Repentance More Than Just “I’m Sorry”

By Kelvin James

“Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
--Matthew 4:17 (NIV)

How many times have we heard this command from our religious taskmasters? Within the confines of church walls, even on street corners, pastors and sidewalk preachers alike belt out this refrain as if the end is only moments away. Because of this the word “repent” when spoken to me, reverberates in my soul like a gunshot in the wilderness. I have often wondered why. Is it the authority with which one speaks the word, repent? Maybe. But, when I read a call to “repent” I am left on edge. I feel moved to do something—immediately—like, well, repent. There was a point in my youthful days that whenever I heard, or just read, the word repent, I began to say “I’m sorrys” to God for all of the wrongs I could remember at the time. At the time it made plenty of sense to me because from my early childhood I feared God. I yearned to stay on His good side. I was taught early that if I did something wrong, asked God for forgiveness He would forgive. That sounded good to a thug kid growing up.

Later in life I discovered that repentance was more than just asking God for forgiveness, it was about turning away from my transgressions and never repeating them. I gained a clear understanding of this through another’s misfortunate several years ago.

While contemplating a career within the criminal justice system, I’d sit in on the sentencing phase of a criminal court case. A petty crook, with two prior convictions for the same crime was brought before the judge. The judge gave him 96 months in the state penitentiary for his most recent crime. He explained that since there was little jail time involved after the first two convictions, he wouldn’t forgive the third conviction and let the young man off easy.

Quick on his feet, the young man did the math and realized 96 months equaled eight years off of his life in the world. Quicker still, and before the judge could finish his explanation, the young man held up both of his hands to form a “T” as if he was signaling for a timeout from the judge. The judge continued to explain his reasoning for the lengthy sentence while ignoring the man’s stunned resistance to his fate. Using all rhyme and reason, the man begged the judge for leniency; for forgiveness. It was too late for him though; the day of reckoning had come.

Too long, as a youth growing up and even as a young Christian, I was misled by some who taught that to repent was to simply ask forgiveness for sin. I was told that no matter the quality or quantity of the sin, just telling God how sorry I was did the trick. Because God is true to His word, He will forgive. It was as simple as that.

I believe that it is not the whole truth. Our loving God is a forgiving God. But, He will not be mocked. We can’t repeatedly come to God with apologies for the same sins that we know are sins and we continue to practice them expecting leniency. He is the true Chief Justice and ultimate teacher. There will be a price to pay and we will learn our lesson; sooner or later, one way or the other.

The young man before the judge had followed a life-path that he knew was wrong. The laws of society made that clear. He was forgiven twice and given light punishment. He continued down his life-path and it led to his sudden downfall. I often wondered what would have happened if he changed his life-course after his first conviction, or even after the second conviction. No doubt he wouldn’t have had to worry about the 96 months!

The Spirit within me has forced me to recognize that repentance is more than saying “I’m sorry.” I learned through that courtroom experience, as well as through my studies of the Word, that repentance is a call to action. Repentance is an urgent plea to do one thing, right now. I am to turn away from sin and live in accordance with God’s way.

For example: If my wife cheats on me one time…shame on her. If she apologizes, I take her back, and she does it a second time…embarrassment falls on me. If she apologizes yet again, I take her back and she does it a third time…call me the fool.

Shame falls on the sinner every time simply because God can never be shamed, nor will God ever be embarrassed and, certainly, He is never the fool. God is a loving, and forgiving, God. He knows we are imperfect and extremely prone to messing up. But, we must make no mistake, He will not allow any of us to make a mockery of His Good Name or His Perfect Word through our repeated acts of transgression when we know they go against His Good Name and Perfect Word.

He invites us to: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”

When the Kingdom comes, ninety-six months, or even eight years, will seem like a party and, as was the case with the criminal judge, timeouts will be ignored.

Kelvin James writes from Medford, Oregon.