Repent!

June 16, 2025, Monday Message:

Luke 13:2-3 NIV, Jesus speaking: “Do you think that these (murdered) Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

Don’t miss the point of Jesus’ teaching. The Bible says that ALL have sinned, so on Judgment Day we’re all in the same boat. It’s up to that judge to separate the sheep from the goats.

Goats may have just continued sinning. Or if their sinning ceased, they never repented. They were never sorry. Goats never squared things up with their fellows or with their maker.

Sheep, on the other hand, have an advocate, a counselor at their side. The Holy Spirit will point out their humble ways and their apologetic attitude. Repentant believers have their past sins wiped away. Jesus took care of that. And with a clean slate, sheep can be welcomed into the Kingdom!

So in a way, it doesn’t seem to matter as much what you did as a sinner, as what you INTEND to do as a repentant believer. Jesus wants us to draw a line in the sand. We all have a past, the before-Jesus time, but believers have a future, the after-Jesus time, and that’s what Heaven is keeping its eye on.

If we applied God’s rules to our criminal justice system, we wouldn’t punish offenders so much for what they did, but for what they intend to do. Of course, we have no way of seeing into the future, so that’s not really practical. But the reason we incarcerate criminals is that we expect their deviant behavior to repeat itself. They need Jesus.

Getting back on the straight and narrow won’t work without Jesus!

Pastor Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship