Sin and Repentance

Sin will take you farther than you ever expected to go; it will keep you longer than you ever intended to stay, and it will cost you more than you ever expected to pay.— Kay Arthur ¹

I believe this is an area that much of the church is completely in the dark about. We need to understand well the concept of sin. In other words, in order to appreciate the Good News we need to understand exactly how bad the bad news is! Here are a few biblical definitions of sin:

Missing the mark – Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12
Trespass, Transgression – 1 Timothy 2:14
Disobedience to God’s voice – Hebrews 2:2; Hebrews 3:7
Falling when we should have stood – Galatians 6:1
Ignorance of what we should have known – Hebrews 9:7; Numbers 15:27-28
Unbelief – Romans 14:23; John 16:8-9; Romans 11:20
Unholiness – 1 Timothy 1:9
Failure to do right– James 4:17
Lawlessness, disregard for God’s Law – 1 John 3:4

A common misconception is that all sins are equal in God’s eyes and no sin is worse than any other. This is not taught in Scripture.Yes, all sin is devastating. However, all sins are not equal. For example,when Jesus is brought to trial before Pilate, He tells him that the one who betrayed Him (Judas) has the greater sin (John 19:11). We also see varying degrees of punishment in Hell (Luke 12:47-49).

There are three Hebrew words translated “sin” in the Old Testament and a study of them is quite enlightening:

Pesha (Strong’s #6588) To transgress or to commit transgression, to sin continuously, to revolt or rebel, to break away from God’s authority
Chățâ’âh (Strong’s #H2398) Crime or offense.To go astray, miss the path, miss the mark.
‘Ȃvôn (Strong’s #H5771) Something twisted, iniquity, perversity, depravity. A serious moral failure. The most damaging type of sin

Most of us are familiar with the account of the fall of humanity in Genesis chapter 3. Our ancestors, Adam and Eve, committed high treason against the Creator of the universe. Consequently, they died spiritually. As a result, we are all born in sin and spiritually dead before God:

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Psalm 51:5 ESV
The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies. Psalm 58:3 ESV.
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned Romans 5:12 ESV
… by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. Ephesians 2:2‭-‬3 ESV

This sin nature is what alienates us from God. While sin may be pleasurable for a season (Hebrews 11:25), it eventually leads to agonizing pain and death (Romans 6:23). This does refer to physical death but ultimately it points to a horrible place called Hell, which is called the “second death.” Many ask “How could a loving God send people to Hell?” We see the answer shortly after man falls.

Notice in Genesis 3:8, it says Adam and Eve hid from God. People in their sinful state do not want to be in God’s presence anyway. They hide like Adam and Eve did. So God simply honors their wish. Since God’s presence is the most wonderful thing about Heaven, in Hell it is the direct opposite.

Also, God has to cut them off from the Tree of Life. Allowing people in their sinful state to live forever would allow the sin to grow and fester with no limits. Talk about terrifying! That is, why we have to receive new natures through being born again in order to enter God’s Kingdom (more on that in a moment).

So what is the solution? We find that in the first word Jesus spoke in His public ministry: “Repent!” This is emphasized even further by the Apostles in the Book of Acts (2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 11:18). Rather than the tepid “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life” that we hear today, the call to repentance is a non-negotiable part of the Gospel.

So exactly what is repentance? It has been described as “a u-turn on the road of life.” If you were walking away from me and I said “come here,” it is understood that responding to my call would involve you changing directions.

We tend to think of the word “repent” as simply meaning to stop sinning. While that is the ultimate goal, it is an over simplification. The Greek word is metanoia which means “to change your mind.” Repentance is a change of mind about sin which certainly should lead to a change of behavior.

We acknowledge the reality of our sin and how we are deserving of God’s punishment. We then place our faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection to forgive and cleanse us from it. When we respond in this way, we are recreated. We are born again. We are given new natures.

Therefore, if any person is (ingrafted) in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old (previous moral and spiritual condition) has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17 Amplified Bible)

In the words of Leonard Ravenhill “Jesus did not come into the world to make bad men good. He came into the world to make dead men live!” ²

We will now look at one of the Bible’s most vivid depictions of repentance in action. King David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and attempted to cover it up by having her husband killed. You can read about it in 2 Samuel 11. After being confronted, David repents with his whole heart. David’s prayer of repentance is recorded in Psalm 51. While I encourage you to read and meditate on this passage as a whole, I want to focus for now on verse 10: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

This is how repentance works. Forgiveness, cleansing and restoration are God’s work alone. Yes, David did still have to deal with the fallout from his actions, but God had mercy on him. We can do nothing to save ourselves, but God graciously calls us to receive His forgiveness and His transforming power:

Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. Isaiah 1:18 ESV

Friend, this is God’s message to you right now. Wherever you may be in your life, He extends His grace and mercy to you. If you have never received this wonderful gift, I urge you to do it now.

Keep It Real,

James

NOTES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1.Quote taken from QuoteFancy.com

2. Quote taken from QuoteFancy.com

===================

WEBSITES: