Repentance

CHAP LE RSX V1. But now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.— Acts xvii, 30. You will find my text to-night in the 17th chapter of Acts, a part of the 3oth verse: ‘‘Commandeth all men everywhere to repent.’’ That must take all in. Itisanothercommand. Thenin the next verse he tellsus why: ‘‘Because he hath appointed a day in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised him from the dead.’’ The day is appointed. We do not know anything about the calendar of heaven. God has kept that appointment in His own mind. We do not know just the day, but the day is appointed, the time is fixed, and God is going to judge this world. So He sends out a proclamation and commands all men now everywhere to repent. Andif you donot want to be brought into judgment and be judged, you had better repent; turn to God, and let Jesus Christ be judged for you, and escape the judgment. Itisa great thing to get rid of the judgment. ‘‘There is no condemnation to him that is in Christ Jesus.’’ That is, there isno judgment. Judgment is already past to the believer—to the man that has repented

of his sins and confessed them, and turned away from them, and God has put them away. They never again shall be mentioned. We readin Ezekiel that not one of our sins have been mentioned; that they have been forgiven; therefore God calls upon all men everywhere now—not some future time— but now, right here to-night, to repent. As we look at the beginning of the gospel of this dispensation, you will find that John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, that his voice just rung through the wilderness of Judea, and that he had but one text; you might say his text was one word, ‘‘Repent, repent, repent.””’ That was hiscry. He kept it up until he met Christ at the Jordan, and then he changed the text, and he had but one text after that: ‘‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”’ He first called to repentance, but when Jesus Christ commenced His ministry, he took up that wilderness cry and echoed it again over the plains of Palestine—‘‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’’ When He sent out the twelve, He told them to go into every town and make this proclamation: ‘‘That the kingdom of God was coming nigh, and men must repent. If they wanted to get in His kingdom, they must enter through that door of repentance.’’ When He sent out the seventy, two by two, He gave them instructions that they should just say, ‘‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’’ Then we find, after Christ had ascended again into glory, Peter took up that cry on the day of Pentecost, and as he preached through Jerusalem to sin-

ners that they must repent, the Holy Ghost came down and testified to what Peter was saying. Now, we find in this text Paul is here in Athens raising that wilderness cry again, and commands men now and everywhere to repent. There is no such thing as a man getting to heaven until he repents. You may preach Christ and offer Christ, but man has got to turn away from sin first, as we tried to show you last night. ‘“‘Let the wicked forsake his way, the unrighteous man his thoughts, and turn unto the Lord.’’ Repentance is turning. Before [commence to preach about repentance, I want to tell you what itis not. The fact is, I believe this great truth that has been talked so much in the church that every school-boy ought to be acquainted with it, is the very thing we are in darkness about. It seems to me as if Satan has thrown dust in the eyes of the people; that the god of this world has blinded us to these things. I find a great many people have a false idea of what repentance is. Now, repentance is not fear. Mark that. I may stand here to-night, and I may perhaps picture to you the judgment, and I might alarm some people here, and you may get scared and it would look as if it was true work, but it would pass away like a morning cloud. I might hold a revolver to your head and say, ‘‘Repent, or I will blow your brains out,’? and you would say, “‘I will repent, I will repent,” but when the revolver was taken away, you would forget all about it. That is taking place all the while. Some people think they have got to be wrought up. Something has to be said to alarm them. You go out to sea, or out here on Lake Erie,

and let a storm come up; fifteen minutes before the storm the sailors, and perhaps the captain, are cursing and blaspheming. A storm comes up and they go to praying. You would think they were saints. The storm passes away, and they are out of danger and they are swearing again. That is fear. That is not repentance. It seemed asif the king of Egypt was really coming to the Lord, to hear him talk when he heard the thunderings, and judgments of God upon him. The king was alarmed. It looked as if he was coming to the Lord, but he was only scared. The moment those judgments were off he forgot all about it. That was not repentance at all. A man may be scared and not repent.

