LIVING ON BORROWED TIME (2): DO NOT WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW

(Luke 13:1-5)
September 20, 2015
Read Lu 13:1-5 -- Will Rogers once gave a clock to friend engraved thus:
The clock of life is wound but once, / And no man has the power / To tell
just when the hands will stop, / At late or early hour./ Now is the only time
we own; / Love life, toil with a will; / Do not wait until tomorrow, / For the
clock may then be still. You say, That sounds a little morose! But its not,
Beloved. Thats a daily reality we tend to deny. And not only will time soon
run out, but outside of Christ, we are under a spiritual death sentence.
Disasters are one way that the Lord graciously reminds us of that truth. This
passage has two one natural and one imposed. But Jesus finds the same
warning in both. At the end of Lu 12 He has warned His audience that while
they may be great at reading signs of the weather, they do not read spiritual
signs well at all. Then He urged them to settle with God out of court for their
sinful natures. They respond, Hey, youre wrong. We know signs. We know
that those Galileans that Pilate killed a few days ago must have done
something pretty bad. They made two devastatingly bad moralistic
assumptions that Jesus immediately attacks. They assumed that people always
get what they deserve, which is sometimes true and sometimes not in this life.
And they assumed that the good people namely them didnt need to
settle with anyone. They were good enough. So last week, we looked at I. Two
Great Tragedies and II. Two Grave Traps bad ways of explaining those
tragedies. Today we want to focus on Jesus response which consists of III.
Two Gospel Truths. It is another presentation of His core message.
III.

Two Gospel Truths

Note the similarity of Jesus response to each tragedy. V. 2: Do you think that
these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they
suffered in this way? Obviously that is exactly what they thought or Jesus
would not have responded in this way. V. 4, 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? Again the answer
was, Yes. Their whole theological system was moralistic.
They believed that all adversity, all hardship, all disability
and all disasters were a direct result of the sin of the
person involved. That was exactly what they believed. And, of
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course, it left them feeling pretty good about themselves

