Repentance: It's More Than Saying Sorry

Repentance is a common topic of discussion in counseling, and frequently a stumbling block for those who seek redemption and restoration.

In the movie “Just Friends,” a comedy that was released a number of years ago, the star female character sings a song she wrote where the chorus is, “Forgiveness—it’s more than sayin’ sorry.”

Aside from the ditsy personality of the character, the song was funny because of the obvious blunder she’d made in understanding the nature of forgiveness. Less comical, is the reality that within the church, we’ve misunderstood the nature of repentance, and this misunderstanding often has disastrous consequences.

We might consider singing our own song: Repentance—it’s more than sayin’ sorry.

In Judges 10:6-18, we find the nation of Israel once again caught up in the cycle of idolatry. Despite all that the Lord had done in and through them, they turned away from God to serve and worship the false gods of local nations. In response, God raises up neighboring people groups to fight with and oppress Israel.

Israel then begs God to forgive them, and to deliver them from the hand of their oppressors. The Israelites confess their great sin, and the Bible records that they even put away their false gods and served the Lord. But, apparently, God was unmoved by their confession and supposed acts of repentance.

Was the nation of Israel truly repentant, an essential element of biblical faith and restoration, or were they merely lamenting the fruit of their disobedience? The record seems to doubt their sincerity.

This is a biblical example of the places in which we are tempted to avoid repentance. In order to evidence true repentance, a genuine admission and acknowledgement of sin in total is required.

For the human heart, puffed up with pride, and self-serving motivations, this can be a repulsive experience.

Recognizing without caveat that our sin is always against God (Psalm 51:4), frequently against our neighbor, and always leading to some level of relational fracture, the essence of biblical repentance calls us to “turn away from” the originating sin, and back to the righteousness of God.

This is the Spirit-empowered birthplace of biblical redemption and restoration, made possible by the cross of Christ. This is where peace between God and man, and a man and his neighbor are found. Without it, the roots of the dilemma will only grow deeper, and hope for healing will continue to fade.

Fortunately for us sinners, the foundation of repentance isn’t found within us, but in God. The grace of God makes repentance possible for us, whereas unregenerate hearts would never choose the true and lasting path of peace in Christ (Genesis 6:5).

Cornelius Plantinga wrote in his book, “Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin”, that, “Human sin is stubborn, but not as stubborn as the grace of God and not half so persistent, not half so ready to suffer to win its way.”

These great truths provide us with hope in the midst of our struggle with sin, and its resulting effects.

They make clear for us that repentance is about much more than saying “sorry.”

In repentance, God gets the glory, and we get the joy.

Some Debates Are Worthy of Repentance

Note to self: If your biblical wisdom and precision in the arts of hermeneutics and exegesis don’t end in praise to God and a passion to see the lost man know Christ as Lord and Savior, then your theological endeavors are faulty and quite possibly worthy of repentance.

This is one thought I routinely have as I take in online theological debates, and as such dialogue relates to mission.

The Apostle Paul instructs us to examine ourselves to see if we’re continuing in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5). Knowing the attitudes and positions of our hearts in relation to the pursuit of theological precision and how that relates to our missional engagement is probably a good exercise.

As a seminary student, I have to remind myself of this on a near daily basis, because if I don’t, my propensity is to get sucked into the endless and often fruitless debates concerning the number of angels that might dance on the head of a pin.

These debates have their place and purpose. There is no doubt that we live in a theologically illiterate culture, and so we must fight for doctrinal accuracy. Unfortunately, I find that the tones that frequently get struck do not necessarily lead to love for God and love for others. Instead, the arguments are too often ends in themselves.

The prize of winning a theological argument isn’t the honor of being right, though. It’s the privilege of knowing God and being known by Him that ought to be the goal of our theological discussion.

Without these things, our theology, if we can call it that under those lesser circumstances, may be nothing more than a letter of condemnation. Knowledge apart from faith cannot save, and theology that doesn’t provoke doxology is simply an exercise in academia.

I can say these things with conviction because the Scriptures warn of the danger of knowing things about God, without actually knowing Him. Jesus hammered the Pharisees and religious leaders for their hardness of heart in spite of their wealth of knowledge (Matt. 23:27).

Are some of us armchair theologians and hack bloggers at risk of becoming Functional Pharisees? 

Within the framework of online theological debate, I seldom hear the participants say, “The position I’m arguing for has led me to worship God in the following ways…” Or, “The position I’m arguing for has filled me with a desire to live a sent life because…”

I think we need a little of that.

Now, it might be that we’re just not saying what we’re thinking, but for the sake of guarding our hearts from the dangerous pursuit of mere knowledge, we might do well to sift all of our theological pursuits through these types of filters.

Anti-intellectualism isn’t the answer to cold Christianity. Our God is an intelligent God, and He created us to be intelligent, resourceful creatures that discover and grow in part through the careful study of His word. There is a right way, and a wrong way to read and interpret God’s word. 

