Historical Examples — Repentance

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Psalms 119:118Universaldivine judgmentdeception's consequences

God's Judgment Upon Deceivers and Their Cunning

Yet we must consider the mangled victims left in their wake—those who trafficked in cunning and deception, proving specially obnoxious to the Almighty.

Charles H. Spurgeon

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Isaiah 35:21Universaldivine providence in afflictionsickness as spiritual discipline

Christ in the Sick Room: Hezekiah's Affliction and Recovery

The tabernacle in which our soul dwells is a most frail and complicated machine.

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Acts 16:30-31Universaldivine interventionspiritual awakening

The Earthquake That Opened a Soul to Salvation

Yet when the earthquake shattered the prison doors and loosed the chains, something far more profound than physical tremor seized him.

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Psalms 50:4Universaldivine justicecreation's testimony

Heaven and Earth Called as Witnesses Against Sin

"He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth" (Psalm 50:4).

Charles H. Spurgeon

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John 18:15-27Universalisolation and abandonmentfear overcoming conviction

Peter's Courage Undone by Cold and Isolation

Maclaren captures the precise moment when courage evaporates: Peter had already 'repented now of, and alarmed for what might happen to him on account of, his ill-aimed blow at Malchus,' compounded by 'the nipping cold' that 'had taken all his...

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John 19:38-39Universalthe cost of discipleshipfear versus conviction

The Cowardice of Silent Disciples and Too-Late Confession

Christ's death, which scattered His avowed disciples, paradoxically shamed these secret believers into action.

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Acts 3:12Universaldivine provisionhuman responsibility

Salvation in Christ Alone: The Universal Need and Divine Provision

From infancy's peril to age's afflictions, human existence demands deliverance.

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Galatians 4:4Universalthe sufficiency of Christ's workthe danger of works-righteousness

Christ Rendered Powerless: The Peril of Adding to Grace

First, consider the effect of the gospel truly preached.

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Matthew 9:17Universaltransformationspiritual readiness

New Wine in Old Bottles: The Law of Congruity

Both old cloth and new cloth share the nature of cloth; similarly, old wine and new wine share the nature of wine.

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Matthew 5:19Universalmoral law and divine authorityhidden spiritual danger

The Perilous Harmfulness of Little Sins

Little sins are peculiarly offensive to God precisely because they are little—we risk offending Him for what we ourselves care very little about and expect insignificant return from.

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Ecclesiastes 5:5UniversalChrist's affection for the Churchthe power of earnest prayer

The Eyes That Overcome Christ's Heart

Yet understand: there is no opposition between Christ and His people requiring conquest.

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Proverbs 26:3Universalaccumulation of small transgressionscharacter formation through daily choices

The Crushing Weight of Accumulated Small Sins

The accumulation of light things becomes overwhelmingly ponderous.

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Judges 2:11-23Universalcyclical rebellion and restorationGod's patience amid human stubbornness

The Lighthouse Lantern: Israel's Cyclical Apostasy and God's Unwearying Patience

These phases repeat with such regularity that he compares them to *the white and red lights and darkness reappearing in a revolving lighthouse lantern, or figures recurring in a circulating decimal fraction*.

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Ezekiel 6:10Universalspiritual separation and reconciliationthe nature of genuine religion

Four Purposes for Seeking the Lord: The Duty Neglected

Exell's Victorian homiletic unpacks this indictment with surgical precision.

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Ezekiel 14:28UniversalGod's sovereign giftingtemporal versus eternal blessing

The Spirit's Outpouring: From Temporal Blessing to Eternal Promise

First comes the temporal: "the former rain and the latter rain" (Joel 2:23), granaries filled with wheat, vats overflowing with wine and oil.

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Galatians 4:8Universalfalse worship versus true knowledgespiritual transformation through revelation

From Idolatry to Knowledge: The Galatian Transformation

Before conversion, the Galatians possessed neither natural knowledge of God—imperfect and weak as it is—nor revealed knowledge through Christ.

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Revelation 1:4Universalcorruption of the churchfaithful remnant

Few Names in Sardis: Profession Without Possession

Exell's Victorian homily isolates four charges against this congregation, each applicable to contemporary faith communities.

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Mark 5:8UniversalDivine judgment and mercyChrist's prophetic authority

Christ's Dominion Over Calamity and the Sorrows That Follow

His words carry three essential truths for the believer.

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Psalms 3:2UniversalGod's unwavering protection amid judgmentFaith tested by circumstance

Help in God When All Seems Lost

His enemies declared, "There is no help for him in God," when Absalom's rebellion consumed his house—the very judgment God had threatened after David's own transgression.

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Acts 1:38Universalpersonal transformationpublic confession of faith

Peter's Fourfold Direction: Repentance, Baptism, and Personal Confession

First, *metanoia* (repentance)—literally "to perceive afterwards"—demanded an entire reversal of opinion respecting Jesus Christ.