Part 2: God’s Message - Repentance

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them … (Mt
28:18–19 NIV)
A. John the Baptizer
3 He (John) went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of
repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (Lk 3:3 NIV)
5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of
the Jordan. 6 Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan
River. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where
he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee
from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. (Mt 3:5–8
NIV)
(116) Now, some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod’s army came from
God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called
the Baptist; (117) for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews
to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards
God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing [with water] would be acceptable
to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away [or the remission] of some
sins [only], but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was
thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness. (Josephus, Antiquities, ch. 18.116-
117)
B. The Great Commission – Luke’s version
46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the
dead on the third day, 47 and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be
preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses
of these things. (Lk 24:46–48 NIV)
C. Repentance and Faith

14 Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee,
preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom
of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mk 1:14–15 NASB95)
24 Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent
for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 As Paul
talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was
afraid …(Ac 24:24–25 NIV)
18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying,
“So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.” (Ac
11:18 NIV)

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be
recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good
or bad. 11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men… (2 Co 5:10–11
NASB95)
A. God’s Message is Objective
30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people
everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with
justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by
raising him from the dead.” (Ac 17:30–31 NIV)
39… They killed him by hanging him on a cross, 40 but God raised him from the
dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the
people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and
drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the
people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the
living and the dead. (Ac 10:39-42 NIV

Example:
“We are disciples of Jesus. He taught us that God wouldn’t let his creation drift on like
this forever. He will restore His creation, and make it like it was intended to be from the
beginning. Unfortunately, sin (lust, greed, oppression, injustice, adultery, etc…) has
wrecked His creation, and so the Restoration will begin when He cleanses the earth of
sin and those who choose to live in sin with the Day of Judgment. After that, those who
repented of their sins and turn to follow God’s ways will be given new bodies and have
eternal life! Jesus proved his message to be true by, himself, becoming the first one to
be raised to eternal life after his death.”
B. God’s Message is Relevant
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and
the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38Peter replied, “Repent and be
baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of
your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit… 40 With many other
words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this
corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and
about three thousand were added to their numberthat day. 42 They devoted
themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of
bread and to prayer. (Ac 2:37-42 NIV)
7And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia… 9
They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,
10 and
to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who
rescues us from the coming wrath. (I Th 1:7-10 NIV)
Example:
“We are here because God has had mercy on us, and He wants to have mercy on you
too. Anyone, whether rich/poor, sick/healthy, decent/wretched will be forgiven if they
repent and turn to God. To repent means to turn from your old way of life and become
a disciple – or a student – Jesus and his way of life. God will wash you clean from your
sin and give you his Holy Spirit to enable you to walk in this way of life.”