Prayer 101: 5. CONFESSION AND repentance

Confession is speaking to God "with knowledge" about who we are: saved sinners living in a fallen world. 

Confession may be "good for the soul" but that's only half of the equation. We can confess all we want, but sooner or later, each one of us must put a stake in the ground and stop and repent (turn away) from what we are doing.

At  one point toward the end of the discussion between Job and his three  friends, Elihu, a younger man who has been listening to the give and  take of the four (Job, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar) speaks up and says to  Job, 

"Suppose a man says to God, 'I am guilty but will offend no more.
Teach me what I cannot see; if I have done wrong, I will not do so again.'
Should God then reward you on your terms, when you refuse to repent?
You must decide, not I; so tell me what you know." Job 34:31 - 33.

That's a provocative question. Job's friends may not have been really "helping" him, but laced within their monologues were pearls of truth. And so I ask myself, "Should God reward me on my terms when I refuse to  repent?" My pride doesn't want to answer that question; at least truthfully. 

Repentance must follow and accompany confession otherwise our confession is a jumble of empty words said to simply assuage our own guilt. We have (I  have) not dealt with the underlying problem of our (my) sin.

When I think back to those days as a youngster coming home from Saturday confession, I think the part that really bugged me may not have been the idea of confessing my sins to someone else so much as my problem of the  "absolution" part of the ritual. I could never justify how two "Our Fathers" and three "Hail Marys" and making the sign of the cross were supposed to absolve me of my sins. That's what I struggled with. 

As a maturing Christian, those rote prayers were nothing more than band-aids on severed limbs. They were not going to help or take care of the root problem. The Bible tells us that the heart is "deceitful above all things" and often - too many times - our mind buys into what the heart is telling it. We can justify almost anything we do or say that is sinful. The guilt is assuaged and muzzled, but it is not put away or destroyed. Only true repentance can smash guilt and the further sin that it builds.

And let's face it, Satan, our accuser, our adversary, wants to keep the guilt heaped heavy on us. Not only does he want us to sin so that our witness and testimony of God's power in our lives is muted and sullied, but he also wants us to feel guilty about what we've done and be silent so as not to draw attention to the awesome redeeming and forgiving power of God's forgiveness. And even more so because of the blood shed on the Cross by Jesus. The supreme deceiver works through any method available to keep men and women from enjoying God.

Acts 5:27-32 shows us that even in "religious" circles that fact is so. The disciples had been preaching, teaching, and healing in the Temple courts after Jesus' Resurrection and Ascension. Many people (especially Jews) were coming to a saving knowledge of Christ. They were confessing their sins and repenting. In so doing, God's power was being released.  The church was growing by leaps and bounds. The Jewish religious leadership, the Sanhedrin, was not happy. Although religious, they didn't truly understand God's Plan of Salvation for the entire world -  that meant salvation for Gentiles as well as God's chosen people Israel.  

We read, "Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 'We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. 'Yet  you have filled Jerusalem with your  teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.'  Peter and the other apostles replied: 'We must obey God rather than men! The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead—whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit,  whom God has given to those who obey him.'"

Lack of confession and repentance is almost always coupled with guilt and shame. We are in actuality, "slaves to sin", John 8:34.

In the gospels, we watch various people sheepishly coming to Jesus.  Outwardly they want to be physically or mentally healed, but inwardly they know something more is needed. Jesus can see through the disfiguring veneer. He heals them and almost always says, or at least  alludes, "sin no more." Jesus always deals with sin head-on. He knows the debilitating power of it. And after all, He came to seek and save all of us who are lost and restore our relationship with the Father.

But you know, repentance is hard. Each one of us is wrestling with sin every day of our lives. We don't like confessing and repentance is even more distasteful. From the beginning, repenting of sin has been difficult. In Genesis, we see Adam and Eve. They have just committed the first human sin. They disobeyed God by eating from the Tree of Knowledge. What do they do next? Do they run and seek after God in confession and repentance? No. Instead, they experience their guilt and shame, they hide and then try to cover their nakedness (shame) by putting leaves together. When God calls out to them and asks for an explanation, they then blame each other rather than taking responsibility for their individual and corporate actions.  Genesis chapter 3.

Whether the sin is simple or mundane; whether it is a sin of omission -  "neglecting" to do something - or purposefully and willfully by commission, sin is hard to repent from.

Let me give you a simple personal example. And a confession. I am a  procrastinator. I always have been. I also tend to be a pack rat or as some call it, a "messy". I can live among disorder for a certain period of time. My wife can't. She is tidy and orderly. These acts of commission and omission (purposefully not picking up as well as being a  poor example to my kids), are a direct sin against her. And by not honoring my wife, I do not honor God and the stewardship He's given me.  My fits and starts of "instant management days" of cleaning and organizing are painful. It is not natural for me. I have to work at it.

