Confess AND Repent
My reading from Proverbs the other day caught my attention.
Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses AND forsakes them will obtain mercy.
Proverbs 28:13 (emphasis mine)
It reminded me of a song from back in the 80’s – Cheap Grace by Steve Camp. It gave his personal reflection on a point powerfully and eloquently made decades earlier by Dietrich Bonhoeffer – a point that Paul was making a couple thousand years ago (Romans 6:1-2) and has plagued every generation of humanity… confession without repentance.
Human nature is inherently aware of guilt for wrongdoing (aka sin) – the condemnation that comes from within. We were created in the image of God Who is Holy (aka sinless) – humanity is without excuse (Romans 1:18-20). But then at some point confession is made – agreement that what was done was wrong – whether voluntarily or otherwise (aka getting caught). What follows next are the consequences of that sin. Some are legally required. Others are culturally or socially effected and applied. And other consequences simply eat away at the individual – for that is the cancerous nature of sin.
And then there is grace… simply stated – when by some measure of mercy the guilty individual receives less than the full consequences they deserve. The legal system often allows for this in the sentencing process. And various factors can influence this in the social and cultural context as well.
Ultimately, there is the divine context. In the temporal, there is the kindness of God that is meant to lead us to repentance. And in the eternal, there is the grace that completely removes the consequence of sin (i.e. death) from us because God took sin upon Himself in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21) and defeated death in resurrection (Romans 6:9). This really is ultimate in every sense of the word! It is unfathomable that God Who is perfectly pure and holy would even ponder doing such a thing for His rebellious and guilty creation! But God is Love (Romans 5:6-8; Ephesians 2:4-7) – there is no other way to begin to explain this.
And yet human nature persists – more than happy to confess and receive grace… but then clinging to the cravings and habits of the old life. If it could be possible, we actually cheapen grace – that is, we treat it as if its value is of little meaning to us. We care little to feel the weight of the cost that bought and delivered perfectly complete grace for our salvation.
This brings me back to Proverbs 28:13. If we actually expect or even hope to receive mercy, our confession had better be followed up with repentance. This isn’t simply some Old Testament concept that we can cast aside here in the “age of grace” we live in. Not only is repentance equally emphasized in both the Old and New Testaments, Jesus used the Old Testament examples of repentance (Luke 11:32) to illustrate the continuing need and requirement for it. Paul emphasizes this powerfully to the Corinthians.
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
2 Corinthians 7:10
Worldly grief can only get us as far as confession at best and perhaps little more than feeling sorry for ourselves. Should we need an understanding of godly grief, we can begin with King David who recognized that his sin, albeit horribly egregious and deadly in its effects against Uriah and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11), was ultimately against God (2 Samuel 12:13; Psalm 51:4). And as David demonstrated, let us perform deeds in keeping with our repentance (Acts 26:20).
As we continue to practice this AART of Waiting, may we diligently seek to Agree & Act in accordance with God’s will, imperative, prerogative, and purpose.