Repentance

Bulletin – 14 Dec 08 – Wen-Wei

It may seem unusual to be writing of repentance during the Christmas season. Then again, I note that John the Baptist, who came as a forerunner preparing the way for the arrival of Jesus in human history, preached a message of repentance as key to receiving the Lord Jesus. In our recent sermon series in the book of Revelations, repentance has also been the enduring call of our Lord Jesus in the letters to the seven Churches. What then is true repentance? I offer these reflections in Psalm 51, which is probably the key Biblical lesson on repentance.

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

Shame, sorrow, grief and despair are emotions that must follow repentance. King David, in writing these words, betrays the shame and disgust he feels at his own sin. He can’t wait to be rid of it. He knows that the only One who can cleanse him is God, and he throws himself upon the mercy and grace of God in total abandon and desperation.

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

There is no masking or toning down of his sin, no euphemisms, no excuses. The ugliness of his own sin is recognized and owned with honesty and grief that he has let his God down. Yet the strength of his emotions leads not to debilitating self-pity, but it drives him to prayer and confession. It fuels his quest for the restoration of wholeness.

6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Despite being sinful from birth and rotten to the core of his being, God’s cleansing is effective and complete. The joy of such cleansing and forgiveness is the only thing David desires now. Nothing else matters if sin continues to stand between him and God. This desire for God consumes him. Does it consume me? If it doesn’t, I will continue to allow sin to substitute temporal pleasure and satisfaction for the true joy that is God. Only a clean heart and willing spirit will do. Nothing less.

11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

“Restore my joy” is his plea. David is tormented by the separation from God his sin has caused. The cry of Jesus on the cross rings in my ears:

"Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
(Matt 27:46)

That’s agony! That is the suffering for the sin I caused. That’s the pain that David writes about in this Psalm. Do I know this pain? If not, I know little of true repentance.

16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

If only it were so easy as to burn a calf or a dove or two. No, there is nothing formulaic or ritualistic about repentance. It is all about brokenness. The good news of Christmas is that in such brokenness, I find Jesus; and He makes whole again so I can sing the new song of redemption and salvation once more.

Praise be to God for His indescribable mercy.

The Mark of a True Believer is not Perfection because no one is Perfect
The Mark of a True Believer is Repentance because no one is Perfect