Our Scripture reading comes this morning from the Gospel of Mark, the first chapter, reading the first fifteen verses, so I'd ask you to turn with me in the Scripture, the Gospel of Mark, chapter 1, beginning at the first verse. Let us hear God's own Word. the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, behold, I send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness, and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. In those days, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, you are my beloved son, with you I am well pleased. The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. Now, after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God and saying, the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel. So far, the reading of God's Word. Well, Pastor Gordon has been leading us in a wonderful study of the letter to the Hebrews. And that study has encouraged us to examine from a variety of angles the question of what's new about the New Covenant. What is the blessing of the New Covenant? And I thought looking at this opening section of Mark's gospel would complement that study because, of course, this gospel is talking about the beginning of the gospel. That's the opening words of Mark's gospel, beginning of the gospel of Jesus. And this gospel is calling our attention to the fact that the coming of Jesus is not just the fulfillment of prophetic expectation with which Israel had been living for centuries, but the coming of Jesus is the center point, the focal point of all of human history. And that's, in a sense, at the very heart of the message of Christianity. What is history all about, Christianity asks. What is human life all about? And the answer of Christianity is, all of history is about Jesus, waiting for His coming, celebrating His coming, living out His coming. And who we are is defined by Jesus and what He says and what He does. And so, the opening of Mark's gospel in a wonderful way calls us to think about who this Jesus is, because Mark doesn't tell us much about His birth, doesn't tell us anything about His birth. All it tells us is that He was from Nazareth of Galilee, which means He's from a place of no importance, no significance. It's not where kings come from. It's not where emperors come from. But Mark wants us to know he's much more than an earthly king or emperor. He's the Christ. He's the Messiah. He's the one awaited. He's the Son of God. He's the Holy One of God. he's the baptizer with the Holy Spirit. All of human history points to him and is fulfilled in him. And so Mark, in a remarkable way, highlights this identity of Jesus. And I've been sort of intrigued lately about this, and we may look at Mark's gospel in Sunday school come this fall, unless you have a better idea. If you have a better idea, come and talk to me. I need help. But what a remarkable beginning this gospel has in its kind of abruptness. Mark does things in a surprising way, which is part of what makes Mark interesting to study. And one of the things that he's saying here at the beginning of the gospel is how critical preaching is. He refers to the prophets who preached to Israel. He refers to the prophetic promise that God would send a great prophet just before the coming of the Messiah, and shows how that is fulfilled in John the Baptist. And then he talks about how Jesus Himself comes preaching. And we have a summary of the preaching of Jesus, verse 15 of Mark chapter 1. The preaching of Jesus was this, the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand, repent, and believe the gospel. That's the summary of what Jesus as preacher came to preach and to talk about and to stress. And this morning I don't have time or intention of looking at the whole of these 15 verses. I want to look just at one element of that preaching of Jesus as it's summarized for us here, namely the call to repent. The call to repent. Because in calling us to repent, Jesus shows that He stands in the line of the prophets and preachers of God who've gone before Him. Verse 4 of Mark 1, we read, John appeared baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Repentance is central to the message of God to His people in every age, and it's central to what Jesus is still saying to us. I was struck in singing Psalm 6. You know, I chose that because I know how much you all like to sing psalms. I was struck in singing Psalm 6 how the psalmist talks about thinking about his sins with tears. And I thought, how often do we think about our sins with tears? How often do we really reflect on the call to repentance, the call to look at our sinfulness and our needs? So that's what I thought we would focus on today. the holiness of God and the call of God upon us, that we would be a repentant people. Because repentance is central to the message of Christianity, and it ought to be central in our reflection on the Christian life. So, what is repentance? Well, first of all, it is what God calls us to. We see that here, don't we, in John the Baptist, in Jesus Himself. We are called to repent, and that should lead us to ask, what is the greatest human problem? Now, I, being somewhat retired, spend far too much time watching television. I'm already publicly repenting of my sins, and I'm always intrigued by the polls that they show us on television. What are the American people most concerned about? Are they concerned about the economy? Well, it turns out today a lot of people are concerned about the economy, inflation, gas prices. Some people are concerned about gun violence. Some people are concerned about