Tag Archives: repentance

It’s Not Enough

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1 Samuel 24

When I was in high school there was a girl in our youth group who, every time there was an altar call, would go, kneel, and weep. It was the same thing every time. I don’t claim to know what was in her heart. But I think her emotions were real.

I wonder, if her repentance were real, wouldn’t there be a change? Like I said, I don’t know her heart. I am not her judge.

But I think of her when I read about Saul’s response to the truth David spoke to him. Saul wept aloud and admitted his sin. He even promised to change. I think Saul’s emotions were real. But they weren’t enough.

That’s my concern with the emotion-driven “worship” produced in many churches today. We feel the feels but we side-step repentance. Our souls soar with the strategically placed crescendos and key changes, but our hearts remain dead in sin.

It wasn’t enough for Saul to feel sad. It wasn’t enough for him to say sorry.

It’s not enough for us, either.

I Had A Reason

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1 Samuel 15-17

Who hasn’t tried to rationalize sin? We disobey God, but only because we had a good reason. Saul’s instructions from God were to destroy the Amalekites, all the people and all the livestock. Completely destroy.

So when the battle was over, Saul proudly announced to Samuel – “Mission accomplished!”

“So why am I hearing the sound of sheep, goats, and cattle?” Samuel asked.

“Oh that. The troops wanted to make a sacrifice to your God so we brought the best of the best back for your God.”

I love Samuel’s reply: STOP!!!

Just stop with your rationalizing what is purely disobedience. Samuel goes on and gives Saul a lesson in obedience. To his credit, Saul responded by saying, “I have sinned. I have disobeyed God.”

Saul should have left it with that. He didn’t. He went on by saying, “But I was afraid of the people so I obeyed them.”

I can just hear God saying, “Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were afraid of the people so you needed to do what they said. No worries, bud. We’ll let it slide this time since you had such a good reason to defy Me.”

Not gonna happen.

I’ve known people who have done the same. They don’t want to offend their children so they go along with their sin for fear of “losing” them. I’ve even known some who say God gave them permission to do so.

There are people who compromise at work so as not to lose their jobs. You gotta do what you gotta do to survive.

Why do people lie? Because they are more afraid of what others will think about them than about what God says about telling the truth.

Today as I point my finger at others I remember times when I’ve rationalized sin in my own life. I have even convinced myself God was ok with it. I can rationalize my sin with the best of them.

Friend, God is never ok with that. Our only response to sin that God is ok with is repentance.

Saul didn’t acknowledge God as his God. He considered Him as Samuel’s God. Maybe that’s his excuse. But if you call yourself a Christian, you have no excuse to rationalize sin in your life.

None.

A Deafening Silence

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Joshua 24

When Joshua addressed the Israelites for the last time he said, “get rid of the foreign gods that are among you and turn your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” (vs 23)

He had been reminding them of God’s history with their ancestors, how blessed they were with God protecting them and providing for them and fighting for them. He warned them that if they abandoned the Lord by worshiping foreign gods, God would turn against them and, although He had been very good to them in the past, He would destroy them as He’d destroyed their enemies.

Then Joshua said they should worship God only, so they needed to get rid of any lingering idol they might be holding onto. Get. Rid. Of. Them.

Here is Israel’s sad reply: “We will worship the Lord our God, and obey HIm.” (vs 24)

Did you catch the silence? What is missing in their vow?

Repentance.

Getting rid of their idols would mean an acknowledgment that those idols were sin in their homes. It seems they weren’t ready to turn from their sin. They were only agreeable to turning toward God. Is that even possible?

No! Regardless of what Satan would have you believe. You simply cannot serve two masters. God will not share your devotion with anyone or anything. Not a family member. Not a job. Not yourself.

Too may Christians think they can worship God on Sunday, and live for themselves, or blend in with the world the rest of the week. They would call themselves Christians, but a true Christian cannot ride that fence.

“I’m a Christian, but I cuss.”

“I’m a Christian but I affirm gender choice, or abortion, or all religions.”

Or, and here is what I see in Joshua 24, “I’m a Christian but I will stay silent about sin.”

Our tolerance of sin, our dabbling in sin, our silence in regard to sin and its consequences speaks volumes. It’s a deafening silence. And what it is shouting is the admission, “My Christianity is a lie.”

Dear One, you can’t follow Jesus AND follow the world. You can’t die to yourself AND live for yourself. You can’t be separate from the world AND blend in. The scary truth is: you can’t be for Christ AND against HIm.

I say scary because many of us have tried to blur the lines. I don’t now how much clearer God can be than what He has written in Scripture. You are either all in, or you’re not in at all.

I pray that each of us will search our hearts for lingering idols, sins we consider secret or tiny, harmless sins. I pray that we will guard against the temptation to think God somehow is ok with that sin in your life even though He’s clearly against it in others. I pray that we will recognize the inclination we have of putting ourselves on the throne, then telling God that He should just be happy we’ve included Him at all.

