By John A. Huffman Jr.
Two, REPENT of sin.
Some repent when they are caught. They are not really sorry for their sin. What they are sorry about is the consequences of sin. They got caught. I know people who have a basic lifestyle of living life right up to its limits, getting by with everything they think they can get by with. When they get caught, they simply say, "I'm sorry" and then blithely move on doing whatever they feel like doing. They say, "I'd rather say 'I'm sorry' after the fact than ask for permission in advance."
Some of us try to work the same angle with God. We don't take the time to study His Word and find out the smart way to live. Or, if we know what the Bible says, we rationalize around it and say it is out of date and does not apply to today. Then, when we get caught in some activity and are faced with the consequences and momentarily feel guilt, we ask forgiveness.
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The question is, are we really, actively repenting of sin? Do we have real sorrow for our disobedience? Do we anguish over the fact that we have hurt God, we have hurt others, and we have hurt ourselves?
David put on sackcloth and ashes in repentance for his sin. That's a humble posture for a proud king.
Isaiah saw the holiness of God and became aware of his own unworthiness and uncleanness before the righteous holy God. That brought him to his knees in repentance. We need the same posture.
Peter declared, "I am a sinful man." I need to say that in heartfelt sincerity, and so do you.
In Luke 18, Jesus tells the story about two men going to the temple. One, a Pharisee, stood up and prayed about himself, thanking God that he was not like other people: robbers, evildoers and adulterers. He proudly declared that he fasted twice a week and gave a tenth of all he had to God. He even declared himself to be so much better than the second fellow, the tax collector. "Aren't you lucky to have me God?" was his attitude.
The other man, a tax collector, sat nearby and beat his chest in repentance and prayed this prayer: "God have mercy on me, a sinner." Jesus distinguished between the two. One probably had lived a better life, but did not go away forgiven. The other fellow, who had sinned more, genuinely repented, humbly asked forgiveness, and went away forgiven.
Both fellows needed to see their need. Both were privileged to be forgiven. One simply didn't realize his need.
Let me come at this from a slightly different perspective. The author, O. Henry, told a story about a young man who went away from his village to a great city. In the village, he had been brought up in the innocence of a good home and school. In the city, he had taken to petty crime, becoming a sharp trickster, a fast pickpocket, and a confidant man. He was quite proud of himself. There was a girl from the old village days he had sat beside in school, and whom he had known and loved, but that was a long ago childhood crush. One day, just after he had done a smooth job in picking a pocket, quite by chance, he saw this girl. She did not see him, but he saw her. She was just as fresh and innocent as she had been when he had known her in the village. He took a look at her. Then he looked at himself and all his cheap and tawdry petty crime. He leaned his forehead against the coolness of an iron lamppost, "God," he said, "how I hate myself." That is precisely the first step to repentance. It is a realization of what we are and the self disgust that comes from that realization.
