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Introduction:
The
way that salvation is presented today even in the most fundamental circles is NOT the Way that it is presented by the Lord
Jesus Christ and by the apostles in the Bible.
The Lord Jesus Christ came preaching the way of salvation: "repent ye, and believe
the gospel" (Mark 1:15). The Bible teaches only one way of salvation; the one that the apostles, the Apostle Paul,
and the Lord Jesus Christ preached. As a result, if any ‘how to be saved' presentation leaves out half
of the message, it is not a Biblical presentation and leads people astray.
Be aware that it is not because I call a box of sugary
cereal a very healthy breakfast that it makes it so! Following the same analogy, it is not because a pastor, church,
tract, or website says ‘here's how to be saved' that it makes it so! It's important to trust a pastor
or a church only to the extent that he/it agrees with the Scriptures. (1 Thess 5:19)
As mentioned before, the key element of the presentation that
is missing, is repentance.
Let's first take the time to define this word, as we may have a wrong understanding of its true meaning.
Let's go the original text. In Hebrew, it's nacham. In Greek, it's metanoeo.
Strong's
Hebrew Dictionary:
5162. nacham
Mxn nacham naw-kham' a primitive root; properly, to
sigh, i.e. breathe strongly; by implication, to be sorry, i.e. (in a favorable sense) to pity, console or (reflexively) rue;
or (unfavorably) to avenge (oneself):--comfort (self), ease (one's self), repent(-er,-ing, self).
It appears in this verse:
"I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every
one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle." (Jer 8:6)
Strong's Greek Dictionary:
3340. metanoeo
metanoew metanoeo met-an-o-eh'-o from 3326 and 3539; to think differently or afterwards,
i.e. reconsider (morally, feel compunction):--repent.
It appears in this verse:
"Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance" (Mt 3:8)
God commands us to repent: "Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying,
The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." (Mark 1:14,
15) "Then
hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life." (Acts 11:18) If you want repentance, pray
for it (and start repenting and obeying what you understand from the Scriptures).
You may know the definition intellectually, but not have experienced it and thus still be unrepentant. Repentance in
one's life is Spirit illuminated. Repentance is not simply believing that I was born with a sin nature, or a turning
from the outward manifestations of sin, but it is the inward Spirit illuminated flash of realization that Self is the problem
and that it is exceedingly sinful and sitting on God's throne in my heart. It is then the denial of that Self that
is repentance. "If
any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."
Repentance is also action: turning from and abandoning sin, making restitution for wrongs, obeying what I understand
from the Bible.
Here is what John Bunyan (Pilgrim’s Progress) wrote about repentance.
It shows how easy it is to repent the wrong way: “There is
a repentance that will not save, a repentance to be repented of; and a repentance to salvation, not to be repented of. (2
Cor 7:10) Yet so great a similitude and likeness there is betwixt the one and the other, that most times the wrong is taken
for the right, and through this mistake professors perish. As, (1.) In saving repentance there will be an acknowledgment of
sin; and one that hath the other repentance may acknowledge his sins also. (Matt 27:4) (2.) In saving repentance there is
a crying out under sin; but one that hath the other repentance may cry out under sin also. (Gen 4:13) (3.) In saving repentance
there will be humiliation for sin; and one that hath the other repentance may humble himself also. (1 Kings 21:29) (4.) Saving
repentance is attended with self-loathing; but he that hath the other repentance may have loathing of sin too; a loathing
of sin, because it is sin, that he cannot have; but a loathing of sin, because it is offensive to him, that he may have. The
dog doth not loath that which troubleth his stomach because it is there, but because it troubleth him; when it has done troubling
of him, he can turn to it again, and lick it up as before it troubled him. (2 Peter 2:22) (5.) Saving repentance is attended
with prayers and tears; but he that hath none but the other repentance, may have prayers and tears also. (Gen 27:34,35, Heb
12:16,17) (6.) In saving repentance there is fear and reverence of the Word and ministers that bring it; but this may be also
where there is none but the repentance that is not saving; for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and holy,
and observed him; when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly. (Mark 6:20) (7.) Saving repentance makes a
man’s heart very tender of doing anything against the Word of God. But Balaam could say, “If Balak would give
me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord.” (Num 24:13) Behold, then, how far a man may go in repentance, and yet be short of
that which is called, “Repentance unto salvation, not to be repented of.” (a.) He may be awakened; (b.) He may acknowledge his sin; (c.) He may cry out under the burden of sin; (d.)
