Recent research is confirming that the moral condition of the United States is in serious decline. An article released by the Barna Research Group, which surveyed people on what they considered morally acceptable behavior, states: “Of the ten moral behaviors evaluated, a majority of Americans believed that each of three activities were ‘morally acceptable.’ Those included gambling (61%), co-habitation [living with another person before marriage] (60%), and sexual fantasies (59%). Nearly half of the adult population felt that two other behaviors were morally acceptable: having an abortion (45%) and having a sexual relationship with someone of the opposite sex other than their spouse (42%). About one-third of the population gave the stamp of approval to pornography (38%), profanity (36%), drunkenness (35%) and homosexual sex (30%).” Something is seriously wrong if that many people find those behaviors acceptable.
The good news is that 74% of Americans are concerned about the moral condition of the country. The bad news is that they don’t seem to know how to remedy it. The research shows that people today do not make their moral decisions based on the Bible as the moral authority, rather they make decisions based on how practical their decisions are. I recently had a conversation with a woman who said that the morality of the Bible just did not work in today’s world. She indicated that it would be nice if it did, but that it simply was not the pragmatic way to live. She was corroborating the findings of Barna who says, “When asked the basis on which they form their moral choices, nearly half of all adults (44%) cited their desire to do whatever will bring them the most pleasing or satisfying results.” This is the age of situational ethics and relativistic morality.
The conclusion of Barna is that the church has failed to teach its own people a standard of morality and point to the Bible as the source of moral authority. I agree. We have been so anxious to make the Christian Gospel palatable to the world that we have been afraid to preach the clear ethic of the Scriptures and call the world to repentance. What many in the church need to understand is that we are not to try to keep up with the world’s standards and adapt to the culture, we are to stand over against the current culture and call it to repentance. Revival does not come by adapting the unchanging message of Christ to the current subjective standards of the world; revival comes when people understand that they have sinned and are in need of a Savior.
As I have been reading and rereading the book of Acts, I am impressed that the apostles had one central call which they repeated over and over: the call to repentance and new life in Christ. What exactly do we mean by repentance? First of all: Repentance involves a genuine sorrow for sin. It is a phenomenon of American culture that we have a sense of entitlement — of course God forgives us, that is what he is supposed to do. It is as if we say, “God loves to forgive and I love to sin, so we have a very good thing going.” It does not matter how egregiously we have sinned, we hardly have a twinge of conscience, and act as though God does not care. We ignore repentance and expect forgiveness. We sin casually and carelessly. We fully expect that we will ultimately go to heaven regardless. But as Peter was preaching in the book of Acts, he said: “When God raised up his servant [Jesus], he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways” (Acts 3:26). You can never turn from your sin if you do not regret your sin and understand that it was sin.
Have you noticed that no one wants to admit they have done anything wrong anymore? All the way from Saddam Hussein to the street thug to the person in the pulpit or pew. We plead “not guilty” and we have a complete list of reasons why we are not morally culpable. But repentance involves a genuine sorrow for sin. Paul wrote to the Corinthians saying, “Your sorrow led you to repentance. . . . Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death” (2 Corinthians 7:9-10). We need to recapture a godly sorrow for our sin. In fact, without it we cannot be made right with God, because if we do not have genuine sorrow, it means we do not understand our sin — what it has done to us and others, and how it has grieved the heart of God.
Several years ago Dr. Karl Menninger, a clinical Psychiatrist, wrote a book entitled Whatever Became of Sin? Some began to refer to him as “psychiatrist turned prophet,” because he was calling upon the church to join him in an effort to turn the culture around by addressing the issues of moral confusion and disorder. Menninger suddenly realized that the whole concept of sin was fading from our culture. How is it that we don’t “get it” when it comes to sin? Do you realize that there is no difference in the divorce rate between those who attend church regularly and those who do not attend at all? And when it comes to sexual morality there is little difference between those who are a part of a church and those in the world. The problem is that we are far more influenced by our culture than we realize. We have been brainwashed by the world. TV and movies have made immorality the norm, so that people now feel no restraint or guilt when they indulge in sexual sin. Sometimes I just want to make really simplistic statements like, “You do realize that it is wrong to be in a sexual relationship with someone without the commitment of marriage, don’t you?” I feel like I have to say that to a variety of people: young couples planning on being married, middle-aged divorcees and even senior citizens. Please understand that God’s standard of morality does not change just because society’s ideas have changed and we have a new consensual morality. We do not want to be among those who were described by Paul when he said, “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie” (Romans 1:25).
