of the treatment He
had received at the hands of His own nation.
Peter showed with all simplicity and clearness
how every blessing was bound up with Him. He
rehearsed the story of His wondrous life, His
sacrificial death, and His triumph over the
grave, climaxing all with the glorious message,
"To him give all the prophets witness, that
through his name whosoever believeth in him
shall receive remission of sins" (Acts 10:43).
During the time he was speaking the hearts of
his listeners had been responding to the truth.
When he made this declaration they, as one man,
received the message and the Holy Spirit sealed
and baptized them into the body of Christ.
It is true that repentance as such is not
mentioned, but it is plainly implied. Turning
from all else these Gentiles trusted alone in
Christ.
Paul, in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia,
followed a similar outline, and with amazing
results. It is a model sermon for all who would
endeavor to preach the Gospel today. There was
no effort to be startling or original, no
attempt at eloquence or rhetorical flourish, no
pandering to the natural desire to win the
approval of his audience. Solemnly, honestly,
earnestly, he told the story of Jesus, and
showed at the last that all hope for salvation
was in Him and in Him alone: "Be it known unto
you therefore, men and brethren, that through
this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of
sins: and by him, all that believe are justified
from all things, from which ye could not be
justified by the law of Moses" (Acts 13:38-39).
Then with a solemn warning of the judgment that
must fall upon them if they spurned the message
of grace, he brought his discourse to a close.
The whole city seemed to be stirred by the
sermon of the strange preacher, for the Gentiles
begged that it might be repeated, at least in
substance, to them on the next Sabbath, and the
eventual result was that many were converted and
a church established in that city ere the
Apostle and his companions moved on.
It is noteworthy that so simple a method of
presentation should be accompanied with such
power. But where the preacher is truly a godly
man and seeks in the fear of God to show his
hearers their need and then presents Christ --
His person and His work -- as the all-sufficient
answer to their need, the Holy Spirit can be
depended on to use the Word in producing
conviction and leading to repentance.
The Epistle to the Romans, while not merely a
sermon or homily, but rather a careful treatise,
is the fullest unfolding of the Christian
message given us in the Scriptures. It is true
that in this letter we have the Gospel taught
rather than preached, and in a certain sense it
is the evangel set forth for the clearing of
saints instead of for the salvation of sinners,
yet God has used it, in whole or in part, to
lead thousands to repent and believe in the Lord
Jesus as their Saviour and Lord. He who would
preach so as to produce these desirable results
cannot do better than saturate his own soul and
fill his own mind with the truth as therein set
forth.
How much Augustine in the fourth century and
Luther in the sixteenth owed to this Epistle! It
is the cornerstone of New Testament theology and
the battle-ground of the Reformation. From the
day that the Vicar-general Staupitz drew the
monk Martin's attention to the key verse, "The
just shall live by faith," it began to open up
to the troubled spirit of the earnest young
priest, leading him to see the folly of trusting
any righteousness of His own, and the
blessedness of resting in the righteousness of
God as revealed in the Gospel. This was
repentance indeed, never to be repented of!
In the opening chapters the inspired writer
brings all mankind, as it were, into the
court-room, and proves that all are sinners and
guilty before God. The ignorant heathen are not
to be judged for rejecting a Saviour of whom
they have never heard, but they are already lost
and guilty because of their own sins and will be
judged accordingly. He deals with these sins
unsparingly and in this becomes an example for
all who would faithfully minister the truth to
the souls of sinful men.
In the first part of the second chapter he
exposes the hypocrisy and wickedness of the more
cultured, philosophic class who condemned and
despised their more uncouth and barbaric
fellows, while themselves slaves to enormities
just as vile and abominable in the sight of God.
Then he looks at the religious Jew, boasting in
the Law and priding himself on being of the seed
of Abraham, while his life is such that through
him the Name of God is blasphemed among the
Gentiles. He shows conclusively that none can
ever hope to attain salvation on the ground of
human merit or legal works, "For there is no
difference between the Jew and the Greek." "All
have sinned, and come short of the glory of
God." "There is none righteous, no, not one."
The Law which had been proposed as a test for
life had proven to be but a ministry of death
and of condemnation. By disobedience all have
come under judgment. No future reformation could
atone for the past. All the world is brought in
guilty before God.
Then comes the wonderful setting-forth of the
divine provision for man's desperate need. "But
now" -- upon the proven unrighteousness of all
men -- "the righteousness of God without the law
is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets; even the righteousness of God,
which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and
upon all them that believe."
Thus the question that perplexed Socrates was
answered five hundred years later. Puzzled, he
exclaimed, "It may be, Plato, that the Deity can
forgive sins, but I do not see how." Christ's
vicarious atonement is the righteous basis upon
which God "can be just and the justifier of him
who believes on Jesus."
Why waste time on substitutes that can never
move the conscience and produce repentance when
the Gospel is the dynamic of God unto salvation
to everyone that believeth? This is the message
for our unreal and hypercritical age, as truly
as for every era of the past. Men talk of a new
evangel for changing times. But the old story of
Calvary still meets the needs of sinners -- and
Christ came not to call the righteous, but
sinners, to repentance. Thousands can bear
witness that they never realized how utterly
lost and ruined they were until they saw
themselves in the light of the cross of Jesus.