He may have humility for it; (e.) He may loath it; (f.) May have prayers and tears against it; (g.) may delight to do many
things of God; (h.) May be afraid of sinning against him—and, after
all this, may perish, for want of saving repentance.” The
entire sermon is edifying: http://www.peacemakers.net/johnbunyan/bun-strait.rtf
Here is what A.W. Tozer
writes about repentance:
"When Isaiah cried out, "I
am undone!" it was a cry of pain. It was the revealing cry of conscious uncleanness. He was experiencing the undoneness
of the creature set over against the holiness of the Creator.
What should happen in genuine
conversion? What should a man or woman feel in the transaction of the new birth?
There ought
to be that real and genuine cry of pain. That is why I do not like the kind of evangelism that tries to invite people into
the fellowship of God by signing a card.
There should be a birth from above and within. There should be the terror of seeing ourselves
in violent contrast to the holy, holy, holy God. Unless we come into this place of conviction and pain, I am not sure how
deep and real our repentance will ever be.
Tozer, Whatever Happened
to Worship? p. 76
Here is an excerpt from ‘The Withering Work
of the Spirit', a sermon preached by Spurgeon on July 9th, 1871:
“In every one of us it must be fulfilled that all that is of the flesh in us, seeing it is but as grass, must
be withered, and the comeliness thereof must be destroyed. The Spirit of God, like the wind, must pass over the field
of our souls, and cause our beauty to be as a fading flower. He must so convince us of sin, and so reveal ourselves to ourselves,
that we shall see that the flesh profiteth nothing; that our fallen nature is corruption itself, and that "they who are
in the flesh cannot please God." There must be brought home to us the sentence of death upon our former legal and carnal
life, that the incorruptible seed of the word of God, implanted by the Holy Ghost, may be in us, and abide in us for ever.
The awakened sinner, when he asks that God would have mercy upon him, is much astonished to find
that, instead of enjoying a speedy peace, his soul is bowed down within him under a sense of divine wrath. Naturally enough
he enquires: "Is this the answer to my prayer? I prayed the Lord to deliver me from sin and self, and is this the way
in which he deals with me? I said, 'Hear me,' and behold he wounds me with the wounds of a cruel one. I said, 'Clothe
me,' and lo! He has torn off from me the few rags which covered me before, and my nakedness stares me in the face. I said,
'Wash me,' and behold he has plunged me in the ditch till mine own clothes do abhor me. Is this the way of grace?"
Sinner, be not surprised: it is even so. Perceivest thou not the cause of it? How canst thou be healed while the proud flesh
is in thy wound? It must come out. It is the only way to heal thee permanently: it would be folly to film over thy sore, or
heal thy flesh, and leave the leprosy within thy bones. The great physician will cut with his sharp knife till the corrupt
flesh be removed, for only thus can a sure healing work be wrought in thee. Dost thou not see that it is divinely wise that
before thou art clothed thou shouldst be stripped!
What, wouldst thou have Christ's lustrous
righteousness outside whiter than any fuller can make it, and thine own filthy rags concealed within? Nay, man; they must
be put away; not a single thread of thine own must be left upon thee. It cannot be that God should cleanse thee until he has
made thee see somewhat of thy defilement; for thou wouldst never value the precious blood which cleanses us from all sin if
thou hadst not first of all been made to mourn that thou art altogether an unclean thing.”
Now, the important question is: 'Do you have the "inner witness" - the Holy Spirit?'
The Biblical requirement for salvation is "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts
20:21). We must repent for the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to be at work in us. Repentance is
the conscious going away from sin: if we are not daily convinced of sin, we can't repent, as we wouldn't have any
reason to do so! (go back to the Hebrew word for repentance : "to sigh, i.e. breathe strongly"...) It's
repeated throughout the Bible:
"Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour,
working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth." (Eph 4:28)
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt
not despise." (Ps 51:17)
This whole passage of Luke 3 is worth
quoting :
Luke 3:3-14 "And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching
the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying,
The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall befilled,
and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made
smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him,
O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance,
and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones
to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which
bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?
He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let
him do likewise. Then came also publicans to be baptized, and unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact
no more than that which is appointed you. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he
said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages."
Charles Curtman in ‘Why Men do not Preach Repentance' explains ‘easy believism' (same
as ‘easy prayerism') in more detail:
""What is easy believism?" Well, easy believism is what the devils have. The Bible
says, "The devils also believe, and tremble" (James 2:19). The devils (like unconverted church members) have an
intellectual knowledge, a mental assent, but they are not going to stop rebelling against God, they are not interested in
holiness, and they are not going to change. They just believe. That's not too hard to do. It's easy--until the "believer"
gets to hell! We have now had at least twenty-five years of repentance-free, easy believism converts--many of them herded
into baptisteries, pews, church positions, and offices. Some have wound up in pulpits." http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/fbns/fbns472.html
So, what makes for a perverted plan of salvation?
