Repenting Is Hard Work
Theme of the Week: About Face
James MacDonald
Saturday, May 24, 2003
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Q. How will I know when I have repented?
A. You'll know you've done it when you have this going on in your life:
The absence of rationalization. To sin I have to deceive myself. To repent I have to turn my mind from that deception. Repentance is hauling all the self-deceiving lies up on the table and calling them what they are. The Greek word for "confess" means "to say the same thing." Confession is far more than "Sorry, God. Did it again. You're right. It's sin. Let's get the forgiveness transaction completed, and I'll go on." Coming to see sin the way God sees it is the work of repentance. The prodigal said, "I have sinned against both heaven and you." No "because," no "but," no "please, understand."
Genuine sorrow. A sense of brokenness and of being undone about my sinfulness before God.
Open confession. If you're still into "I don't want anyone to know about my sin," you're not there yet. I'm not saying you need to parade your sin before the whole world. But when you really see your sin before God, you don't care who knows about it.
James 5:15 says, "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed." One result of genuine repentance is a sharing with your brothers and sisters to elicit real accountability in life change.
Restitution. When you've genuinely repented, you write a letter, make a visit to the person wronged—do what you can to make it right on the horizontal level after it's right between you and God.
James MacDonald is the author of I Really Want to Change … So Help Me God.
Copyright © 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.
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Holy God, enable me to view sin as you do, so that I am determined to reject it.
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