I have sinned. True repentance is very rare to find. This is most certainly the case with the repentance of many of those who came to John the Baptist, seeking to be baptized: Matthew 3:5-9 Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? “Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, We have Abraham for our father; for I say to you that from these stones Yahveh is able to raise up children to Abraham” ). John the Baptist raised the issue of real repentance, because he saw many whose “repentance” fell far short of the mark. Today the issue of real repentance still exists. In many cases where forgiveness are required the words I have sinned come from the mouth and not the heart or spirit. We see the teary-eyed confessions of so many prominent professing leaders and ordinary people around the world and cant help to wonder whether their repentance is for real. Their repentance in general, results in a mere mouthing of guilt, to minimise the guilt and horror of their sins. In the interim there opens up a gap to set one up to repeat that same sin again without feeling remorseful for anything comitted. Today it is tooth for a tooth and eye for an eye and even more people pay with their life and everything seems very normal with brutal actions. I believe Davids repentance is genuine and that it provides us with an example of true repentance. Davids confession follows shortly after the account of his sin. The spoken by David: “I have sinned against Yahveh” The text itself indicates that Davids sin took place over a considerable period of time, slightly more than nine months. Psalm 32 gives us some very pertinent insight into Yahvehs work in Davids heart during this time he spent in Ein Gedi writing the Psalms: Psalm 32:3-5 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to Elohim”; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. In this psalm, David show us that he was silent about his sin. David knew what he did was wrong, but he chose to persist for a time. He did not confess his sin, and the result was suffering “pure hell.” It is an amazing thing, but while sin has its momentary pleasures (see Hebrews 11:25), they are not as pleasurable for the believer as they are for the heathen. The reason is that Yahveh s Spirit indwells the believer . As sin grieves the Spirit who indwells us, our spirit cannot take great pleasure in the sin either. I am not saying there is no pleasure; I am saying that the pleasure is minimized by that which gives us joy in obeying Yahveh and enjoying fellowship with Him. The agony David describes finally brought him to cease his silence and confess his sins. His repentance was the result of a painful process, most of which took place privately but in the presence of Yahveh. Be blessed and stay blessed.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 05:08:38 +0000
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