In short, the answer is the avoidance or the minimizing or downplaying of repentance, obedience, commitment to the LORD and
hence no possibility for a new birth, no "new creature", no "inner witness".
These edited excerpts from ‘Why Men do not Preach Repentance' by Charles Curtman; (http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/fbns/fbns472.html) offer a Biblical explanation of how vital and central and essential repentance is for salvation:
"Mark 1:4 tells us of the forerunner of Christ, that "John did baptize
in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." Mark 1:14 says, "Now after that
John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled,
and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." When the twelve were sent out by Jesus on their
first preaching mission, Mark 6:12 says, "And they went out and preached that men should repent."
So, we have John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the twelve clearly preaching repentance.
Obviously, John the Baptist, our Lord, and the apostles understood repentance to be an important, indispensable part of the
Gospel. Luke 24:46,47 says, "Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the
third day And that repentance and remission of sins should he preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."
Notice, that the same context that talks about how intended and important it was that Christ suffer and rise from the dead,
the Bible goes on to say, "And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached..." (Do you see how these
two things, Christ's suffering and resurrection, and the preaching of repentance, are linked together?)
Repentance is inseparably, inextricably linked... with forgiveness of sins and with believing unto salvation. God not only
gave the very words that are in the Bible, He also directed as to the order in which these words were to be placed. See how
John connected repentance as a precedent to the remission of sins in Mark 1:4, and how Jesus associated repentance as a precedent
to belief in the gospel in Mark 1:15 above? Jesus said that when John preached the gospel to certain ones, they were incapable
of believing it because of their refusal to repent: "For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and you believed
him not: but the publicans and harlots believed him: and ye, when you had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe"
(Mat. 21:32). See the connection?
Because they would not repent, they were unable to believe.
WHERE THERE IS NOT REPENTANCE,THERE CAN BE NO SAVING FAITH! "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may
be blotted out." (Acts 3:19). What comes before conversion and the blotting out of sins here? According to the Apostle
Peter, repentance does.
When the apostles were forbidden to preach by the Sanhedrin court, they
simply gave testimony to Jesus, what they were preaching and what they intended to keep on preaching: "Him hath God exalted
with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour; for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5:31).
The idea of preaching is to bring people to repentance and faith so they can receive forgiveness of sins.
By the way, while we are noticing the significance of the order in which the words of Scripture are arranged, you might observe
the order of "Prince" and "Saviour" in Acts 5:31. There must be an attitude of heart that recognizes Jesus
as King or Prince or Ruler or Lord or Master, and is willing to accept him as such before the humility of heart will ever
be there to receive Him as Saviour. It is interesting, but not surprising, that people who have a problem with repentance
also have a problem with recognizing the Lordship of Christ and this is evidence of a stubborn, self-preserving, egotistical
pride after the nature of Satan, whose main problem was and is, an unwillingness to render total submission to the Lord. It
is a mark of the fallen nature to want to maintain some degree of self-elevation rather than humble oneself entirely in the
dust before God.
When Peter gave his report about the salvation of Cornelius and members of
his household, the church in Jerusalem became convinced that these Gentiles had experienced the same work of grace in salvation
as themselves. Acts 11:18 says, "when they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then
hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life." WHAT HAD GOD GRANTED THEM BEFORE HE GRANTED THEM ETERNAL
LIFE? REPENTANCE! These words and their order were not placed in the New Testament by the Holy Spirit as a matter of happenstance.
In verses nineteen and twenty, Paul tells King Agrippa about the ministry God had called him to:
"whereupon, 0 king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and
at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and
do works meet for repentance." Nobody is going to turn to God until they repent.
How can
you turn to something without turning from something? "Oh," says the Jehudi crowd that wants to cut repentance out
of the Bible, "it just means to repent of unbelief not sin in general, not the principle of sin that has been ruling
and reigning in one's life. It just means to turn from not believing in Jesus to believing in Jesus. A heart attitude
that is repulsed by sin and resolves not to sin may, or may not, come later on in a believer's life. My friends, this
line of reasoning is nothing but jabberwocky and doublespeak. This kind of argument by these verbal contortionists is an insult
to anyone who can read the Bible, and to anyone who has enough discernment to put his shoes on the right feet when he gets
up in the morning. This kind of "repentance" is not what the Bible teaches in connection with salvation. It is not
what Jesus demanded. It is not what the early church or the apostles understood repentance to mean. It is not what the Protestant
reformers, the Wesleys, or Whitfield understood it to mean. It is not what the great evangelists of the past or of more modern
times have believed. YOU CANNOT FIND ANY MENTION OF THIS REPENTANCE-FREE GOSPEL IN THE HISTORY OF REVIVAL.
