If you could open them at Luke chapter 13. Luke chapter 13. We're looking at the verses 1 to 17. So Luke chapter 13. There were present at that season some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifice. And Jesus answered, answering, saying unto them, Suppose ye that the Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, nay, but except you repent, ye shall likewise perish. Or those eighteen upon whom the tower of Siloam fell, and slew them? Think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwell in Jerusalem? I tell you nay, but except you repent, ye shall likewise perish. And he speak unto also this parable, a certain man with a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of the vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on the fig tree, and find none. Cut it down, why cometh it the ground? And he answered and said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I dig about it and dung it, and if it bears fruit, well, and if not, then after that, thou shalt cut it down. and he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could not in no wise lift up herself. And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thy art loosened from thy infirmities. And he laid his hand on her, and immediately she was made straight and glorified God. And the rulers of the synagogue answered with indignation, saying that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work. In them, therefore, come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day. And the Lord Then answered him and said, Thou hypocrite, does not each one of you on the Sabbath loosen his ox or his ass from the stall and lead him away to the watering? And ought not this woman being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound low these 18 years, be loosened from her bonds on the Sabbath day? And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed, and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. Amen. And we know that God will add his blessing to the reading of his word. We'll ask. As we open up the word of God before us, let us just bow in prayer. O Lord God, we would come now, Lord, and open up thy precious word. We thank you, Lord, for the word that we have in our hand. We thank you that it is a guide to our very life. We would ask, Lord, that as we bring this portion of scripture here found in Luke 13 to you, we would ask, Lord, for your help to proclaim it. We would ask, Lord, for hearts to receive it. And we ask, Lord, that it will be added with your blessing. For we ask it in and through your name. Amen. Amen. So if your Bibles opened again at Luke 13, our text today will be taken from verse 3. For it tells us there, except you repent, you shall likewise perish. So great was this text that even in those short few verses from 1 to 5, the Lord Jesus Christ repeated it twice. Except you repent, you shall likewise perish. Now, when you come to look at these words, They look very severe. Indeed, it may cause some to think, is this really the gospel? Where's the good news in which these ministers talk about? Or like John wrote in his gospel, in John chapter six and verse 60, this is a hard saying, who can hear it? So the first thing we must ask ourselves then, is who spoke these words. Well, they're spoken by none other than the one who loved us, the one that left heaven and came down to earth to dwell here, lived a poor, humble life for 33 years for our sakes, the one that went to the cross for us, went to the grave for us, the one that died for us, for our sins. So having seen who spoke these words, we would have to conclude that the words spoken from these lips must have been spoken in love. Can you think of a better way to show love than to warn a friend of coming danger? Even when a parent sees a child heading into great danger, well, they warn them by shouting and telling them to stop, stop. Does a parent not do that in love? Or if someone were to raise a fire alarm in the middle of the night and shout fire, fire, would any of us complain if it meant saving our lives? Well, this is the very same text. This is what it says, repent ye. ye shall all except you repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Oh, it may seem very severe words, but they're words of love, and they're meant for the deliverance of precious souls. Three things I would like to share from you today from this text about repentance. What repentance is, Why repentance is needed, and what is there to lead us to repent? Well, repentance is one of the foundation stones of Christianity. Sixty times at least we find repentance spoken of in the New Testament. It was one of the first doctrines our Lord Jesus preached in Mark 115. We are told, repent ye and believe the gospel. When the Lord sent his apostles out for the first time, they preached that men should repent. Mark 6 verse 12. The Lord also charged his disciples when he left this world was that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations. Luke 24 and verse 47. Peter preached it in the first sermon, repent and be baptized. Repent and be converted, Acts 2, 38 and 319. So I have pointed out then, through these scripture quotes, and there are many more, the importance that repentance has. What then, you may ask, is repentance? When can we say, if anyone, that they have repentance? Repentance, of course, is a great change of a person's nature and heart towards sin. All of us never have to be educated or sent to school to learn how to sin. We take to sin the way a bird takes to flying, or is it through the keeping of bad company, as some think? No, sin is a natural product in the heart of everyone. But when our hearts are changed by the