The call to repent is dangerous

Please don’t raise your hands. In fact this might become weird if you do. But if I were to ask everyone who is a sinner in this room to raise their hand, I imagine that everyone in this room would put their hand up. If I were to say something along the lines of, “Raise your hand if you need to repent from sin,” Again, most everyone in the room would put their hands up. We’ve all been taught well that we’re sinners who need to live lives of constant repentance. And we’re ok with other people around us knowing that about us.

But what if I started to get specific with sins. What if I said something like, “Raise your hand if you struggle with lying” or “Raise your hand if you struggle with lust”? What if I said, “Raise your hand if you have an anger problem and yell at your family” or “Raise your hand if you can’t help but share gossip whenever it comes to your ears”? I suspect that I’d see a lot less hands going up. There’s a couple of reasons for that. First, we might feel quite ashamed at our private sins being public knowledge and prefer not to own our sin in front of others. Second, perhaps we think we need to repent from sin vaguely, but we can’t think of any specific sin in our lives that we need to repent from.

This morning, I want to consider what happens when someone calls out another’s sin very specifically. They confront the sinner and call them to repent from what they are doing. That’s exactly what John the Baptist does to Herod in our text and we’ll see that it is very dangerous.

Main Point – The call to repent is dangerous

And we’ll see that it is dangerous both for those who give the call to repent and for those who hear the call to repent. And we’ll see someone who gives the call and two people who hear the call. It’s dangerous for each of them.

Text – Mark 6:14-29, which can be found in your pew Bible on page 801

Prayer

Before we jump into how the call is dangerous, I think it’s important to explain some context for what’s happening in this story.

If you’ve spent any time reading the gospels then you’ve probably come across the name Herod before. His name even pops up multiple times in the book of Acts. But what’s not easily discernible is that there is not one single man named Herod. Rather, there was an initial Herod and then many in his family after him who adopted the name as well. At least four different men throughout the New Testament are referred to as Herod. So who are they? The first Herod is known as Herod the Great. He’s rather famous for his role in the Christmas story. The wise men come to Herod looking for Jesus. Herod becomes paranoid and kills all the infants in Bethlehem, but Mary and Joseph flee with Jesus and are safe. Herod the Great was the original Herod, and could be considered the patriarch of the family. Rome placed him in charge of the province of Israel. He ruled over Judea and Samaria in the south, Galilee up north and over some areas east of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. He was rather crazy and feared nothing more than losing his power.

He dies shortly after Jesus’ birth and his “kingdom” is divided between three of his sons each from different mothers. Archelaus is given the area in the south - Judea and Samaria. He’s a lunatic like his dad and he’s the reason Joseph and Mary move north to Nazareth in Galilee instead of returning to Bethlehem. He’s so bad Rome gets rid of him after a few years. The second son is Herod Antipas. He rules in the northern area of Galilee and he is the Herod in our story today. The third son is simply named Philip and he is given the areas east of the Jordan river. I know you might think “Great! A guy who’s not named Herod. Philip will be the easiest one to remember.” But you’d be wrong, because the original Herod, Herod the Great, thought it would be a good idea to name two of his sons Philip. Philip I is the one who rules the eastern lands and Philip II doesn’t rule anything, but Philip II is significant because he is the one who was first married to Herodias in our story today.

Philip II is not ruling any land, but he’s happily married to Herodias. However, Herodias sees an opportunity to climb the ladder and marry someone else who has some power and she leaves Philip II to marry Herod Antipas, the one in charge of Galilee and the one in our story. Herod Antipas is pretty dissatisfied with his first wife anyways, so he’s happy to marry Herodias too.

The family of the Herods is a wild and crazy soap opera of intermarriage and remarriage. Trust me when I say that this is just the tip of the iceberg. A fourth different man shows up in the book of Acts named Herod as well, but it would be too confusing to start explaining him today.

But this dysfunctional family completely lacking a moral compass is the one that John the Baptist decides it is necessary to confront. And he pays the price for it, bringing us to our first point.

Point #1 – The call to repent is dangerous for those who give it

It’s easy to see that calling someone to repent was dangerous for John the Baptist. We read the story of his death just now and it’s presented as a flashback. This is an event that happened weeks or months before Jesus sends out his twelve disciples. So why go back in time to tell a previous story?

Mark puts it here intentionally as a warning to those who are sent out. Look at verse 12 from last week. “So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent.” That’s what Jesus told his disciples to do. Now in these verses we just read , we see what happens to a man who goes out and proclaims that people should repent. It’s not some vague call to repentance. John the Baptist’s call is for very specific repentance. Look at verse 17-18.

READ VS 17-18

John told Herod, you cannot marry your brother’s wife. There are several reasons for this. The first is simply that both Herod and Herodias had divorced their first spouse without any justifiable reason and had remarried to one another. John was against that breaking of the marital vows. But the second reason, and perhaps the more clear one, is that the Old Testament law specifically forbid a Jew from marrying his brother’s wife. It says it very clearly twice in Leviticus. “Don’t marry your brother’s wife.” The only exception would be if the brother dies, but Herod’s brother was still very much alive. John had very clear grounds for telling Herod he was wrong.

But do you recognize how much boldness it takes for John the Baptist to make this accusation? Herod is rich and powerful and John is a nobody. For all we know he’s likely homeless and poor. On top of this he doesn’t have any relationship with Herod at all. It’s not like Herod is his uncle or his neighbor. He doesn’t work with Herod. They don’t even live in the same parts of the country. But from the very beginning of the book of Mark, John has been proclaiming that repentance will lead to the forgiveness of sins. He wants to see Herod repent, not so that John can gain some sort of power over him, but so that Herod’s sins can be forgiven.

I think John had a genuine love for Herod that drove him to call him to repentance. What makes me think that? Look at verse 20.

READ VS 20

Herod was confused by John, but he still liked him. He also knew that he was a righteous man. I don’t think John the Baptist stood on a soap box and yelled to Herod “You’re going to burn in hell, you sinner!” That’s not the type of person that Herod would want to continue hearing from gladly. The evidence suggests that John called him to specific repentance, but he was compelling and did it out of concern for his soul. So that despite the fact that Herod didn’t actually repent, he continued coming back to him. Of course, not everyone responded that way. His wife Herodias had him put to death, but we’ll come back to that later.

What I want you to consider this morning is the question, “Have you ever called someone to specific repentance?” Last week we saw that Jesus’ mission was to call people to repentance. He sent the disciples out to call people to repentance. And we likewise are sent out to call people to repentance. For us that means calling both Christians and non-Christians to turn from their sin.

But we’re rather American here. Our immediate thought is “I’m in no place to tell someone else how they ought to live. Everyone is responsible solely for themselves before God. I take care of myself and they take care of themselves.” But friends, we are called to evangelism and to sharing the gospel with the lost. This cannot happen unless we enter the kingdom of darkness like Christ did and call people out by repentance. So when it comes to the lost - we must call them to repentance because they have specifically broken God’s laws. And until they recognize that, they will not and cannot turn to Christ.

Similarly, we are called to confront other believers in their sin as well. Again, it’s easy to claim that what they do is “none of my business”, but I just finished teaching this week’s membership class this morning and we talked about how once you become a member of a church your lives are each other’s business. In fact, every member of FBC Ashdown has made a promise to the other members that they will care about how one another lives. In our church’s covenant, we have a line saying we are covenanting together specifically “to strive for the advancement of this church in holiness.” Not merely the advancement of ourselves, but we are responsible to see one another grow in holiness.

To be clear, I’m not suggesting that we start screaming faults at each other. I’m also not suggesting that we call out anytime someone does something that annoys us. But I am suggesting that like John the Baptist, when we recognize a very clear violation of God’s laws, we directly, winsomely, and with concern for the other’s soul, tell them what we see and call them to change their ways.

This is a very scary prospect. I recognize that. And it is rightly so. Because John the Baptist did this exact thing and he lost his head for it. The disciples don’t die in the book of Mark, but we know that each of them were killed while proclaiming the gospel and calling people to repent. But what’s more is that Jesus himself spent his life calling people to repent and he was hung on a cross for it. Calling people to repent will certainly make you many enemies. But it’s the only means of rescuing sinners who are perishing.

When an airman is stranded behind enemy lines, the only correct course of action is to risk life and limb to save them. Yes, it’s dangerous, but when it comes to rescuing a life from certain death, risk is necessary.

If you’ve been saved by Jesus Christ, it means that at some point in your life, someone called you to repentance. It was dangerous and it was scary, but they did it. Their love for you compelled them to overcome their fears and to call. The disciples’ love compelled them to give their lives calling people to repentance. John’s love for Herod compelled him. And Jesus Christ’s love for sinners compelled him to endure the mocking from his enemies and the suffering on the cross so that he could save many souls from hell.

The book of James concludes with these two verses in James 5:19-20 -

My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

 It’s a dangerous thing to call for repentance for the person who is calling. But it is also a dangerous thing for the person who is hearing the call.

Point #2 – The call to repent is dangerous for those who hear it

There are two people in our story who are called to repent. The first is Herodias and the second is Herod. It was dangerous for both of them to hear the call. We’ll start with Herodias. Let’s read vs 18 again, this time with verse 19.

READ VS 18-19

John the Baptist calls Herodias to repentance. And immediately she hates this guy and wants to use her new power as queen to kill him. Now, Herodias is in fact Jewish. She has Jewish blood from her father’s side and she’s grown up in Judaism her whole life. This is not new to her. My guess is that she would claim she worships the Lord Almighty, God of Israel. She would claim that she wants to be obedient and follow his laws. But claiming to follow God turns out to be a lot easier than following God and as soon as one of God’s laws became inconvenient for her upward mobility, it was easy for her to disregard it. But then along comes John and he points out to her an undeniable way in which she is violating the law of the God she claimed to serve. He calls her to repent.

Here’s the part where things begin to get dangerous for Herodias. I’ve mentioned this before, but the same sun that melts the wax will harden the clay. The call to repentance for some will cause them to soften, but for others like Herodias it causes them to harden. By choosing not to turn away from her sin, she wasn’t unaffected by John’s words, but instead she dug deeper into sinfulness. Did you see that in verse 19? She went from being someone who disregards the sanctity of marriage and God’s design for it to becoming someone who is bitter, angry, and filled with murderous intent. The call to repent had the opposite effect on her heart. She was driven deeper into sin in response to it. It was dangerous for her to hear a call to repent because her sinful heart made her worse off after hearing it.

This is why what we’re doing in this room right now is extremely dangerous for you as well. Because what happens during the sermon each week is that God through his Word calls you to be transformed and changed. God through his Spirit calls you to turn away from sin and live differently. And you have the choice of how you are going to respond to that call. If you submit to the Lord and obey then praise God your soul is saved from death as James said. But if you hear the clear call from God’s Word to live differently and you ignore it and refuse to be changed, then your heart doesn’t respond neutrally or indifferently. Your heart responds by becoming hardened and by sinking deeper into the power of sin. Every time you say “No” to God’s Spirit it becomes easier to do it again next time. You drift further away from love for him and further into a love for your sin.

But Herodias has already determined in her heart that she doesn’t want to listen to the call to repent. She would rather get rid of the voice calling her to repent altogether. She’s unable to do it easily, but she desires so much to be rid of John the Baptist that she’s willing to do some scheming. She is continuing to look for a chance to kill John and will avail herself of any and every opportunity even if it means manipulating her daughter. It’s very clear that she is driven by anger and is not thinking clearly of the outcome. All she wants is for John to be dead and to stop telling her she’s wrong. And she succeeds. She’s able to kill John and there is no longer anyone who will tell her that she’s wrong. But do you understand what that means? It means that there’s no longer anyone who will tell her that she’s wrong. Now she will continue on the path that sin takes everyone on. She’s going to be running straight for death and no one will tell her to turn back. And she will be destroyed.

I know I’ve had similar experiences in my own life. I’ve read the Scriptures or I’ve heard a sermon and the Holy Spirit’s voice begins convicting me of sin or calling me to obedience. Of course, he’s calling me to something hard or he’s calling me to give up something that I don’t want to give up and I’d rather just ignore his voice. I’ve tried to fill my mind with other thoughts or distract myself so that I wouldn’t have to obey God’s voice and live differently. But in God’s love he keeps pestering me and he won’t let it go. If you’ve experienced this you know how much it can drive you crazy. And I remember one time the thought crossed my mind, “I wish the Holy Spirit would just leave me alone.” But then the immediate thought God led me to was, “And what would happen to you if I did leave you alone?” In our sin we may want to silence the voice of conviction, but without it we are left to wander in our sin further from the life of God and deeper into death.

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. Turn from sin. Obey the voice of the Lord. It’s a dangerous thing to hear the call to repent, and it’s a devastating thing to ignore it.

The second of our pair to hear the call to repent was Herod. He responds a little bit differently but ultimately has the same end.

Unlike Herodias, Herod liked John. He enjoyed listening to him teach. He wasn’t trying to get rid of the voice calling him to repent. Rather, we see he was doing the opposite. It says that Herod was keeping John safe from his wife. He was preventing her from killing him. He enjoyed having John’s voice around, but he also never obeys John’s voice. He never actually repents. There’s a little game that Herod is playing here. He feels better about himself because he keeps allowing the voice of this prophet to speak to him and he treats the prophet well, but at the same time he never actually does the thing that John the Baptist calls him to do. He’s trying to have his cake and eat it too. He wants the good feeling of protecting this holy man of God, but he also wants the good feeling of holding onto his sin. This arrangement gets Herod both things.

But when the moment of truth arrives where Herod has to make a choice between one or the other his heart is revealed. Look at verses 25-26.

READ VS 25-26

It says Herod was exceedingly sorry. He hates that he has to make a choice. But he is no longer able to deceive himself. He chooses not to repent. When he has to pick obedience to God’s voice or holding onto his sin, he picks the sin. And his motivation is revealed as well. He picks his sin because he’s afraid of other people. He’s afraid of his guests. He’s afraid of his wife. He’s afraid of his teenage step-daughter. He’s afraid of how people would respond to him if he obeyed God’s voice. And so even though he was willing to keep the voice around, his window of opportunity to listen to it was closed.

Did you know there is a window of opportunity to repent? I think like Herod we always just assume that if I’m sinning right now there will always be a chance to stop sinning later. One more time won’t hurt. I can change next week. But the Bible describes the opportunity for repentance as having an expiration date. Listen to this urgent plea from Isaiah in Isaiah 55:6.

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;”

This means that there is a time when he will no longer be found. There is a time when he will no longer be near. “But Shane, I’ve heard you say over and over again that God always forgives people every time we ask him. That God will always receive everyone who repents of their sin every time. Why would he not receive me if I come to him later?” Well, you’re making a false assumption. You’re assuming that if God is no longer near it’s because he left you and went far away or if he can’t be found it’s because he has hidden himself from you who are searching. But the truth is, that when people are far from God and can no longer find him, it’s because they’ve wandered far from him and are no longer searching.

If you think that you can always repent tomorrow, that’s based entirely on the false expectation that tomorrow you will still have the desire to repent. You may have that desire now, but if the desire is not strong enough to turn you back now, what makes you think it will be strong enough tomorrow? What makes you think the desire will even exist tomorrow? Today could be the last day you even consider repentance. Your heart may harden quicker than you ever imagined. And just like Herod who tried to play the waiting game, the day comes when your opportunity is gone.

Paul says this in 2 Corinthians 6:2

For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

What reason could you have for waiting? You may fear what other people think, but you should have a greater fear of missing the opportunity to turn back and of being ruined by sin.

Sin is trapping people with its temptations and its allures everywhere and it’s leading them to death. It’s trapping your friends. It’s trapping your family. It wants to trap you. And the only way out is to heed the call of repentance. Are you calling others to repent? Are you listening when they call you to repent. The call to repent is dangerous for those who give it and is dangerous for those who hear it. But more dangerous than the call itself is ignoring the call. I’ll close with these verses from Isaiah 55.

“Seek the Lord while he may be found;

call upon him while he is near;

let the wicked forsake his way,

and the unrighteous man his thoughts;

let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,

and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Prayer