Am I repentant?

Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord." And you forgave the guilt of my sin. Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found. - Psalm 32:5-6a (NIV)

At some point in our lives, we all have been the recipient of a non-heartfelt "I'm sorry" from a person that had wronged us, or have been encouraged to say "I'm sorry" when we were the guilty party. If your Mom was assisting you with the apology, you might have heard her say, "Now say it as if you mean it." She wasn't as concerned with the words you were saying as she was the sincerity of the heart from where the words were emanating. She was teaching you to move from "I am only saying this because she made me" to "I know that what I did was not nice" to "I understand that not being nice to people is wrong and should not be repeated." She was helping you to move from indifference to remorse to repentance with respect to wrongdoing.

In the same way the difference between believing in God and loving God concerning authentic faith was addressed in last week's post, there is a difference between remorse and repentance when it comes to the sin that separates us from God. Your conscience will allow you to understand that sin is wrong, and you may feel sorry that you committed that sin; however, feeling sorry for your sin is not a characteristic of authentic faith, genuine repentance is. The following four R's can help to characterize genuine repentance.

Responsibility - our recognition that what we have done is wrong.

Regret - genuine remorse for doing wrong and the pain and problems it may have caused.

Resolve - a commitment to not repeat that wrong.

Repair - a concerted effort to repair the damage caused and to issue an apology to the injured party.

Yet I am glad now, not because you were hurt and made sorry, but because your sorrow led to repentance [and you turned back to God]; for you felt a grief such as God meant you to feel, so that you might not suffer loss in anything on our account. For [godly] sorrow that is in accord with the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but worldly sorrow [the hopeless sorrow of those who do not believe] produces death. For [you can look back and] see what an earnestness and authentic concern this godly sorrow has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves [against charges that you tolerate sin], what indignation [at sin], what fear [of offending God], what longing [for righteousness and justice], what passion [to do what is right], what readiness to punish [those who sin and those who tolerate sin]! At every point, you have proved yourselves to be innocent in the matter. - 2 Corinthians 7:9-11 (Amplified Bible)

Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidd'st me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, and waiting not
to rid my soul of one dark blot,
to thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, though tossed about
with many a conflict, many a doubt,
fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, thou wilt receive,
wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come. - Charlotte Elliott

If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [His word does not live in our hearts.] If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His nature and promises]. He will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose]. - 1 John 1:8-9 (Amplified Bible)

Be Encouraged to confess your sins with genuine repentance.

-Jeffrey Thornton