Holy Spirit, when this natural love of sin is cast away, then takes place a change, which the Word of God calls repentance. and the one in which this change is made, it is said of them that they have repented. So we see then true repentance begins when there is a knowledge of one's sin. Their eyes have been opened and now they see the length and the breadth of God's holy law and the extent to which they have transgressed it with their sins. They are under no delusion in reality that they are wicked, guilty, corrupt, and they are bad in the sight of God. They have come to the realization that there's nothing more, that they're nothing more than a great sinner. But that's not the finish. Therefore, the penitent one is touched with great sorrow. He's sorrow, sorry for all his sins. for all his transgressions. He's sorry because he knows that they have dishonored God and that they have brought trouble upon their own soul. Their repentance will produce in them a great need within them to speak then to Almighty God against whom they realize they have sinned. They are driven out to cry and pray to the Lord about the state of their own soul. They must pour out their heart and acknowledge their iniquities at the throne of grace. They will plead nothing of themselves and be willing to say, I have sinned against heaven and before thee. My iniquity is great. God be merciful to me, a sinner. True repentance. will bring about a great change also in the life of the sinner. Their whole conduct will have altered. They will cast off the old man. What God has commanded, that will be their desire and practice. What God forbids, that will be now their desire to avoid all such things. They will strive and fight against sin and evil and will do and will seek only to do good, God's good. They will do their very best to live a life of servitude to the new King of their heart that reigns within them. They now strive for holiness and have a deep, deep hatred for sin. Oh, they take delight now even in the law of God. They become deeply conscious of their own infirmities and their own indwelling corruptions. Their motivation is towards God and away from evil. They can say with David, I count all thy precepts concerning all things to be right, and I hate every false way, Psalm 50. When everyone can say this and believe in their heart that it is true, They know something then of what true repentance is. Repentance which I have just described to you will be the main experience on everyone who is a true believer of the Lord Jesus Christ. We all must be sure and make no mistake about the nature of our repentance. Ahab, we read in the Bible that he could put on sackcloth when he served his purpose. Roman Catholics turn to the priest and confess. Felix could tremble when he heard the Apostle Paul preach, but not one of these were true repentance. See to it that your own repentance, make sure you flee to God and make sure that your repentance, your repentance is closely bound up with the faith in our savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. True repentance will make us flee to our God and it will make us mourn over our sin because it was by our sins that he was pierced. So I would say, examine yourself. and see if you know anything of true repentance. Has it changed your nature? Are you for sin or are you against it? Have you fled to God before the throne of grace and pleaded for his help? If you have done something like this, then you know what it is to repent. Having then seen what repentance is, we move on and look to see why Is repentance needed? Why do we need repentance? The word of the Lord is very distinct. It says, except you repent, ye shall all likewise perish. The word in our text means just that, all, everybody, without exception, needs repentance towards God. It doesn't matter if you're a thief. It doesn't matter if you're a murderer, a drunkard, or an adulteress. were born, all born of the seed of Adam, that is, all mankind. No matter what nation he might have come from, everyone without exception needs to be repented before the Almighty God. Whether you're in the highest office in the land or some poor homeless soul, there is not one that is not born in sin. And we all must repent and be converted if we are to be saved. We may ask ourselves, why such strong language is used about the necessity of repentance? And why is it so needful? Why do we need it? Well, without repentance, there is no forgiveness of sin. That is the work the work of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Even our best repentance is a poor and imperfect thing, and we need to repent over and over again. We are counted righteous then before God only for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ by putting our faith in him, and nothing to do with our own work or even our own deserving. But it is still true that we're all justified believers, are repentant people, and that a forgiven sinner will be one who hates and mourns over all of his sins. God is willing to receive sinners if they come to him in the Lord Jesus Christ's name, no matter how wicked they may have been. The Lord Jesus is ready to pity, he's ready to pardon, he's ready to cleanse, he's ready to sanctify, and he's ready to make us fit for heaven. The Lord requires us to heed our sin and to seek forgiveness. How can we be truly happy if our conscience does not feel that sin has not been repented of or even forgotten of? If inwardly we have this struggle with unrepentant sin, well, we are carrying around with us a great burden, a great burden that we do not need to carry. So until this burden is taken, taken away, how can we know anything of true happiness in the Lord? It