Matthew 3:1–12
Pastor Joe brought the Striving for Holiness series to what he believes is its conclusion with a message on true repentance.
Repentance is a familiar Christian word, but it is often reduced to something too small.
Some define repentance simply as a change of mind. Others think of it mainly as feeling sorry for sin.
Both ideas contain truth, but neither is complete.
Biblical repentance involves a change of direction.
As Pastor Joe put it:
“Direction, not intention, determines destination.”
That truth became one of the central images of the message.
Pastor Joe compared repentance to taking a trip. If you intend to reach a destination but never actually continue in the direction that leads there, your intention alone will never get you there.
In the same way, the Christian life cannot be reduced to pointing back to a prayer we once prayed, a baptism we once experienced, or a decision we once made while showing little evidence that Christ is presently changing our lives.
Repentance is not merely about where we hope to end up.
It is about the direction of our lives now.
And ultimately, our goal is not merely heaven.
Pastor Joe said:
“My primary goal at the end of all this is not just to be in heaven. My primary goal is to see my Savior who made a way for me to be there.”
Repentance Is Commanded in Scripture
Matthew 3 opens with John the Baptist preaching:
“Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!”
— Matthew 3:2
John’s ministry was to prepare the way for the Lord.
And his message was repentance.
But John was not the only one who preached it.
Jesus preached repentance.
The apostles preached repentance.
Peter called people to repent at Pentecost.
The message of repentance runs throughout the New Testament.
Pastor Joe summarized it simply:
“John preached it. Jesus preached it. The disciples preached it. I think we should preach it.”
So if repentance is central to the message of Scripture, we need to understand what true repentance actually looks like.
Repentance Is a Response to God’s Grace
Repentance begins not merely with fear of punishment, but with a recognition of the kindness and grace of God.
Romans 2 says:
“Or do you despise the riches of his kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?”
— Romans 2:4
God is holy and righteous.
He has every right to judge sin.
Yet while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Pastor Joe emphasized that this grace should move us toward repentance.
We do not repent in order to earn God’s kindness.
We repent because we have encountered it.
Repentance is a response to grace.
Repentance Comes Through Biblical Conviction
True repentance also comes when the Word of God and the Spirit of God expose sin in our lives.
Pastor Joe pointed to Paul’s words to the Corinthian church:
“For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly grief produces death.”
— 2 Corinthians 7:10
Feeling bad is not the same as repenting.
There is a kind of grief that simply regrets consequences.
But godly grief moves us toward change.
Pastor Joe explained that preaching alone cannot produce that change.
The Holy Spirit must convict.
The Word exposes.
The Spirit presses that truth upon the heart.
And when that happens, the proper response is repentance.
True Repentance Produces Fruit
One of the clearest themes in the sermon was this:
True repentance produces visible fruit.
John the Baptist told the religious leaders:
“Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance.”
— Matthew 3:8
Pastor Joe used a simple illustration.
A child may be told to say, “I’m sorry.”
But saying the words does not necessarily mean anything has changed.
The same is true spiritually.
“I’m sorry” is not repentance.
An apology may be appropriate and necessary, but biblical repentance goes further.
It changes direction.
Acts 26 describes repentance this way:
“…they should repent and turn to God, and do works worthy of repentance.”
— Acts 26:20
Pastor Joe was careful to make the distinction:
We are not saved by works.
But we are saved unto good works.
A changed life does not earn salvation.
A changed life gives evidence that something real has happened within us.
As he put it:
“Let your life’s fruit be consistent with your repentance.”
Repentance May Require Letting Go
Repentance is not always comfortable.
Sometimes it asks us to surrender things we would rather keep.
Hebrews 12 says:
“Let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us.”
— Hebrews 12:1
Pastor Joe compared the Christian life to a race.
A runner does not want to carry unnecessary weight.
In the same way, there are things we cannot carry with us if we want to faithfully follow Christ.
Some of those things may be obviously sinful.
Others may simply have become hindrances.
Jesus used even stronger language in Matthew 5 when He said that if an eye or hand causes us to sin, it must be dealt with radically.