man may be alarmed and not repent. Many men, when death comes and takes a look at them, begin to be alarmed. They get well and forget all about it.:: Repentance is not feeling. Mark that! There are hundreds and thousands of people in Cleveland who just have their arms folded and they are waiting for some queer kind of feeling. They think repentance is a certain kind of feeling; that they have to feel very bad, very sorrowful—got to weep a good deal, and then they will be in a condition to come to God. Repentance is not feeling. A man may feel very bad and not really repent. I venture to say if you go down to Columbus to the state penitentiary you cannot find a man in there that does not feel sorry he got caught, awful sorry—shed a great many tears in court on his trial. The trouble is they are sorry they got caught. That is all. They feel very bad they got caught. But there is no true repentance; no turning to God. Feeling is

Last winter I preached seven months to the convicts in the Maryland penitentiary. I found men just the same under lock and key that they are out. There were a great many there in that prison who had passed through their trial, been sentenced ten years or five years to the penitentiary, that had no signs of repentance there at all. They were very sorry they got caught. They would like to get out very well, and perhaps they would do the same thing right over when they got out. That is not repentance at all. A man may be dishonest in some business transaction, and bring ruin upon himself and his family; he may weep bitter tears for weeks and for months, and yet not repent. But he is very sorry he got caught. These defaulters are all sorry they got caught. I donot know how many of themtruly

repent. If they truly repent, God forgives them whether man does or not. They may shed a great many tears and not repent. I tell you we have got to wake up to the fact that repentance is not feeling. It is something higher, deeper, broader than just mere sentiment or feeling. A man may weep, and brush away the tears and forget all about it. And then repentance is not remorse. Judas had remorse. He did not repent towards God. He was filled with remorse and despair, and went out and hung himself. That was not repentance. There is a difference between remorse and repentance. Then repentance is not penance. Some people think they have got to put that in the place of repentance. They think if they just do penance they are all right. Suppose I go down to Lake Erie

and stand all night up to my neck in the water till daylight, Will I be more acceptable to God to-morrow night because I have been down there in the lake all night and stood in the water up to my neck? That is not repentance. Conviction is not repentance. A man may be convicted that he is wrong and not repent. I may remain for years under conviction and not repent. Repentance is not praying. A great many people think they are going to settle this question by going off to pray and asking God to forgive them, and they go right on living the same way they have been living. Repentance is not forming a few good resolutions. It is not resolving that we will be better and do better in the future and just go right on. Repentance is not breaking off from some sin. Thatisnotrepentance. Suppose a vessel has sprung a leak. There are three holesinit. You stop up two of them and leave one of them open. Down goes the vessel. That is enough to sink it. And so some men say, ‘‘Well, I will break off part of my sins.’’ Suppose you are guilty of a hundred and break off ninety-nine of them and leave one, and go on committing that one. That one is enough, my friends. If God drove Adam out of Eden on account of one sin, do you think He will let you into the Paradise above with one sin upon you? If God would not let Adam stay in Eden—that earthly paradise—with one sin upon him, do you think He is going to allow sinners into that heavenly Paradise above with one sin upon them? So, it is not just breaking off part

of our sins and leaving part of them, but it is leaving the whole of them. Perhaps you say: ‘‘Then what is repentance? If it is not fear, if it is not feeling, if it is not prayer, and if it is not forming a few good resolutions and doing penance, what is it?”’ Listen, my friends. Repentance is turning right about—in other words, as a soldier would call it, ‘‘right about face.’’ As some one has said, man is born with his back towards God. When he truly repents he turns right around and faces God. Repentance is a change of mind. after-thought. Now, I might feel sorry that I had done a thing, and go right on and doit over again. You see repentance is deeper than feeling. Itis action. It is turning right about. And God commands all men everywhere to turn. Let me read to you here a verse or two from the twenty-first

of the gospel according to Matthew: ‘‘What think ye?’’ These are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. ‘‘What think ye?

