The Tragic Consequences of an Unrepentant Heart
Selected Scriptures
4-21-02 PM
Two weeks ago when I was studying the story of Gehazi I was struck by a particular truth and it caused me to look through the Bible for other situations where this truth is seen. Let me state the truth for you and then we will observe how it played itself out in these different examples from God’s Word. And I pray God will cause these examples to stay in your mind as a warning against following these examples.
Here is the truth: As I read Gehazi’s story I was struck by the tragic consequences of an unrepentant heart. And behind this truth was a question that formed in my mind: I wonder, in each of these examples we will look at – I wonder what would have happened if the person, when confronted, had responded with a truly repentant heart? What would have happened if when the person was confronted they responded with confession and repentance instead of concealing and/or refusing to repent of their sin? I was just struck with that question: What would have happened?
The point being, if they had responded with confession and repentance their whole story would have been vastly different and not just their story but also the stories of many other people, especially their family, family including future generations. The rest of their story would have been vastly different because there are tragic consequences that come from an unrepentant heart. Now we really can’t say how it would have been different, but I think it is safe to say that their lives would have been radically different.
So let’s look at these examples and you might want to take some notes for while this may not apply to you today, you may would want to use these examples when you have to confront someone who has sinned.
Examples:
• Gehazi – Let’s begin with Gehazi since he is still fresh in our minds. Now let me qualify this by saying that there is a good possibility that Gehazi did repent later on, as I brought out last week, but he did not initially respond with repentance, did he? 2 Kings 5:25-27...
Proverbs 28:13 tells us, “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.”
Elisha gave Gehazi an opportunity to do this when he asked him where he had been. But Gehazi hardened his heart and attempted to conceal his sin by further sin [and by the way isn’t that the way it usually goes – we try to conceal our sin by committing more sin]; he concealed his sin by further sin - lying – and so Elisha was left with no other choice but to confront, expose and God’s pronounce judgment on Gehazi’s actions.
Here’s the question we want to ask with each of these examples: What were the consequences of his unrepentant heart? As we noted last week it cost him his reputation, his position and his health. In addition, his unrepentant heart led to his descendants having leprosy as well.
My question though as I pondered this story was: I wonder what Elisha’s response would have been if at the very beginning, when first asked “where he had been,” Gehazi had openly confessed and repented of his sin. I don’t know what Elisha’s response would have been, but the Scripture declares he who confesses and forsakes his sin finds compassion & mercy.
• Adam & Eve – Genesis 3:8-19, 23-24...
We know the story so well. Eve and then Adam chose to disobey God. They chose to do THE one and only thing they were told they could not do. And they both knew they were disobeying God by eating of the fruit. God only had 1 rule and they could not keep it. Up to this point in human history, I am not sure the word “sin” had ever been spoken or if Adam and Eve knew of the word. But they soon were going to become fully aware of what it was and the tremendous power and ramifications of it.
Sin will make you stupid, excuse the bluntness. It is amazing the stupid and foolish things people do after they have sinned. Here were Adam and Eve – they knew who God was. They knew He had simply spoken the word and the universe had come into being. He had spoken the word and the oceans, fish and birds had come into being. He had spoken the word and all the variety of trees, plants, and flowers had appeared. He had spoken the word and all the animals were created. And yet, somehow they thought they could hide from Him.
Psalm 139:7 – “Where can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I flee from Thy presence?”
When you chose to sin, it will lead you to do some very stupid and foolish things.
Well, God came looking for Adam and Eve because just like Elisha, He knew he must confront them. And on that day in the garden, Adam and Eve instituted something into the human race that has thrived, literally thrived over the history of mankind. In fact, we have even given it a name: it’s called “passing the buck.”
-3:11 - Adam in response basically said, “I’m not going to take the blame for this. It’s Eve’s fault.”
As the spotlight shifted over to Eve, she said, “Well, I’m sure not going to take the fall for this. It’s the serpent’s fault.”
No confession. No repentance, just “it’s someone’s fault. Can’t blame me!” By the way, you can be sure when someone tries to pass the buck there is no repentant heart because the very essence of attempting to pass the buck is to try to keep from acknowledging and confessing your sin.
So again, we see here an example of someone who was confronted about their sin, but refused to humble themselves and repent. Therefore, God was left with no other choice but to issue judgment.
What were the consequences of their unrepentant hearts? Wow, how do you begin to name them? There are the obvious, the ones God names in verses 16-19. In addition, they are banished from the Garden of Eden and basically banished from the pages of Scripture in terms of their life after this. Other than the announcement of Adam’s children being born and how many years he lived, we know nothing else about him or Eve. And there were so many, so many more consequences.
My guess is, like with Gehazi, they did truly repent at a later time and while I’m grateful for that, how tragic that they didn’t confess and repent when first confronted. See, that is what we are trying to center on this morning.
Well, have not we all wondered at one time or another what would have happened that day in the garden if when God came walking in the cool of the day if Adam and Even had come running up to Him & confessed and repented of their sin? Or at least if when He called out to them and they openly and freely confessed their sin. What would have happened? Again, I don’t know, and it would be foolish to speculate, as some have, because their situation was unique in the sense that through their actions, sin had been introduced into the human race – so it is unwise to speculate. But the same truth that would later be written into Scripture was still true in the Garden which was he who confesses and forsakes his sin finds compassion and mercy.
