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TURN, TURN, TURN
A. Introduction: Recently we’ve been talking about why Jesus came to this world. This is an important topic
because, even though your faith in Jesus may be sincere, if you don’t know understand why Jesus came or
what He has done and is doing, you may be working at cross purposes with His intentions for your life.
1. We’re specifically looking at what the New Testament says about Jesus and why He came. The New
Testament documents were written by eyewitnesses of Jesus (or close associates of eyewitnesses).
a. These men heard Jesus teach, saw Him perform miracles, and then, after He died a brutal death by
crucifixion, they saw Him alive again. These eyewitnesses recorded what they heard Jesus say
about Himself and about why He came into this world.
b. Their writings tell us that Jesus is God become man without ceasing to be God. They reveal that
Jesus took on a human nature and was born into this world to die as a sacrifice for the sins of
humanity, and thereby open the way for men and women to be restored to their created purpose.
1. Human beings were created to become sons and daughters of God through faith in Him, and
then live in loving relationship with Him, as we bring honor and glory to Him by the way that
we live. Eph 1:4-5; Eph 1:12; I Pet 2:9; Acts 9:26; I Pet 3:18; etc.
2. God created human beings in such a way that He can indwell us by His Spirit and life and then
express Himself through us as we live in submission to Him. But sin has disqualified us for
our created position: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23, ESV)
A. Jesus He came to seek and save the lost—those who are cut off from God because of sin
and lost to our created purpose. He came to save us from our sins. Luke 19:10; Matt 1:21
B. Jesus’ sacrifice at the Cross was so effective that when we turn to God He can forgive us,
indwell us, and restore us to our position as His sons and daughters. John 1:12-13
2. Sin is a transgression or violation of God’s moral Law. God’s Law is His standard of what is right and
wrong (I John 4:5). The essence of sin is choosing your way over God’s way. Isa 53:6
a. Human beings are moral creatures, meaning that we are capable of knowing right from wrong and
making moral choices. But instead of following God’s standard, we have made our own standards.
b. To be restored to our position as sons and daughters of God, we must make a moral change and turn
from living for self, according to our own standards, to living for God according to His standard.
1. II Cor 5:15—(Jesus) died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live
to please themselves. Instead they will live to please Him (NLT).
2. Tonight, we’re going to continue to talk about the fact that Jesus came to save us from our sin.
B. One of Jesus’ original twelve apostles, Matthew, recorded in his New Testament book that Jesus said: For I
am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Matt 9:13, KJV).
1. The word repentance can make people feel uncomfortable. And in much of the popular teaching today,
the word repentance has been softened to mean a change of mind, and is linked renewing the mind.
a. However, this definition leaves out a key element of repentance. Repentance is a moral action—
recognizing what is wrong and then choosing to turn from it and do what is right, according to God’s
standard of morality (His standard of right and wrong). Repentance means turning from sin.
b. Repentance is a change that is expressed through actions, namely obedience to God. Repentance
involves a change for the better—meaning a turning from sin and a turning toward God.
1. The first time the word is used in the New Testament, John the Baptist urged men and women to
repent because the kingdom of God was at hand. Matt 3:2
2. When a group of religious leaders (Sadducees and Pharisees) came to investigate John, he told
them: (You must) Bear fruit in keeping with repentance (Matt 3:8, ESV); Prove by the way
you live that you have really turned from your sins to God (NLT).
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c. Luke 15:11-32—The parable of the Prodigal Son is a clear illustration of repentance. This parable
was one of three that Jesus told in response to religious leaders who criticized Him for eating with
sinners and tax collectors (lost men and women).
1. These parables illustrate that lost men and women still have value to God even though they are
lost to their created purpose because of their sin.
2. In the parable of the son, Jesus talked about a young man who took his inheritance, left his
father’s house, and spent all his money on wild, sinful living. When he ended up in pig pen,
hungry and dirty, he decided to go back to his father’s house where even servants were better
off than him.
A. Some say the son changed his mind (repented) and returned home because he realized that
the way he was living wasn’t good for him, and that life was better back at father’s house.
And, if nothing else, his father would treat him at least as good as the hired servants.
B. But there’s more to his repentance. This man realized that he had sinned against God and
against his father and was not deserving or worthy of any consideration. Luke 15:17-21
3. Repentance is more that realizing that your life is a wreck because of your behavior. It’s
admitting you’ve sinned against God and must make a moral change and turn from sin to God.