certain man had two sons; and he said to them: ‘Go work in my vineyard.’ One of them said, ‘I will not go.” The other said, ‘I will go, sir,’’’ and went not. But the man that said he would not go repented and changed his mind—an after-thought, you see—and turned and went and didit. ‘‘Now,’’ says Christ, ‘‘which of the two sons did his father’s will?’’ ‘‘Well; the man that repented.’’ And Christ just held that right up to the people. That is what the Lord wants—to have a man turn right about—not try to justify himself in his sin, but acknowledge his sin, confess his sin, and turn from

it; and the moment a man is willing to do that, that moment God is ready and willing to receive him. Now, I think I can use an illustration that you can get hold of. Suppose I want to go to Chicago tonight. I go down to the depot. I do not know much about the trains in Cleveland. I see a man there whom I take to be connected with the depot, and I ask him, “Is this train going right to Chi- =necagor “Yes.” 1 takesmy bag and jump right aboard that train. I get comfortably seated and my friend, Mr. Doan, comes down and he says: ““Mr. Moody, where are you going?’ And I say, “Going to Chicago.’’ ‘‘Well, you are on the wrong train. That train is going off to New York.’’

think you are wrong, Mr. Doan; I just asked a man who is a railroad man, and he told me this train was going to Chicago.”’ ‘Well, sir, I tell you you are wrong. That train is not going to Chicago at all; it is going to take you right in an opposite direction. That train is going off to New York, and if you want to go to Chicago, you must get out of that train and get aboard another.’’ I do not believe him at first. ‘‘Well,’’ he says, “but I have been here in Cleveland for twenty-five years. I know all about these trains. I go to Chicago and New York a dozen times a year. Iam constantly taking these trains. Iam having friends nearly every week that take these trains, and Icome down here, and I tell you that I am right and you are wrong, sir. You are on the wrong train.’’ At last, Mr. Doan convinces me that I am on the wrong train. That is conviction. But, if I do not change trains, I will go to New York in spite of my conviction. That is not repentance. I will tell you what is repentance; grabbing

my bag and running and getting on the other train. Now, you are on the wrong train, my friends, and what you want is to change trains to-night. You are on the wrong side of this question. You are for the god of this world, and the world claims your influence. God commands all men now everywhere to repent. Change trains! Make haste! There is no time for delay! It is acall that comes from the throne of God for every man, woman and child in this audience. Repent! If you die without repentance, whose fault is it? God has called you; God has commanded you, and if you will not obey that command, if you will not repent, and you die in your sins, no one is to blame but yourself, mark that! No one isto blame but yourself, for God has commanded you. Now, the question is, what will you do with this command? Will you repent? Will you this very night, and this very hour, change trains? I will give you another illustration. There is going to be an election in this State to-morrow. Suppose you belong to a party up till to-night and you thought you were right; but to-night you become convinced that the party you are in is wrong. You become thoroughly convinced that if the party succeeds it is ruin to your state government. You are a patriotic man and you love the government. Now, some men say, ‘‘Can a man repent all at once?’ I say he can. A man may come in here to-night a strong democrat, or he may come in here a strong republican, and he may change inside of twenty-four hours. You know that, don’t you? If you belonged to a party and you were thoroughly

convinced to-night that you were in the wrong party, do you tell me you could not change to-night and join the other party and go out to the polls and go to work to-morrow and be on the other side of the question? You can do it if you will. Now, my friends, we will not bring up this question of parties. I have nothing to do with that, I only use it as an illustration. There is one thing I do know; you are on the wrong side of this question. If you are away from God, and if you are fighting against the God of heaven, you had better change trains at once, hadn’t you? Do it to-night. Make up your mind to-night that you will cast your lot with God’s people—that you will just change trains. Look at that train the other night on the Michigan Central road near Jackson. Do you tell mea man cannot repent all at once? Do you tell me that the engineer of that train could not have whistled down brakes and turned that train back if he had had three minutes? He could if he had had time. He didn’t have enough time. Look at that steamer on the ocean. It is bearing down upon an iceberg. It is going at the rate of twelve knots an hour ina fog; they cannot see a rod ahead. All at once they reverse the steam. In a minute more they would have gone on the iceberg, and all on that vessel would have gone down. There was a minute when they could have reversed the steam, and they just seized the opportunity and saved all on board. And so there isa moment, my friends, that you can repent and turn to God, and there is sucha thing as being a minute too late. Look at that White Star Line steamer when five hundred were