We are examining the tragic consequences of an unrepentant heart and we do not have to go much further in the Bible to find another example.
• Cain – Genesis 4:3-16
Again, you are familiar with the story. Both Cain and Abel brought their offerings to the Lord. As Scripture declares, Cain’s offering was inappropriate and therefore unacceptable. There is an argument from silence here that says God revealed to Adam and Eve what was required in bringing an offering to Him and Cain was in disobedience to that requirement. We don’t know what had been going on in Cain’s heart that led him to bring this inappropriate offering but here we have the first example in human history of man trying to be religious or practice religion but on his own terms. Notice Cain had not rejected God per se, but he wanted to come to God and worship God according to the way he wanted to, not according to the way God declared. And what he started that day has continued on to this present day. But God did not accept Cain’s worship and He does not accept peoples’ worship today if they come in a way other than what He has said.
Cain reacted to God’s rejection of his offering which prompted God to confront Cain – 4:6-7...
God laid it out for him and although He didn’t use these words, He basically was saying, “Cain, if you will only confess and repent of your sin everything will be alright. All that you are feeling inside will be replaced with joy & peace. Our relationship will be restored as well and you will be victorious over sin which is trying to destroy you.”
Unfortunately, he did not repent. What I find remarkable but tragic here is the fact that God personally confronted and challenged Cain. It was not done through some other person as it is many times in our lives. In other words, it was not Cain’s parents or some other friend who confronted Cain. When it is someone else confronting a person in Jesus’ name there can always be the question of whether they did in the proper way, said the proper things and had the proper attitude. But in Cain’s situation, it was God personally confronting him so you know it was done in the right way and you know exactly the right things were said. And yet in spite of all of that, Cain refused to repent of his sin.
What are the consequences of an unrepentant heart? It will lead you to more & greater sin. Abel never would have been murdered if Cain had repented when God confronted him. Yet he did not repent and therefore his heart grew harder and it led him to murder his brother.
Now he is faced with being confronted by God again – v.9...
Instead of coming clean and confessing his horrible sin of murder, he responded with sarcasm. Whenever there is an unrepentant heart there must be judgment which God pronounces in vs.10-12.
And so what are the consequences of Cain’s unrepentant heart? It led to the murder of his brother. It led to banishment, to being a vagrant and a wanderer. It led to his special gift of being cultivator of the earth being stripped from him so that no longer would the ground yield its fruit to him. All he could do would be to wander from place to place and try to eke out a living. The earth had turned against him, God had turned against him and the people would turn against him. Anybody who met Cain would be a relative who might want to avenge Abel’s murder. Here’s the bottom line: by Cain’s refusal to repent of his sins, he created for himself an intolerable life. No matter where he lived or what he did, Cain would always be a restless man for whom there was no remedy.
Again, the question rises, what would have happened if in either situation, v.7 or v.9 if Cain had openly confessed and repented of his sin? Again, we don’t know but we do know that he who confesses and forsakes his sin finds compassion and mercy. In fact, compassion and mercy are so much a part of the character of God that we observe God extending an element of mercy to Cain in spite of his unrepentant heart – v.14-15...
If God extended an element of mercy to him in spite of unrepentance what might He have done if only Cain had truly repented? Oh, the tragic consequences of an unrepentant heart.
• Uzziah – 2 Chronicles 26:3-5; 16-23...
Here is man, a king who had seen God bless him and his kingdom. God made his kingdom strong, but as with many leaders, Uzziah allowed pride to get its grip on him and he ended up sinning by performing an action that God’s law specifically said were to be performed only by priests. Uzziah was confronted about his sin, not just by 1 man or 2 men but (v.17) 81 men. Did Uzziah respond with confession and repentance to his great sin? No. He became enraged with the priests and refused to acknowledge his sin.
What were the consequences of his unrepentance? V.19...
The Lord struck him with leprosy which forced him to live isolated and separate for the rest of his days. His son, Jotham served as co-regent and supervised the palace and governed the nation.
What might have happened if when confronted by the priests, Uzziah had fallen on his knees acknowledged his pride & sin and repented of his sin. I doubt he would have been judged with leprosy. I can’t say for sure but I do know that he who confesses and forsakes his sin finds compassion and mercy.
I could easily keep going with many more examples [Saul, Sapphira, Judas & many others] but I trust I have made my point. The tragic consequences of an unrepentant heart! What might have happened in any 1 of these examples if they had repented? How different would their story and lives have been? You always lose when you fail to repent and while it does happen that it is possible to repent later, consider all the painful consequences that could have been avoided. If you maintain an unrepentant heart – you will lose, greatly lose & you and quite possibly your descendants will suffer tragic consequences.
I urge you flee from sin. That’s the best scenario. Do not give into it. Don’t play around with it. Don’t yield to it. But if you should find yourself involved in some sin, I plead with you, quickly and fully confess and repent of it. You cannot afford to put it off for “He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.”
