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The annual lectureship at the Florida School of Preaching offers four full days of in-depth biblical studies and spiritual growth. With insightful lessons from various speakers, attendees deepen their understanding of Scripture and connect with fellow Christians. Recordings and a published book are available for those who wish to revisit the lessons or share them with others.
evening.
So imagine waking up in a burning house.
Smoke fills your lungs.
Flames lick the walls.
And the exit, the exit is just a few steps away.
But instead of running toward the exit, you pause to organize and straighten up the
burning house.
This is what ignoring repentance in evangelism looks like.
choosing comfort over rescue.
Repentance is not a dirty word.
It is a doorway to freedom.
But too many treat it like a locked gate with a beware of dog sign on it.
In that they are afraid to touch or go near.
You see, want revival without repentance.
We want grace without surrender, and we want heaven without turning around.
My friends, this is not what the gospel is all about.
Have you ever tried ah fixing a GPS route while driving the wrong way?
It doesn't work.
You know, repentance is not just about knowing.
It is about turning.
Notice, we apologize to one another, takes place all the time.
But when was the last time we truly, truly repented before God?
Consider what would be the greatest act of love you can offer someone.
Would it be a hug?
Would it be a prayer?
Try calling those who you come in contact with unto repentance.
Repentance is a call, a call to repentance.
This call is a call to come clean.
It is not optional to proclaim a turning point.
It is an opening to God's grace.
Notice what Jesus says in Luke, the Gospel of Luke, chapter 24.
in verse number 44.
And this is considered, this would be the great commission.
This is the time when Jesus just resurrected from the dead.
And he met with his disciples.
And he said in verse 44, then he said to them, these are the words which I spoke to you
while I was still with you.
that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses and in the
prophets and in the Psalms concerning me.
And he opened their understanding that they might comprehend the scriptures.
Then he said to them, notice, thus it is written and thus it is necessary for the Christ
to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day and that repentance and remission of
sins should be preached to all nations, excuse me, should be preached in the name of Jesus
Christ to all nations beginning at Jerusalem.
should be preach.
Now we got a lot of should be preachers.
in our world today, what they should be preaching.
Jesus, he tells his apostles, he says, repentance and remission of sins should be
preached.
Not saying that it will be, but it should be preached.
And this is instructing and encouraging others to turn from sin.
to a life of obedience to the will of God so that those who believe and obey will never
have their names written, excuse me, blotted out of the book of life according to
Revelation 3.5.
So three observations, three observations tonight that teaching repentance does in
evangelism.
The first observation I would like to look at is teaching repentance
And in evangelism, it confronts the truth.
It confronts the truth.
is, that is seeing what God sees.
know, repentance begins with revelation.
It's not a guilt trip, but God's truth breaking through the fog of sin.
Teaching repentance in evangelism
We don't wanna shame people.
What we want to do is show them the reality of the situation.
Show them, first number one is show them the holiness of God.
Not ourselves, but the holiness of the one who they should turn to.
The holiness of God.
I'm reminded of Hannah.
know Hannah, she is Samuel's mother.
And in chapter one of First Samuel, Hannah, she prays to God that he will give her a son.
And it goes on to say that God blessed her.
He answered her prayers and gave her Samuel.
And in the second chapter of First Samuel chapter two, notice what Hannah says.
She says in verse number two of First Samuel chapter two, there is none holy like the
Lord.
There is none besides you.
There is no rock like our God.
This verse highlights the uniqueness of God's compared to any other creature or being,
excuse me.
And then notice what Paul says to that great church in Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians
chapter four and verse
Number seven, he says, for God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.
And then, you know, God calls his disciples to reflect his holiness in their lives,
underlining the importance of living a holy life.
And then there...
we have in Revelation.
Revelation chapter four.
This is considered the throne room in heaven.
And notice there are four creatures in verse number eight.
There are four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and
within.
And they do not rest day or night saying what?
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and who is and who is to come.
This verse in Revelation ah indicates the eternal nature of God's holiness and his
sovereignty over all creation.
The holiness of God
signifies his complete separation from sin and imperfection.
It is a defining characteristic of his nature, reminding believers of his purity and the
standard to which we are called.
Reminding people of the reality of the holiness of God, reminding the people of the
reality of the weight of sin.
The weight of sin.
Paul would tell that Roman church, he said, the wages of sin is death.
What is the weight?
Why should we turn from sin?
What is the weight of sin?
It is death.
Notice a theologian,
named Ravi Zacharias.
He once said, sin takes you where you do not want to go.
And not only that, it says it keeps you longer than you want to stay.
And then he goes on to say, and it costs more than you are willing to pay.
What is the weight of sin?
And when I read this,
A theologian's comment, it reminds me of, remember the prodigal son.
The prodigal son, he spent all he had.
He wasted all he had on riotous living.
It cost him more than he was willing to pay.
He went further.
He was willing to go.
It took him places he did not want to go.
And that's what sin does.
what teaching repentance in evangelism, what it looks like,
We are calling people to turn from sin.
And not only that, the reality of the beauty of grace, the beauty of grace.
No one, no one in here, including myself, no one online, no one in the world deserves
grace.
But the beauty of...
Notice, the beauty of it, Paul would tell young Titus in Titus chapter two, verse number,
excuse me, in verse 11, he says, for the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared
unto some, has appeared unto most.
to all, to all men, teaching us what?
To deny, turn, reject ungodliness, worldly lusts.
And we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age.
Notice, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our God and Savior Jesus
Christ.
So the beauty.
The beauty of grace.
Now the Greek insight.
Repentance will give us a better understanding of what we're trying to do while teaching
repentance in evangelism.
The Greek terminology for repentance is considered a compound.
Meta, noil.
Meta is a change after being with.
Noil is think properly, think differently after being with.
It is a change of mind.
To repent is to think differently afterwards, to change your mind.
but not lightly.
It is a deep reorientation of perception.
So after we hear the gospel, after we hear that great message of Jesus Christ saving us
from an eternal damnation, we must think differently after tasting that sweet gift of God.
Evangelism, teaching repentance and evangelism must help people see and not only just
hearing the facts.
So teaching repentance.
Repentance isn't about making people feel bad.
That's not our aim.
That's not our goal.
But you should feel shame because of sin.
It separates you.
You should.
But that's not our main goal.
It is about helping them to see what they've never seen before.
So secondly, secondly.
I started late and I didn't.
I'm not good with keeping time.
Okay, but they taught us this in prison school.
Okay, teaching, teaching, repressing evangelism, it concedes the throne.
It surrenders uh who's in charge.
We all want to be in charge of something, whether it's the household, your wives, the
children, whether at work.
You want to be in charge.
It makes you feel good.
But teaching repentance and evangelism, it concedes the throne.
Who's in charge?
Repentance is not about, excuse me, is not just admitting wrong.
It is abandoning self-rule.
In a chapter of mere Christianity titled The Perfect Penitent, C.S.
Lewis, who was a British artist and a scholar and a Christian apologist, he discusses what
Christians mean by the word repentance.
He says, now what was a sort of whole man, whole man, uh had gotten himself into?
He had tried to set up on his own to behave as if he belongs to himself.
In other words, fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement.
He goes on to say, but he is a rebel who must lay down his arms, laying down your arms,
surrendering, saying you are sorry, realizing that you have been on the wrong track.
and getting ready to start life over from the ground floor.
is the only way out of the hole.
This process of surrender, this movement, speed astern, is what Christians call
repentance.
Now repentance, he says, is no fun.
It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie.
It means, notice.
unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into
for thousands of years.
It means killing part of yourself, undergoing a kind of death.
teaching repentance in evangelism, it must call people to more than just belief.
It is Lordship.
surrendering to a supreme power, a ruler, to a king, to a master, which is Jesus Christ.
You know notice what he said in Matthew 28, 18.
All authority has been given unto me in heaven and in earth.
When someone repents, notice, they dethrone their ego.
their self-importance and enthrone Christ.
Right?
And this is why John the Baptist preached, repent for the kingdom of God is at hand.
And a kingdom implies that there's a king and King Jesus is his name.
Notice what Paul would say.
He said in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse number 5, for we do not preach ourselves, but
we preach Christ Jesus, our Lord, our Kyrrioth, our master, our king, and ourselves, we
just bond servants for Jesus' sake.
So repentance is the moment a person
and stops negotiating with God and starts obeying God.
Now um I know oh a young man a long time ago, young man, he just turned 18 years old and
he did something that triggered him or allowed him to go to jail.
And in that jail cell, and in that jail cell,
Please give me your ideas.
