yesterday at bible study, we engaged in a conversation contrasting “false repentance” and “true repentance”. primary takeaways: in our smallness, we tend to think of “repentance” as something of a punishment. like, when you’re a kid and you’re called to the principal’s office, that’s when you repent. but the truth is that “sin is a condition, so repentance must become a lifestyle”. and repentance is what drives us to Christ, allows the Holy Spirit to work, and causes us to be joyful, delighting in His mercy, grace, and victory. but what is repentance? we then looked at false and human gestures of repentance –”remorse” and “resolution”, which are both selfish “me-driven” acts that are intended to make me feel better about my sin.
remorse: I can’t believe I did that! I’m so sorry…
resolution: I will try harder next time. I won’t do it again.
the remorse and resolution habits are prideful. they say that “i’m surprised by my sin because i thought i was better than that.” (pride) and “i resolve to fix my problems” saying that i am good enough to do it myself by my own will and effort. i do not need the grace of God (pride again). but true repentance is NOT centered on me. it is centered on Christ.
realization: i know i am a sinner. my sin, while unacceptable, does not surprise me.
repentance: i confess my weakness and look to Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit as my only hope.
how easy it is for me to “cover up” my sins or attempt to minimize them in the remorse and resolution cycle! in my conversations with daniel, for example, i may say hurtful things or accusingly “hear” hurtful things said by him. my natural tendency is to become angry, then sad (remorse), then try to fix it (resolution) by offering “next steps”, etc. what i am not realizing is the condition of my heart. and that’s where true repentance needs to occur. it’s not that “i said a hurtful thing. i’m sorry, and i will try not to do it again” but “my heart condition is sinful, selfish, and has placed unrealistic expectations on you that i need to take on with God.” and how much more does the latter drive me to depend on Christ to reconcile me first to Himself then to fix our relationship! there is power in our weakness, because it is through our confession we are caused to realize God’s attributes and cling to Him. on those lines and even more: repentance isn’t before man, but before God. “against you and you alone have i sinned and done what is evil in your sight” (ps. 51). my hurtful words aren’t just an issue because they hurt another person’s feelings, but because they are representative of the sin condition in my heart to flee from Christ and seek others to fulfill a sense of importance/worth that needs to be found in Christ alone. and before we get down ourselves and depressed at our “sin condition” we must realize that we must seek Christ or otherwise we fall into striving and effort to rectify our fallen character. glory, glory. it is Christ alone.
time to go running!