abortion? What should we be most concerned about? I've never yet seen it turn up in one of these polls. What we should be most concerned about, the biggest problem we have, is God. Do you ever think that way? Our biggest problem as human beings is God. Now, you may be tempted to say, now, preacher, you're getting that all wrong. God is the solution to our problems. Well, that's true enough. But God is the solution to our problems only after we recognize that God Himself is our biggest problem. Because left to ourselves, we are utterly alienated from God. Our sin cuts us off from God. and we don't see it, we don't recognize it. I've been intrigued by what Paul says in Romans chapter 1, verse 17, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness. Why does the wrath of God have to be revealed to us? Because left to ourselves, we don't think much about the wrath of God. Left to ourselves, we think that the wrath of God, if it's directed against anybody, is directed against somebody other than ourselves. As I've said before, I like myself so much, I can't really imagine that God doesn't like me as much as I like me. And so Paul is saying it's not just the gospel that has to be revealed to us. He says that in Romans 1 as well, but he says before we can really understand the gospel and its importance in its revelation, we have to understand the wrath of God, and that has to be revealed to us. God is angry with sin every day. That's why the psalmist weeps over his sin, because he's grasped the character of God. He's grasped the holiness of God, and he sees the problem, he sees that his sin alienates him from God and turns God against him. And we have to understand that as the first element if we're to become a repentant people. If we're to become a people sensitized to the character of God and the character of ourselves. This is not something that the world thinks about, left to itself. That's why it is so important that Christians get this straight, that Christians see this as the central message, a foundational part of the message of Christianity at its core. Who is God? He is a holy God who is angry with sin every day. And who are we? We are a sinful people. It's not just that we commit individual acts of sin. That's problematic enough. But it's that left to ourselves, our whole direction of life is selfish and turned against God. Now you may be thinking, well, isn't this slightly overstated? This is the kind of thing you hear from Calvinists. Well, it's the kind of thing you hear from the Bible. Think of the great chapter of the work of Christ in the prophet Isaiah, chapter 53, how often we've read it, how often we've heard it read at communion, how appropriate that is to lead us to the work of Christ. But think of what Isaiah 53 verse 6 says, all we like sheep. You can finish it, can't you? All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. We've all gone astray from what? We've all gone astray from that straight path on which God calls us to walk. And what path have we chosen? We've chosen the path of our own way, our own wisdom. That's the human problem. That's the human condition. And that's what the call to repentance calls us to recognize, that we are a people who have gone astray, And the nature of that lostness, that astrayedness, is at walking in our own way, the way that we have pioneered for ourselves, but is a way that is contrary to the way in which God has called us to walk. And this reality of our confession, of our belief as Christians, stands in fundamental ways against the dominant teaching in America today. What is the dominant teaching in America today that you hear over and over again on the radio, on the television, on social media, in all sorts of books and literature that you might read? The dominant lie is this. If you want to know the right way to live, all you have to do is look into yourself. All the resources you need, all the wisdom you need, all the strength you need is in yourself. Get in touch with your feelings. Get in touch with your desires, and they will faithfully and accurately lead you in the way that you ought to live. That's the way to happiness. That was one of the books most frequently, most recently recommended by one of the great prophets of our time, Oprah Winfrey. Whatever you really want to do, do it, and it'll be good for you, it'll ultimately be good for those around you, and it'll make you happy. You have it all within yourself already. Do you see how fundamentally this lie stands against Christianity? Christianity says, in a fundamental way, don't trust yourself and your feelings and your desires. Because on your own, you're selfish. Why do we have to be told to love God and love our neighbor? Because our natural inclination is to hate God and hate our neighbor and to love only ourselves. And that's why it is so important for Christians today to become very self-conscious about the conflict between our faith and what the world is saying. it is not in ourselves we'll find the answer we will only find the truth we will only find solutions outside ourselves and in another that's what christianity has always proclaimed and that's why it is so important that we be people of the word The Word is the revelation of God to tell us who we are and what we ought to be and what the truth is. And the call of God to live according to the truth is not always easy. It will not always make you happy. I hate to be the bearer of bad news. Church is supposed to be the place for good news, isn't it? But the truth is this. This world now is in many, many ways a place of suffering. It's