And when we do fall morally there is forgiveness, but we need to grieve over our sin. It should bring real sorrow to our hearts that we have not only trampled God’s laws but trampled his love as well. We should be grieved that our sin has separated us from God. God has been good and faithful to us, and we have failed him. It is that grief and sorrow that helps us to turn from our sin. Jesus spoke of the people of his day and said, “In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes” (Matthew 13:14-15). The Bible says, “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30).
The second point is: Repentance includes a genuine turning from sin. It is one thing to be sorry for your sin, and another to actually turn from it. Some people, even though they may regret their sin do not turn from it, but rather turn back to it. With rather graphic words the Scriptures describe such a person: “If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: ‘A dog returns to its vomit,’ and, ‘A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud’” (2 Peter 2:20-22).
Ezekiel the prophet poured out his heart to the people of his day. He wrote: “Repent Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live ” (Ezekiel 18:31-32). Crawford Loritts, Jr. says, “We are managing our sin rather than repenting of our sin.” We are trying to keep it under control instead of turning from it altogether.
One of the things that I understand more clearly as the years go by is this: Sin is really bad; it is very destructive. God is offering us abundant life and we are busy doing the things that lead to death. We lead self-destructive lives and don’t seem to want to break the cycle. Only the power of God can break the bondage that we are in. And we tap that power when we grieve over our sin and turn from it with our whole heart. God comes to us in a new way.
When Paul had his dramatic conversion on the Road to Damascus, the Lord said that he was sending him to people in order to: “open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me” (Acts 26:18).
I often think as I read the words of Paul when he said to the early believers to “save themselves from that corrupt generation,” that if it was true that his generation was corrupt in that day, how much more is it true in our day. God is wanting to change the world by changing us. This is not just a call to believe in Jesus, although it includes that. It is a call to a radically different lifestyle — a new way of living and behaving. Paul tells us what he said everywhere he went: “I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds” (Acts 26:20). When we turn from our sin we are turning to God and a living relationship with him.
The third point is: Repentance results in a genuine love for God. It should be obvious that you cannot be in rebellion against God and love him at the same time. This is why repentance and love are necessarily linked. You understand that you cannot have a relationship with someone while you are doing the things they hate. We have a God who loves us and wants to be in a loving relationship with us. If only people understood that this is not just about keeping a moral code and cringing before a God who will judge us. This is about a relationship. It is about falling in love with God and wanting to please him with all our heart. Here is the result of repentance, as Peter said: “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19). It means that when there is genuine repentance that there will be a genuine time of refreshing from God. Our lives will be refreshed because we are rid of a load of guilt and the dysfunctional lifestyle we once lived. Life begins to work. We begin to grow in our relationship with God and our love for him. We begin to experience life.
Our culture does not like the word sin. But John Alexander, in his book The Other Side of Sin, says, “Sin is the best news there is . . . Because with sin, there’s a way out . . . You can’t repent of confusion or psychological flaws inflicted by your parents. You’re stuck with them. But you can repent of sin. Sin and repentance are the only grounds for hope and joy, the grounds for reconciled, joyful relationships.” Thank God there is a solution. Sin is the problem, but repentance is the solution. It enables us to break free from the bondage of sin and its terrible effect on our lives.
How do we repent? I want to show you a great example of repentance from a recent film. Jim Carey, in the film Bruce Almighty, finally comes to the end of himself and surrenders to God in prayer. His prayer is a good model to follow. (Show clip 1:25:38 - 1:26:12) As Bruce kneels he says to God, “You win. I’m done. Please, I don’t wanna do this anymore. I don’t wanna be God. I want you to decide what’s right for me. I surrender to your will.” You would be hard pressed to pray a better prayer. Stop trying to be God. Tell God he wins and that you want him to decide what’s right for you, and surrender to his will. When that happens, you will receive the forgiveness of your sins and be filled with the Holy Spirit. You will have a relationship with God that is free of conflict and marked by mutual love.
Rodney J. Buchanan
July 4, 2004
Mulberry St. UMC
Mt. Vernon, OH
www.MulberryUMC.org
Rod.Buchanan@MulberryUMC.org
