Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Old Testament Lesson just read, from Exodus 20. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- We all get introduced to the notion of repentance very early on in life. It begins when parents instruct their children about the importance of saying “I’m sorry” when they’ve done something wrong. The reason for this is essentially “relational,” though it also has to do with building moral fiber into a person. You see, when we do wrong things we hurt other people, and saying “I’m sorry” hopefully helps to begin mending the relationship.
- It is hard to say “I’m sorry” when we really wanted to do the wrong thing and didn’t care about the effect it has on others but only that it satisfied what we wanted. It is evidence that something is wrong with us, that we make wrong judgments, and it challenges the inner desire and assumption that we should get to have things our way. This is painful but necessary – no human being is born to be the king or queen of the world with prerogative to do whatever he or she wants, and we all have to learn this.
- The very painfulness of saying “I’m sorry” helps to prevent us from repeating the wrong, and begins building carefulness not to hurt or harm others. This is the moral fabric that helps keep safety and order in the world – so this is important to teach our children. But all of this is merely external and doesn’t really help the child’s heart – for one can say “I’m sorry” and not really mean it. And this is not the whole of what we want our children to learn – we want them to understand “why” we should be sorry, why we should repent, and to develop caring and loving hearts and minds.
- It is the same with the “Ultimate Parent,” our Heavenly Father. He wants the same good for us. But given our sinful nature, this takes a great deal of wisdom, caring, compassion, and patience. But it is obvious that God wants us to “KNOW HOW TO REPENT,” and in our text we can learn – if we keep our hearts and minds open! The way to learning true and genuine repentance, however, does not begin with a mere understanding of the distinctions between “right and wrong,” as important as this is. Rather:
I. We Must First Remember God’s Gracious Love Toward Us
Text: “I am the LORD your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”
Statement: There must first be recognition that we have done wrong, that there are consequences to our wrong doing, and that we will not be allowed to do whatever we please. When we consider this it puts us between a rock and a hard place – we know what we want to do and yet we cannot do it without serious consequences – punishment, discipline, the loss of relationships, and perhaps even being ostracized from all decent society. Guilt also develops, and shame, and anger – and we sense just how sinful we truly are. This is like “slavery,” and we struggle with this sense of enslavement to our sinful nature all our days in this world. The apostle Paul wrote of it:
Rom. 7:18-24 “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?“
Application: We might think that God would simply write us off and give up on us, as He did at the time of the flood. But this is not what God has done. Instead, He has delivered us from this “house of slavery” and offers us a new life in His gracious forgiveness and mercy in Christ Jesus, our dear Savior. He forgives our sins, and cleanses us from unrighteousness. In so doing He seeks first to deliver us from “hating” Him, so that we might experience His steadfast love and come to love Him. It has to do with relationship – but most importantly with a loving relationship of understanding, respect, care, good, and love.
Transition: This is critical if we are going to move past merely “acting sorry” and ordering our behavior only to avoid pain but to still get as much as we can of our sinful desires and ways. And once we understand the true nature of God, and His love for us:
II. We Are To Repent And Confess Our Sins Boldly – And His Commandments Help To Make Sure That We Are Doing This
A. To Acknowledge Our Sin Of Having Higher Priorities Than God
Text: “You shall have no other gods before me.”
B. To Admit Our Sins Against His Word, Our Blighting Of His Name
Text: “You shall not take the Name of the LORD your God in vain.”
C. To Acknowledge Our Reluctance To Truly Honor And Worship God
Text: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” [to take off work and any activity that interferes with our worship, our rest, and honoring God]
D. To Understand And Confess Our Sins Against Authority – Parents, Government, And In The Church
Text: “Honor your father and your mother.”
E. To Admit Our Sins Against Others Which Harm Their Health, And Also Sins Against Our Own Health And Well-Being
Text: “You shall not murder.”
F. To Acknowledge The Selfish Distortions Of Our Sexuality And Our Lack Of Total Commitment In Regard To Marriage And Family
Text: “You shall not commit adultery.”
G. To Admit Our Innate Selfishness In Regard To Property, And Our Disregard For The Property Rights Of Others
Text: “You shall not steal.”
H. To See And Acknowledge Our Sins Against Truth And The Reputations Of Others
Text: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
I. To Understand And Confess Our Sins Of Lack Of Good Will Toward Others
Text: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Statement: Even when we live in the knowledge of God’s great love for us, His mercy and forgiveness, we understand that we cannot just give in and continue engaging in evil behaviors. But our sinful nature is so strongly inclined toward evil, that we begin figuring out ways to excuse or justify our sinful behavior. But God’s Word prevents this by calling out our sin and revealing it for what it is. So if we are to continue growing in our relationship with God, if we want to “KNOW HOW TO REPENT,” we must allow God to instruct us.
Application: And if we allow Him to draw us to ever greater honesty and truthfulness in our repenting, and if we remember His great love and mercy, the forgiveness and salvation He has already provided for us in the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus, then we will learn how to repent and confess our sins boldly. And as we receive assurance of His love, His deliverance from our sin and guilt, we will not be inclined to return to slavery but will fight against it – because of His love, and because we have come to love Him, and because we have learned the goodness of love and want to love. And so God encourages us, through His Word:
III. Let Us Rejoice In God’s Gracious Forgiveness And Love, And Walk Humbly With Him, In His Ways
John 15:12 “This is My commandment that you love one another just as I have loved you.”
Statement: Repenting, if it is true, genuine, and godly, is not just saying “I’m sorry.” It includes actually being sorry – because of love, actually sorrowing over the harm that we have done to others, and sorrow for what we actually are, that we are capable of doing such harm. Repentance, if it is to be truly beneficial and godly, must bring us to the cross of Jesus and the gracious forgiveness and mercy and love of our Heavenly Father. Apart from this “relationship” there is no hope for anything good, but only futility. And such repentant experience of God’s love continues to fuel and compel a change within us – so that our orientation and commitment is no longer to our sinful nature but rather to the goodness, kindness, and love of God as instructed in His commandments.
Application: This is the good that we will for our children – if we are Christians. It is also God’s good and gracious will for us. Because of the darkness, stubbornness, and ignorance of our sinful nature, we must be instructed throughout our lifetime so the we may “KNOW HOW TO REPENT.” But God is patient and He will continue to teach us, to forgive us, and to continue teaching us. His love is powerful also to finally change our hearts.
Conclusion: All of this work that God does in us is part of His gracious love for us, the way in which He continues to free us from the house of slavery. It is not accomplished instantaneously but rather gradually – and so we continue to trust and rest ourselves in His forgiveness and mercy. But it is the greatest blessedness that we can experience, and a pathway that ends in His glorious heavenly kingdom. May God grant that we remain open to His Word and His instructing, that we too may always “KNOW HOW TO REPENT.” Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.