lost off the coast of Newfoundland. There was a minute that they just crossed the line, as it were. It was too late. So you may neglect your soul's salvation, and you may neglect to repent one day too long, and it will be too late. God commands you todoitnow. He says ‘‘Except a man repent, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’’ ‘‘Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.’’ ‘‘Except ye repent.’’ We have got to enter through the door of repentance into the kingdom of God. There is no other way. The highest and the lowest, the richest and the poorest, have all got to go in in the same way—on their hands and knees. Ihad a friend during the Chicago: fire who got into one of those lanes there, and he became so stifled with smoke that he lay down to die. But as he lay on the ground, he got beneath the smoke and crawled out on his hands and knees. And I tell you when aman gets on his knees and says, ‘‘God be merciful to me a sinner,’’ God will forgive him and bless him. And so, if there is a person to-night in this house that wants to be saved just now while I am talking, say, ‘‘God helping me, this night I turn my face toward heaven;’’ and if need be, God will send legions of angels to help you fight your way up to heaven. Some men say they are afraid they will not hold out. But God says, “‘My grace is sufficient for thee.” ‘‘As thy faith, so shall thy strength be.’’ God is not a hard master. ‘‘My yoke is easy and my burden is light.’’ When men make deep and thorough work, and are willing to forsake all sin and turn to God with all their hearts, God helps

them; then there is no trouble. God is not a hard master. Now, it is left to you, as I said last night. You can turn if you will. The will comes inagain.

read some time ago an account of some wealthy man who had an only son, who was a wild, reckless boy; but, although he was a wild, reckless boy, his father loved him. When the father was dying, he had his will made out, and he willed that boy all his property on one condition, and that was that that boy should repent of his sins. If the boy turned away from his evil associates, and his past life, and became a sober and an upright man, he should have all his estate. All he had got to do was to enter into it. The father put it in the hands of trustees on these conditions, and all that boy had to do was to turn from his past life, and his evil associates, and enter into it. He loved his sins so he would not do it, and he died in his sins. I do not know as I could have a better illustration than that. We have got an inheritance, incorruptible, kept in reserve for us, and the moment aman is willing to turn from his sins he can enter into that inheritance. God keeps it in store for all that want it. But do not think for a moment that you are going to enter into that inheritance—into those mansions Christ has gone to prepare, with sin upon you. It is utterly out of the question. In your sins it is impossible for you to enter into that inheritance. ‘‘Except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish.’’ We cannot get into the kingdom of God without repentance, without turning from sin, without laying hold of His righteousness and giving up our own. So the question comes for us to settle, and it isa

question we can settle if we will. We need not wait for this kind of feeling or that kind. It is to obey.

thing we could not do, and then punish us eternally for not doing it? Do you think God would command all men now everywhere to repent, and not give them power to do it? Do you believe it? Away with such a doctrine as that! He would be an unjust God if He commanded me to do something I could not do, and then punished me for not doing it. Suppose I should command my boy to leap a mile at one leap, and if he did not do it that I would flog him, and then because he didn’t doit I flogged him, what would you people in Cleveland say? You would not allow me to preach. You would say I was an unjust man. There is one thing, we must do as we preach about the love of God and mercy of God; we have also to stand up for His justice. He is a God of justice. God is not an unjust God. He does not command us to do anything we cannot do, and then punish us for not doing it. With the command comes the power to obey. He said to the man with the withered hand, ‘‘Stretch out thine hand.’’ The man might have said, ‘‘Well, Lord, I have been trying to stretch out that hand for thirty years, but I could not doit.’’ But with the command came the power. He said, *‘Stretch out thine hand,’’ and out came the old withered arm, and was made whole before it got out straight from his body; and so men are blessed in the very act of obedience. Not for just feeling or sentiment. What God wants is to have us obey. What is it to obey? It is to repent and bring forth fruit meet for

