The Gospel of Luke: Repentance Explained Christ Salvation Works

Sermon Notes: Jan 18, 2026 "There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” Luke 13:1-9 With our repentance, our lives should change in a way that iimpacts the world around us. Repentance is required to follow Christ. At the very beginning of Jesus's ministry the Bible records Jesus saying “Repent!” This is not something that is up for negotiation in the life of a Christian. God calls every man and every woman to repent. Jesus’s entrance into our life brings division - it should be a shift in our allegiance away from the things we hold dear, with our topmost allegiance given to Jesus. And that will cause disruption. Repentance means “radical change of heart and mind.” The Greek word translated as repentence, "metanoia," denotes a fundamental change within the self: of mind and heart. There is no entrance into the kingdom of Jesus without a change of heart and mind. In this text, Jesus sets conditions for repentance. There is urgency in all of Jesus’s commands to repent. In the height of theological thinking of Jesus's day wasthe belief that sin can bring about your demise; that God strikes people down for their errors. We, too, are prone to this type of thinking. It helps us make sense of the world that doesn’t always make a lot of sense. But truthfully some suffering won't be neatly understood on this side of the grave. So all we can say is “His grace is sufficient.” We can’t make sense of all the suffering in the world. Nevertheless, Jesus calls us to change. He shows us that ultimately ALL suffering is because of ALL sin. And greater suffering awaits those who don’t turn from their own sinful ways. Jesus forces us away from thinking that the outcomes people encounter are equivalent to their sin. Everyone suffers. And all sin leads to all death. Without repentance, we all will face death. Without Christ, we are all 1 minute away from the worst possible eternal outcome. It is the sin in the world that ensures there will be suffering in this life. But it is sin in your life that ensures your suffering in the next life. It is with urgency that we must turn to Christ and away from our sin. Believe and repent. Unless shift away from the gods of this world towards the savior Jesus Christ, we will actually truly suffer. All of us begin life by rejecting the savior - by being a fruitless fig tree. But true repentance always comes with fruit. Repentance without fruit is self deception. Your life cannot express metanoia on the inside, without showing metanoia on the outside. The way we live our lives with those around us changes. What does it look like: Selfish people becoming more generous. Scheming people becoming more genuine. Savage people become more gentle. When our heart and mind have changed, it doesn’t just happen on the inside. It happens on the outside. In the last parable, Jesus offers us a comfort and a caution. If we lay claim to a lord, but bear no fruit as though we are not connected to that lord, then one day we will be cut off. We can say “I’ve been in church all my life” but if our life doesn’t reflect that, then one day we shall be removed. But the comfort is that we have the chance to reorient ourselves and point our lives toward Christ. He is still giving us grace through His grace, His time and His nurturing. If you do not know Christ, this is an invitation. He is so merciful and so caring. Come to know Him. Turn from your sin and repent.

You can listen to The Gospel of Luke: Repentance Explained Christ Salvation Works online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The Gospel of Luke: Repentance Explained Christ Salvation Works is an episode from City Light Church Sermons by Brian Crawford.

This episode is 44:34 long.

This episode was published on Jan 18, 2026.

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