Pastor Joe explained that Jesus was not commanding literal self-mutilation.
The point is that sin must be taken seriously enough that we are willing to remove whatever continually draws us into it.
Repentance will sometimes ask us to get rid of things we want to keep.
Repentance Is Not Merely Something We Do Once
This was perhaps the most important distinction in the sermon.
Pastor Joe said:
“Repentance does not produce a new way of life. Repentance is a new way of life.”
Repentance is not merely something that happened when we first came to Christ.
It is part of the ongoing Christian life.
As we read Scripture, grow in Christ, and become more sensitive to the Holy Spirit, we continue to discover things that must change.
Sometimes we realize that something we have been doing is sinful.
Sometimes we discover attitudes or habits we had never recognized before.
And when God exposes those things, we repent.
We turn.
We change direction.
This is part of sanctification.
We are continually learning to become less like the person we once were and more like Christ.
Repentance Develops a Hatred for Sin
Godly repentance does more than make us aware of sin.
It changes how we feel about it.
Second Corinthians 7 describes the fruit of godly grief:
diligence, longing, zeal, fear, and a desire to make things right.
Pastor Joe emphasized that repentance should eventually move us beyond merely recognizing sin toward actually hating it.
There is a growing indignation toward what dishonors God.
There is a growing longing to be holy.
There is a growing desire to know Christ more deeply.
And there is a growing willingness to leave behind whatever pulls us away from Him.
Repentance Leads to Refreshing
Acts 3 says:
“Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out, that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”
— Acts 3:19–20
Pastor Joe contrasted the world’s idea of refreshment with the kind of refreshment Scripture describes.
Vacations can be good.
Rest can be good.
Time with family can be good.
But the deepest refreshing does not come from circumstances.
It comes from the presence of the Lord.
And that kind of refreshing is connected to repentance.
As we turn away from sin and toward God, we find again the joy of walking closely with Him.
Repentance Is a Lifestyle
Pastor Joe returned repeatedly to the idea that the Christian life is not about one isolated moment of repentance.
It is about learning to live repentantly.
When the Word exposes sin, we repent.
When the Spirit convicts us, we repent.
When we realize we have become distant from Christ, we repent.
When selfishness, pride, or worldly desire begins to shape us, we repent.
Not because repentance saves us.
Christ saves us.
But repentance is one of the clearest marks of a life that is being continually changed by Christ.
The First Act of Repentance
Pastor Joe ended by bringing the message back to the gospel.
Every person will one day stand before God.
Our hope is not that our lives will measure up on their own.
Our hope is Jesus Christ.
Salvation is found in receiving His grace by faith, turning from sin, and surrendering ourselves to Him.
Pastor Joe described that first turning toward Christ as:
“Your very first work of repentance. That very first honest movement of repentance.”
If someone has never received the grace of Christ, the invitation is simple:
Repent and believe.
And for those who already belong to Christ but have grown distant, complacent, or entangled in sin, the invitation is still the same:
Repent.
Turn back.
Return to Christ.
Striving for Holiness
This message was a fitting conclusion to the Striving for Holiness series because repentance touches everything that came before it.
Humility requires repentance.
Compassion requires repentance from selfishness.
Generosity requires repentance from holding too tightly to what we have.
Hearing God requires repentance from distraction, pride, and resistance to His Word.
Prayer requires repentance from self-will.
Holiness itself requires a continual willingness to be corrected, changed, and redirected by God.
Pastor Joe summarized the Christian life near the close of the message:
“We are in a constant state of seeking to be more like Christ.”
And that continual transformation requires continual repentance.
Not perfection.
Not earning salvation.
Not trying to make ourselves righteous.
But a life that keeps turning away from sin and turning toward Christ.
So the challenge from this final message is simple:
Examine the direction of your life.
Do not merely ask what you intended.
Do not merely ask what decision you made years ago.
Ask where Christ is leading you now.
Listen to His Word.
Respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
Lay aside what hinders you.
Produce fruit consistent with repentance.
And when God shows you something that must change—
turn.
