Repent or Perish?

Luke 13:3–5 — Does "Except Ye Repent" Mean Turn From Your Sins?

The Bible says in Luke 13:3–5: "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."

Luke 13 does not prove you have to repent of your sins to be saved. What is taking place in this passage is that Jesus is using a physical earthly example to help explain a spiritual truth. Jesus told Nicodemus: "If I have told you of earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?" When it comes to spiritual salvation, a lot of people have the mindset — well, I have not done what those people did. They deserve to perish. They are guilty, but I have not done that, so I am good enough.

And what Jesus is saying is — do you think those people were sinners above you? The basic idea is "for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." So when he says except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish, what I believe he is saying is — hey, because you are guilty, because your works cannot earn you a way to heaven, you must repent or you are going to perish. But notice it does not say repent of your sins. What he is actually saying is you must change your mind. You must believe on Christ, because you are no better than them. You are going to perish likewise — meaning burning in hell forever. So you must believe on Christ and change your mind about what you believe.

Pastor Matthew Stucky