Mar 12

Written by: Jay & Chris Henning
3/12/2010 1:57 AM 

    I know...I can "hear" the collective sigh: "Oh boy, that's what we need...another teaching/writing about repentance" (said with rolling eyes). Hopefully, I can offer a perspective that is different from what you have heard, because for a long time, this is something I had questions about. Maybe you've had some of these same questions covering the who, what, and where:

    Who do I have unforgiveness toward? Most of us have been in sermons where it seems like people are trying to drum up past hurts and pains in order to get people to understand who they have unforgiveness toward. It is not my intent to make light of this or these sessions/sermons, because most of the fruit that comes from these sermons is very powerful and meaningful. However, I have also been in sermons where it feels like pressure coming from the pulpit to think of someone that you have unforgiveness toward and this seems to heap undue condemnation on people who already struggle with whether they are "repentant enough" or not. If you have to spend more than a couple of minutes (if even that long) thinking of people you have unforgiveness toward, it more than likely wasn't unforgiveness in the first place.

    What about sins of omission I don't realize I've committed? This seems to be a touchy subject, where you ask 100 Christians about it and you'll get about 50 different answers. For me, the bottom line on this question revolves around this: most people know what their gifts and callings are (on a side note, if you don't there are many gift evaluation surveys you can take to determine this). Most people also are aware when the Holy Spirit asks them to do something (through that "still, small voice" in their heart). If you choose to disobey when you know God is asking you something, that is a sin of omission. Sometimes, it takes our (or at least my :-)) thick skulls awhile to get the message that God wants to get to us. One thing that has intrigued me through the years, though, has been this philosophy of a "general omission repentance" prayer. I could be wrong in this, but it occurs to me that if we don't know that we are supposed to be sorry, God doesn't want us running around scared and concerned that we are not repentant enough. Being too concerned about not being repentant enough could actually be a hindrance in our growth of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Trust me...I speak from experience in this last area.

    Where does my heart need to be in the area of repentance? Well, let's look at David, the "man after (God's) own heart" (Acts 13:22) for our answer to this one. King David committed adultery with the wife of a soldier (Uriah) off fighting in a war, got her pregnant, and then sanctioned Uriah's killing after he refused to sleep with his wife when David granted him vacation time in an attempt to get the soldier to sleep with his wife, so David's sins could be covered up (2 Samuel 11). As a result of this sin, David was told that this child born through this adulterous relationship would die. When the child was struck sick, David fasted and prayed for the child's life. As soon as the child died, David got up from praying and ate, much to the amazement of David's servants who had to break the bad news of the child's death. David's answer was: "'Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again?'" (2 Samuel 12:22-23) David realized that he didn't have to wallow in repentance. Just repent and get over it. Believe me, I'm preaching to myself on this one :-).

    The greatest lesson I've received from God on the subject of repentance happened when I was on an evangelistic trip a number of years ago. During my devotionals, I "happened upon" the following set of Scriptures, which was written by David upon his repentance after the above mentioned adultery and murder incident.

    "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You." Psalm 51:10-13 New King James Version (emphasis mine)

    That word "then" at the beginning of verse 13 struck me and was especially timely, since like I mentioned, I was on a trip trying to evangelize and gain souls for God's Kingdom.  If we want to be effective in gaining souls for the Kingdom, as Christians we need to ensure we are in right standing before God and then we will be able to teach and convert.