because, after all, they had not been slaughtered or had
towers falling on them.
As we saw last week, that was flawed thinking. But on this
occasion, Jesus does not go there. He doesnt argue that
point at all. Instead He just presents the gospel with
emphasis on the negative side. V. 3, No, I tell you; but unless you
repent, you will all likewise perish. And then for emphasis, He
presents it again in v. 5, No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will
all likewise perish. It must be important and it is. It implies two critical truths
that these people were not getting that we must all get if we are to ever see
heaven.
A. We are all living on borrowed time
Notice that twice Jesus asks a telling question. V. 2: Do you think that these
Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans? And v. 4: Do you
think that they [those killed by the tower] were worse offenders than all the
others who lived in Jerusalem? They would have answered yes, but clearly in
asking these questions, Jesus is implying thats the wrong answer. He is
aiming straight at the heart of their whole religious system. They see humanity
divided into two groups the good and the bad. Those who keep the law and
those who do not. Judgment falls on those who do not. It was a tidy little
system that allowed them to look down on anyone they considered less
righteous than themselves.
But Jesus comes right out and says, No! When you see people suffer, that is
not necessarily retribution for sin. Then He turns right around, tho, and
says, But repent, lest you perish too! That puts it in a whole different light.
If He had simply said, No, no. God doesnt treat people like that. Its not
punishment for sin, wed have to say, But wait a minute then. Life does
stink then, huh? If they dont deserve that, then whats going on? But He
doesnt say they didnt deserve it. He just says they were no worse than
anyone else. He just says it wasnt the direct result of some certain sin. But
He doesnt say they didnt deserve it. Instead he turns right around and lays a
haymaker on them: No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise
perish. With those words, Jesus has just thrown everyone under the same
bus. Hes saying, One the one hand, dont think those people are worse
because they suffered. On the other hand, realize that every person on earth
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deserves to have a tower fall on them. Dont feel smug. You deserve to have
a tower fall on you just as much as they did. If God gave you what you
deserve, youd have a tower fall on you too! Sounds harsh to us. And it was
not calculated to win friends and influence people but it was calculated to
bring reality into the tidy world of these people. It was calculated to bring
them face-to-face with their own condemnation.
Like most people, these had never considered they might be that bad. They
were Jews. They brought their sacrifices and attended the yearly feast. They
kept the law outwardly. But they had a fatal flaw. Their hearts were far from
God. They were trusting in what they did rather than in a God who wanted
to change their heart. Jesus is trying to startle them into a true look at
themselves. He is urging them to realize that they are living even now on
Gods mercy, but judgment it coming. They are living on borrowed time.
Jesus says, You likewise!
He is urging them as He urges us, Dont look on your works. Look at your
heart. Think of all the lies youve told that you never got consequences for.
Think of all the stupid choices youve made that you got away with. Think
of every time youve betrayed a friend, coveted what someone else has, lost
your temper, taken revenge, harbored bitterness, chosen your way over
Gods. See yourself for who you really are from the inside. Few have ever
received even a fraction of the consequences for the stupid, wrong, proud and
selfish things theyve done. God is graciously again and again, day in and day
out NOT giving us what we deserve. Our hearts are filled with denial and
excuses, but if we saw them as God sees them saw the pride, alienation,
hatred, murder, immorality and idolatry as God sees them, wed realize
borrowed time! Hes looking for a broken and contrite heart, and we give Him
pride, defensiveness and arrogance. And Jesus says, You likewise!
Heres the truth. The gospel is that we are much more flawed and lost than our
heart dares believe. But we are also much more loved than our heart will
believe either. If we werent, wed already be gone. Gods patience causes us
to think our outward righteousness is the source of our good fortune. We abuse
His patience! The truth is, if we got what we deserved, the tower would have
fallen long ago. It is only Gods mercy that keeps us alive the next minute. We
are equally deserving of Gods judgment. We all fall short of the glory of God.
James 2:10: For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has
become accountable for all of it. How can God say that? Did you ever
consider that? How can God say such a thing? How can a simple swear word
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be as bad as murder? Heres why, Beloved. Its because the law is not a simple
list of dos and donts. It is something much more profound than that. It is an
expression of Gods character. So breaking even one point is a violation of
His whole person, and, of course, the truth is, in our hearts we violate every
point on daily basis. Were living on borrowed time. But we
are in denial.
If you died tonight, where would you spend eternity?
Great question identified with evangelists from Billy Graham
to James Kennedy. But in a recent survey by Lifeway Research,
30% of people said they wonder about it occasionally. 11%
said about once a year, but almost 50% said they never
wonder about it at all! Meanwhile, Dr. Heiko Obermann,
Reformation era historian said in a lecture: In the time of Martin
Luther, almost every single human being in European civilization woke up
afraid that he would die before nightfall? Eternal destiny was a daily,
hourly, minute-by-minute thought. Every night, as the late Medieval or
early Reformation human being closed his eyes, he feared that he would
wake up either in heaven or in hell. You do not live with that fear. Hes
right. Now, Beloved, God doesnt want us to live in fear. But weve lost the
sense that we live on borrowed time, but that doesnt change the fact! Were
on the clock.
B. Our only hope is repentance
So, were on borrowed time. What do we do? Jesus gives a one-word answer.
Repent. Repent. The word literally means to turn around youre headed to
Cheyenne; you turn around and head toward Denver. Only this is speaking of
your life direction. It involves two things turning from sin toward God. We
could turn from one idol to another. But repentance is turning from all idols
toward God from our heart! Thats repentance.
Now, keep in mind, Jesus is not saying this about or to people who at the
moment are being buried by towers. Hes not saying it to people who are
going thru suffering and financial strain. The Bible addresses those. Jesus
addresses those, but not here. These people who doing okay. This is His
counsel to people whose lives are trouble-free at the moment. No towers
falling. These are some of the most righteous people on the planet going to
synagogue, saying their prayers, following all the rules. But Jesus is saying
just when things are really smooth and you are feeling most self-satisfied
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thats when youre in dangerous territory spiritually. And Jesus is saying,