2. Why are we talking about this? Because of the weak and inaccurate gospel presentation that is so
prevalent today. We’ve reduced salvation to: Just ask Jesus into your heart, say this prayer and you’ll
be saved—and don’t let anyone tell you that you’re not saved.
a. You can pray a pray a prayer without making a moral choice. Repentance involves a moral change
—turning from living for self to living for God. This means turning from sin (or breaking God’s
moral law) to righteousness (or obeying God’s standard of morality).
b. In trying to make the gospel more appealing to people, we’ve emphasized the benefits of serving
God (come to Jesus and He will help you), but we’ve watered down this a key aspect of it —
repentance, a willful turn from living your way to living God’s way, a willful choice to obey Him.
3. After Jesus rose from the dead, He sent His apostles out to proclaim a message of repentance. He told
them: Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah must suffer and die and rise again from the dead on
the third day. With my authority, take this message of repentance to all the nations, beginning in
Jerusalem. There is forgiveness of sins for all who turn to me (Luke 24:46-47, NLT).
a. Fifty days later, Peter (one of Jesus’ original apostles) preached his first public sermon to a crowd
that was gathered in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. Peter told the crowd that although they had
crucified Jesus, God raised Him from the dead in fulfillment of the Scriptures. Acts 2:22-37
1. They were convicted by Peter’s words and asked what they must do. He replied: Each of you
must turn from your sins and turn to God and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38, NLT).
A. Acts 2:38a—Have a change of mind, that is, a change of mind being accompanied by
abhorrence of and sorrow for your deed (Wuest); Repent—change your views, and purpose
to accept the will of God in your inner selves instead of rejecting it (Amp).
B. Acts 2:38b-39—And be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your
sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For this promise (from the Father,
v32) is to you and to your children, and even to the Gentiles—all who have been called by
the Lord our God (NLT).
2. Notice in this passage that repentance precedes the forgiveness of sin. Notice also that
receiving the Holy Spirit (the indwelling Spirit of God) is conditional upon repentance.
b. Not long after Pentecost, Peter and John went up to the Temple to pray and healed a man crippled
from birth, in the name of Jesus. When a crowd gathered, Peter preached to them the resurrected
Lord Jesus whom they crucified. Acts 3:1-18
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1. Then Peter exhorted them to be converted. The Greek word that is translated convert means to
revert or turn back—turn from living for self and return to God. Acts 3:19—Therefore, repent
at once, instantly changing your attitude, and perform a right-about-face in order that your sins
may be obliterated (Wuest); So repent—change your mind and purpose; turn around and return
to God that your sins may be erased (blotted out, wiped clean) (Amp).
2. Peter ended with this: When God raised up his servant (Jesus), he sent him first to you people
of Israel, to bless you by turning each of you back from your sinful ways (Acts 3:26, NLT).
A. Notice that, according to Peter (an eyewitness of Jesus), the blessing that Jesus came to
give to the people that God calls, is to turn them from sin.
B. Humanity’s greatest problem is sin—choosing our own way and putting our standards of
right and wrong above the Creator of the universe.
4. The New Testament Book of Acts is an account of the activities of Jesus’ first apostles as they went out
to preach the resurrection of Jesus and the forgiveness of sins. In Acts we find that when men and
women believed in Jesus, it was described as them being converted and turning to the Lord.
a. Acts 9:35 says the entire population of the city of Lydda and nearby Saron turned to the Lord. Acts
11:20-21 says that in Antioch, Syria great numbers of Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord.
Acts 15:3 tells us that Gentiles were being converted in Phoenicia and Samaria.
1. The apostles understood that for salvation from sin to occur there must be repentance and
conversion—a willful turning from something (sin) to something (obedience to God).
2. Note that in the Book of Acts the description of people responding to the apostles’ message is
not: They got saved; they asked Jesus into their heart; they got born again; they confessed that
Jesus is Lord. The description is: They turned to God. They repented and were converted.
b. The apostle Paul was not one of the original twelve apostles. The Lord Jesus appeared to him about
two years after the resurrection, as Paul was on his way to arrest and jail Christians (Acts 9:1-6).
Jesus commissioned Paul to proclaim the same message of repentance and turning from sin to God.
1. Acts 26:18-20—(Jesus said) I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from
darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins
…I (Paul) was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared…that they should repent
and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance (ESV).
2. Note how Paul described the specific conversion experiences of the people he preached to in the
cities of Thessalonica, Lystra, and Athens.