is like a person's house or home. It is never comfortable until The house is set in order. So we see that it is only when they inwardly repent of our sins that burden us, that we let God have rule over our lives, will we know anything of true happiness. You know, heaven is a place that is prepared for us. Jesus said himself, I go to prepare a place for you. So if Jesus has gone and prepared a place for us, surely it stands to reason that those that are in heaven and those that are going must be prepared for it as well. Our hearts must be in tune with all the rest of the inhabitants in heaven. Anyone with a non-repentant heart, I tell you, will never go there. We must repent if we are then to go to heaven. Let no one deceive you about the necessity of true repentance then towards God. There are many things that we have in which we do not need to get to heaven. We don't need things like fine clothes. We don't need best friends. We don't need great education. We don't need fast cars and the like. Many have got to heaven without any of these things and even continue on to do so, even in this day and in our time. But I'll tell you this, no one ever reached heaven without repentance towards God and putting their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. A gospel is not a gospel at all if it doesn't have a prominent place for the repentance of sin. Never let anyone tell you that there's any possibility of reaching heaven without first repenting repentance towards Almighty God. Oh, we all want to go to heaven. People would think you were crazy if you said, no, I want to go to hell. Only those that the Holy Ghost has prepared for it will ever get to heaven. Some believe that it matters little. Matters little how one lives his lives. Doesn't matter if you're holy, they say, or unholy, godless or God-fearing. It's all the same, they say, that everyone will end up, will go eventually to heaven. Well, I'll tell you, I've got bad news for you. There's no such teaching in the Bible. It cannot stand the test of God's almighty word. The inhabitants of heaven are all of one heart and one mind. Heaven is a place in which the people of God will go. But for those who are unrepentant and unbelieving and will not come to Christ and say in the word of God plainly and unmistakably that they will not be found in heaven. And there would be no enjoyment for them in heaven to any who went there without a heart-hating sin. Jacob will be there. He said, I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies. Abraham will be there who said, I am dust and ashes. Job will be there who said, I am vile. David will be there who said, I was sharpened in iniquity In sin, my mother conceived me. Isaiah will be there who said, I am a man of unclean lips. Paul will be there who said, I am the chief of sinners. Every one of them were of one mind. Every one of them were of one heart. Every one of them were of one experience. They all hated their sin, and they all mourned over them. They all repented of them towards God and put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. They recognized then that there was a great need of repentance. The next thing I'd like you to look at, the third point, is I would like to look at what there is to lead one to repentance. Some difficulties arise when the subject of repentance is brought up. All find it very difficult when it comes to the matter of giving up their own sin. We are all slow to give up or forsake our sins and would be almost willing to do anything else than to forsake our sins or even to be separated from it. We must remember that the great enemy of God will not give us up without a fight. He's like a roaring lion that walks about seeking whom he may devour, 1 Peter 5.8. He will not give us up and let us repent. No, he will not. He will do everything in his way to hinder it. So we need encouragement to lead us to repentance. There is, of course, found in the word of God all the encouragement that we might need. We find it in there enough to arouse every heart and to lead them and draw them to repentance. The first place we must look for encouragement, of course, is at what our gracious savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, is. He is the one which will encourage all who seek to repent. He is the one who has been anointed a prince and a savior to give repentance, as well as the remission of sins. He is the one who said, I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. He is the one that cried, come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. He is the one that gave his royal word, him that cometh unto me, I will no lie, no wise cast out. As many as receive him, to them he gives power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. I would say to everyone that is listening here that we must and we should look firstly to Jesus Christ for repentance. Think of all that Christ has done, and if you have never done before, consider the Lord Jesus Christ. You shall find there a great encouragement about repentance? What about the glorious promises of whosoever confesses and forsakes his sin shall find mercy? If we confess our sins, it tells us he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Of course there it means spiritual mourning, mourning over your sins. So these great promises are made by God, that cannot lie. A God who declared in his word, which again I must quote, When a wicked man turneth away from his wickedness, he that hath committed and doth doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. Ezekiel 18 and verse 27. Again in Psalm 51 and verse 17, the sacrifice of God are a broken spirit and a contrite heart. O God, thou wilt not despise. 