Unfortunately, a lot of this has spilled over into my business life. My desk is a mess  (although I know where everything is - no, that's a lie). And although I  "demand" order from my staff, I don't encourage and support them through my actions (lack of leadership). They become frustrated. My company's general manager Justin is neat and organized. I've enlisted his aid and thankfully, he is willing to help. He's not doing the work that I should be doing, but he encourages me. 

I worked on completely reorganizing my office and personal workspace for about 2 weeks. It was hard work. But I had to change. I have to repent from my past ways. In doing so, I will not only honor God and His calling on my life as husband, father, and employer, but I will be a better steward that He has called me to be. And one more thing, I  will also better love the people in my daily sphere of influence.

Sinning is easy. Confessing can be tough. Repenting is hard.

One of the most mature Christians who ever struggled with repentance was the apostle Paul. In Romans 7, he writes:

"...but  I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.  I do not understand what I  do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is  no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 

"So  I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being, I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God — through Jesus Christ our Lord!" Romans 7:14-25.

Yes, thanks be to God through Jesus! He is the one who helps us repent from our lives of us. The power that raised Jesus from the dead, is the same power that helps you and me to repent and transform our lives. Without that power, we are (I am) completely incapable of doing otherwise. We need to not only take comfort in that fact but also to grab onto it and use it to repent.

Repentance is part of the Sanctification process. As believers, God is continually working in us and through us, and with us to gradually transform us into the image of Christ. Repentance leads us to obedience to the life that God has called us to.

After all, isn't obedience what God truly desires? 1 Samuel 15:22. He's not looking for shallow or hollow sacrifices. He doesn't want our hands lifted high in praise at 11 am on a Sunday morning and then 90 minutes later leaning on the horn of our car because the person in front of us is a bit more cautious pulling out into traffic. Obedience leads us to truly love God and all of His attributes. 

Obedience and repentance are almost the two sides of the same coin. We have to repent from our wicked ways to be obedient to God's rules and laws. 

We have to remember that His rules and laws are ultimately for our benefit.  When we obey God, our lives become more abundant. We can experience a satisfaction that we would otherwise be unable to have. As we're obedient, all of our relationships improve. As we turn and repent,  God provides us with the strength to do what is not only difficult but sometimes impossible. And He not only provides the strength, God also provides the Grace.

This brings us back to the original question that Elihu asked Job: "Should God then reward you on your terms, when you refuse to repent? You must decide, not I; so tell me what you know." 

As parents, we regularly remind our kids that there are always consequences to pay. The word consequences is literally, "with sequences"; with something following. Consequences happen. They can be positive for a job well done or they can be negative for disobedience and laziness. We show respect to our employees or clients and they perform well or continue doing business with us. Honor and love our spouses (including doing the chores or tasks they have asked us to do) and they will respect and love us in return. Discipline and love our children for who they are and they will (sometimes eventually) look up to us and respect us (either parent). 

The same is true with God. When I refuse to repent of my sin, it never goes well.  Oh, the consequences may not come immediately, but they will come in time. And God's timing is always perfect: whether to reward us or to bring unwanted and undesired consequences.

We must repent. And we must also reap what we have sown. Those are God's rules for His universe.

There are two good things about God and His consequences for His children  (take note of that phrase):  One, God's consequences are always just. He knows exactly what and how to mete out the consequences. He knows how we will react. He knows how and when we will truly repent; or not. Two, God's consequences are meted out with Grace. His purpose in meting out consequences is to draw us closer to Him. We are to be unafraid of God's Divine consequences in our lives. He is loving. He is our Father. He wants our relationship to always be healthy and secure.

When we repent, we will almost always have to face some sort of consequence.  The odds are that they won't be pleasant. We won't know their severity until we face them. But we can be very sure - make that certain - that our personal consequences will be just and full of grace. 

Repentance brings further and continuing restoration. Redemption? If you as a  Christian have surrendered your life to Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice on the Cross, you've already been redeemed. That part is complete. But restoration continues. The consequences of our actions -  rebellion or obedience - continue through the remainder of our mortal lives.

And for the unbeliever, there are also consequences. Recognize you are a sinner and repent of your sins, giving them to Christ and receiving eternal forgiveness, grace, and life. God does not expect you to be perfect to come to Him. No one is perfect. God is Holy and not to be trifled with. His standard is perfection but He knows that ordinary men and women are incapable of being perfect. Don't even try to be perfect. It is impossible. That's why He sent Jesus to die in your place. God wants you to come to Him in broken repentance. If you choose to not repent? Then you will suffer the consequences of eternal judgment and punishment in hell. Eternity is forever. The choice is yours alone.

As I've heard a judge once say to a defendant, "There's only one person in this room who can determine the outcome of this trial and your life. Who do you think that is?" After the defendant points out everyone except himself, the judge points to the defendant and says, "And that person is you." We can only ultimately act and live on God's terms, not ours.

Finally, do we understand what the best part is? Really? Let me tell you. The best part of all of this confession and repentance is that God always is and always has been waiting for us. His arms are open wide to receive us. He wants to heal us and make us whole again. He's so close. We just have to turn around and He's there.