The sermon is based on Chapter 15, Paragraph 2 of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, focusing on repentance unto life and salvation. It emphasizes that all men are called to repent and highlights the need for repentance in the believer's life. The sermon explores the difference between repentance and the fruits of the Spirit, discussing the initial repentance and the lifelong journey of turning towards God. It also touches on the consequences of failure to repent and the blessings of repentance, including closer fellowship with God and times of refreshing. The sermon concludes with the reminder that repentance is a mercy from God and leads to unity with Him.

From the Second London Baptist Confession, Chapter 15 of Repentance Unto Life and Salvation, paragraph 2. Whereas there is none that doth good and sinneth not, and the best of men may, through the power and deceitfulness of their corruption dwelling in them, with the prevalence of temptation, fall into great sins and provocations. God hath in the covenant of grace, mercifully provided that believers so sinning and falling be renewed through repentance unto salvation." So we see this paragraph starts out by underscoring our sin. We see in Romans 3, 23 that all men are in the same state that we've all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And we see also that in the same way, all men are called to repent.

Acts 17.30 says, God commands all men everywhere to repent. So We have our fallen state and we have this command and this duty to repent. You know, people I think often don't like to think about repentance as much as we like to think about the fruits of the Spirit, you know, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, all these good things. Repentance kind of has this weight with it, this duty and obligation on our part. But the confession says that God mercifully provides that we repent.

These fruits of the Spirit won't manifest themselves without first going through repentance. You know, there's, in the life of a believer, there's the initial, you know, our backs are turned towards God, and God calls us, and we turn around, and we're facing God now, and we're going towards God. That's the initial repentance. And then throughout the rest of our life, it's like the pilgrim's progress where we're constantly, you know, off the path and off the path and having to, you know, correct our course. So, if we think about that call to everyone to repent, and we think about God's grace in allowing us to repent, and the difference between us and the world.

We had, you know, the difference between Judas and Peter, which was, you know, referenced as one of the proof texts here, that the difference is that Christ prayed for Peter and caused Peter to repent of, you know, denying Christ. We see some of the consequences for failure to repent. In 1 John 1 verse 6, we see that it says, if we say that we have fellowship with Him and we walk in darkness, we lie and we do not practice the truth. And let me just read Matthew 7, 15 to 27, where Christ in the Sermon on the Mount says, Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.

Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them.

Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name, and then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who has built his house on the rock. And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

But everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who builds his house on the sand. And the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on the house and it fell and great was its fall." So that's the one side of the story. Without repentance, that's our state. But I want us to focus on the blessing of repentance and God's work in it in our lives. It's not so much our power to strive and to try, but God allows for those things in our lives by His mercy.

In Acts 3 19, we see some of the fruits of repentance. It says, "'Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." So repentance is a prerequisite for these times of refreshing. And going back to the idea of Christ's prayer for us and His intercession to bring about that gift of repentance. I'm going to read John 17, 20 to 23. This is Christ, His prayer for all believers.

My prayer is not for them alone, He says. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I in you, may they also be in us, that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one. I in them and you in me, so that they may be brought into complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and that I have loved them even as you have loved me." So it's God's mercy in that He desires to have this fellowship with us, but He can have no fellowship with darkness.

And so in His mercy, He turns us around and allows us repentance so that we can be drawn into closer fellowship with Him and we can experience these great blessings. So I just want us to be thinking, you know, as we go into our week And, you know, God is kind and gracious to show us areas of our lives where we're sinning. And as we think about repentance, don't so much feel the burden of it, but think about what a blessing it is that God shows us these things, and He calls us into fellowship with Himself, and the result of repentance is that we'll be in closer fellowship with him.