Watch out. Youre going to perish. Look out! You need to repent!
Jesus is pointing out a very important truth here. Repentance is not primarily
about breaking the rules. Of course it is that too. If you lie, if you lose your
temper, if you cheat, if you rob a bank, if you gossip, you need to confess your
sin and abandon it. But that is not the essence of repentance. Because the
essence of sin is not breaking the rules. The essence of sin is violating God by
replacing Him with self. The essence of sin is putting yourself or something
you want or desire in the place that only God should have. The essence of sin
is being your own Savior not looking to Him but doing it yourself. And its
in trouble-free times that we are most likely to do that.
Society helps us convince ourselves we have no sin. Naturalism tells us that
what we call sin is merely the residue of an evolutionary process that rewards
aggression and for which I am not responsible. Psychology tells us that what
we call sin is merely an overactive conscience and all we need to do is ignore
the guilt feelings. Liberal theology tells us that sin is merely low self-esteem
and the solution is to find and heal the inner child that was abused by
restrictive parents. Moralists tell us that sin is a list of dos and donts and the
solution is to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps. Notice that none of
these have any reference to God. The Bible says that sin is replacing God
with self. It doesnt matter whether it is Lucifer saying, I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High (Isa 14:14),
or Adam and Eve falling for the line, when you eat of it your eyes will be
opened, and you will be like God (Gen 3:4), or the people at the Tower of
Babel saying, let us make a name for ourselves (Gen 11:4), the essence of
sin is always the same replacing God with self.
So Jesus says, Dont think youre better than those killed by Pilate or
crushed by the tower. Dont think your goodness is saving you. The only
reason you have not been crushed is Gods grace in giving you more time.
But you must use that time to repent of your self-centeredness, your selfjustification or you will also perish. Rom 2:4: Or do you presume on
the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that
Gods kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? Gods giving you time
for a reason that you might beg mercy and receive forgiveness. Instead, we
say, No thanks. Im good! No towers are falling on me.

So how could Jesus offer pardon for repentance? Know why? Because even as
He said repent, He was on His way to have the ultimate tower fall on Him so
it wouldnt have to fall on us. The reason that the best person, the only
perfect person, had the worst life is because He willingly accepted being
crushed by the ultimate tower. The tower of Gods judgment must eventually
fall on all sin. But the reason it does not have to fall on me is because He let
it fall on Him. He took my place under the tower of Gods judgment so that I
dont have to. And when I repent I am acknowledging that He has paid the
price for me and I am accepting His payment for my guilt!
To repent is to acknowledge that all our good works are wonderful when they
express a broken and repentant heart, but that they are useless as a means to
earn Gods favor. God looks not on outward appearance but on the heart.
Thats exactly why Paul, the most outwardly exacting man of his time came to
this conclusion: If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the
flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of
the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to
zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
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But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I
count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord (Phil 3:4-8). Thats repentance. Turning from self to God. Its
a lifetime commitment. When Jesus says, Unless you repent, you will
likewise perish, he used a present tense verb not one-time, but ongoing
action. Lifetime commitment.
Conc Repentance is at the heart of the gospel, Beloved. Jesus death and
resurrection is only good news for those who repent. Thats always been the
message. Noahs message from the steps going up to the Ark was not,
Something good is about to happen! Amos was not confronted by the high
priest of Israel for proclaiming, Name it and claim it! Jeremiah was not put
into the pit for preaching, Im O.K., youre O.K.! Daniel was not put into
the lions den for telling people, Possibility thinking will move mountains!
John the Baptist was not forced to preach in the wilderness and eventually
beheaded because he preached, Smile, God loves you! The two prophets of
the tribulation will not be killed for preaching, God is in his heaven and all
is right with the world! The message of all these men was the same as that of
Jesus Repent! Return to me. Hear me. Listen to me. Come to me!
It was only when Paul repented his perceived goodness that he found peace
with God. Until that happens, we are living on borrowed time. And the tower
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of eternal judgment could fall any time. Borrowed time ends with physical
death. God says in Heb 9:27, It is appointed unto man once to die and after
than comes judgment. There are no tomorrows then. You must be ready. God
uses human calamity to remind us what Jim Elliott, the missionary who was
martyred in Ecuador in 1956 once said: "When it comes time to die, make
sure that all you have to do is die." How do you do that? Live a life of
repentance. Do not wait until tomorrow, / For the clock may then be still.
Lets pray.