REPENTANCE
Luke 10:12-14
II Corinthians 7:10
The gospel writer Luke tells us in Luke 10:12-14 that sinners are in need of repentance. Referring to the words of Jesus, He is more concerned about the sinners than the righteous. We know from other references in Luke (15:6-8) that there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine that are not in need of repentance. Repentance is expressed regret. Within our hearts we acknowledge that we have done wrong and need to say we are sorry and make amends, both to God and to those whom we have harmed in any way. To carry that regret around unacknowledged and unspoken leads to guilt that eats away at the soul. Lay down the burden in front of the Lord in true sorrow and regret, seek His forgiveness.
All have sinned according to Romans 3:23 (read 21-28) and the wages for that sin is death according to Romans 6:23 (read 5-7). What were we before we found Christ? Sinners! What are we when we sin? Sinners? Do Christians sin? Yes! Will Christ forgive us for our sins? Yes, of course! Psalms 51 is a beautiful prayer David records for us after an act of gross sin. “Wash me,” he writes, “and I shall be whiter than snow,” verse 7. Again in chapter 25 David confesses his sins,
“But Lord, my sins! How many they are. Oh pardon them for the honor of your name.” Psalms 25:11
God is faithful and he did pardon David for his sins so many years ago and he will pardon us for our sins too, today and tomorrow and the next day. In II Samuel 24:10-25 we read about the story of David’s sin of disobedience and his confession and sacrificial offering to God. “I will not give to God (burnt offerings) that which cost me nothing,” he writes in II Samuel 24:24b.
Daniel records a prayer of repentance for the Israelites in chapter 9. Daniel doesn’t make excuses in his prayer saying ‘no wonder they were bad, look at their idolatrous parents. What more can you expect? Parents were bad so children are bad,’ but no, he only uses the pronouns, ‘us’ and ‘we’ and ‘our’ and not ‘they’ or ‘them.’ It is a true prayer of repentance. Let’s take it apart and try to see the motivations, the heart condition and the sincerity David might have had in this prayer of repentance.
First a background check to see where this prayer fits in the scheme of history. Darius was King and the Jews had been in captivity for some 70 years. This makes Daniel an elderly man, no doubt in his 80s. He had been through the den of lions, seen his 3 friends go through the fiery furnace and not get burned, interpreted dreams for kings and correctly explained the vision that Belshazzar the King saw during his sacrilegious feast. Of all the magicians and astrologers in the kingdom, only David could explain the handwriting on the wall. Daniel was proclaimed the third ruler in the kingdom and Belshazzar was killed that very night, Daniel 5.
Daniel had been studying the Prophet Jeremiah (9:2) and learned from this that although the Israelites were in captivity for their sins, the period of 70 years for which Jerusalem must lie desolate was almost over so he pleaded with the Lord God to end their captivity, Jeremiah 25:11, 12. What did he do?
1. fasted and prayed
2. wore rough sackcloth (Cornerstone Church, Livermore, pieces of cloth to represent
sackcloth and therefore repentance)
3. sprinkled himself with ashes
4. confessed own sins and those of the people
This shows his sincerity for this was not just a casual prayer but one in which he showed himself to God that he was being repentant. Repentance is confession but more than that, it is making amends and going in the opposite direction. Daniel confessed that there was so much sin, rebellion and scorning the commands of God. They had refused to listen to the prophets sent time and time again. This confession is repeated many times (4-19). Daniel was very sincere. Intermingled in that prayer of repentance is worship to God for his abundant mercy and kindness as in verses 4, 7, 9 and 14. David doesn’t use alibis reminding God that their parents were rebellious and full of idolatry so what could God expect. Instead he admits that they have been disloyal, rebellious and disobedient.
God did bend down his ear, listen and forgave for the angel Gabriel was sent to him. Daniel, who wrote this book, records the exact time of Gabriel’s arrival. He tells us it was at the time of the evening sacrifice. His reference is to the time that the evening sacrifice had been held in Jerusalem, Numbers 28:4. This means that Daniel was still, after 70 years of captivity, living on Jerusalem time. He knew when the evening sacrifice was made and it is when Gabriel, the angel appeared to him. His heart was on God’s Holy city, Jerusalem. He was thinking about the city that lay in desolation, anguish, misery, sadness. Just for a side note, Ezra and Nehemiah were also concerned for Jerusalem as it was lying is disrepair after a siege.
Just as Daniel, although living in Babylon, in captivity, had his heart on Jerusalem, the holy city, we living in America, should have our hearts on heaven. A quick search on Google gives us the familiar song,
This world is not my home I'm just passing through
my treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
the angels beckon me from Heaven's open door
and I can't feel at home in this world anymore
Paul writes in I Corinthians 15:52,
In a second, in the shutting of an eye, at the sound of the last horn: for at that sound the dead will come again, free for ever from the power of death, and we will be changed.
