Subject Eighty-seven

THE WARNING TO REPENT

Scripture: Luke 13:1-5

1. The sins of human living
   1. Man is born in sins.
   2. Man grows up in sins.
   3. Man lives in sins (referring to all the normal living).
   4. Man wallows in sins (referring to all the abnormal living).
2. The calamity of human living
   1. Sin is the source of disaster. Disaster is the result of sin.
   2. Because man is born in sins, grows up and lives in sins, and even wallows in sins, man is apt to fall into calamity.
3. God’s tolerance
   1. According to the condition of man’s sins, calamity should strike man down immediately as punishment from God. But God is so tolerant that such calamity is temporarily suspended.
   2. The reason God could suspend calamity and tolerate man is that there is a Savior in this universe, and there is redemption. According to man’s sins the earth should be turned upside down, and man should perish forever in calamity. But because Christ as man’s Savior has accomplished redemption, God can tolerate man and suspend calamity.
   3. God tolerates man so that man could repent.
4. The warning to repent
   1. Since calamity is a result of sin, each calamity therefore is a warning, with the intent that men may be delivered from sins.
   2. Whenever you see calamity strike, whether it hits you or someone else, either a natural disaster or one caused by man, you should understand that it is God’s warning that men should repent.
5. How to repent
   1. Believe that sin has its consequence.
   2. Confess your own sins.
   3. Receive Christ and His redemption.