Repent or Perish

Luke 13:1-9

13 At that time, some people came and reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 And He[a] responded to them, “Do you think that these Galileans were more sinful than all Galileans because they suffered these things? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well! 4 Or those 18 that the tower in Siloamfell on and killed—do you think they were more sinful than all the people who live in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as well!”

6 And He told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7 He told the vineyard worker, ‘Listen, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it even waste the soil?’

8 “But he replied to him, ‘Sir,[b] leave it this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.9 Perhaps it will bear fruit next year, but if not, you can cut it down.’”

It is time for the Lord to separate the righteous from the unrighteousness with precision. God will perform a surgical procedure which amounts to a spiritual abortion, on the seed of the serpent. This was the offspring unlawfully created, not authorized by the king, which was criminally invented to preempt the inheritance rights of the duly designated Heir. After all, His great patience must end for those whose sole purpose is to take advantage of grace to assert misbegotten dominion!

Psalm 108

A Plea for Victory

A song. A Davidic psalm.

1 My heart is confident, God;[a]
I will sing; I will sing praises
with the whole of my being.[b]
2 Wake up, harp and lyre!
I will wake up the dawn.
3 I will praise You, Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to You among the nations.
4 For Your faithful love is higher than the heavens,
and Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
5 God, be exalted above the heavens,
and let Your glory be over the whole earth.
6 Save with Your right hand and answer me
so that those You love may be rescued.

7 God has spoken in His sanctuary:[c]
“I will triumph!
I will divide up Shechem.
I will apportion the Valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine,
and Ephraim is My helmet;
Judah is My scepter.
9 Moab is My washbasin;
I throw My sandal on Edom.
I shout in triumph over Philistia.”

¹⁰ Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
¹¹ God, haven’t You rejected us?
God, You do not march out with our armies.
¹² Give us aid against the foe,
for human help is worthless.
¹³ With God we will perform valiantly;
He will trample our foes.