Repentance or Sorrow

The very thought of repentance for many can be, at the least, extremely confusing and misunderstood. The word and the consequent action has been overused, underrated, and quite watered down, nearly to the point of becoming useless in its current form and understanding. We have far confused repentance with sorrow. Sorrow looks much like someone caught in a wrongful act sorry for being caught, while the other is the realization the current behavior or action, if continued, will lead to death. Consequently, the fear of death or the pain of the act is so overwhelming that remaining in such a place is no longer an option! Sorrow will always lead to more sorrow(!) and will never lead to salvation, while repentance, by its very definition, is the turning away from behavior and the making of atonement for the consequences of that former behavior. Repentance will lead to holiness and to a lifestyle patterned after the Savior: a lifestyle of righteousness, prayer, and miraculous deeds. By its very nature, the act of repentance will transform all who come into contact with it. There will be no other agenda for those influenced by repentance other than to repent as well. Hence, the foundational truth that true repentance will lead to revival, either individually or corporately. Another truth is, without true and continued repentance, there cannot be revival. There can only be experiential worship—better described as worship services built upon the hype of emotionalism and stimulation. These non-repentant-type movements have nothing to give them long-term sustainability, and they will sooner or later crumble under the weight of sin in one form or another! The Lord has presented us with a set of guidelines in His Word that will clearly and without fail consistently lead to revival. In 2 Chronicles 7:14, you will notice He begins this passage with the word “if.” Obviously, there is a condition, not an assumption; otherwise, the word would have been “when.” No, God knows that His people will not naturally or without prompting and instruction simply begin to become repentant; they must be led. Therefore, “if” people will purpose to make change, long-lasting change, God has and is promising to respond. Next He says, “My people who are called by My name.” In this statement He makes it very clear that He is speaking to those who believe, and they alone. This is not a prescription for an evangelistic crusade, even though, as we will soon see, this is the very best prescription for ones ever written (in my humble opinion). Again, it all must begin with those who profess to be children of God, and we must assume, since He is addressing them, they need repentance. So much for the argument of thinking that says we need not repent once we are saved; otherwise, why would He address the brotherhood as such? “Will humble themselves.” Humility here is conditional and required, no questions asked. We do not look to the Lord and claim to have arrived to any position other than one of utter humility and disgrace for our failings. We have no right to receive anything from God short of death more painful than that of our Savior. We have no right to claim comfort or a right to participate in any sinful behavior. Far too many have said things like “Who am I hurting?" or “I’m the only one being affected by my actions!” You have no right to any behavior that separates you from God, period! And anything that defiles the temple is not acceptable. Why? Because you are His. He made you and He owns you, and all who live in true humility are completely aware of that truth. What else must we do?—“and pray.” We must pray. We must seek the Lord and His will, and since we have now repented and bowed before His power, recognizing His authority, we may now find ourselves in an appropriate position to ask something of Him. We are now in a place that when we pray we are not praying from selfish hearts filled with sin, but rather from humble and convicted hearts that selflessly desire the will of the God who created us. Our desire and prayer now becomes His desire, and suddenly we see prayers being answered simply because we are now praying for what God desires. The result is people empowered and excited about their Lord because He is faithful! Next, we, again, see a condition to the answer of prayer: a return to the very first point mentioned at this writing. We must “turn from our wicked ways,” or repent! We must sacrificially deny all that separates us from God, and when we do, He will answer us. You see, first we must be in the right place. Revival does not begin with believers praying, but rather believers turning away from what separate them from God. Rather than attempting to justify our behavior, we must now learn to despise our sin as He does. Why does God hate sin, you ask? Because it separates us from Him. Next, the Lord makes a bold and permanent promise to His people: “then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” The Lord has given each one of us a complete and adequate prescription for wholesome fellowship with Him and complete satisfaction in our lives. He has laid out for us clearly the plan of salvation as well as the plan for revival. All we need do is repent!