“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” Acts 3:19
Repentance.
That one word is a whole mouthful. It is a necessary step in the salvation process, and the gateway into living a life free of condemnation. Except for far too many Christians, it isn’t. The enemy of our souls certainly does his part to heap guilt and condemnation upon our heads, but is the church inadvertently doing the same thing? I think we are. I don’t believe it’s malicious, but it is definitely happening. And it is aborting new believers by the thousands. I know because I have been guilty of being part of the misinformation train, and I have been a victim of this unintentional deception.
I have been taught about repentance since I was a child in Sunday school. The idea is simple; you ask Jesus to forgive you for your sins and subsequently go in a different direction. The literal translation of the word in scripture is “to turn from evil, and to turn to the good.” The definition is absolutely correct, but the spirit with which it is presented is often not. The basic concept is sound, but it omits one very important factor: humanity. As I have said, Satan does his fair share in reminding us of our past and tempting us in the areas of our weaknesses. However, we as believers tend to make people think that it is common to repent for something and not succumb to it again. Ever.
I wrote an article a few months ago trying to clarify the concept of “deliverance”; what it is and what it isn’t. Repentance is much the same. Yes, when we repent, we are asking God to forgive us. We are also determining in our heart to change our direction. In other words, we know what we should and should not be doing, and we are going to put our efforts toward not repeating that sin. Easy peasy lemon squeezy…. Except it’s more like difficult difficult lemon difficult.
The Apostle Paul, the man who wrote more than half of the New Testament, had this to say about putting action to his convictions: “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.” (Romans 7:15) If the greatest missionary the world has ever known had this much trouble fighting off wrong impulses and sinful behavior, then maybe we should take a second look at how we’re portraying repentance to baby Christians. This idea that when we repent, we turn our back to that behavior is correct. However, the belief that that behavior won’t tempt us or that we won’t fall into that sin again just doesn’t hold water. And unfortunately, there are thousands of new believers leaving the church every year because they are being made to feel like failures because they are going around the same mountain over and over again. We aren’t coming right out and saying it, but we are unquestionably implying that if they were REALLY sorry for their sin, they would stop doing it. They begin to doubt their own sincerity and the devil is quick to reinforce their doubts. He will whisper in their (our) ears that they (we) are not actually repentant because they (we) keep falling. Even as seasoned Christians we are subject to this way of thinking. Just imagine what it is doing to new believers!
If we continue to push the idea that we’re not really repentant of something until we have conquered it, most of us are in a world of hurt. That is what makes the grace of God so amazing! God knew you were going to fail and has already made provision for it. He has taken not only the blame, but also the punishment for our sin. God’s mercy and His grace have covered us for the rest of our lives. Naturally this makes many people think “then why bother fighting it?” This notion of doing whatever we want and going through the motions of asking forgiveness is not biblical. I’ve heard this called greasy-grace. There is nothing okay about this. Paul was dealing with many of the same questions from the church in Rome. In Romans 6:1-2 he writes, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” Repentance is truly a matter of the heart. If the repentance is sincere, our God is quick to forgive. But what makes it sincere?
The sincerity of asking for forgiveness comes down to this question: are we sorry that we’ve violated what we know is right? Are we authentically grieving because we knew better and committed the sin anyway? If so, this is true repentance. If we are sorry and ask forgiveness only when we get caught or we have to deal with tangible consequences, then we probably need to check the condition of our heart. This is not repentance. It is a knee-jerk reaction in an attempt to redeem ourselves in the view of others. This is pride and cannot be any further from real repentance. Real repentance accepts responsibility and consequences that go with the action.
Being human, we have the tendency to ascribe imperfect characteristics to God. We know how frustrating we get with someone who blows it over and over (and over and over and over) again in the same area. I’m sure that all of us have found it hard to forgive someone for committing an offense against us repeatedly. Peter asked Jesus a question regarding this very thing. Matthew 18:2121-22 reads, “Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.’” Jesus is telling us that he expects us to forgive as many times as asked. He would not ask of us what He is not already doing. As long as we are in true repentance, He is quick to absolve us of all our sins!
As followers of Christ, we need to protect those who are still learning. We cannot continue to teach a message of love but follow it up with one of condemnation and unattainable standards. God is faithful to help us triumph over every attack of the enemy, but it doesn’t happen overnight. It didn’t for us, and it won’t for most other people either. There is a place in the kingdom of God for redemption, restoration, and repentance. Whether it’s the first time or the four thousandth, God is faithful. As we strive to become more like Jesus, He will help us to achieve victory over every stronghold!