We will be resurrected, taken to live in heaven forever and ever and Daniel knew that so his mind was on that heavenly city, Jerusalem, which figuratively is speaking of heaven.
Back to Daniel’s prayer, the angel then goes on to explain the earlier vision Daniel had in detail and it has taken place in exact detail as given and explained to Daniel. Several accounts could be given of people that have seen angels. This angel Gabriel was the same angel that announced to the future mother of Jesus that she was going to give birth to the Christ child.
In Mark’s gospel, 12:28 we read the story of the teacher of religion who asked Jesus what was the most important commandment. Jesus answered him, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. The second is like it, you must love others as much as yourself.” The rich ruler answered Jesus saying that you have spoken a true word and it is far more important to love Jesus than to offer sacrifices on the altar. To this Jesus replied, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” Why was he not far from God?
“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” II Chron. 7:14
This is a very important verse that can be summarized as follows:
THIS WE MUST DO THINGS GOD WILL DO
1. humble ourselves hear from heaven
2. seek his face forgive their sins
3. turn from wicked ways heal their land
The healing of the land is actually much more personal than we often make it. We tend to think of it as our country, our nation and it could very well be those places but since this word was given during a time when the lifestyle was mostly agricultural, it referred to their career, their home, where they lived, earned their livelihood and raised their family. God wants to heal the world in which we live, our career, our family and our home. It will happen when we are truly repentant.
Back in Mark 12:28, Jesus answered the religious leader with these words, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. The second is like it, you must love others as much as yourself.” The reason the leader was not far from the Kingdom of God was because he had head or intellectual instead of heart knowledge. Over and over in scripture as Jesus walked the dusty paths of this earth and today for us, men and women know about God intellectually but are unwilling to die to their old nature and be resurrected with Christ. Paul told the church at Galatia,
“I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loves me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
In simple terms it means I have died to my flesh—the bad habits I have, the material desires that try to control my life, the lack of patience I might have, my lustful attitudes, my pride and the list could go on forever. How do I die, since Paul goes on to say, ‘nevertheless I live’ so he didn’t really die but Christ lives in me, by faith.
That takes us to the verses in Ephesians 2:8, 9,
“For by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast.
1. What is grace? It is simply God’s favor, goodness, kindness, Genesis 6:8
2. What is saved? Results from believing in God, Acts 16:30
3. What is faith? Believing what you cannot see; it comes by hearing, Rom 10:17
4. What is a gift of God? Eternal life in Christ Jesus, Romans 6:23
The religious leader that came to Jesus with the question was told that he was not far from the kingdom of God. Religious people that know Jesus was born in Bethlehem, that he died on the cross, was buried, resurrected, lives in heaven and they know the basic doctrines of the church would receive the same response from the Lord. They too are not far from the Kingdom of God. What is the Kingdom of God? It is eternal life, it is being related to Jesus, it is being born again, and it is becoming a Christian by inviting Jesus into your heart. Being not far from the Kingdom of God is being too far and being too far will take you to Hell, not Heaven. Jesus provided the bridge to cross the gap and that bridge is God’s Son who died for our sins. When we accept his death on our behalf and invite him into our heart, we are in the Kingdom of God, so to speak. We are saved. We have been born again. We possess eternal life. It is free and cannot be earned by working or doing enough good deeds. It happens through faith in God. As Mark wrote in Mark 1:14, 15,”Repent and believe in the gospel.” Become sorrowful for a life away from God and trust in Jesus. He is the answer, II Corinthians 7:10.
What part does punishment play in bring us back to repentance? Revelation 3:19 tells us,
“I correct and discipline everyone I love. Take this seriously, and change the way you think and act.”
“For when he punishes you, it proves that he loves you. When he whips you it proves you are really his child.” Hebrews 12:6 (see 10 & 11)
The chastisements of God are sometimes for the purpose of bringing His wandering children back to repentance. God often uses the loving, Christian reproof of a brother to be the means of bringing us back to God as in 2 Tim. 2:24-25. (See Acts 2:37-41, Jonah 3:5-10).
We must close so to summarize, we must live in a spirit of repentance, be aware of our eternal destiny (heaven or hell) and act accordingly. U-haul trucks never follow the hearse on the way to the cemetery, only our spirit, developed by the kind of life we have lived will see Jesus. In that moment, we will be changed and we will live with Jesus forever and ever, what a beautiful thought. God bless you.