No wonder Paul declared, "I determined not to
know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and
him crucified." The old hymn is right that says,
"I need no other argument,
I want no other plea.
It is enough that Jesus died,
And that He died for me."
Such was the Gospel of Luther, that set half
Europe aflame with love for the Saviour and
devotion to God. Such was the burning message of
Whitefield, Edwards, and the Wesleys, that
transformed untold thousands of lives in the
days of the great awakening at the close of the
eighteenth century.
Such was the story, which, told in living
power by Jeremiah Meneely and his associates,
shook Ireland and Scotland in the great revival
of 1859-60.
Such was the trumpet call of Caughey and
Finney and later of Dwight L. Moody, that
brought tens of thousands to repentance in the
mighty visitations of the nineteenth century in
America and Britain.
Such was the forceful evangel of Reuben A.
Torrey, J. Wilbur Chapman, and a host of other
stalwarts as they visited Australia, New
Zealand, Britain, and every corner of America in
the early years of the present century.
Such was the flaming proclamation of that
prince of preachers, Charles H. Spurgeon, as for
a generation he ministered by tongue from his
London pulpit, and by pen, to millions
throughout the entire world.
"And what shall I more say? for the time
would fail me to tell" of Munhall, of A.C.
Dixon, of Gypsy Smith, of Billy Sunday, of Mel
Trotter, of the Stevens brothers, of Mordecai
Ham, and scores of like-minded men of God, who
in power have set forth men's sinfulness and
God's great salvation through Christ's
redemptive work, and thereby moved myriads to
repentance.
The Salvation Army's marvellous success, in
bringing the very vilest to find newness of life
when they turned as confessed sinners to Christ,
certainly did not rest upon a carefully reasoned
out theology preached in cultured phraseology,
but in stressing the awfulness of sin and its
dreadful penalty, and the wondrous grace that
provides deliverance for all who will come to
the Saviour and find cleansing in His blood.
How pitiable it is to see men, who ought to
be winners of souls, turning away from this
grand old Gospel to the vapid puerilities of
what is vaingloriously termed modern thought,
and being content to preach on year after year
without ever seeing a tear of repentance drop
from the eyes of their hearers or moving any to
cry in distress, "What must I do to be saved?"
Back to the Gospel, brethren, if like the men
of God throughout the centuries who have turned
many to righteousness, you would bring men to
repentance and lead them to heaven. This will
never result from substituting a social service
gospel, which is really no gospel at all, but an
attempt to make the cross of Christ of none
effect. By saying this I do not mean for one
moment to cast a slur upon well-meant efforts to
ameliorate conditions under which millions of
our fellow men are struggling. Everywhere that
the pure evangel has found lodgment in human
hearts it has bettered the social environment
into which it has found its way. Even unsaved
men profit by the love and grace set forth in
the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. Men are
ashamed to do in the light what they will do
unblushingly in the dark, and so the Gospel has
curbed many social evils and bettered living
conditions, wherever it has been received.
Of old it was said of Paul and his companions
when they entered a certain city, "These that
have turned the world upside down are come
hither also." The trouble with this fallen world
is that it is wrong side up. It needs to be
turned upside down in order to be right side up.
And twenty centuries of missions and
evangelistic testimony have demonstrated the
glorious fact that civilization always follows
in the wake of the story of the cross, and men
learn to think kindlier of one another and to be
concerned about the welfare of their fellows
when the love of God is shed abroad in their
hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given unto
them.
To take the position, as many who are hailed
as "great thinkers" do today, that we are not to
be so much concerned about individual salvation
as we are to seek the social regeneration of the
nations, is to be false to our commission, and
is a case of sadly misplaced emphasis. Man is
made for eternity. His few years here on earth
are but as a moment in contrast to that which is
to come and which lies beyond the grave. It is
of all importance to every individual that he be
properly oriented to his Creator -- in other
words that he be right with God -- then all
other necessary things will follow.
I recall hearing William Booth, the first
general of the Salvation Army say, when
explaining his "Darkest England" scheme, that
its real objective was, not just the
amelioration of social conditions, but first and
foremost the bringing of men to repentance that
their souls might be saved. I can recall the
flash in his eye, and the noble bearing of his
commanding figure as he exclaimed, "Take a man
from the filth and squalor of the slums,
exchange his rags for decent clothing, move him
from the stifling stench of the city tenement to
a neat little cottage in the pure air of the
country, put him on his feet economically where
he can make a decent living for himself and his
family, and then let him die in his sins,
unsaved, and be lost forever at last -- really
it is not worth while, and I, for one, would not
attempt it."
Godliness has "promise of the life that now
is, and of that which is to come." But the only
way one can enter into godliness is by turning
to God as a repentant sinner and receiving the
Saviour He has provided in the Gospel. Therefore
the crying need of our degenerate times is for a
revival of true old-fashioned, Christ-centered,
Bible preaching that will call upon all men
everywhere to repent in view of that coming day
when God will judge the world in righteousness
by His Risen Son.
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