O God, thou wilt not despise.
Psalms 51:17
Another aspect of True repentance
involves both turning away from sin and turning back to the Father. However, that
statement fails to provide the posture of our heart as we come to or return to God.
This gets us to the very core of what true repentance is all about. In Joel 2:12–13, God calls to Israel, “return to me
with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend
your hearts and not your garments.”
In the Old Testament, people
commonly expressed great grief and anguish by tearing their cloaks. But more
than caring about the proper “signs” of being upset about their sin, God cared more
that they actually grieved over them in their hearts — grieved to the point of weeping
and mourning.
King David’s psalm of repentance, reminds
us that God doesn’t delight so much in the outward signs of repentance (which
included making a sacrifice), but “the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and
contrite heart, O God, you will not despise”
Psalm 51:17
I’m not talking about the shame
and guilt the enemy wants to heap on us, but a godly grief.
We can be in the habit of going
through the motions when it comes to repenting, but these passages show that
the most important thing is the condition of our heart. Does our repentance
look like a heart that has been rent like a garment, broken and contrite before
God? This attitude is missing from most repentance, and it’s the very thing God
is trying to teach us!
It may sound strange, but how do
we go about getting a broken heart?
First, we simply need to ask for
it. In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if
God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 2 Timothy 2:25
If we want to obey the command to rend our
hearts, we must ask God to grant us true repentance.
“The more glimpses we have of the
glory of God, the more we should mourn for disparaging that glory.” We should
also be aware of one of the biggest hindrances to obtaining a broken heart: our
neglect of the relational aspect of sinning. By this, I mean that we err in viewing
sin as a failure of performance rather than a failure of intimacy. The only
grief we experience is disappointment in our inability to do what is right or
that we got found out, and not that we have “despised” the living God: Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord,
to do evil in his sight? 2
Samuel 12:9
When we sin, we play the part of
an adulterer who looks for satisfaction in another, rather than the only One
who can truly satisfy. So then you can understand why David said to the Lord, “. . . against you, you only, have I sinned” Psalm
51:4. David rightly saw his failures in terms of relationship, and as a
result his heart was grieved as it can be only when we have sinned against the
One we love with all of our heart, soul and mind.
True repentance comes not merely
by understanding the relational aspect of sin, but by understanding the nature
of the One with whom we are in relationship. In other words, the more we see
God as glorious and holy, the more we’ll see committed sin as something to weep
over. The more glimpses we have of the glory of God, the more we mourn for belittling
that glory.
In the end, God’s plan for us is
that we’ll be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16). In the meantime, He desires a
brokenhearted people who have learned to mourn over their sin.
In the natural
world, armies have special induction rituals where a prospective soldier must
participate in order to join the forces. This "induction" makes him
part of the army.
God also has a
special plan for induction through which we become part of His spiritual army.
His plan centers on two important concepts, repentance and conversion, which results in justification.
In the natural
world, when a soldier joins an army, he must deny any previous allegiance he
has had to another army or country. When you join the army of God, you must
repent of your allegiance to sin and the Kingdom of darkness. This is done by
repentance; a godly sorrow and forsaking all that is associated with the
allegiance to the kingdom of darkness. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to
be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. 2 Corinthians 7:10
Apostle Paul
calls it "repentance toward God":
Testifying both to the Jews, and
also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus
Christ. Acts 20:21
By the act of repenting, we turn away from our sin and leave the Kingdom of
darkness behind.
Repentance is a
personal decision to change our allegiance from the Kingdom of darkness to the
Kingdom of God. This change of mind and turning from sin cannot be done in
ourself. It is the power of God which actually brings the change in the
mind, heart, and life of a sinner: Then God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto
life. Acts 11:18
Repentance is truly
a gift of God: Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and
a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. Acts 5:31
Although
emotions may be involved in repentance, true repentance is a decision, not just
an emotion or feelings. Sorrow for sin, which is often confused with
regret over a bad decision that resulted in a bad outcome, and the shedding of
tears is not enough in itself.
Paul makes a clear separation
between sorrow and repentance. They are not the same things! One can be sorry
for their sin without repenting from their sin. Sorrow describes a feeling, but
repentance describes a change in both the mind and in the life.
√ “Repentance is not sorrow only. It may not
be unaccompanied by sorrow… at the time, but sorrow will always follow, sorrow
for the past; but this change of mind is the principle thing.”
√ “Sorrow alone accomplishes nothing.
Peter was sorry he denied Christ, and he repented. Judas was sorry he betrayed
Christ but, instead of repenting, he killed himself.”
“Repentance” sounds like a harsh
word to many but it is an essential aspect of the gospel and has been called
“the first word of the gospel.”
When John the Baptist preached, he
said , Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand! (Matthew 3:2)
When Jesus began to preach, He
said, Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 4:17)
And saying, The
time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe
the gospel. Mark
1:15
When Peter preached on the day of Pentecost, he told his listeners to Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:38)
Let’s go back to the Old Testament where the oracle of God told the children of Isreal to repent: And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. 1 Samuel 7:3
That same
message is being delivered today:
Repent, Repent, Repent! Turn from
the wicked ways of this world, from the ungodly desires of the flesh and the
undue influence of the wicked one and become committed and submitted to
God!
This turn must
be accompanied by an
True
repentance is an inward decision that results in an outward change.
Repentance is
important because:
® God Commands It
And
the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every
where to repent: Acts
17:30
® It’s Necessary To Avoid Spiritual
Death:
I
tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Luke 13:3
® It’s Necessary For Eternal Life:
Through
repentance the penalty of death is removed and eternal life is granted:
When
they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then
hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. Acts 11:18
® It’s Necessary for Forgiveness:
God can’t
forgive our sins unless we repent: Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every
one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 2:38
® It’s God's Desire for All:
God doesn’t
want anyone to experience the spiritual death of eternal separation from God in
Hell: The
Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is
longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance. 2
Peter 3:9
® It’s The Reason Jesus Came into the
World:
I
came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Luke 5:32
® It’s Necessary to Enter God's Kingdom:
From
that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the Kingdom of Heaven
is at hand. Matthew 4:17
When we become
part of the Kingdom of God, we’re enlisting in God's army.
When we ask for
forgiveness of sins we experience "conversion." Conversion means
"to change." When it is used in connection with Biblical repentance,
it means to "turn from the wrong way to the right way." You leave the Kingdom of darkness and join
the Kingdom of God. And many of the children of Israel shall He turn to the
Lord their God. Luke 1:16
And all that
dwelt at Lydda & Sharon saw Him, & turned to the Lord. Acts 9:35
And
the hand of the Lord was with them; and a great number believed, and turned
unto the Lord. Acts
11:21
Conversion is
turning from the darkness of sin and the power of Satan to the light of God's
righteousness: To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to
light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness
of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in
me. Acts 26:18
¨ It
is turning from worldly things to spiritual things:
And
saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with
you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the
living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are
therein: Acts 14:15
¨ It is turning from false gods to the true and living God: For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; 1 Thessalonians 1:9
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