Repentance is a turning from sin with all the heart and all of the soul as the Holy Spirit convicts the
sinner of his need and convinces him of the ability and the willingness of God to save him. It is an attitude of the heart
and mind that is ready and willing to turn from sin in all of its shapes and forms. It is a necessary part of the gospel."
The Lord Jesus Christ made it clear: "except ye repent, ye shall all likewise
perish" (Luke 13:3). In other words, if you don't repent you go to hell.
Consider these definitions/points re: repentance (and faith):
► Repentance = surrender (turning around and going the other way) "Repent
and turn yourselves from all your transgressions" (Ezekiel 18:30)
► Repentance
is the relinquishment of any practice, from conviction that it has offended God.
► Scripture
teaches that repentance is a gift from God, and God has commanded all men to repent, so nobody has an excuse.
► Repentance comes as a result of hearing the preaching of God's Word, as a result of God revealing
Himself (a personal learning about God which is received directly from Him), and it is also the goodness of God that leadeth
to repentance (Romans 2:4).
► "Repentance is an inward attitude of the soul...
Until a person becomes personally exceedingly sinful in his own eyes, he will never see his need for repentance." (http://www.llano.net/baptist/pbc-4-98.htm)
► "True Biblical repentance involves: conviction (where sin
is admitted); contrition (where sin is abhorred and one feels godly sorrow for it); and conversion (where sin is abandoned)...
So in true repentance, there is conviction, contrition, and conversion as one turns from his sin to Christ for salvation."
(http://www.llano.net/baptist/pbc-4-98.htm)
► The Lord Jesus Christ said "...I am not come to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance" (Matt 9:13)
► "Repentance
without faith is nothing more than remorse or regret... There must be a work of repentance and faith upon the sinner's
heart before salvation can become a reality. Repentance is caused by the working of the Holy Spirit who takes the Sword
of the Spirit and slays the sinner's self-righteousness, self-goodness, self-decency, self-esteem, and causes him to cry
out: ‘God be merciful to me a sinner' (Luke 18:13) and ‘what must I do to be saved?' (Acts 16:30)".
(http://www.llano.net/baptist/pbc-4-98.htm)
► The apostles were commanded to preach repentance: "And that
repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Luke
24:47). This is The Great Commission.
► "Faith, in scripture, means much more
than simply to agree with something as being true. It means a personal appropriation of that truth, for the purpose
that it exists... There is faith (in the everyday sense) which is not saving faith (in the Biblical sense)... General agreement
with facts is one thing, but a change of mind which results in a change of action, enabling one to personally appropriate
a truth for the purpose it was given is quite another. Repentance enables one to believe!" (‘Repentance
is More Than a Change of Mind', Bruce Lackey, p. 16)
► Scripture makes it clear that
God requires repentance both of the lost and of the erring believer.
► Everyone is commanded
to repent: "And the times of ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent"
(Acts 17:30)
► "There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner
that repenteth." (Luke 15:10)
► What happens if one doesn't repent?
"...except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:5).
Repentance
is not only one of the many nice ideas in the Bible. Rather it is central. Essential. First.
In Hebrews 6:1 the Apostle Paul calls repentance and faith the "foundation": "Therefore
leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance
from dead works, and of faith toward God".
To be saved then, one must repent.
If the notion of repentance is so central, capital, in the Bible, we should rightly expect it to be as
central and capital in the churches that claim to be taking the Bible as their sole authority. We can check it out by
looking at the doctrine of a church and looking to see if repentance is well and alive in that church. We'll find
out that, only a rare few salvation presentations can lead to the Biblical way of salvation; and that the vast majority of
churches today preach a false, and hence ineffective, plan of salvation; a misleading message, which leads to false conversions,
and people who think that they are headed for heaven, when in fact they are still going to hell.
Doctrine: Faulty plan of salvation
These ‘partial-gospels'
presentations, have come to be known as ‘easy prayerism' or ‘easy believism'. "‘Easy
prayerism', in its approach, emphasizes Heaven and blessing and God's love, Bible evangelism, in its approach, emphasizes
God's holiness and just demands upon mankind; it emphasizes the necessity of repentance. Easy prayerism is a deceptive
(not necessarily intentional) method of gaining ‘converts' and church members; as individuals end up thinking that
they are saved; but in fact, in most cases they are not.