I pray that each of us will consider what our silence is saying. Because, friend, it can be a deafening silence that is revealing loudly and strongly, where your heart truly is. People are listening to your silence. God is certainly listening to your silence. And He knows exactly what you are saying.

Bitter Water

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Numbers 5

Modern feminism has made us hyper-sensitive to the roles of men and women. “Equality!” they cry. They see misogyny in the eyes of every male. So I imagine if your sympathies lie with the feminists, you went ballistic as you read this chapter.

“You mean if some jerk gets jealous of his wife – even without reason – he could take her before the church and force her to drink dirty water that could cause her to blow up like a balloon, in great pain, and maybe leave her unable to ever have children? He’s jealous… and she pays?”

I know. It’s awful if that’s what you get out of reading these verses. But is that really what we see here?

Notice this is a ceremony of a husband who recognizes HIS sin of jealousy. He brings a sacrifice to the priest to atone for HIS sin. Hearing his wife’s public declaration of her innocence, then watching her drink the cursed liquid without having all those horrible things happening to her, was proof that his jealousy was unwarranted, and he is right to confess his sin in order to be forgiven.

Do I think even one innocent woman suffered those physical ailments as a result of drinking the disgusting water? No.

Do you know why I’m 100% sure of that? Because God commanded a jealous husband to confess his sin in this way. And God doesn’t make mistakes.

Yes, more than likely there were women who had affairs, and maybe they did suffer the harmful effects of the bitter water. Scripture doesn’t say one way or the other. But I am looking at the innocent woman and the seemingly unfair treatment of her.

God is not a misogynist. In fact, I see a God who gave dignity to a women unjustly accuse You don’t treat women like that and expect God to be ok with it. This jealous husband who may have wanted to humiliate his wife, was publicly humiliated himself. His jealously was a sin everyone could see. He needed to repent of that sin.

If you were upset by what you read in Numbers 5, go back and read it again. This time remember the character of God, and see if you don’t recognize his love and mercy for both the man who needed to repent, and his wife who needed to be exonerated.

It’s in there.

Should I Make My Child Go To Church?

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Genesis 19-21

Lot didn’t leave Sodom willingly. He hesitated, so the angels took him by the hand and led him, his wife, and daughters out of the city about to be destroyed by God. Why the hesitation? Did they doubt the seriousness of the angels’ message? Did they doubt these men were really even angels? Were they so intrenched in this sinful lifestyle of Sodom they didn’t want to let go of it? Or maybe they thought, “it can’t be that bad. I can handle whatever comes?”

Whatever the reason for the hesitation, it’s evident that Lot and his family took their sin with them when they were forced to leave Sodom. They’d heard the truth. They knew judgment was coming. They left, albeit reluctantly. But they didn’t repent. They changed their address, but they didn’t change their hearts.

I think there are some parents who might feel like those angels every Sunday morning when they have to take their hesitant (or even rebellious) children by the hand and drag them to church. Sometimes they might wonder if it’s worth it.

It’s worth it.

First let me say good for you for fighting that battle every week. Don’t give in. Don’t let your kids “decide” for themselves. Be the parent. No one said it was going to be easy. Keep battling. Their eternal souls are worth it. It’s your responsibility to train them up in the way they should go.

But I must warn you, even though you probably already know the truth of it. Simply getting your children to church doesn’t guarantee their salvation. Along with attending church, you’ve got to pray that God would break through their resistance until they humble themselves and believe, until they turn from their sin and follow Jesus willingly themselves.

I pray that you are modeling what it means to be a Christian, and not just on Sundays. I pray your children recognize the Fruit of the Spirit in you – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. I pray they see you reading your Bible, hear you talking about it, and watching how you choose holiness.

I pray that when you fail, when you sin, they’ll see what it means to humble yourself, repent, ask for forgiveness, and/or forgive another.

So if your question is “should I make my kid go to church?” I would say the answer is, “yes.” (Ok. Not just any church. A Bible believing, truth teaching fellowship of faith. Please be careful). And only if you go to church with them.

Dear One, there is more to raising Christian children than getting them to church. Let’s learn from Lot’s experience and take it a step or two further than getting them through the doors (or out of the “city”). Be the Christian you want your children to be.

I’m praying for you.

___________________________

Ok, so yesterday after posting this I was scrolling through Instagram and heard a young preacher talking about this exact topic. They, of course, take their children to church every Sunday. But he and his wife take it a step further. They want their children not only learn about going to church, they want their children to learn to BE THE CHURCH.

Which reminded me a family with three boys who are members of our church. Our church has a Wednesday night family dinner before Bible Study and youth activities. Every Wednesday we get together and enjoy a meal together. Sometimes 50, sometimes 80 family members strong. It really is a special church family time.