a place of suffering physically. It can be a place of suffering emotionally. It's a place of many, many struggles. And many of us, when we look into the Word of God and see the holy will of God, realize that it is a struggle for us to seek to live according to the will of God. It doesn't come naturally. It doesn't come easily. But I think the words of Paul to the Romans apply here. The present light and passing suffering is not to be compared with the glory that will be revealed. The world offers what it claims to be happiness, but it's a light and passing happiness that most of the time isn't anything like the happiness that they argue that it is. But we, if we follow the path that God has laid for us, if we say, yes, God's Word is true, yes, the Word is what I believe, then we are on the path that leads toward eternal happiness. And that is the great truth. That is the great hope. That is the great promise and blessing that is ours. And so we are a people who've said the Word must guide us. We can't guide ourselves. And when the Word guides us, we begin to see us as God sees us. We begin to recognize our need. So the first part of repentance is to say God's Word is true and tells me the truth about myself and my sinfulness. Now, you notice here in Mark chapter 1, the response to John appearing and preaching and baptizing. Verse 5 is that all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and being baptized by him in the river, confessing their sins. Many came to John to confess their sins. John was bearing and fulfilling the word we find in Isaiah 45 verse 22, turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is no other. Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth. I think that's why Mark highlights that so many were coming. All of Judea, all of Jerusalem are coming to John to confess their sins. And that reminds us of the obligation upon us to confess our sins. One of the great statements in the Westminster Confession of Faith, my Presbyterian friends always tell me I don't appreciate the Westminster Standards enough, but there are many wonderful things in the Westminster Standards, and in the Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 15 on repentance, there's a wonderful statement. It reminds us that we should not be content with a general repentance, but we must endeavor to repent of particular sins particularly. That is to say, we need not to just say, I know I'm a sinner, I'm sorry, God. But we ought to take time to do a kind of personal inventory, to ask ourselves, what are the sins to which I'm particularly prone? We're not all alike, are we? What are the sins to which I'm particularly prone? And in that regard, the Ten Commandments are a great help to us. To go through those commandments and ask, how am I doing as I think about those commandments? We think of the commandments against idolatry. And most of us probably are inclined to think, oh, I'm pretty good on that one. I have no statues of idols in my home. So I can check that one off the list. But we have to really pause and ask, what are the values we serve in our lives? What is of ultimate importance to us? You know, often we get around these commandments. Can't you imagine the Israelites? You know, it's easier to think about the Israelite sins than our sins. Think about the Israelites a minute. Think about the Israelites in the wilderness. and they hear the commandment, do not put other gods before me. And the Israelites say to themselves, that's easy. I've left all those Egyptian gods behind me. I will have no statues of Osiris or Ra, no statues of Isis. That's all behind me. God says no idols, I'll have no idols, none of those Egyptian idols. But surely that commandment doesn't apply to Baal. Baal's not an Egyptian god, and I'm not going to put Baal ahead of the Lord God. I'm just going to put Baal after the Lord God. That's okay, isn't it? I'm keeping the law, aren't I? And we just sort of shake our heads and say, how can they be so stupid? Well, we have to be careful about stupid, don't we, as we think about our own sins. How is it with us on the Sabbath day? Oh, well, the Sabbath day doesn't apply to us. It applies to Israel. Oh, we're deciding which of the Ten Commandments apply to us and which don't. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor into all thy work. I can still hear Reverend Howersow reading that every Sunday morning. I can remember my six-year-old son having memorized it because he heard it every Sunday morning. How are we doing with the Lord's Day? How are we doing with a call to set aside a day for God? Particular sins have to be confessed particularly. Today on Father's Day, which after all is a hallmark holiday, not a real holiday, My father always used to say, every day is Father's Day. He used to annoy my mother greatly. But the fifth commandment says, honor your father and your mother. How are we doing with that? Both in our families and in the broader application of the law of God. Do we honor lawful authority? Or do we only honor lawful authority if it comes from our political party? We are to be a lawful people, not a lawless people. We have to think about that. Or the sixth commandment, do not kill. Jesus says that applies to hating. How are we doing with hating? Are there people we hate of different politics, of different races? Have we examined our hearts about this? Shall not commit adultery. That has to do with all lustful intention, not in accordance with God's purpose. I read in defense of homosexuality recently a statement that said, Jesus says nothing about