Align with God through Repentance
When God’s light shines into our souls, we usually react with defensiveness, blame, and rationalization or we spiral into shame and hiding. God reveals in order to heal; He wants to cleanse and free us. But first, we must confess and repent.
Transcript
A couple of years ago, I took on a part-time teaching/mentoring job. I did not do a good job of keeping up with my responsibilities and I flat out did not do a project that I said I would. The guilt of it hung over my head all the time and made me feel anxious whenever I thought about the situation--which meant that I avoided my work even more, which only made the problem worse!
Last Sunday, in doing the spiritual exercise of inviting the Holy Spirit to search my heart for any offensive ways, he shined the light on this dark corner of my heart and convicted me to confess to my boss and ask for forgiveness. I couldn’t meet with my boss because he lives out of state, so I resolved to email him. But I didn’t get to it Sunday night because I had to pack and prepare for a conference. Monday afternoon, when I walked into the crowded conference room, one of the first people I saw was my boss. God has a sense of humor…and made sure I made that confession—in person!
We are in the second week of our Soul Care series. Soul care is dealing with the issues of your heart and mind and receiving healing, victory, and freedom through Jesus. When God’s light shines into our souls, we usually react with defensiveness, blame, and rationalization, or we spiral into shame and hiding. God reveals in order to heal; He wants to cleanse and free us. But first, we must confess our sins and repent.
Sin is not a popular subject outside the church and even in the church. Sin is often associated with a list of dos and don’ts, with judgment and punishment, and with guilt and shame. And sin means there are sinners, a label that many people object to and deny. But the concept of sin and the word “sin” are pervasive in the Bible.
We first see the word in Genesis 4:7 when God says to Cain: “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
In Ecclesiastes 7:20, the prevalence of sin in human beings is proclaimed. “Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.”
Why is there this emphasis on sin? Because the central theme of the Bible is God’s salvation of human beings from sin and its consequences.
Paul says in Romans 5:6-8, “6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person, someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
1. Confession is agreeing with God
In Psalm 32, David comes clean and agrees with God that what God says is wrong is wrong:
He acknowledged his sin to God (missing the mark, falling short, disobedience)
He did not cover up his iniquity (crookedness and injustice)
He confessed his transgressions to the Lord (crossing a line, breaking a law)
In confessing, David also agrees with God about what God will do with the sins:
God forgives transgressions (burden of guilt is lifted)
God covers sins (sacrificial blood covers that sin)
God does not count sin against him (debt is wiped away)
Unconfessed sin has destructive effects on our souls and our relationships. David says that
He moaned and groaned all day long; he thought about it all the time.
His bones wasted away; the guilt ate him up.
He could feel God’s hand on him; he felt guilty and judged.
He lost all his strength; he had no joy or energy to live.
David paints the picture of someone who is anxious, tortured, weak, and miserable when he was silent about his sins when he tries to hide them. But he says that when a person has confessed their sins, the opposite is true. Tremendous blessings flow from being forgiven by God.
The apostle John writes in 1 John 1:7-10, “7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar, and his word is not in us.”
Rob Reimer explains that “We cannot overcome that which we will not admit. The victory begins with confession. Own your part. You are the only one responsible for you.”
Confession, agreeing with God about sin, is the start of the journey to real-life change, but it must be accompanied by repentance, the turning away from sin and turning to God.
2. Repentance is aligning with God
Rob Reimer writes that repentance is more than just a change of behavior. “Biblical repentance is about changing your mind and purpose; it is about changing the way you think. It is about bringing yourself into alignment with God. There is no entrance into the Kingdom without repentance; there is no advancement in the Kingdom without repentance.”
In 2 Corinthians 7, Paul addresses believers whom he had previously rebuked, “…your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”
There is a difference between Godly sorrow and worldly sorrow.
Worldly sorrow: Pride is the enemy of true confession and ultimate freedom. When people get caught in sin, they are forced to admit what they are doing, but usually, there is defensiveness and minimization of their sins. They regret being caught and regret having to stop, and they are not ready to own their sins, let alone turn away from them.
Godly sorrow: A broken and contrite heart that leads to repentance
Psalm 51:16-17 - “16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”
A broken and contrite heart is soft, humble, and teachable before God. It is both sorrowful over the sin and joyful over God’s forgiveness. You must repent and receive the forgiveness of God in order to be free. You see, it isn’t enough to know you are forgiven; you must receive it and experience the release as David described in Psalm 32.
When you’ve already confessed your sin to God yet still feel worthless and deserving of God’s rejection, you are likely dealing with shame. And shame puts you right back in the position of fear, hiding, and misery.
Confessing your sins to others can break the power of shame. James 5:16 - “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
I met with a young lady who was wracked with guilt over sexual sin. In our time of prayer and deliverance, the Holy Spirit brought to her memory several sexual sins from her childhood and youth. She was surprised by the revelation and said to me, “I never thought I would ever name these sins out loud to anyone. This is the first time I’ve ever told anyone about them.” She confessed the sins to God and received forgiveness. And saying them out loud to me broke her code of secrecy and the power of shame. It also made it easier for her to confess other sins.
Rob Reimer writes, “A soul in alignment is a soul without secrets. We cannot walk free if we will not repent from sin and bring it into the light with God and others.” This doesn’t mean we tell anyone and everyone our sins, but we need to resolve to live with NO SECRETS, which means telling at least one person all our struggles and sins.
So how can we apply the Soul Care principle of Repentance?
3. Spiritual Action Steps
Ask God to give you a broken and contrite heart.
Stand in the light with God.
Allow the Holy Spirit to reveal and convict you of sin.
Confess sins regularly and specifically.
Receive forgiveness from God through Jesus Christ.
Stand in the light with others.
Confess sins to one another.
Do a total life confession with at least one person.
Psalm 32:1-5
1 Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night
your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
5 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.