FUNERAL BIER. Copyright, 1900, by Robt. O. Law h beloved teacher to its the remains of their muc ing place on Round Top. earers, conveyi last rest -two Mt. Hermon students acted as pall b Thirty

What does that mean? If you cheat a man out of five dollars, don’t keep that five dollars. ‘Give it back. If you are’ going to repent and turn to God, out with it! It don’t belong to you. If some young man cheats his wash-woman by not paying his wash-bill, or goes off without paying his boarding mistress, don’t think you can repent and turn to God without paying up every dollar, and bringing forth fruit meet for repentance. In John Wesley’s day, there was a hard case that came in among the Wesleys. He was one of the wildest men in Wales. He had been a drinking man for years. He used to take great pleasure in defrauding men. He would drink and not pay for his drinks. He would gamble, and not pay what he had lost. He owed debts to nearly everybody. But he was converted, and soon after he was converted he had a little legacy left him, and he bought a horse and saddle and he started, and went from town to town and hunted up his old creditors and paid them dollar for dollar. Then he would preach in those towns, and tell them what great things God had done for him. But he hadn’t enough money to go around and he sold the horse and saddle, and he paid up the very last dime. It is to pay the last dime—that is repentance. We want a revival of righteousness here in the West. If we want anything we want right living. We want a revival of honesty. When the Bible says, “‘Bring forth fruit meet for repentance,’’ it means to make restitution. If you ruin a man, do what you can to help that poor fellow. If you have helped to pull any down, do all you can to help him up. If it takes the last

dollar you have got, you must pay it, where you have taken from men dishonestly. When Mr. Sankey and I were ina town or city some time ago a man came to the inquiry room, and great drops of perspiration stood upon his brow. He was greatly excited and says, “‘Sir, I don’t want to talk with you before these people. Can’t we get off alone?’ I took him off alone and he says, ‘*The trouble with me is I am a defaulter.’’ ‘*Well,’’ I Said, “can you make restitution?’ ~ No,-sirs not for the whole amount.’’ ‘‘How much is it?’’: “Fifteen hundred dollars.’’ ‘“‘How much can you pay back?’’ ‘‘About nine hundred dollars. But,’’ says he, ‘‘if I pay that back, I will not have anything to support my wife and children.’’ I says, ‘‘Well, it don’t belong to you, anyhow. You don’t want it. No man can prosper with stolen money.’’ Says he, ‘‘T want your advice; I have a chance to go into business, and if I do not give back that money and go

and pay it back.’’ I said, ‘‘No, that is the devil’s work. Don’t take that stolen money and go into business. You will not prosper. God will turn your way upside down. He will hedge itup.

will turn the way of the wicked upside down.’ What you want is to go to the root of the matter. Do right and God will bless you; but you can’t ask God’s blessing with stolen money.’’ I believe that is the reason so many do not flourish—they can’t ask God’s blessing upon their business on account of some dishonest act; they have lied in selling goods or something else. Says he, ‘‘I will disgrace my wife and children if I come out and confess.’”’

said, “‘Not necessarily. You can do it througha

taird party. Not only that, but I think those men you defrauded would forgive you if they saw true signs of repentance.’’ He said the terms were too hard. I said when he went off, ‘‘The spirit of God has hold of you. You will not sleep any. You will not have rest until you pay back that money. It will not only burn in your pocket, but burn in your soul.” He went off, and the next day he came back again, and he says, ‘‘Is there no other way?”’ Says I, “‘There is no other way. You don't want any other way. The right way is always the best way.’’ Still he wanted to take some other way. Says I, ‘‘Doright, and let the consequences be what they will.’’ He says, ‘“‘I am afraid if I go back to those men they will just put me in prison.”’ I says, ‘‘You had better go into prison with a clear conscience than be out with a guilty one. You won’t have any peace with a guilty conscience. I have never heard of a man being put in prison that wanted to do right. Now, let me get those two men together and talk with them—see how they feel.”’ He slunk from that; he said he could not doit.

