He Had Only One Topic

I already had this week’s post ready except for minimal editing. Then I awakened on Friday morning with several thoughts bouncing around in my mind. Those thoughts were of repentance, John the Baptist, the COVID-19 crisis, and Jon Ogle.

Once I began mulling on those mental musings, I headed to God’s Word since verses started coming to mind.

When I thought of the action of repentance and its need, the overpowering figure of John the Baptist loomed large in my mind . He was in a category all his own. The angel, Gabriel, announced his impending birth to an elderly father married to a woman well passed childbearing age. Gabriel predicted this baby would grow up and announce and prepare the way for the Messiah, the Lord Jesus. The scripture said John was filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb. Clothed in camel’s hair, his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey as he dwelt in the wilderness. John’s unchanging message resounded through the wilderness, as this fiery prophet proclaimed,

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”  Matthew 3:2

Then Luke recorded in his gospel, chapter 3, verse 8 this stirring command from the lips of John the Baptizer:

Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance…

Cruden’s Complete Concordance defines godly repentance as “sorrow (that) shall cause a complete change of action.” If one continues reading Luke 3, John, who prepared the way for the first coming of Jesus to the earth, explained what repentance looked like for his hearers, such as soldiers, tax collectors and people just like us. Fruits from repentance would be generous sharing, honesty in all dealings, no falsehood in speech, humility instead of intimidation and contentment with what one had.

                Jesus preached repentance. We read His words in Luke 13:3:

…Unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

He addressed, in Matthew 9:13, the only two possible responses to His call for repentance. Some responded to Him in obedience while the rest resisted, refusing to admit their need to repent. I chose to use the Amplified Version of this verse:

…for I did not come to call [to repentance] the [(self-proclaimed] righteous [who see no need to change], but sinners [those who recognize their sin and actively seek forgiveness].”

                Jesus spoke, in Luke 19:30-31, one of the sternest sermons telling the account of a wealthy man and a beggar named Lazarus (not the one he raised from the dead). Both died. Jesus, with His omniscient power, gave an unprecedented view into hell, the eternal destination choice of the rich man. The man requested for someone to go to his five brothers, and said,

…if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.

Then the stark answer echoed throughout all the eras of time,

If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.

As we approach the Easter season, this serves as a clear reminder of the consequence of refusing the words of Moses and the prophets in the Old Testament and the detrimental result of willful rejection of believing the most powerful event of history, the resurrection of Jesus after His sacrificial death.

                The Apostle Paul discussed the two reasons for seeking repentance – godly sorrow or sorrow of the world. His words reverberate loudly in our society today:

For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. 2 Corinthians 7:10

Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus, exhibited sorrow of the world. To read more about this traitorous disciple, follow this link:  https://bernadeanjgates.blogspot.com/2019/11/jelly-fungus.html

                The Apostle Peter uttered the heart of God when he wrote in his second letter in chapter 3, verse 9 these words of loving patience:

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

The serious demeanor Jon
had when preaching the
necessity of repentance to
 his hearers.

              

Jon Ogle's welcoming
countenance as he
ministered to his flock.

  I mentioned Jon Ogle in my early morning thoughts. Jon, as our pastor in the early 1980s, was given a loving moniker, Jon the Baptist, by some Ralston residents because he preached faithfully “Repent or perish” or in the local vernacular “Turn or Burn.” During his tenure, he didn’t dress like John, the forerunner of Jesus, nor did he eat like him. However, Brother Jon was a fiery preacher always preaching repentance – a change by the power of Jesus, emphasizing that genuine repentance would lead to a change in one’s behavior.

Let’s share Jesus’ message of repentance during the COVID-19 crisis, one of the most stressful times of our country’s history. If we have come to Jesus with a heart of true repentance then whether we live or die, we will be with the Lord. Paul encouraged and comforted early day believers who had experienced godly repentance with this verse.

If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Romans 14:8