Most soul-winning programs are hasty
and shallow. They omit defining and explaining terms and contrasting the true Gospel with false gospels, use psychological
manipulation and music, and offer salvation as a solution for day-to-day problems; all in a seeming attempt to ‘slip
the plan of salvation by the sinner' and to try and get him ‘saved' before he knows what is happening.
The soul winner proceeds to give assurance of heaven and eternal security to a (usually) unsaved person who has prayed a quick
prayer (it is the Holy Spirit Who gives assurance and security by bearing witness with our spirit that we are the children
of God - Romans 8:16) in many cases inoculating the person from ever becoming truly born again.
Doctrine: Today's preaching:
Most pastors today
have a tendency to be ‘smooth' and politically correct.
In the overwhelming
majority of sermons pastors do not warn listeners sufficiently about hell and they rarely (if ever) preach repentance, even
though that is what the Lord Jesus Christ and the apostles do in the KJV. The best that one can hear is a quick ‘repent
from your sins', without any real explanation. How can such a capital step in the way of salvation be left out completely
or reduced like this?
Why are we trying to reinvent the wheel? The Word of
God is more powerful than anything we can come up with. "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper
than any twoedged sword" (Heb 4:12). Does God need our help? Does He need gimmicks, pageantry,
empty ceremonies, rituals? What we need is the Word of God read out loud and preached the way that the Lord Jesus
Christ preached and the way that the Apostles preached. The first churches were built on the preaching of repentance.
It is the key to revival. It is also the surest way to persecution. It is the only way. Read what B.H. Carroll
wrote in 1889. (Yes, 1889.)
"The preacher who leaves out
repentance commits as grave a sin as the one who leaves out faith. I mean he must preach repentance just as often, and with
as much emphasis, and to as many people as he preaches faith. To omit repentance, to ignore it, to depreciate it, is rebellion
and treason.
Repentance is a fundamental duty. Fundamental means pertaining to a foundation,
and Paul commences the enumeration of the first principles of the oracles of God by saying, "The foundation of repentance"
(Heb. 6:1). A foundation is that upon which the superstructure rests.
When true repentance was
preached and emphasized, there were not so many nominal professors of religion. To leave out or minify repentance, no matter
what sort of a faith you preach, is to prepare a generation of professors who are such in name only... I give it as
my deliberate conviction, founded on twenty-five years of ministerial observation, that the Christian profession of today
owes its lack of vital godliness, its want of practical piety, its absence from the prayer meeting, its miserable semblance
of missionary life, very largely to the fact that old-fashioned repentance is so little preached." http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/repentanceremiss.htm
The Lord Jesus Christ speaks more about hell than heaven and He calls
"sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:32). The result of easy prayerism / easy believism is that people think that
by simply believing and praying a little prayer they can be guaranteed to go to heaven.
Listen to A.W. Tozer again: "I think there is little doubt that the teaching of salvation without repentance has
lowered the moral standards of the Church and produced a multitude of deceived religious professors who erroneously believe
themselves to be saved..."
What deception!
Are
you starting to see how diabolical this is? Repentance is essential to salvation; repentance is disappearing from the
modern ‘Bibles'. Using the wrong Bible version goes hand-in-hand with teaching the wrong doctrine. The
result is people who think they are saved, yet they are NOT... and Satan is laughing.
So, most churches today present a false plan of salvation; one major reason is because they make little or no mention of REPENTANCE.
The results of such partial and perverted presentations are ‘almost Christians', who are ‘almost born again'
and ‘almost headed for heaven'. What a tragedy. What apostasy.
"The
Bible, especially the New Testament, is the handbook of repentance. It commands it, urges it, enforces
it, repeats it, drives it in everywhere. Over sixty times repentance is enforced. The great doctrine of repentance
occupies a very prominent place in the teaching of Jesus Christ and His apostles... I am afraid that in our zeal to get people
into the kingdom or the Church we have lowered the standard... We have made it too easy, but Jesus never made it so:
He never deluded anybody. He never cried ‘Peace' when there was no peace. He knew
the danger of saying ‘Peace' when the soul was in anarchy and the will in rebellion, and the whole man against
God... His first public sermon to the world was on repentance. He knew where to begin. ‘Repent ye',
said Jesus. That is His first utterance, and if you care to go to His last before He left Hisdisciples and was received
up yonder in the clouds, He gave them the commission to go and preach repentance." (Rodney ‘Gipsy'
Smith, Repent Ye, 1906)
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