True repentance, continued

We are talking this week about repentance. Not the casual kind. Not the glib kind. Not the hey, I'm-not-so-bad-after-all or everybody-does-it kind.
What IS true repentance?
Let's look at Ezra chapter 10 again and see . . . .
Ezra's mourning over the sins of the people led others to gather around him. They saw their own sins for what they were, and they began to weep. One of the people becomes an unofficial spokesperson and confesses the sin -- he proposes to Ezra that the people make a covenant to correct their sin. Now, Shecaniah himself is not listed in the group of offenders, but scholars tell us that his dad might be the "Jehiel" in verse 26.
Ezra seems to have trusted his leadership, for he calls the exiles to Jerusalem. They were all shivering in the chilly December rain, and they agreed they had sinned. Only four men opposed the plan that Ezra proposed to them, and they are noted in verse fifteen. They appointed what we would call a "commission" nowadays, to examine each case. The commentaries that I consulted seemed to be in agreement; from the culture and practices of the Jewish people, they feel that if the pagan women would renounce their idols and destroy them, and pledge faith to the God of Israel, then all would be well.
But in the cases where the women refused to give up their idols, then the marriages were dissolved. Presumably there would be arrangements for compensation so that the wives and the children involved would be take care of.

Now, let's go back to verse one:

While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites—men, women and children—gathered around him. They too wept bitterly. (verse 1)

Ezra was showing genuine repentance, and was showing it toward God. We see in verse two that Shecaniah says they have been unfaithful "to our God." And the people trembled at God's commandment in verse three, so they knew they needed to confess to the Lord (verse 11). Sin always ends up hurting other people. We need to ask their forgiveness when we sin against them -- but sin is first and foremost against God Himself. Remember when David not only committed adultery, but added murder to it? He said "I have sinned against the Lord." And he wrote this:

For I know my transgressions,    and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict    and justified when you judge. (Psalm 51:3-4)

Didn't he sin against Bathsheba? Against her husband? Absolutely! But those sins were pale in comparison to his offense against the holy God. When a believer sins, he gives plenty of ammunition to the devil and enemies of God:

But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, (II Samuel 12:14a)

We show contempt for our holy God, and even more -- unbelievers will mock God and also they will justify their own sins when they hear of a Christian's sin. So, our sin is primarily against God. This means that our repentance must be toward Him as well.

True repentance involves feeling the "wrongness" of our sins. I know I kinda made up a word, there, but bear with me. Both Ezra and the people who gathered around him wept. Why? Because they saw just how unfaithful they had been and they trembled at God's Word that warns of His righteous judgment.
Sorrow should, then, be proportional. Even though according to God's Word, sin is sin. No little ones, no big ones. I guess I mean that there are some sins that hurt more people, and some that hurt just us. Just our relationship with Him. We should keep a tender conscience and confess those relationship sins to Him; then we can move on. (We should remember to ask the Spirit's help for strength to avoid those sins in the future.) If we have sinned in a major way, and hurt others as well as ourselves, then it's appropriate to be deeply grieved and to mourn. This comes from our understanding of the serious consequences our sins bring on ourselves and on others.
Even though we are God's people, our sins can grieve the Spirit and arouse His "anger" (Ezra 10:14, 9:14). I wonder if today we have lost our fear of God's judgment. We only view God as loving and forgiving.
Remember when Moses asked to see God's face?

And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. (Exodus 34:6-7a)

We all like the sound of this, right? But what about the next phrases? The rest of verse seven?

Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” (v 7b)

The realization that my own sins have consequences . . . . that those consequences may be very long-lasting, makes me feel those sins deeply. And it makes me turn from them. Makes me repent toward God.

More on this tomorrow!