True Repentance
Even though we profess to believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ, we should make sure
we have experienced the new birth
through saving faith.
Here now is Gene Getz:
Here in this particular psalm the
author is really concerned about the
children of Israel and their relationship with God,
even though they were God-chosen people.
As you'll see as you go along in the psalm,
he's concerned about their
heart relationship with God.
Not just that they were called to be His people,
as far as this nation is concerned,
he's concerned about their
personal relationship with God.
Now he begins with a very positive statement,
here in verse 1 of Psalm 95. He says:
Come, let us shout joyfully to the LORD,
shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation!
Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving;
let us shout triumphantly to Him in song.
For the LORD is a great God,
a great King above all gods.
But after he takes this very positive approach
in reminding them of who God is,
he brings a very serious warning.
And you see this beginning in verse 7:
For He is our God, and we are the people
of His pasture, the sheep under His care.
Today, if you hear His voice:
Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the wilderness
where your fathers tested Me...
And if you go back and look at some of the events
after they came out of Egypt.
They ran out of water and God provided it.
But then they ran out of water again
as they were approaching Mount Sinai.
And they really were upset with God.
And they didn't remember God had
provided for them before.
And they really tested God with
the hardness of their hearts.
Now jumping ahead 40 years
after they wandered in the wilderness.
Once again they ran out of water after
God provided them with manna
all during that time.
Provided them with sustenance.
Their shoes didn't even wear out.
Once again, they ran out of water.
And once again, they tested the Lord.
That's when Moses became really angry
and did something he shouldn't have done.
And that is to strike the rock twice,
when God said: Just speak to it.
And God had to discipline Moses for that.
He couldn't let him get by with that because
of the hardness of these peoples' heart.
If Moses got by with it, what are they
going to do?
And so that's the setting here.
So you'll notice--we read on:
...they tried Me, though they had
seen what I did. ...
All during this wilderness time.
...For 40 years I was disgusted with
that generation; I said,
"They are a people whose hearts go astray;
they do not know My ways."
So I in swore My anger,
"They will not enter My rest."
And there he's literally talking about
the fact that that whole generation
was going to die off in the wilderness
because of the hardness of their hearts.
Now when you think about this,
you have to think about what Paul said
about the heart and our relationship with God.
And this applies, specifically,
to the children of Israel.
Paul was a Jew.
He's referring here to the Jews.
And basically, this is what he says in
Romans chapter 2, verse 28:
For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly,
and true circumcision is not something
visible in the flesh. ...
What he is simply saying is:
You can go through all the rituals of Judaism
and not know God personally. He says:
...On the contrary, a person is a Jew
who is one inwardly,
and circumcision is of the heart--
by the Spirit, not the letter.
That man's praise is
not from men but from God.
In other words, what he's simply saying
is elaborating.
He's elaborating, in essence,
what we read here in this psalm.
That there were those who revealed
their heart with their complaints.
And with their lack of faith.
Their testing of God.
They're walking away from God.
And we know that as you follow through
their story there, as they came out of
Egypt, that even when God was giving them
the Ten Commandments that they built a golden calf.
And worshiped that golden calf
as a representative of the
God that brought them out of Egypt.
And God had to deal with their
unbelief and with their evil.
So really what we have here is a reference
to what Jesus said to Nicodemus.
And that is Nicodemus, of course --
John chapter 3--was a religious Jew.
He was a Pharisee.
He was a teacher of the law.
And he came by night.
He was intrigued with Jesus--
the miracles that He was working.
And Jesus really confronted him and said:
Nicodemus, except a man is born again,
he can't see the kingdom of God.
And of course that really threw Nicodemus
a curve ball in terms of understanding.
What do you mean born again?
How can you enter into
your mother's womb and be born again?
And Jesus said:
Nicodemus, you're a ruler of the Jews
and you don't understand what I'm talking about?
Jesus pressed him on that because of his arrogance.
Because of his pride in God.
Of course, Jesus saw right into his
heart and He said:
Nicodemus, I'm talking about a spiritual birth.
You have to be born naturally and
you have to be born spiritually.
Unless you're born again.
And then He goes on--Jesus.
And I think frequently we
don't comprehend the facts
as we're reading along--that Jesus actually
quoted what we read in John 3:16.
And that's still a conversation with
Nicodemus when He said:
For God so loved the world, Nicodemus,
that He gave His only begotten Son.
That whosoever believes in Him should
not perish but have everlasting life.
And in essence, He was saying:
I am the Son of God.
I'm not just a great teacher
as you identified Me. I am a teacher
but I am the Son of God.
And I've come to bring life to you
and to all who will believe.