homosexuality. Well, Jesus does say in Mark 10, verse 6, from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. That says an awful lot about God's purpose for sexuality. And it speaks to every temptation to sexual sin, heterosexual and homosexual. Are we examining ourselves? So many today reject the law of God that it's very tempting for us to keep lists of people who have rejected the law of God and what part of the law of God they've rejected and to be unhappy with them. And there's a place for that. We are called to bear testimony to the truthfulness of God's law. But the function of God's law must, in the first place, be for each of us individually. The way to avoid being a Pharisee is to avoid applying the law to others before you apply it to yourself. We must apply it, first of all, to ourselves. And use the Ten Commandments to ask, how is my life going? What are the particular sins that I must particularly confess and acknowledge before God to be failures on my part? And this repentance, this listening to the call of God, and this confessing before God flows out of hearts that are engaged in God, hearts that have been renewed by God. This doesn't come naturally. This comes only when Jesus has sent His Holy Spirit into our hearts to make us new people. Repentance does not come before faith, John Calvin says. Repentance is a fruit of faith. When the Holy Spirit has planted faith in our hearts, then we're able to listen to the law of God and recognize who we are and our failures and our need. Salvation does not come from what we do, including repentance. Salvation comes from what Jesus does, and that's what's so beautifully testified to here in Mark chapter 1, and is testified to so powerfully in the message of baptism. What is the message of baptism? I trust everyone here has been baptized, So, what is the message that God had for you when you were baptized? It doesn't matter if you remember your baptism or not. It matters that you were baptized. What is the message of baptism? The first message of baptism is you cannot save yourself. No one baptizes themselves. Baptism is a passive activity for the one being baptized. You must be baptized by another. It shows your helplessness to save yourself. And the water of baptism points to cleansing. We need to be washed of our sin. We need it to be washed away. That's what Jesus does for us. It's what the water of baptism points to. And when we recognize our helplessness and sinfulness, when we recognize our need of cleansing, then we can hear God's wonderful word of forgiveness. God's wonderful word of forgiveness. Mark 1 verse 4, John appeared baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. If someone were to ask you, what did Jesus principally come to do, how would you answer that? I think Mark's answer is this, Jesus came principally to forgive sins. Jesus came principally to forgive sins. Remember that story Mark tells at the beginning of chapter two of his gospel, the man who was paralyzed and his friends wanted Jesus to heal him and they couldn't get to Jesus because of the crowd and they were so passionate about having their friend healed that they removed part of the roof and lowered him down. We've often thought of how dramatic a moment that was. And here at last, this paralyzed man brought by the faithfulness of His friends is in the presence of Jesus. What a great thing that He can be delivered from this paralysis. And what does Jesus say? He says, I have a better gift than physical healing. Your sins are forgiven. Do you think the friends were disappointed? Maybe, maybe they didn't get it. The Pharisees got it, didn't they? Who is this that claims to forgive sin? Only God can forgive sin. The tragedy of the Pharisees is that they're often right, just in the wrong way. They're right, only God can forgive sin. Their mistake is not recognizing that Jesus is God with them. what a great blessing Jesus came to bring the forgiveness of sin all we like sheep have gone astray we have turned everyone to his own way but God has laid on him the iniquity of us all there's the gospel there's the essence of Christianity and we come to trust Jesus we come to experience that forgiveness we come to that reality of repentance in our lives because he who received the Holy Spirit visibly in baptism gives the Holy Spirit to everyone who is his own everyone who knows Jesus everyone who has believed the gospel has the Holy Spirit, has a new heart, is renewed, and so has believed the gospel and has begun to repent. And so the Word of God to us today, the great gospel to us today, is the word that Jesus spoke to the Pharisees. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners. Are you a sinner? If you don't think so, you need to go back and read the Ten Commandments again. You need to go back and think about why Jesus came. You need to turn to Jesus in faith and ask for His mercy. Because everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But you need to recognize that you're a sinner. And then, and then, there's good news. Because Jesus came to save sinners. May every one of us here know that, and believe that, and experience that. Amen. Let us pray. O Lord, our God, how thankful we are that Jesus came to save sinners. Help us all, O Lord, to reflect carefully on the reality of our sinfulness, on the particular sins that challenge us, and help us all to find our refuge and our hope in Your mercy, the mercy we see in the work of Christ on the cross and the mercy we hear in his words that he came to save sinners. Fill us with hope in believing, we pray. In Jesus' name, amen.