Message Fourteen: Our Lord's First Sermon

Matthew 4:17

One day, many years ago, I was asked to preach my first sermon. “What,” I wondered, “shall I preach on?” Turning to some of my preacher-friends, I asked, “What was the first subject you preached on?” You should have heard some of the answers they gave me. “Well,” I replied, “I know what to do. I’ll turn to the Bible and see what Jesus preached on for His first subject.” I found it. It was recorded in Matthew 4:17. There it’s written, “Jesus began to preach, and to say, ‘Repent.’” And He added, “Except ye repent, ye shall perish.”

The twelve disciples preached on repentance. The Bible says, “They went out, and preached that men should repent.” It was preached by Peter. He said at Pentecost, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” It was preached by Paul. He said, “God now commandeth all men every where to repent.”

But I’m afraid it’s not being preached very much today. I heard of some boys who went out to play ball. When they arrived on the field, they discovered to their dismay that they had forgotten the ball. There were some moments of frustration, and finally one shouted, “Let’s forget the ball. On with the game!” There are those who are saying, “Let’s forget our sins and shortcomings, our faults and failures. On with the program.” But no program is profitable if repentance is left out. There can’t be that delight for salvation unless first there’s that disturbance for sin.

This morning I picked up a prescription. On the bottle I read the words, “Shake before using.” That’s what God has to do with a lot of us. There has to be that shaking, and it comes through repentance.

But repentance isn’t regret. The word regret means “grief,” or “the feeling of being sorry.” Sometimes when you do something you shouldn’t have done, or you’ve left undone something you should have done, you experience a certain pain of mind. But that’s not repentance. If you really repent, you’ll regret your sins, but no amount of regret can save your soul.

Remorse isn’t repentance. The word remorse means “contrition.” It’s the compunction of conscience for some evil that you’ve done. It carries with it the element of self-reproach. But even though your sins may cause you deep, painful regret; even though you’re so sorry for your sins that you heap self-reproach upon yourself, that’s not repentance. I’ve met many who have been very, very sorry that they’ve done wrong, but who haven’t shown any desire to do right. Consider Judas. He expressed remorse, but he never repented. He went so far as to declare Jesus innocent. But when the priests wouldn’t have anything to do with him, he ran from the temple and committed suicide. No, it’s not enough to say you’re sorry, neither is it enough to be so remorseful that it sends you to your grave. That’s not repentance.

What, then, is repentance? It’s a change of mind. When you repent, you change your mode of thinking. About what? Yourself, your sins and God. Now with that change of mind, there comes a change of manners. There’s no real repentance unless there’s a turning from sin to the Savior. And this involves your intellect, your emotions and your will.

Look at the intellect. Throughout the ministry of Peter and Paul you’ll find they preached on repentance. But before they called on people to repent, they preached on sin. Before I go to a doctor, I must know that I’m sick. And before I called on the great Physician I had to know that I was sick of sin. Before we preachers can call on people to repent, we must show them from the Bible that they are guilty sinners in the sight of God.

Consider the emotions. Tears aren’t always a sign of repentance. But true repentance is always preceded by a certain moving and excitement of the soul. You’re not saved by your feelings. But your feelings don’t remain dead when you’re saved. When Peter saw the awfulness of his sin, he “wept bitterly.” His tears were visible. Whether or not your tears are visible, you must have a spirit of sorrow for your sin.

Now think on the will. There’s no repentance where there’s no willingness to turn from sin to the Savior. There must be right action as well as right attitude. The prodigal said, “I will arise and go to my father.” That was the right attitude. But it didn’t stop there. The Bible says, “he arose, and came to his father.” That’s the right action. When you repent, your sin becomes loathsome, and the Lord becomes lovely, and you turn from your sin to the Savior, casting yourself on His mercy. One came to my study and said, “I know I’m doing wrong, but what I’m doing is beautiful.” Without replying I started to read aloud the Word of the Lord. Soon she sobbed, “Oh, I’m bad. My sin’s horrible. Jesus, You’re wonderful. Save me, save me now.” And He did. That’s repentance. And except you repent, you’ll perish - says the Lord.

copyright 2000 Guido Evangelistic Association

All Scripture verses are quoted from the New King James Version.

This series of messages on the books of the Bible were originally written for broadcast on Dr. Guido's radio program, "The Sower." They are collected and reprinted here for your enjoyment and spiritual edification. Go to the Sower's site for more at www.TheSower.com.