I’m studying the Psalms this year and last week I shared a thought from Psalm 38. Well…here I am again. Listen to this one:
For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.
(Psalm 38:18)
What does repentance look and sound like? It looks and sounds like a confession, mingled with sorrow. It’s not enough just to confess. You must confess, but that’s not all. Acknowledging a wrong is just stating a fact.
It’s also not enough just to be sorry. Lots of people make bad choices and hate the consequences that follow. What genuine repentance requires is a sorrow that leads to the recognition that the wrongdoing shouldn’t have happened in the first place. It carries with it the desire that, if you could go back in time, you would never do that thing again.
This is why you don’t have a penitent heart when you say: “I’ll just sin now and repent later.” You might, but if it’s not sincere it won’t redeem your soul, and if it is sincere then that means you’ll wish you hadn’t done the thing you’re planning on doing. So if you’re going to regret it later…then don’t do it now!
~Matthew