The worldly world is unable to repent because they don’t have an understanding of sin. Confession is the pavement for repentance – repentance is the fruit of agreement with God about our sin.
Reason 1: Repentance starts with the knowledge that there is a responsibility of mankind to do what’s right in the eyes of God.
The Israelites understood this within three months of their desert journey. Upon release of their captivity in Egypt by God through Moses they were given laws with which to live in community with others. I was reading Exodus 22 and came across this:
If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and kills it or sells it, he shall repay five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him, but if the sun has risen on him, there shall be bloodguilt for him. He shall surely pay. If he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. If the stolen beast is found alive in his possession, whether it is an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall pay double.
Exodus 22.1-4
Why did I find this interesting? Replace the items that are stolen and move the situation to present day: this would never fly in our society…at least not very easily.
Firstly, it has come to my attention recently that if I kill a thief that has entered my home I’ll likely be tried for murder.
Secondly, in our society one who sins against another can plead not guilty and have any number of results. They can even say that they are ill and that’s why they committed the crime.
So – I began to think – in all of the times I have read through the laws and commandments and principles and precepts in the Bible I have never come across any provision that prevents responsibility of the one who sinned. It is not there. Believers desire repentance because it points to the One who paid for our ability to do so.
This hauntingly reminds me of what we find in the book of Judges: “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17.6; 21.25) – for which the Israelites (God’s people) were punished.
When we have a knowledge of the right way, I mean a godly knowledge, a Proverbs 1.7 knowledge we desire change in our lives. The worldly world cannot repent because it doesn’t see sin – it may even see opportunity, illness or rights. It has no need of heart change because the worldly world’s heart is basically good…it has to be as we’ll see later.
Reason 2: Believers know what’s right by reading God’s Word
The worldly world would never adhere to the truth that we find in 2 Peter 1.3 “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,” (see also Proverbs 1.7). As followers of Christ we do what’s right because we seek his ways above our ways and delight in them. (Isaiah 55.8-9; James 4.3-4); If you are not seeking his ways above your ways as a pattern of living in your life:
Firstly, repentance doesn’t make sense to the worldly world: To what way would they be changing? They don’t know because they do not seek to know his way. They have only the bench mark of society’s good and bad to drive them…and they’re not that bad.
Secondly (and closely related to ‘firstly’), the worldly world will allow the world to be their instructor of their ways because it is what drives them. They are friends with the world. This puts them in opposition to God.(James 4.4-6)
Reason 3: Believers know what is right, and then sin, our knowledge of who God is, drives us to our knees confessing our sin to He who judges justly – a holy and righteous God (Ps 19).
The worldly world will not confess what they do not know they have committed – yet God will hold all accountable. In the Lord’s economy (which he has a right to create because he himself is Creator) he must be just. He cannot act against himself. (2 Timothy 2.13).
If we don’t know what is right we fall into a dangerous pit. For the believer however, salvation gives us a drive to read God’s word – the Holy Spirit is testifying with our spirit that we are joined with God – therefore a love of God’s word grows. We learn of God and grow to know his ways. We must know what is right; we are responsible for it. Our Exodus passage from above is striking in our culture today in two ways:
- Members of the community of the Israelites were given a law and a consequence: period…and they were expected to obey because God told them to obey it. They knew God was their Creator and he knew them and he expected obedience from them. Our society today instructs against consequences for disobedience for their children…take a look at the pop psychology books.
- There was no room in this law to appease a culture that cries for mercy because the person didn’t know what they were doing. (Today God’s law is written on our hearts, Romans 1.18-32). You see here in Exodus 22 everyone knew what they were supposed to be doing because the prophet Moses was telling them what to do because he was God’s mouthpiece.
So here’s the problem we face today: We have 2 main world views
One view says we have evolved from slime and apes and by chance have managed to evolve to have great knowledge. This view makes sense if you trust in man (Ps 1; Jer 17.5-10). You must believe in yourself (culture) and the goodness of man if you are to survive without believing the true God (more on that) In this view what we should be seeing right now in mankind is an evolving of mankind in compassion and technology and greater medical advances – among other things. If we are not we need to explain that. (which I will)
The second view says we were created by God: the God; not a higher power. Man then sinned against God separating perfect fellowship. Due to this new sin nature we are continuing to de-evolve – there is more war, sickness and whatever we make with our hands will continue to need improvement because it will fail. We also need to explain that…which I will now.
For those in Group One in order to describe the sin that is rampant in society – death, disease and discord – they must look to something that is happening to them because they started with the premise that man is good. It is the only way their worldview can work because they must sustain themselves. They must not be dependent on a just God or they have to play by his rules (John 3.18-20). You see what they should be seeing is evolution of man – he should be getting better – improving himself: less death, disease and discord.
For those in Group Two it is very easy and logical. Our faith tells us God created the universe. Our God is all powerful, all loving and (definitely something the independent group one doesn’t want to hear) just – purely just. Our God also reveals to us in his word that mankind fell. As a result of that fall we are dependent upon God for repair of our perfect fellowship with him which he does by grace when we believe, trust and obey. If that is true (and I believe it is) we are seeing exactly what we should in our society: death, disease and discord.
The difference between these two views is HOPE. In the person and deity of Jesus Christ we have hope if we confess who he is – holy, pure (1 John 1.9; John 3.36).
View number one must create its own hope; their desire is to feel good and function well as they worship themselves.
View two doesn’t need those things – we desire much more – grace and mercy from a heavenly father that will one day place us in a world that has no death, disease or discord (Revelation 21; John 14).
Although the worldly world can change behavior and be rehabilitated, they can never repent in the true sense. Repentance is the acting out or the fruit of confession of sin (or agreement with God about our sin). We set our minds to change the inner man (Ephesians 4; Colossians 3) so that the outer man responds in a godly way in the future.