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This all got me thinking about what exactly true repentance involves, if it is not limited to those things listed above.
A passage found at the end of the book of Hosea helps us to answer that question. Take a look at it with me in Hosea chapter 14:
"Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
Take with you words
and return to the Lord;
say to him,
“Take away all iniquity;
accept what is good,
and we will pay with bulls
the vows of our lips.
Assyria shall not save us;
we will not ride on horses;
and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
to the work of our hands.
In you the orphan finds mercy.” (Hosea 14:1-3)
In effect, God's people are admitting that they have come to the end of themselves and their idolatry. They will no longer look to other things besides the One True God for their protection, salvation, and righteousness. They admit that "Assyria" (the premier military power of the time) will not save them. They will not look to the things they create with their hands to give them power and worth. They fully realize they are "orphans" without God, bankrupt and helpless without Him.
That is a picture of true repentance. Completely dying to self. Putting no confidence in yourself and your abilities to help or save yourself. In a word, brokenness.
The Apostle Paul puts it this way...
"If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 3:4-11)
You see, Paul has fully repented of his sin and placed his full trust in God--not in his own strength and abilities. In fact, he encourages us to boast in our weaknesses as God's strength shows through them! (see 2 Corin 11:30; 12:8-10)
The horses reference in Hosea 14 reminds me of David's sentiment in Psalm 20:7, too...
"Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God."
True repentance does admit and acknowledge sin (not just against people, but against God), does involve remorse, and should involve restitution to right the wrongs done against others...but it doesn't stop there! At its core, it involves a change in allegiance of one's heart away from self and its abilities, and to God alone.
Try as we might, we cannot manufacture this kind of to-the-core heart change in our own power and strength! In Paul's letter to Timothy, he exhorts him to act in a godly manner, but speaks of this repentant lifestyle as a gift. See it with me...
So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will." (2 Tim 2:22-26, emphasis mine)
You see, repentance is ultimately a gift of God. HE changes your heart, and then you can come to see your sin for what it truly is, hate it like God does, and ultimately turn from it. I love Paul's description of this process as literally being a "coming to your senses" and an "escaping from the devil having been captured to do his will." Just as salvation is a work of God alone, so is daily repentance in the life of a believer. His saving grace is the same grace that sustains us as His children and helps us grow and become more like Him.
Ultimately, it is all Him. Sure, we participate with Him in this divine process, but ultimately, we have to get out of the way--come to the end of ourselves and rededicate Him as the sole God of our hearts--just like that First Commandment Moses brought down off the mountain in the tablet of stone--You shall not worship any other gods before me.
And the result? Well, unlike Judas who felt remorse for his sin and yet ultimately hanged himself, true repentance will bring restoration, joy, growth, and transformation!
See it with me as we continue in Hosea chapter 14 where we left off above:
"I will heal their apostasy;
I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.
I will be like the dew to Israel;
he shall blossom like the lily;
he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;
his shoots shall spread out;
his beauty shall be like the olive,
and his fragrance like Lebanon.
They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow;
they shall flourish like the grain;
they shall blossom like the vine;
their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon." (Hosea 14:4-7)
May the Lord shine His loving light deep into our hearts so we can see our sin, and may He grant us repentance to turn from it and forsake it for good!
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