But here’s what made me think about this family. The parents prompted the boys to go around to those who are finished with their meals and offer to take their empty plates to the trash. These boys all under 10 years old, clear the tables of the trash, put silverware in the tray for cleaning. These boys are learning to be servants and I will tell you they do it with smiles on their faces.

So yes, take your children to church on Sunday. But I would encourage you to not leave it there. Show them what it means to be the Church. I think that is one way you can teach them in the way they should go, to make going to church more than a habit, so that when they are older they will not depart from it. They are the future Church!

Satan’s Playground

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2 Corinthians 2

Church discipline is tough. In fact, I think it’s so tough churches refuse to discipline. We turn a blind eye and hope the person caught in sin sees the light on his own. Let God do the convicting and convincing.

I’ve only experienced church discipline once in my whole life as a church-goer, and that church blew it big time. It was handled so badly I don’t think the young woman involved ever fully recovered or was ever fully restored by it.

Now just because I’m not aware of “church discipline” in churches I’ve attended doesn’t mean it wasn’t going on. I hope it was. What I am about to say is my opinion based on what I believe is taught consistently in God’s Word. Here’s what I think church discipline ought to look like:

I think first of all we are accountable to each other. Jesus said that once we have dealt with the plank in our eye, the sin in our heart, we then should go and address the splinter in our Christian brother or sister’s eye, the sin we see them living. I believe that is the first step in church discipline. If we can encourage one person to repent of sin, the need for further discipline ends there.

But if that doesn’t happen, then two or three friends from the church should go privately to the person caught in sin with the intention of restoring that person to a right relationship with God. Again, behind closed doors, not for public attention.

Third, if that person is still resistant, representatives from the church, pastor, deacon, elder, SS teacher, should quietly have a meeting with that person and lovingly confront them with their sin and resistance. The goal should always be restoration.

I also don’t believe that this is a three step process. You might go privately to your friend many times before you ask another person to go with you. The two of you might go many times before you go to the pastor. I don’t think it should ever be a checklist you complete in order to get to the final step. We are talking about a dear member of our fellowship, loved and cared for by his or her church family. Sometimes it takes time and consistent effort.

I believe that at any point the person does repent of sin, the “discipline” doesn’t end there. I would hope there would be follow up, encouragement, support, maybe Bible Study or counseling that occurs.

Finally, and this is the first time church discipline goes pubic, the church must ask an unrepentant sinner to not come back. Again, this step cannot come without a lot of effort on the church to help the person realize his or her need of repentance. It cannot come without a lot of prayer, maybe fasting, pleading with God and this person to make that change. But as hard as it would be, a separation must take place to protect the body.

Even then, the goal of the separation is the eventual restoration of that lost soul. It should be followed by the entire congregation praying for the needed repentance, with anticipation of the time when he or she surrenders to God. Then, I would hope the fellowship would welcome the repentant one home with open arms.

I honestly think that if we really did the first three steps, the need for separation would be almost zero. But in that rare case, we have to do the hard thing for the good of the fellowship, and in obedience to God.

I look at the state of the Church and wonder if we are more intent on making church fun, or exciting, or attractive that we don’t have time for discipline. I wonder if we are so worried someone won’t like us we are afraid to confront. And I wonder if we are more worried about the tables turning, we don’t want to address sin in someone else. Even as I write this I think about churches that make the news because they abuse church discipline. We certainly don’t want to be like them, so we choose not to discipline at all.

All I can say is as I look at the modern church, an undisciplined church is Satan’s playground. I think he’s having a ball inside the walls of our churches and in the hearts of churchgoers these days.

Again, just my opinion. But I wonder.

The Prodigal Son

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Luke 15:11-32

Why did Jesus tell this parable? I think it was to soften the hearts of the Pharisees. Jesus often used parables to challenge their thinking, to convict them of their own sin and to emphasize their need of a Savior.

They would never admit to being the prodigal in this story. They were “obedient” servants. After all, didn’t they pray impressive prayers, give generously, and study and teach the Scripture? Weren’t they revered by the masses because of their obedience? Didn’t they look down on the prodigals from their lofty position of religious leadership?

Jesus wanted them to know they were receiving their reward in real time, like the prodigal son had. But, like the son, they would one day stand before the Father bankrupt, destitute, and undeserving of the Father’s forgiveness. Then what?

In the parable, Jesus made it plain that repentance came before reconciliation. The son’s repentance opened the door to his father’s home, and the celebration of a loving father for the return of his lost son.

It would take repentance for the Pharisees to receive the same kind of welcome from their Heavenly Father. The same is true for all of us.

