Repentance devotional...

Today's devotional is an in between chapter devotional and I am drawing from an article written by Sam Storms.  I have found myself reading almost everything that comes out under his name.  This article is called 10 Things You Should Know About Repentance.  I want to share just 5 of them this morning and help us answer that question, "Am I really sorry or am I just saying that?"

1.  Genuine repentance begins, but by no means ends, with heartfelt conviction of sin.

I really think we need to say with our mouths and feel in our hearts, "This is wrong."  "I have sinned."  "God is grieved by this."  I need to recognize and not try to excuse my actions away.  A great quote cited from J.I. Packer from his book Rediscovering Holiness says,

"True repentance only begins when one passes out of what the Bible sees as self-deception and modern counselors call denial, into what the Bible calls conviction of sin."

I should not be looking for any slack but rather bow my knees again in submission to what God has said.

2.  To truly repent one must also confess the sin openly and honestly to the Lord.

King David gives us a great example of this following the adulterous sin with Bathsheba.  Nathan is used by God to expose what is wrong and then King David goes to a full admission and elaborates on it in a couple of the Psalms.  At no time does he try to cover it up or excuse it away.  Psalm 32:1, 2, and 5 say,

"How joyful is the one who transgression is forgiven, who sin is covered!  How joyful is a person whom the LORD does not charge with iniquity and in whose spirit is no deceit!  Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not conceal my iniquity.  I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD and You forgave the guilt of my sin.'"

Storms makes the point that nothing is held back and there is no cutting of corners or compromise.  I love his word picture that all little black books of sin are opened and read aloud.  There is a burial of the practice of thinking that the "little" white lies are okay.  Repentance requires full disclosure before God.

3.  When one truly repents there is an awareness that the sin committed, whatever its nature, was ultimately against God alone.

Psalm 51:4 says,

"Against You -- You alone -- I have sinned and done this evil in Your sight.  So You are right when You pass sentence; You are blameless when You judge." 

We need to get to the point that we see, feel and know that we have disregarded what God has said.  We have figuratively spit in His face and said "NO!"  This sin has affected us and others but it is so opposite of who God is.  We sin against God and it affects those He has created with consequences of that committed sin.  The first consequence is that we are not in a right relationship with God.  We have something of a white elephant in the room with God that needs to be removed and He is the only one who can get that big fat elephant out that little tiny door!

4.  Although repentance is more than getting something off your chest or "out of your system,"  there is in it a true feeling or sense of remorse.

Listen to the brokenness in Psalm 51:17 and Isaiah 57:15, 

"The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit.  You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God."

"For the High and Exalted One, who lives forever, whose name is holy, says this:  'I live in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and lowly of spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the oppressed."

Storms points out that repentance is more than a feeling because emotions can be fleeting.  "True repentance," he says, "bears fruit."  I learned of "attrition" which is regretting sin prompted by a fear for oneself meaning I got caught and what will happen to me.  I also learned of "contrition" which is regretting sin which is a direct offense to God's love and grief to the Holy Spirit and my eyes are on Him instead of myself.  It brought me to the question, "What is the motive of my repentance?"

5.  Biblical repentance must be distinguished from worldly or fleshly repentance.

Storms describes worldly or fleshy repentance as,

"Worldly grief is essentially self-pity for having been exposed and having thus lost stature, favor, or respect in the eyes of men (not to mention money!)."

2 Corinthians 7:8-12 is referenced with emphasis on verse 11 which reads,

"For consider how much diligence this very thing -- this grieving as God wills -- has produced in you:  what a desire to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what deep longing, what zeal, what justice!  In every way you showed yourselves to be pure in this matter."

Look at the list of the fruit of true repentance:  desire, indignation, fear, deep longing, zeal, and justice.  Worldly and fleshly repentance only thinks of self while godly repentance thinks and responds to God.  We look to Him even when we have wronged Him to know what is the right to do by Him.  We look for all that we can do in glory of Him rather than just what will get us by and smooth things over.

Some great points about repentance from this article and I want to strive to be a person of godly repentance.  Let us pray.

"Lord, what a lesson this morning on how and why we say, 'I am sorry' and 'I am sinned before You.'  May we not excuse away what You have loving told us is sin.  May we rise up from sin and reach for Your arms with the following of Your instruction to true repentance.  Sin is not light matter to You and may it not be to us either.  Amen."

Pastor Adam