To the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Now when you think about this concept,
this Principle. And let me just state that
Principle again so we have a focus:
Even though we profess to believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ, we should make
sure we have experienced the
new birth through saving faith.
Now what does that mean?
What it means for us today is that I could say:
Well I go to church regularly.
And that's good, hopefully. But it
doesn't mean I'm born again.
It doesn't mean that I know Christ personal.
I can say:
Well you know, I've been baptized.
And that might be okay.
Especially if you've believed because
it's supposed to represent our true faith.
But that's not going to give you eternal life--
as some people believe--
because they're baptized with water.
When Jesus said:
"Unless you're born of the water and the Spirit,"
He's not talking about baptism there.
I believe he's talking about natural birth
and spiritual birth.
So there are people today who give reasons
why they are Christians. And yet that's
not what makes a Christian.
There are people who say:
Well I do good deeds.
You know, when I get there,
I'm sure my good deeds will outweigh
my bad deeds. The fact the matter is,
that's not what makes a Christian.
What makes a Christian is when we receive
the gift of eternal life from Jesus Christ.
The gift of God, which is eternal life.
And Nicodemus needed to learn this.
And today there are many, many people
who have not been taught that.
Even in so-called Christian churches.
They're taught a message that basically
Jesus came to die for the sins of the world
and therefore, you're a child of God.
Just recognize it.
And that's not what the Bible teaches.
We must receive that gift
which He's given to us.
Now here's a question for a Reflection and Response:
How can we help professing Christians
be sure their faith is saving faith
without causing true believers to
continually doubt the reality of their faith?
And that's somewhat the other side of the equation.
On the one hand we need to
make sure we know Christ.
That's what I think Paul is teaching us
based on what he said to the Jews
but also to the Gentile who professes
to know Jesus Christ.
But I think we must realize that there are
people who can be over-introspective
because they have a very sensitive conscious.
I remember a well-known guy,
today, who was at Dallas seminary
years ago, who came to me and he said:
Prof, I don't really know whether I'm a Christian.
And I said: Well have you believed and
received Jesus Christ? Well yes,
but I'm not really sure.
By the way, in exploring that with him,
he had just come through---
or he was in a course on soteriology.
Which is of course, on the doctrine of salvation.
So he was being taught extensively,
you know, about salvation.
And because of his over-sensitive conscience,
he went into an obsession--
an over introspection--on whether
or not he was a believer.
I remember another guy came to me.
Also at Dallas seminary. And he said:
Prof, I don't believe--I really I don't know
whether I really love my wife.
And I said to him--I know the relationship
he had with his wife. And I said:
Well you know, everything I see is
you certainly love your wife.
But he was obsessing with this thought.
And then I explored it and he was
in a course on the Christian home.
And he was hearing all of these things
about what it means to really love your wife.
And so he began to obsess in that situation.
I think we need to be cautious because
there are people who are
overly sensitive about this.
Another "doctrine" that I think has
created confusion for people,
it's been called Lordship Salvation.
And I'm sure that you've heard the statement:
That if Christ is not Lord of your life,
He's not Lord of all.
He's not Lord at all.
Let me restate that:
If Jesus is not Lord of your life,
He is not Lord at all.
Now think about that.
In essence that's perfectionism.
Because for Jesus to be Lord of your life
in every respect is something almost
beyond our human capacity or ability.
Even when we're trusting God and
walking with God.
I did a research on that one time.
I looked at every place, particularly
in the Epistles, where the word "Lord" is used.
Then I looked at every place
where it said "Lord Jesus."
Then I looked at every place that said
"Lord Jesus Christ."
And as I was going through the Epistles,
that was not the emphasis that He was
Lord of your life.
The emphasis was: He is Lord.
He is the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is Deity.
And you see, that's what the blind man said
when he fell at the feet of Jesus.
Said: Lord, I know You're God.
I believe!
That's what the word Lord is used--
the way the word "Lord" is used most frequently
in the Bible and in the New Testament.
Thomas, when he--after he put his hands,
as it were, in the side. ,
And the nail prints. He said:
Lord, I believe You are God.
You are the Lord Jesus Christ!
So I think we have to be very, very careful
how we use that particular concept.
On the other hand. On the other hand,
Jesus said that there will [be] some
who will come and they will say:
But Lord, we called You.
Lord! Lord! Lord!
There will be those who will say: Lord, Lord,
and Jesus will say:
I never knew you.
So there is that concept.
And obviously, I believe Jesus is
referring to the fact that they
did not really believe who He is.
And that is: He is the Lord Jesus Christ, God in the flesh,
who came into this world to be our Savior.
So here's the Principle in the light of
that perspective:
Even though we profess to believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ, we should make
sure we have experienced the
new birth through saving faith.