A. The Thessalonians: You turned away from idols to serve the living and true God…(and)
are looking forward to the coming of God’s Son from heaven (I Thess 1:9-10, NLT).
B. At Lystra, Paul and Barnabus healed a man crippled from birth by the power of God. The
crowd that witnessed it wanted to offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabus. The two stopped
the crowd saying, we are men like you. We have come to give you the Good News that
you should turn from these worthless things to the living God (Acts 14:15, NLT).
C. In Athens, where Paul saw idol worship everywhere, he preached: The times of ignorance
God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has
fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:30, ESV).
3. Possibly you are thinking doesn’t apply to us because we don’t worship idols. Self is the
biggest idol of all. An idol is one that is very greatly or excessively loved and admired. Paul
wrote about people whose belly, or appetites, is their god (Phil 3:19). We all put self first.
C. Possibly you are thinking: All this talk of sin and repentance is making me uncomfortable. After all, God
is a good God and a loving Father, not a harsh taskmaster. You’re absolutely right—God is good and loving.
1. In fact, the Bible says that it is the goodness of God that leads men to repentance (Rom 2:4, KJV)—
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Don’t you realize how kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you…Can’t you see how kind he has been
in giving you time to turn from your sin (Rom 2:4, NLT).
a. The Greek word that is translated leads in Rom 2:4 (KJV), when used metaphorically, means to
induce. To induce means to influence by persuasion. None of us would ever have come to the
Lord in the first place unless God, in His goodness and love, drew us by His Spirit.
1. Repentance is a gift, a grace and mercy from God. God, the Holy Spirit, calls us, influences us
without violating our free will, by showing us our need for the Lord and the beauty of Jesus.
2. Jesus said: No one is able to come to Me unless the Father Who sent Me attracts and draws
him and gives him the desire to come to Me (John 6:44, Amp).
b. This moral change, this repentance, requires supernatural help. If God did not call us and show us
grace and mercy, we would be lost forever to our created purpose and eternally separated from Him.
1. Note that when the prodigal son came back to father’s house, he appealed to the father’s mercy
(an an expression of his goodness): Please take me on as a hired man (Luke 15:19, NLT).
2. Mercy assumes need on the part of him who receives it, as well as resources adequate to meet
the need on the part of him who shows mercy. His father had compassion on the son, forgave
him, cleansed him, and restored him to his place in the household as his son. Luke 15:22-24
2. Paul the apostle also praised the mercy of God in saving him from sin. Before his conversion Paul was
a blasphemer and persecutor of Jesus’ followers. Note what Paul wrote about himself and God.
a. I Tim 1:15-16—The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Jesus Christ came
into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason,
that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those
who were to believe in him for eternal life (ESV).
1. Paul knew that God didn’t just save us from something He saved us to something—to be sons
and daughters who are fully pleasing to Him, like Jesus. Paul also wrote: Whom God
foreknew he did also predestinate to be conformed to the likeness of his Son (Rom 8:29, NIV).
2. Becoming increasingly like Jesus in character and behavior is a process that begins when we
turn from serving the idol of ourselves to the Living and True God.
b. When we repent and turn to God, He indwells us by His Spirit and begins to work in us to change
and restore us, as we choose His will above our own. II Cor 3:18
1. Paul wrote to Christians: You must be even more careful to put into action God’s saving work
in your lives, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving
you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him (Phil 2:12-13, NLT).
2. God, by His Spirit in us will enable us to turn from sin as we exercise our will and choose to
obey Him. He will influence us without violating our will and provide the power we need, and
God gets all the glory for our successes, for our transformation, and for our restoration.
3. Talk of sin and repentance makes some Christians uncomfortable, not because they haven’t sincerely
turned to the Lord, but because they still sin, they still struggle to be Christ-like.
a. It’s entirely possible to truly turn to the Lord and still struggle because you are a finished work in
progress—fully His son or daughter but not yet fully conformed to the image of Christ. As you stay
faithful to Him, He who has begun a good work in you will complete it. Phil 1:6
b. However, understanding where we are headed should affect our behavior. Yes, dear friends, we
are already his children, and we can’t even image what we will be like when Christ returns. But we
do know that when he comes we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who
believe this will keep themselves pure just as he is pure (I John 3:1-3, NLT).
D. Conclusion: We’ll address all this more fully in upcoming lessons. For now, the main point is that we
understand becoming a Christian involves a clear turn from something to something. More next week!
