The Power of Repentance
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That is why the Lord says, "Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Don't tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead." Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish. Joel 2:12-13 (NLT)
Faced with the task of preparing the people for Messiah's arrival, John the Baptist called them to repentance (Matthew 3:1-2). Since then, as the line between right and wrong has been blurred in favor of tolerance, the notion of repentance has been increasingly scorned. Yet it remains both a requirement of biblical Christianity and a powerful pathway of restoration to God.
To understand repentance, we must first understand sin. There are two types of sin. First, there is the spiritual bondage that enslaves mankind because of Adam's sin in the Garden. This sin is only eradicated through appropriating the personal atonement of the shed blood of Jesus by accepting Him as Savior and Lord. Second, there are sins - transgressions against God's law - which are only eliminated through true repentance and receiving God's forgiveness.
True repentance is considerably more than changing one's mind and substantially more than regret for getting caught. It involves rending (tearing) the heart (Joel 2:12-13) - an intense awareness of the shamefulness of my sin before a holy God and the terrible grief that my sin causes Father's heart. When Isaiah stood in God's presence, he cried out, "Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips." (Isaiah 6:5 KJV) When we stop trying to justify our own sin and truly see it as God sees it, we will despise it and our heart will break. Repentance begins with godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:10).
True repentance also includes turning away (Jeremiah 7:9-10). The late Pastor John Osteen explained repentance as fleeing from sin with the same intense determination as you once ran toward it. You don't play with it, daydream about it, or see how close you can live to it - you flee from it. Repentance will require changing certain habits, avoiding certain things or certain places, and possibly ending certain friendships - whatever it takes to separate from the temptation and live right before God.
When King Nebuchadnezzar repented (Daniel 4), God restored his mind and his kingdom. When King David repented (2 Samuel 12), God gave him Solomon. When Nineveh's king repented (Jonah 3), the city's destruction was averted. When Moses repented on behalf of Israel (Exodus 32), it stopped the annihilation of a nation. The rewards of repentance are forgiveness (Acts 2:38) and times of refreshing from the Lord (Acts 3:19). It is God's goodness that leads us to repent (Romans 2:4).
Father God, You are so gracious and patient. Thank You, Jesus, for forging the pathway of restoration through repentance. Thank You for the precious Holy Spirit, Who convicts us of sin. May we be quick to humble ourselves and repent. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
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