The Sunday Sermon

That All Should Come to Repentance

R.P.Woitowtiz Sr.

The Book of Ezekiel Chapter 33 Verse 11

The Second Epistle of Peter Chapter 3 Verse 9

11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God,

I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the

wicked turn from his way and live: turn you, turn

you from your evil ways, for why will ye die, O ye

house of Israel?

9 The Lord of that promise is not slack (as some

men count slackness) but is patient toward us, and

would have no man to perish, but would all men to

come to repentance.

Let me say the gist of these two verses combined;

I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; that all men come to repentance. Again! That ALL, emphasis on the word ALL should come to repentance. The Word does not say some, or just a few, or just a handful. No, no, no, it says ALL should come to repentance.

So often in these times, I hear, even from those who believe, that there is more than one road to Heaven. They say that a loving God would not, or cannot condemn any of his children to the eternal darkness and as such will in the end allow everyone in to his kingdom. But what does God’s Word say?

Again, let me combine parts of the two above verses;

No man to perish, for why will ye die?

God does qualify His Word, by stating that some will not turn and repent. The next question that should come to mind, is exactly who, will not.

In Chapter 5 verses 5-6 of Ephesians we see exactly who shall not enter into God’s heavenly kingdom;

5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, neither

unclean person, nor covetous person, which is an

idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of

Christ, and of God.

6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for,

for such things cometh the wrath of God upon the

children of disobedience.

Here again is the key of both verses, to which one might answer the above statement about a loving God. I quote again, Let NO MAN deceive you. These things will happen, and will happen as are made plain. We see the same again in Matthew 25:32-41, Matthew 7:21-23, and yet again in Matthew 10:32. The point is simply this, not everyone is going to get to heaven. And the only way one will is unless two things happen. One, one must confess Christ as Saviour, without that, all means nothing. Two, one must likewise after confessing repent, and turn from their ways. We are required to put on the new man, the spiritual man, the reborn man. ( Colossians 3:10, John 3:3, 7; 1 Peter 1:23;)

Now understand this, that yes the new man will stumble, and fall along the way, but he will also get up and walk again, and continue onward. We’re sinful creatures by nature, followers of what the flesh wills us, and whilst we do our best to crucify the flesh, sometimes it gets the better of us. (Romans 7:12-24;) This will happen, but in Christ we likewise have a meditator (Romans 3:23; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 2:18; Hebrews 9:15; 1 Corinthians 10:13; ) Someone who will stand before the Father and confess our names as brothers and sisters.

Brethren, it is my belief that the biggest problem facing those folks mentioned before, is the understanding that God, Who is indeed our loving Creator and Father, Who loves us dearly, is also a God of righteousness, and as such, cannot, I say again No, no no CAN NOT, look upon sin, and allow it to enter into his kingdom. ( Daniel 9:14; Ezra 9:15;) We so puff ourselves up these days, with our knowledge in the sciences, and other disciplines. We pride ourselves on our wisdom, thinking that what we know is more than what God knows. And yet, the simple fact is, is that for all our knowledge, intelligence, wisdom, and intellectual abilities, many of us are not able to grasp the simplest of facts, that our wisdom pales in comparison from that which comes from above. However, God, states the simple and obvious in that He takes the knowledge from men, and makes it foolishness, and makes HIS knowledge whom men deem foolishness true wisdom. ( Jeremiah 8:9; 1 Corinthians 2:5; 1 Corinthians 3:19; Ephesians 5:15, 17; Isaiah 55:9; ) It is amazing that so simple a fact escapes them, and others who live in world and follow after it, that God, is righteous. Yet all they need do, is confess Christ as Saviour, ( Philippians 2:10-11; 1 John 4:2; ) and repent of their sins and afterwards do their best to walk in His righteous ways. ( 1 John 1:9; Proverbs 2:20;) It’s that simple folks. That all peoples should come to repentance. That none should perish, and that all should live with our Creator.

Editor’s note - Just a little extra food for thought. In his writings called the The Apology of Socrates, Plato writes;

“I am called wise, for my hearers always imagine that I myself possess wisdom which I find wanting in others: but the truth is, O men of Athens, that God only is wise; and in this oracle he means to say that the wisdom of men is little or nothing.”