2 Peter 3.19 God is not willing that any should perish, but all should come to repentance. Luke 15.10 There is a joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. Jesus spoke on this subject of repentance in his parables. It says two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, the other was a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank you that I'm not like other men are, extraordinaries, unjust, adulterous, or even as this publican. Oh, I fast twice in the week. I give tithes in all that I possess. And the publican standing far off could not even lift his eyes up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner. And Jesus answered and said, I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. Luke chapter 18, verses 10 and 9. And what about the prodigal son? When he returned, he said to his father, I have sinned against heaven, and in the sight and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. O repentant son, was he punished for that? No. We read on, it tells us, robes were put on him, a ring on his finger, a fatted calf was killed, and hear the word of his father. Let his eating be merry, for my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. I have to ask you, what more encouragement do you need than those that are found in the mighty word of God? There is also found wonderful examples of God's mercy and kindness to those who also repented. David, after he sinned, turned to the Lord and said, I have sinned against the Lord. The answer came back, the Lord has put away thy sin. Could any be more wicked than Manasseh? Turning his back against God, he put idols in the temples. Then he was put in prison and he humbled himself before the mighty Lord and prayed. The Lord heard his prayer and brought him out of captivity. What about the penitent thief on the cross? He was on the blink of everlasting damnation. And when he said to Jesus, who was hanging there beside him, Lord, remember me when I cometh to thy kingdom. The answer came, verily I say unto thee, today thou will be with me in paradise. All these things are written down in the Word of God. They're written there for our purpose. They're written there for our learning. They are to lead us all to repentance. Can you see the long-suffering of God, the mercy of God, and the proof of God's grace through Jesus Christ for the sinner and the repentance of their sin? There is nothing but encouragement here. And it's an encouragement for all of us to be done with our sins. For those who go on clinging to sin, well, from what we have seen in God's Word, they are without excuse. The goodness of God tells them, leadeth them to repentance. Today, I have looked with you at the tax found in Luke 13. Accept ye all, repent ye shall, all likewise perish. I've raised three things. What repentance is, why we need repentance, and what is there to lead us to repentance. So how can we apply all of these things to ourselves? Well, our text is a warning, a warning given in love, but a warning all the same. And at the same time, there's no way to put it, unless you do such and such, you shall likewise perish. All of us are sinners. It would be a vain thing to pretend that none of us are sinners. We must ask ourselves, Where are our sins? Then if we have never heard, never yet repented, never yet mourned over one's sin, never confessed our sin, never fled to Christ and found pardon through his precious blood, well, our sins are still in us and they remain unforgiven. The warning in our text is quite plain. What will happen to us? I did not write this text. These are not my words. These were the words spoken by the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ himself. It is the Savior that is merciful and gracious towards us, that is signing out and speaking this warning to all of us today. And tell me who knows better what the sinner requires for salvation of our soul and fit us for heaven, but only him who descended down from heaven. What words could be more solemn and more heart-searching than these words spoken by our Lord? Especially the last words, shall perish. Can any of us truly measure the full amount of what these words really contain. Perish in the body, perish in the soul, perish in eternal damnation. That is what lies ahead of all who will not be done with their sin and repent. It is not the Lord's wish that any should perish. John 3 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. Oh, how foolish then it would be if we would not hear these pleas and these warnings from our Lord Jesus Christ. What judgment we would be calling down upon ourselves because we love sin more than we love Christ. Perhaps some may be thinking that your sins are too bad, that the Lord wants nothing to do with you. I can assure you, put away that fear. No matter how bad you may think your sins are, they are never so bad that they cannot be repented of. The Lord Jesus Christ is very gracious. Draw near to Him. You do not need a priest. You do not need a minister. You do not need a bishop or even an elder. The Lord Jesus Christ is our true high priest. It is to him that we must come because the throne of grace is the truth confessional. Take all your sins before him and repent of them. Then make repentance your habit and never let sin again get a foothold in your body. Someone asked, once asked, Philip Henry. Philip Henry was, of course, the father of Matthew Henry, the great preacher and writer. How to get to heaven. Every day he said, I find I'm a sinner, and every day I need to repent of that. I would plead with you today to heed the Lord's warning as it is found in our text. Accept, you repent. You shall all likewise perish. Amen.