Those ways are differentiated by the application of established, interpretive principles that help us rightly divide the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). I need to say, for the record, that it’s quite all right and even healthy to debate the dichotomous versus trichotomous nature of man, for example.

But, the question is, how does such a debate increase your love for God and neighbor?

If you have no meaningful answer to this question, then the argument you’re making might just be one worthy of repentance.

Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up (1 Cor. 8:1).

  

On Conversion and The Sinner's Prayer

If you prayed a “Sinner’s Prayer” at some point in your journey toward a walk with Christ, you need to examine yourself to see if you’re still in the faith---or better yet, to see if you ever were in the faith---and to make your calling and election sure (2 Cor. 13:5; 2 Peter 1:10).

This is one of the pivotal thoughts I had as I interacted this week with the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) “Affirmation of A‘Sinner’s Prayer’ as A Biblical Expression of Repentance and Faith.”

In June of this year, the delegates of the SBC, in response to a number of theological issues being debated within the denomination, passed the resolution in support of the continued use of this common yet not well-defined “conversion moment act.”

In the water at the time of the resolution’s passing was a firestorm of controversy concerning the influence of Calvinism in the SBC, supplemented by a sermon given by David Platt, and a resolution drafted by several other key leaders concerning a “traditional” understanding of Southern Baptist soteriology.

Among other things, Platt is known as an influential, Calvinist-leaning leader within the SBC. In the sermon, Platt was critical of what he believed to be a dangerous, ongoing use of the so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” in evangelism, leading to what he feared are significant percentages of false conversions.

As Platt rightly points out, to be falsely converted is to not be converted at all. To be falsely converted is to remain dead in your trespasses and sins, and under the wrath of God (Eph. 2:1; John 3:36). To be falsely converted is to find a basis for perceived righteousness and justification in anything other than the Gospel.

There is indeed a danger of eternal proportions to be avoided here.

If you prayed such a prayer, and are beginning to think that I’m singling you out as a potential apostate, know this---every follower of Christ does well to make a habit of preaching the Gospel to themselves at all times, and to always evaluate their standing with Christ through the Gospel’s grid of repentance and faith (Mark 1:15).

I’m reminded of a conversation I once had with a co-worker who spoke of their brother’s conversion. My friend lamented the current trajectory of their brother’s life, how there was no fruit in the man’s life in keeping with repentance (Matt. 3:8). Still, my friend was certain of their brother’s conversion---they were there when it happened.

This man, said my friend, prayed the “Sinner’s Prayer.”

This is the essence, I believe, of Platt’s concern, and not, as some suggested, a plot to extend the treacherous reach of Calvinism within the halls of the SBC.

In the example cited above, I was faced with the potential reality of a false conversion, precipitated by the idea that because a series of words were spoken, as if an incantation of sorts, that salvation had come to this man’s house. I was also faced with the reality of my friend’s confusion concerning their loved one’s life, and the difficulty of lovingly attempting to bring some biblical correction to the dialogue.

It’s never an easy thing to communicate to someone that perhaps they’ve been deceived, and that either they or someone they love may be in danger of entering an eternity separated from God (Rev. 20:15). But, if we say we have love for others, then there is no other message for us to give, for in this message we extend to them the hope of the Gospel (Rom. 1:16).

Put another way, it is the antithesis of love, an expression of hate and disobedience even, to withhold the Gospel from our neighbor on account of such things as pride or fear of rejection (Matt. 5:11). Faith without works is certainly dead, and there are few works that we might perform as Christians that are greater than obedience to the Great Commission---and few sins of omission greater than disobedience in this regard.

Can you see it now?

Whether or not you prayed anything that might fit the framework of a “Sinner’s Prayer” during a televised revival is not the germane issue so far as salvation is concerned. The biblical foundations for conversion from the kingdom of death into the kingdom of God remain forever grounded in genuine repentance and faith in the Gospel---both precipitating gifts of God rather than acts of man’s intellect or will (James 1:17).

Repentance and faith may be evidenced in a moment through a crying out to God for mercy in the form of a prayer (and this is a good thing), but they are more certainly evidenced by the fruit of a changed life (Lk 18:13; Gal. 5:22-24). As missionaries, this is our heartbeat---that the lost would taste and see that the Lord is good, and begin walking as Jesus walked (1 John 2:6).

The merits of a “Sinner’s Prayer” not withstanding, our mission as followers of Christ is to make disciples who make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Tim. 2:2), and not to coerce people into merely “repeating after us.”

Having said all of this, and along with Platt, I affirm the SBC’s resolution.

But, like him, I remain as concerned for the proper, biblical application of prayer in conversion, rather than an application of prayer for conversion.

Questions for your walk:

1) Did your own conversion experience involve a “Sinner’s Prayer”?

2) If yes, have you ever had any reservations about the authenticity of that event?

3) How would you present the role of prayer in conversion to an unbeliever?