“Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.” - Psalm 51:4
Last week, I began writing about experiencing personal revival. While we prefer talking about revival at our church or a spiritual awakening across our country, few are really interested in personal revival. As I wrote last week, revival comes with a cost. Most think the cost is too high. Personal revival requires repentance of sin. Rather than responding with repentance, most practice worldly sorrow instead.
There is a difference between repentance and worldly sorrow. On the surface, worldly sorrow seems good. There is contrition and confession. Yet there is no real change in the person's heart.
What is the difference between Biblical repentance and worldly sorrow? It primarily comes down to motives.
A person who demonstrates worldly sorrow may confess his or her sins with bitter tears and anguish. Yet the reason for the tears is often very selfish. They are sorry they were exposed for their sins. Or perhaps they are sorry for the penalty of their sins. They could be sorry they are facing public embarrassment, loss of a marriage or a term in prison. They may even be sorry for the fallout on their family members. While all of this may sound good, there is a fundamental problem. They don't hate the sin itself.
Biblical repentance goes much deeper than this. Biblical repentance includes a sorrow for the sin that was committed, including a hatred of the sin. Furthermore, repentance includes a deep sorrow for the fact that they sinned against God Himself. You see, with worldly sorrow, the sinner never thinks about sin's impact on God. Most of the sorrow revolves around the sinner himself and the things that matter to him. In repentance, his primary grief is the knowledge that he has sinned against God. When a person repents, he realizes that he has personally offended God.
When David confessed his sin to God in Psalm 51, he stated, “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.” Why did David say he sinned only against God? Didn't he sin with Bathsheba? Didn't he sin against her husband? Of course he did. Yet David realized that he primarily sinned against God.
Joseph refused the immoral appeals of Potiphar's wife, saying, “how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” Notice what Joseph didn't say. He didn't say he would sin against Potiphar if he committed adultery with her. He didn't say that he would sin against the teachings of his parents. Instead, he said that adultery would be a sin against God.
Think of the serious implications of sinning against God. You can offend me and seek my forgiveness. That shouldn't be too difficult. However, when you sin against God, it is a much more serious matter. When we sin against God, we offend His position. He is supreme. We tend to downplay this, but we shouldn't. The consequences become more severe when you offend someone of greater authority. God has ultimate authority. Offending Him is the most serious matter of all. Furthermore, when we sin, we offend Him personally. It is a personal attack on Him. When we sin, we are offending a holy God.
Let's go even further. It was your sins that caused Jesus to suffer. When we sin, it is like we are personally driving the nails in His hands. The deep gashes on his back from the whip was caused by us. The torn flesh on his forehead from the crown of thorns was due to our offense. When we consider this, it should cause us to hate our sins and run from away from them. It is not the consequences we face, but the consequences He faced that should cause us to repent. He faced the consequences for OUR sins.
Personal revival requires genuine repentance. The reason that personal revival is rare is because that Biblical repentance is rare. We want a quick fix for our problems and not a change of heart that transforms us.
We need to be reminded about the Gospel continually. We need to think about the cross and the price paid for our sins. It is one thing to desire deliverance from the penalty of sin, it is another thing to desire deliverance from the sin itself.
In this age of moral decay, believers need to treat the sanctification process seriously. While others may be careless about sin, we need to treat it like the vicious, deadly foe it really is. God intends for us to be holy people, set apart for every good work. It all begins with genuine repentance.
Today is a good day for this to take place.
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