Fruit of Repentance Fear or Expectation

 

Fruit of Repentance

Fear or Expectation

Sin has consequences

The wages of sin is death

John the Baptist came with a message of

"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

Repent can be taken two ways

One with Fear, the other Expectation

Perfect love cast out all fear

Repentance is foundational to love

The person with expectation of the Kingdom of Heaven

Understands there is more than this life

And will quickly repent in hopes of mercy and eternal life 

Perfect love changes everything

 

Fear or Expectation

 

John the Baptist came with a message of…

 

 "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near."

 

Repent can be taken two ways…

 

One with Fear

 

The other Expectation

 

John said the reason to repent is

because the Kingdom of Heaven is near.

 

When you talk to most Christians and non-Christians,

you get the picture of the end days as being terrible.

 

An angry God bringing great affliction on the Earth.

 

It is true the Bible tells us the end days

will be filled with wars, epic natural

disasters and more, just read Matthew 24.

 

If this is your view…

 

 Fear becomes a great motivation.

 

There is a warning to repent of evil

because evil will be destroyed.

 

But there is another view for those looking

forward to the Kingdom of Heaven.

 

This view is a view of Expectation.

 

Looking forward to life filled

with righteousness, peace and joy.

 

A life where there will be no more sorrow.

 

Paul the Apostle speaks about

sorrow in 2 Corinthians 7.

 

In 1 Corinthians, Paul addresses

sin in the church, sins of all kinds.

 

In 2 Corinthians, Paul saw the

sorrow of the people and he says…

 

Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter,

 I do not regret it. Though I did regret it —

I see that my letter hurt you,

 but only for a little while— yet now I am happy,

 not because you were made sorry,

 but because your sorrow led you to repentance.

2 Corinthians 7:8-9

 

Paul said…

 

 Sorrow led you to repentance.

 

There are different types of sorrow…

 

The one is Worldly Sorrow.

 

After Saul was confronted about

his disobedience to God,

he offers some lame excuses,

but then finally admits…

 

 “I have sinned.

But please honor me before

 the elders of my people,

 and before Israel.”

1 Samuel 15:30.

 

Saul was sorry about what happened,

but he wanted to put all the unpleasantness

behind him so he could still look good.

 

That’s worldly sorrow

—no ownership of his actions.

 

Follow the story and you’ll see

that Saul never really changed.

 

The other is Godly Sorrow.

 

David, after being confronted with

his disobedience to God, says…

 

 “Have mercy on me, O God…

for I know my transgressions,

and my sin is always before me.”

Psalm 51:1, 3

 

 This man is facing his sin—no hiding.

 

He doesn’t minimize it or

cast blame on others—no excuses.

 

This sorrow is painful,

 but it brings repentance

that leads to salvation

and leaves no regret!

 

Worldly sorrow is focused

on our fear of loses and pain.

 

“How does this affect me in this life?”

 

Godly sorrow is focused on

our expectations of a loving God.

 

“How does this affect my relationship

with God and all others whom God loves?”

 

There is no fear in love.

But perfect love drives out fear,

because fear has to do with punishment.

The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

We love because he first loved us.

 If anyone says, "I love God,"

yet hates his brother, he is a liar.

 For anyone who does not love his brother,

 whom he has seen, cannot love God,

 whom he has not seen.

And he has given us this command:

Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

1 John 4:18-21

 

Repentance is foundational to love.

 

The person with expectation

of the Kingdom of Heaven…

 

Understands there is more than this

life and will quickly repent in

hopes of mercy and eternal life. 

 

 

Scripture Reading

 

Matthew 3:1-10 NIV

 

3:1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

 

"A voice of one calling in the desert,

'Prepare the way for the Lord,

make straight paths for him.'"  

 

4 John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 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.