I'll serve you.
I'll do whatever it Please give me your ideas.
And guess what?
I not turn to swear to God.
But what I'm trying to say is that we have to surrender our lives in teaching repentance
and evangelism.
That's what it looks like.
Repentance is not just confession, not what I was doing in the jail.
That's not repentance.
But it's a coronation, crisis coronation.
And repentance, repentance in evangelism, it changes direction.
It changes direction.
Repentance is not merely internal.
It's not internal.
It is a movement.
It's something that we can see, visualize.
Repentance, uh notice what Wayne Grudem said in
systematic theology, he said, it is important to realize that mere sorrow for one's action
or even deep remorse over one's action does not constitute genuine repentance.
Unless, he said, unless it is accompanied by a sincere decision to forsake sin.
against God.
being committed, being committed against God for worldly sort of grief may involve great
sorrow for one's actions and probably also for a fear of punishment, but no genuine
renouncing of sin or commitment to forsake it in one's life.
True repentance, sincere repentance produces visual.
visible fruit.
New habits turning from the old habits that's what a new creature does.
New creature in Christ he turns from his old ways.
Behold all things are new.
New habits, new desires, new patterns.
Evangelism must teach that repentance is inseparable from salvation.
Notice
On that great day of Pentecost, Peter, he proclaims a powerful message of Jesus Christ,
death, burial, and resurrection.
Verse number 36, says what?
Therefore let all the house of Israel know it surely that Christ, that God, had made that
same Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ.
And when they heard this, they were pricked to their hearts.
They said it to Peter and the rest of the apostles.
Men and brethren, what shall we do?
And what did Peter say?
Now notice, whatever Peter says, and on that next line, whatever Peter says, that's what
we must do in order to obtain salvation.
He said, repent only.
No, Baptism only.
He said, repent and be baptized.
Every one of you.
in the name of Jesus Christ, and this is for the remission of sin, and you shall receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost.
He says, for the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, even
as many as the Lord our God will call.
Many other signs he testified saying what?
yourselves.
Repentance is not inseparable
from salvation.
So this term, this term is a pivot that leads to discipleship.
I'm heating it up for you.
uh I'm heating it up for you.
I'm heating it up for you.
The process of learning to follow Jesus fully, faithfully, and fruitfully.
It involves being a disciple, which means being a learner, a student.
who is attached to, attaches themselves to a teacher, imitating not just their words, but
also their way of life.
Jesus is the great teacher, our great teacher, Rabbi.
We ought to be uh mimicking, imitating Christ, not only in word, but indeed also.
Teaching repentance and evangelism, what does it look like?
Turning from a world of sin to an everlasting Savior who is
Jesus Christ.
Repentance is not just turning from sin, it's turning toward a purpose.
And evangelism, evangelism without mentioning repentance is like a parachute.
or excuse me, offering a parachute without telling someone they are falling.
Repentance is paramount in evangelistic efforts.
Repentance is not a harsh message.
It's a hopeful message.
It's a doorway to freedom, a birthplace of transformation, and an engine
to discipleship.
When teaching repentance and evangelism, we're not calling people out, but we're calling
them forward.
Right?
Without evangelism, and I'm glad, I'm so glad that we have a topic on evangelism, because
without evangelism, the word of God, the gospel, would not extend throughout the world.
It is very important to hear the gospel.
So important to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ because it produces faith in the savior of
the world.
Without faith, which is the foundation of those who are his followers, it is impossible to
please God.
And CJ uh Grimes, did an amazing job on that last night.
And not only that, faith encourages us to confess that Jesus Christ is the son of God.
Forest is going to tear the roof off with that tomorrow and then baptism baptism is
because it
It gives you a rebirth and a Hiram.
Oh, just hold on to your seats.
Hiram is gonna tear it up on Thursday night.
But what about repentance?
Why is it so challenging?
Is it because we love darkness opposed to light?
If God commands us to change our lives, which including turning from sin, then why is it
such an obstacle?
And these are questions that we should be asking or that should be brought forth when
evangelizing for the Lord.
There is power in teaching repentance and evangelism, and the fruit of that is change
lives.
or change lives.
Every awakening, every awakening begins with repentance.
We should be courageous.
We should be bold to teach and preach repentance, not as a punishment, but as a pathway to
God through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Thank you so much.