Introduction:
John the Baptist prepared the way for the Messiah by proclaiming a message of repentance.
It was repentance necessitated by truth.
The truth about who the Messiah was. The truth about what His presence represented. The truth about man’s sinfulness and the need for the Lamb of God who takes away sins.
It was REPENTANCE that would prepare the way for the Messiah.
The word “repent” is the word μετανοέω (metanoeo)
Meaning: to change one's mind or purpose
Repentance is a change of mind, a change in the heart, that results in a turnaround, a new course, a change at the point of decision — at the point of our choices, our devotions, our ambitions, our motives, and our behaviors, we change.
True repentance is the fruit of faith.
Repentance in the realm of faith, in the realm of Christian belief and obedience, is turning from unbelief in sin to believe God.
Turning from the pathway of unrighteousness, to believe God and to follow God in the pathway of truth. It all begins at the point of faith in Christ Jesus Himself as Lord. This is where the life of repentance has its genesis.
What our verses make clear is that for repentance to be repentance it must be genuine. Indeed, it must be produced by God. Not everything that calls itself repentance, or pretends to be repentance, really is repentance.
There is genuine repentance and there is the pretense of repentance.
What is also made plain by these verses, is that to simply show interest in repentance, to be in its zip code (so to speak), is unacceptable when your need is to repent.
Many people over the course of salvation history have proven interested, curious, over what God was doing in human hearts, only to have their own hearts unchanged. Benjamin Franklin’s view of George Whitfield comes to mind.



Benjamin Franklin (in his autobiography) — “In 1739 arriv’d among us from England the Rev. Mr. Whitefield, who had made himself remarkable there as an itinerant Preacher. He was at first permitted to preach in some of our Churches; but the Clergy taking a Dislike to him, soon refus’d him their Pulpits and he was oblig’d to preach in the Fields. The Multitudes of all Sects and Denominations that attended his Sermons were enormous and it was [a] matter of Speculation to me who was one of the Number, to observe the extraordinary Influence of his Oratory on his Hearers, and how much they admir’d and respected him, notwithstanding his common Abuse of them, by assuring them they were naturally half Beasts and half Devils. It was wonderful to see the Change soon made in the Manners [behavior] of our Inhabitants; from being thoughtless or indifferent about Religion, it seem’d as if all the World were growing Religious; so that one could not walk thro’ the Town in an Evening without Hearing Psalms sung in different Families of every Street.”
What kind of man gives this testimony?
“Some of Mr. Whitefield’s Enemies affected to suppose that he would apply these Collections to his own private Emolument [profit]; but I, who was intimately acquainted with him (being employ’d in printing his Sermons and Journals, etc.) never had the least Suspicion of his Integrity, but am to this day decidedly of Opinion that he was in all his Conduct a perfectly honest Man. And methinks my Testimony in his Favor ought to have the more Weight, as we had no religious Connection. He us’d indeed sometimes to pray for my Conversion, but never had the Satisfaction of believing that his Prayers were heard. Ours was a mere civil Friendship, sincere on both Sides, and lasted to his Death.”
JOHN THE BAPTIST PREACHED A MESSAGE OF REPENTANCE, AND MADE CRYSTAL CLEAR WHAT TRUE REPENTANCE REQUIRES.
That is what we think about tonight. We think about genuine repentance.
Tonight, we see two truths about the call for repentance in the ministry of John the Baptist. These two truths continue to be true for any call for genuine repentance at any time in salvation history. (1) The call for repentance is confrontational (2) The call for repentance is consequential.
• THE CALL FOR REPENTANCE IS CONFRONTATIONAL (vs.7-9)
Who calls for repentance?
Someone might say, “in this context, John the Baptist did.” That would be true. But what was John the Baptist? He was a voice. For whom was He speaking? He was speaking for God. He is declaring God’s message.
The one calling for repentance, is God.
Who is called to repentance?
Someone who needs to change his or her ways. Someone who needs to turn in his or her thinking, in his or her disposition, to embrace God’s truth, God’s way, as it is being declared.
To put it simply, you do not call someone to repentance who is in the right.
When God calls for repentance, it is because you are in the wrong place.
Your thinking is wrong.
Your disposition is wrong.
Your ambitions are wrong.
Your ways are wrong.
You CONDITION is wrong.