The Gift of Repentance

When I was a student at Humboldt State University, Brother Jed and Sister Cindy would come to campus every year and "preach." They yelled, called people whores and perverts, and told them they were going to hell. And they would tell people to repent. Presented in such a hostile context, repentance can seem to be filled with shame and condemnation.

Now it's true that we need to repent because of our sin, but the way I read the Scriptures, repentance is a marvelous gift that God gives to us! Here's how David the Psalmist describes the result of repentance:

Oh, what joy for those whose rebellion is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!
Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! (Psalm 32:1-2, NLT)

So what does it mean to repent? I like to explain it with the analogy of making a u-turn. When you make a u-turn, you deliberately stop heading one direction, turn around and head in the opposite direction. When we are living self-directed lives, we are heading away from God. Our lives may be characterized by outright rebellion, indulging in all kinds of sinful behaviors, or we might just be indifferent towards God's ways and choose to be the master of our destinies. When the conviction of God breaks through to us and we realize that apart from his grace we are miserable, broken and hopeless, we choose to turn away from our self-directed life, and turn to him for mercy and forgiveness.

Repenting is simply agreeing with God about our sin, turning away from it and turning to God; it's doing an internal u-turn.

In Psalm 32, David goes on to describe how he felt when he was on the self-directed path away from God:

When I refused to confess my sin, I was weak and miserable, and I groaned all day long... my strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. (v3, 4b)

In verse 5, he describes how he repented:

Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, "I will confess my rebellion to the Lord." And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.

When you confess to God, you acknowledge that your behavior or attitudes are wrong. 1 John 1:9 says that when we confess our sins, that God will "forgive us and cleanse us from every wrong."
No wonder David describes it as joy! Who wouldn't want to have all their guilt wiped out? That's exactly what happens when we humble ourselves before God, admit that we blew it, and ask him to forgive.

Repentance is a gift from God that sets our hearts free, taking away shame and guilt. David goes on to admonish the reader:

Therefore, let all the godly confess their rebellion to you while there is time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment. 

And then offers a promise from God for those who live lifestyles of repentance:

The Lord says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you." 

Keep short accounts with God! The moment you realize that you've headed down the path of rebellion or being self-directed, confess and repent! As we develop lifestyles of repentance, we'll discover that God is directing and blessing us in ways that we never thought possible.

One final thought: the experience of authentic community with other Christ-followers is characterized by confessing our faults to each other! Now that's counter-cultural! I want to see our community groups become places of safety and encouragement, where we can practice what the Apostle James wrote in his letter:

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. (James 5:16, NLT)

With love from a fellow repenter,
Dave Stewart