From the Pulpit Series

WORLDLY VERSUS GODLY REPENTANCE (Pt. 2)

Last month we examined what the Bible calls “worldly sorrow for sin” in 1 Corinthians 7:10. This month we are going to continue our examination by looking at an example from Old Testament and an example from the New Testament.

GODLY REPENTANCE

“Manasseh ... did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; he raised up altars for the Baals, and made wooden images; and he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. He also built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, "In Jerusalem shall My name be forever." Also he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. He even set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, "So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel. And the Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not listen.”

2 Chronicles 33:1-10

Scripture says that the wickedness of Manasseh was so great that he actually did more evil than the pagan nations that preceded Israel. These were the very nations God destroyed because of their idolatry and vileness. This wicked king openly practiced Satanism, going so far as to put an idol into the very house of the Lord! Most people can’t fully understand the heinous nature of the type of idolatry that Manasseh practiced because we have not been exposed to it in our American culture. I did not understand either, until I saw idol worship first-hand when I visited one of the largest of India’s Hindu temples.

I went to this “sacred” Hindu site with a local pastor as we traveled through the city of Madurai in South India on a visit to indigenous churches in the area. The temple could be seen from a long distance from the city because it was so massive. When I was finally able to see it closely, I was horrified. Up and down its walls for many stories were images of demon gods in all their grotesque forms. I don’t think I have ever seen anything quite so evil before or since.

This real-life Hindu temple is a living illustration of the abomination of idol worship. While the temple itself is designed in a very similar way to the ancient Hebrew temple, it is the difference between the two that is so shocking. Like the Hebrew temple, this Hindu temple has a room called the Holy of Holies where only select persons can come and worship. The Hebrew temple’s Holy of Holies contained the Ark of the Covenant, a reminder of the presence of a holy and righteous God. The pagan temple’s holy of holies contains a phallic symbol, an obscene reminder of the evil and ugliness of idolatry. This modern example might help us to grasp the magnitude of Manasseh’s sin when he dared to do a similar thing in the very temple of God in Jerusalem. But, we see something even greater than Manasseh’s sin in this story as we read a little further.

“Therefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon. Now when he was in affliction, he implored the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.”

1 Chronicles 33:11-13

This story helps us understand how much God is willing to forgive us if we are willing to truly repent of our sin. Even though God would judge the nation of Judah in future generations for this evil king’s wickedness, Manasseh himself repented. And, unlike Saul, we can see that his repentance was real because the biblical account of Manasseh’s kingship records the actual deeds that followed Manasseh’s profession of guilt and repentance.

“He took away the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem; and he cast them out of the city. He also repaired the altar of the Lord, sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it, and commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel.”

2 Chronicles 33:15-16

Manasseh’s repentance was real because it bore real fruit! How great is God’s mercy to forgive someone as wicked as Manasseh! But, it is instructive to note to what degree God had to go to finally bring him to the place of repentance. Throughout Manasseh’s rebellious reign, God tried to reach him and turn him from his evil by sending prophets to warn him. It was not until he was finally taken captive and led away in chains that he was willing to change. Isn’t this true of so many of us? No matter how God tries to reach us, it is not until we experience great distress that we are willing to finally heed Him and turn from our sin. Romans 2:4 tells us “the goodness of God leads you to repentance.” But if we will not allow his goodness to sway us, then God may allow us to experience his severity. “Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God” (Romans 11:22.) Let’s look at another example of repentance, this time from the New Testament.

REPENTANCE MEANS A CHANGE OF HEART

“And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."

Luke 22:31-32

Notice that Satan asked for Peter by name. This is because Satan saw something in Peter that belonged to him and could easily be exposed by just a little “sifting” of Peter’s character. I believe that scripture reveals what it was in Peter that Satan saw. Remember that when Jesus told the disciples, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night,” Peter had emphatically answered Jesus, “Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be” (Mark 14:29). Do you see the pride? Peter not only believed that he was strong, but also that he was stronger than the other disciples.

Jesus knew that this was an area in Peter that would have to be broken. He predicted that Peter would deny him three times, and it did not take long for Jesus’ prophecy to be fulfilled. In fact, it took only hours for Peter to come face to face with his own weakness and cowardice.

"And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." So Peter went out and wept bitterly."

Luke 22:61-62

Can you imagine the horror Peter felt when Jesus turned to look at him? Peter, probably for the first time in his life, was confronted with how low he was truly capable of going. Seeing this, he was struck to the heart and wept. But Saul, too, wept when confronted with his sin, and even Judas showed remorse about his sin. (Matthew 27:3) Yet, neither of these men ever showed any fruit of true repentance in their actions. Saul went right back to his old ways, and Judas gave himself up to despair and suicide. So, we plainly see that emotion is not necessarily demonstrative of repentance.

The question, then, is how deep is Peter’s remorse, and did it show evidence of genuine repentance? I believe that if we examine Peter’s life after this incident, we do find the fruit of genuine repentance. In fact, I think that Peter’s life shows us one of the most genuine fruits of all, mercy and compassion toward others who exhibit the same weaknesses.

Other people often serve as mirrors to us. Many times we can determine to what degree we are not really repentant in an area by the degree to which we judge others who sin in the same area. In other words, when someone does what you are not repentant of, you tend to judge them.

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you."

Matthew 7:1-2

In the same way, we can often tell to what degree we are repentant by the degree of compassion and mercy we have for others. We have faced how weak and capable of falling we are ourselves, and so we do not judge others when they fall. How do we see this in Peter’s life? Let’s examine some scriptural evidence for Peter’s heart change in the sermon he preaches to the Jews soon after Pentecost.

"The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses."

Acts 3:13-15

Peter boldly confronts the Jews here with the fact that they denied Jesus. And yet, what had Peter done? How could Peter have the audacity to preach to these men when he had done the same thing? Let me make it clear that if preachers had to be perfect concerning what they preached about, there would be no preachers at all. Thank God for the blood of Jesus! But, it should definitely cause them to preach with a lot more compassion if they confront sin that they know they have been forgiven of. This is certainly true of Peter as he continues his sermon: “Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers.” (Acts 3:17)

Peter was not pompous anymore. He was ready to be the leader of the church now. Just a few weeks before, you would not have found this compassion in him! Now when he preaches, the people can sense Jesus in him because he was no longer so full of himself. Peter now knew that his propensity for sin was as great as the people he would confront in his preaching. He could now stand before them and say, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” (Acts 3:19)

Because Peter had repented with godly sorrow, he had the authority to preach repentance to others. True repentance gives true authority. Repentance brings refreshing in our lives so that God can breathe the wind of heaven into us and open our eyes to Him and His glory.

Next month we will continue our study of Godly Repentance with the article “Temptations - The Time to Prove Repentance is Real (pt. 1).”

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1033 Fairmont Pkwy - Pasadena, TX - 77504 - (713) 910-3330 - newwineonline.com - Pastor Chris Simpson

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