If you’re excusing your sin when you talk about it, you’re not in a state of repentance
Mark Jobe
This Week’s Bold Step
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew
Psalms 51:10
a steadfast spirit within me.
One of the most powerful passages in the Bible that exhibits the power of repentance is Psalms 51. Here we have a snapshot of a pivotal moment in the life of King David as he’s going through the process of not just being sorry but being truly repentant for his wrongdoing. There’s a big difference between the two- remorse and repentance- and people confuse them all the time. Do you know the difference?
Suppose you’re driving down the highway and get pulled over by the state police. Most of us are immediately remorseful because we got caught for breaking the speed limit but that’s not real repentance. True repentance is being sorry enough to stop what you’re doing and change your behavior which, in this case, would mean driving the speed limit whenever you’re behind the wheel for the foreseeable future.
Repentance and being sorry are not synonymous. They may look the same at first but after a time, the blame game reveals a person’s true heart. When we’ve wronged someone, repentance means we acknowledge that we’re the victimizer, not the victim. We then take steps to change the way we think about the wrong we did.
Conversely, people who are “sorry” ask for forgiveness for their own sake hoping to regain their position with that person or even their blemished reputation. The stakes are high when it comes to true repentance.
There are three key markers of repentance that we can glean from David’s confession:
- Repentance requires a humble confession instead of defensive excuses.
- Repentance involves personal responsibility instead of dodgy blame-shifting.
- Repentance requires deep, honest cleaning instead of cheap relief.
Friend, anyone can feel sorry for what they’ve done but when we make a 180-degree U turn from our sinful ways and seek forgiveness from God, that’s the benchmark for a true Christ follower.
This devotional was written by Pastor Mark Jobe and used with permission from Moody Radio.
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