said, ‘‘You can if you will.” Finally, he consented, and we sent for the two men and got them in a room alone. He brought to mea great, long envelope,

pocket-book. ‘‘It is all there, is it?’’ says I. ’’ Every cent; itis all there.’’ Those two men were sitting there in the room, and I took out the money and laid it down and told them the story, and great tears trickled down their cheeks. They said they would like to forgive him, and I went down and brought him up. It was one of the sweetest sights of my life. Those two men got down and prayed

with that man. The question was settled. Then friends gathered around him and helped him. He is now a successful business man. God forgave him and his employers forgave him. He brought forth fruit meet for repentance. I believe the reason we do not have better work in this country is because there is so much sham. We do not go down to the bottom of things. O, may God give us a revival of honesty! Downright, upright honesty! That is what we want—right living! If it costs the right eye, out with it! That is what repentance means. It is not just mere sentiment—going to meeting and singing and praying and having a good time, not squaring our life according to Scripture. God is going to draw the plummet line by and by, and He will have it right. We may deceive our friends and deceive one another, but let us keep in mind we cannot deceive God. If we attempt to cover up some sin, some dishonest act, and come to God with our prayers, He will not accept them. They will not go higher than our heads. Some people say they cannot get an answer to their prayers. If they would get down to the bottom of things, they would find out the reason. They would find that there was something not correct in their lives. They have not made the work deep and thorough. Let us pray for one thing in Cleveland, fet me ask the Christians in this house to-night to pray for one thing, and that is that the Holy Ghost may convict us all of sin. Let it begin in the pulpit. If there is any one thing that I want more than anything else it is that God may show me everything in my life that is contrary to His will, and that He

will give me grace enough to turn from it. I would rather do it—I would rather live so that God should be pleased with me than to have the applause of the world. I would rather live so that God could say, ‘“Well done, good and faithful servant,’ than just to accumulate a little wealth down here and have the applause of men for a few short years, and then know that I had not pleased Him. When will we wake up to the fact that it is more important to live to please God than man? And then how sweet our life will be, how pure our conscience will be, if God has forgiven everything, if we have brought everything to light, and turned from our sins, and the work has been deep and thorough! But one thought more before I close, and that is, what produces repentance? Paul says in the second chapter of Romans, and the fourth verse: “‘Or de-. spisest thou the riches of His goodness and forbearance and long suffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?”’ O, that the Lord may open our eyes to-night and show us how good He has been to us all these years! Now, the world has a false idea of God. I will venture to say there is not an unsaved man or woman in this audience to-night, but has a false idea of God, and the reason you cannot repent is because you do not turn from that false idea. You have got an idea that God hates you—is an enemy. ‘That is as false as any lie that ever came out of the pit of hell. There is not any truth init. God loves the sinner. He so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son to save sinners, Christ died for the

ungodly, not the godly; for the sinner, not for the righteous. I want to say to every poor lost soul in this audience to-night: God loves you with an everlasting love, although you may have hated Him, and trampled his laws under your feet. He loves you still. May the love of God to-night lead you to There is a story in English history of King Henry and his rebellious son, who rose up in arms against his father. The king was at last obliged to take his army and pursue that rebellious son. He drove him into a walled city in France, and while the poor fellow was in that city the father was besieging it for weeks and months. But the son fell sick, and while he was sick he began to think of the goodness and kindness of that father. At last it broke his heart, and he sent a messenger to his father to tell him that he repented of his past life in rebellion and asked his father to forgive him. But the old sire refused. He did not believe he was sincere. When the messenger brought back that message that his father would not forgive him, he requested them to take him out of his bed and lay him in sack-cloth and ashes and in that condition he would die. When they told his father of it and he went to look at that boy and saw him in sack-cloth and ashes, he fell on his face and cried as David did, ‘‘O, my son, would God I had died for thee.’’ That father made a mistake. He did not know that boy’s heart. But God never makes any mistake. O, sinner, if you ask Him to-night for pardon, He will pardon you. If you want the love of God shed abroad in your heart turn away from sin and see how quick He will receive you and how quick He will bless you.