Sorry, Not Enough

Have you ever done wrong and felt sorry about it?  When it comes to setting things right, feeling sorry is often the first step in repentance.  The pricking of our conscience should lead to a changed mind which admits we have done wrong.  Merely admitting guilt still stops short of repentance, a necessary step to be forgiven by God.  Repentance begins with a changed mind and a renewed heart according to God's Word, resulting in intentional lifestyle changes which agree with God.

There is a practical example seen in the book of Ezra.  Ezra the priest was astonished when he heard a report from the princes that many of the Jews who returned to Jerusalem from captivity in the Babylon had transgressed God's command in marrying foreign wives.  The rulers, ones who were called to lead righteously in obeying the Word, were primarily to blame.  Ezra 10:1 says, "Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very bitterly."  The people guilty of disobedience were remorseful, sorry for what they had done.  Ezra 10:2-4 continues:  "And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra, "We have trespassed against our God, and have taken pagan wives from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope in Israel in spite of this. ³ Now therefore, let us make a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and those who have been born to them, according to the advice of my master and of those who tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. ⁴ Arise, for this matter is your responsibility. We also are with you. Be of good courage, and do it."

The people were sorrowful over their sin, but they remained hopeless to be forgiven without repentance.  As long as they remained in their sinful lifestyle, they remained condemned.  No amount of sacrifices could make them acceptable before God if they merely stayed sorry.  Yet Shechaniah had words of hope for the people who had sinned.  In spite of their willful disobedience, they had an opportunity set before them to be forgiven and restored to a righteous standing before God.  The issue of intermarriage was not a racial problem, but a spiritual one.  Marriage to foreign people was permitted under the Law as long as they converted to Judaism.  Those who refused to enter into God's covenant with His people needed to be released from their marriages so the nation could be united before God in obedience and submission.  It would be brutally difficult and horrendous to have to put them away, even as Abraham sent away Hagar and his beloved Ishmael.  The point which stands out from this passage is being sorry, even admitting our guilt before God with many tears, is not enough to warrant restoration before our Father in heaven.  We must repent, choose to reject sinful practices at any cost, and do what is right.

God's people are responsible to obey Him, and when He brings to our attention we are in sin we must take appropriate steps to forsake it.  Allowing sinful practices to remain in our lives perpetuates a cycle of guilt without true repentance.  As followers of Jesus Christ we are no longer under the condemnation of the Law, but this does not mean we should continue in sin.  Sorrow over sin is a good start, but stopping short of repentance only increases damage.  Romans 6:1-4 says, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? ² Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? ³ Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."  Sin is a merciless killer, and sinful practices in our lives must be dealt with severely without mercy.  Our loyalty must be to God, not to idols or worldly loves.

No matter what we have done, there is hope for us through Jesus Christ if we will confess our sin, repent, and receive forgiveness according to His grace.  It is not by our efforts to clean up our lives which avails anything, but the shed blood of Christ which through faith cleanses us of sin.  Through Christ we can experience newness of life today if we will put off the old man, be renewed in the spirit of our minds, and put on the new man through faith in Jesus.  We should be sorry when we sin, but we must go further and repent fully by removing the source of sin from our lifestyle.  Praise the LORD for His redemptive, restoring work enabled in each who believe through the Holy Spirit!