Protecting Sin

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Genesis 44

Joseph’s brothers had changed. Twenty years earlier they didn’t give one thought to their father when they walked away from Joseph in that pit, then sat down to dinner. Now, they couldn’t walk away from Benjamin for fear of what losing him would do to their father. Judah was the spokesman, but all the brothers tore their clothes at the thought of their father’s reaction should Benjamin be forced to stay in Egypt.

But sorrow and regret are not the same as repentance. They had lived with the guilt of their sin for twenty years. They’d gotten pretty good at carrying that load while living life. They needed to repent.

And so do we. We, too, can become comfortable carrying around the guilt of a sin we’re protecting. We tell ourselves we deserve to be happy, or that we’re not hurting anyone, or that no one knows. We might have to lie to protect the sin, but even that gets easier with practice.

We can go to church, maybe even serve God with a smile on our face. And we can put the matter out of our minds as we live life, just like Joseph’s brothers.

We can feel guilty. We can tell God we’re sorry. But until we submit that sin to God and walk away from it, we have not repented. And true reconciliation is dependent on repentance.

God prompted Joseph to test his brother. It wasn’t just for Joseph’s sake. His brothers needed to know for themselves how deep the change in them ran in their own hearts.

Are you protecting a sin in your life? Don’t just be sorry. Don’t just get used to carrying the guilt. Repent. Submit to God and walk away from that sin. The reconciliation we’re going to read about in the next few chapters of Genesis could not have happened without repentance.

And reconciliation between you and God can’t happen without repentance, either.

Guilt is Not Just A Feeling

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Genesis 43

In his book Be Authentic (David C. Cook Publisher), Warren Wiersbe points out that the brothers were relieved when they were invited to a banquet at Joseph’s house instead of being thrown into prison for the confusion over the silver the last time they were in Egypt. But, as Wiersbe says, “it’s one thing to be relieved and quite something else to be forgiven and reconciled.” The brothers had not confessed their sin from twenty years earlier, and they were not reconciled with Joseph.

Recently I heard of a newly retired man who shared that there were certain pieces of equipment he had used on the job that he wanted to keep for himself. The thing was, he was required to turn in everything on his last day. So, he went to the warehouse where the company kept old equipment that would eventually be sold or trashed, and found pieces of equipment like the ones he wanted. On his last day, he turned in the equipment he’d stolen from the warehouse, and took home the things he had used for years on his job. He rationalized that the company wasn’t using those things and they would eventually get rid of them anyway. He said that he didn’t feel guilty about what he’d done.

I thought of that as I read about the brothers in Genesis 43. They thought they were in trouble, and felt relieved, safe, maybe even thankful that they weren’t going to jail. But how they felt didn’t change the fact that they were unrepentant sinners.

The man I told you about might not feel guilty. But he is. Feelings aside.

How easily we all are to rationalize our own sin. We might tell ourselves it’s no big deal, no one is getting hurt, or everybody does it. We most likely convince ourselves we deserve whatever it is we’re doing because it makes us happy. And we can harden our hearts and not feel guilty.

Dear ones, every sin is serious. Every sin is a slap in the fact to God. Every sin comes with a death sentence – no matter how good you feel about yourself.

Doing the Unthinkable

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Genesis 37

We can read about Joseph’s brothers and see where their jealousy and hatred led. Their actions against Joseph have no rational explanation and cannot be justified. Joseph was innocent. There is no excuse for what his brothers did to him.

In fact, most of us can’t imagine the heartless actions of the brothers, from plotting to kill him, throwing him into a pit then sitting down to enjoy a meal together as if nothing had happened, to selling Joseph into slavery. It’s unthinkable that someone could treat a brother with such contempt.

But Warren Wiersbe in his book entitled Be Authentic (David C Cook publisher; Second Edition 2020; p98) warns us that all of us are potentially capable of doing what the brothers did. He cites Jeremiah 17:9 that says we have hearts that are deceitful and desperately wicked. We all do.

Newton’s first law of inertia says once an object is set in motion it will continue moving until acted upon by an external force. I think that applies to jealousy, or any sinful thought and feeling.

Once it is put into motion it will continue moving. But like a snowball rolling down a hill, it won’t just keep moving, though; it will grow, it will get faster and move with more power until is gets out of control…

Until!

At any point an outside force can step in front of it and bring it to a complete stop, destroy it, get rid of it.

I think the lesson here is never put that thought in motion in the first place. Recognize it as sin. Repent of it. Allow Jesus to step in front of it and destroy it while it’s still the size of a snowflake. If you don’t, you could be dealing with an avalanche somewhere down the road.

Never underestimate those sinful thoughts of jealousy, hatred, pride, lust, revenge, etc. Put any of those in motion and you will find yourself doing the unthinkable – just like Joseph’s brothers.

Don’t tell yourself that can’t happen to you. That thought might be pride speaking, and that’s something you don’t want to put in motion.