I Am. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ (or Messiah) this Jesus whom you crucified.

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1 I Am A few weeks ago, I read an inspirational saying that sparked some thoughts that then lead to today s message. The quote is attributed to A. W. Tozer. For those who are not familiar with Mr. Tozer, he was a preacher, author, editor, and mentor to many. He grew up in Pennsylvania. He grew up in a small farming community living at near poverty levels. He had no formal education yet received two honorary doctoral degrees. His life spanned from 1897 to Here is that inspirational quote that set-in motion the cogs of my mind. If your Christian conversion did not reverse the direction of your life, if it did not transform it then you are not converted at all. You are simply a victim of the Accept Jesus heresy! (A. W Tozer) (Repeat it.) How often have we heard a radio or television preacher invite us to place our hand on and electronic device and Accept Jesus? How simple is that? Within this quote, we see an implicit indication that there is something in accepting Jesus that requires a change in our lives. It is not just saying: I believe. It is not just dipping in the baptismal pool. Something must happen. It seems too easy to just say: I am a Christian. The chain of thought began from that brief encounter of the quote. I began to reflect on how often we begin a descriptive phrase about ourselves with the two words I am. I am a husband, I am a man, I am (whatever seems to fit the moment.) Many of you may well catch yourself doing the same thing. You begin with I am. So, someone lays their hand on a radio, clicks on the like button and shared, agreed with everything the minister said while sitting in their pew and now they are a Christian. They may say I am a Christian. Are they? Am I? If we really want to be like the church that the apostles laid down their lives for, then we need to look at the church as it began. Let s turn to the 2 nd chapter of Acts. Peter has stood up and explains the events that are unfolding in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. His concluding statements are found in Acts 2:36. We will read verses 36 through 38. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ (or Messiah) this Jesus whom you crucified. 1

2 Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart (or wounded in conscience), and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do? Peter said to them, Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:36-38 NASB) Repent, and each of you be baptized What does that word Repent mean? In the original Greek language, the word used is μετανοέω metanoeo (pronounced: me-tä'-noi-ä) means to think differently or afterwards, i.e. reconsider (morally, feel compunction): repent. Literally to perceive afterward (meta: after and noeo: to perceive). Always used in the New Testament to change one s mind or purpose. (Vine s Complete Expository Dictionary) Some commentators suggest the word may be translated to turn toward the light. However, I do not find that meaning in the materials that I have at my disposal. I do believe that repentance is more than a feeling or emotion. Let s pause right here to reflect on repentance. We will consider four areas that of our being that are affected by a true repentance. First, repentance is a mental awareness. Our mind or intellect must lead us to understand the real nature of sin. If we never grasp the nature of sin, we may be caught up in a brief, almost mob hysteria, and fail to realize that we are on the wrong path. We must, mentally, come to grips with our situation. David had sinned and truly departed from the paths that God laid out for him. In Psalm 51, he laments his sins and in verse 4, he confesses those sins. Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge. (Psalm 51:4 NASB) David realized that he had sinned and that regardless of what God said or did, God was justified because of the situation created by sin. In a similar situation, the prodigal son arrived at the knowledge (mental/intellectual realization) that he had sinned. Look in Luke 15:21. And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son. (Luke 15:21 NASB) 2

3 In both cases, their mind accepted reality. They offer no excuses. Their repentance was first an acknowledgment that they stood without excuse in the wrong place. Second, we find emotion is a component in repentance. In the 51 st Psalm, David is humbling himself before God. As we just read, he has mentally accepted his sin. As we drop down to the 17 th verse, we see that he (David) understand the emotional side of repentance when he says: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. (Psalm 51:17 NASB) Isaiah tells us what God is looking for when he writes about contrition in Isaiah 57:15. For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite. (Isaiah 57:15 NASB) Sorrow, contrition, loathing for the sin in which we find ourselves brings us the prayer of the tax collector found in Like 18: God, be merciful to me, the sinner! (Luke 18:13 NASB) Knowledge or a mental realization about sin coupled with the emotions of sorrow and contrition will lead us to the third component of repentance. Third, we must be willing to do something about our situation. We have considered the prodigal son earlier. He certainly knew his situation. He was sorrowful about the state in which he found himself. His knowledge and emotions (sorrow) prompted action. Without action, he would have either died in the pig pen or still be eating the slops. Paul wrote to the church at Rome and calls for action in Romans 13: The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore, let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave (Lit. walk) properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. (Romans 13:12-14 NASB) 3

4 Not only are we called to lay aside all of our sins, we are told make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. So, repentance is a process which commences with the mind being informed so as to affect (or bring about) a change of attitude toward sin, and an exposure and realization of the nature of it in one's life, which brings a change of heart - an emotional response. We learn to hate what we once indulged, and a decision of will to forsake it. The fourth element of repentance is the Spirit. We started our discussion on repentance with a reading from Acts the 2 nd chapter. Peter told those listening Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins In this, the first recorded gospel sermon, we see the elements of repentance. Peter had given them the true. He had fully described the situation and some of them realized that their situation left them in a place they no longer wanted to stay. They felt sorrow and were moved to ask about what actions they needed to take to mitigated their sins. Peter s response is to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins. Peter then shares the fourth element of repentance when he tells them what happens upon their taking the steps of repentance and baptism. The next step is God s action: and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38 NASB) This brings us back to our opening thoughts. How many of us state: I am a Christian while we have not acknowledged our sins, felt true contrition or sorrow, and (importantly) turned away from those sins? When we repent (truly repent), there are several things that happen. We turn away or leave our sinful activities and mind-set behind. In Peter s second recorded sermon, we find this idea of leaving our sins tied to salvation. Let s read Acts 3: And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ (Lit. Anointed One or Messiah) would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Therefore, repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; (Acts 3:17-19 NASB) In these few verses, we find that Peter made sure they had the knowledge of their sins and called for their repentance coupled with returning to God. In the KJV, that 4

5 phrase reads: Repent ye therefore, and be converted and the NIV renders it: Repent, then, and turn to God. Repentance brings about an action where we turn away from sin and toward God. This action points toward the contingent reciprocal from God: so that your sins may be wiped away. Paul writes to the church in Colossae and tells us that our redemption is a change in citizenship. Let s read Colossians 1: For He rescued us from the domain (Lit. authority) of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14 NASB) We cannot waver back and forth between our worldly life and our spiritual life. As the writer of Hebrews says: Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; (Hebrews 10:23 NASB) We started with a quote from A. W. Tozer. If your Christian conversion did not reverse the direction of your life, if it did not transform it then you are not converted at all. You are simply a victim of the Accept Jesus heresy! (A. W Tozer) We will close with a quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. As we remember that Jesus talked about taking our cross and counting the cost, we can never say I am a Christian without paying a price. Grace is free but not cheap. Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession...cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. Dietrich Bonhoeffer 5