227 Sermon Illustrations on Repentance

In every building the first stone must be laid and the first blow must be struck. The ark was 120 years in building; yet there was a day when Noah laid his axe at the first tree he cut down to form it. The temple of Solomon was a glorious building; but there was a day when the first huge stone was laid at the foot of Mount Moriah. When does the building of the Spirit really begin to appear in a man's heart? It begins, so far as we can judge, when he first pours out his heart to God in prayer.

-Bishop J. C. Ryle

One evening, in 1859, a young schoolmaster, intent only on fun and frolic, went to a prayer-meeting. He heard asked in the most solemn manner, the startling question: "How shall you escape if you neglect so great a salvation?" "Well, truly," he said in his own mind, "that is a puzzle. I am neglecting the great salvation. I cannot escape." He walked slowly home. He would like to be a Christian, he thought; but how could he? He must give up his wicked companions. How they would laugh at him if he did not go to the same places, and lead the same life as before! And then, if he took his stand among Christians, he would fall back again into sin; and what disgrace he would bring upon religion! A still small voice whispered to him: "My grace is sufficient for thee." Then and there, on the road, on that calm summer night, he resolved, to use his own words, "to leave himself in the hands of Jesus, and set to his duty cheerfully."

A man and his wife, nominal Roman Catholics, living in one of the darkest spots of London, were induced to attend one of Dr. Pentecost's meetings. No words could describe the brutal character of the man: his poor wife was quite blind from his ill-treatment. He listened with intense astonishment, and his conscience became more and more aroused. On being asked if he and his wife would like to have the question of sin settled, he was shown into the inquiry room, holding by the hand his sightless wife. On leaving the inquiry room, she remarked: "True, my sight is gone, but the Lord has given me back my husband; for it was the drink made him do it."

The hell to which the dissipation of strong drink leads could hardly be more graphically illustrated than by a story which the Bishop of London told of the way the children of the drunken poor reason from the horrible experiences of their own sad lives. A little London girl from the slums was being examined on the parable of the Prodigal Son. The teacher had gotten as far as the repentance of the prodigal, and his eating of the swinehusks, when she inquired, "What else could he have done?" The child replied, evidently speaking out of her experience, "He could have pawned his little girl's boots!"

There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. — Luke 15:10.

Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of. — 2 Corinthians 7:10.

The story is told of a teacher who asked a class of deaf mute girls, “What is the sweetest emotion?” One wrote “Joy,” another wrote “Love,” another “Gratitude.” A little girl, evidently writing what she felt, and feeling what she wrote, put down, “Repentance.” Surely the prodigal would have written the latter as the fruition of the love of the father filled his heart with gratitude and caused his eyes to flow with tears of repentant joy.

Saviour, on me bestow the penitent desire,

With true sincerity of woe my aching breast inspire,

O that I might repent, with all my idols part,

And to Thy gracious eye present a humble, contrite heart. — Charles Wesley.

Confessing your deepest, darkest sins has become the latest craze, at least on the Internet. Recently, a new wave of websites have popped up, calling all sinners to come forward — anonymously, of course.

Greg Fox, a writer and director for Walt Disney Co., launched one such website as personal therapy, after he became disillusioned by the fake cheeriness he saw all around him at Disney. Fox claims his website is cathartic for those who need to come clean — whether to confess to an eating disorder, pornography addiction, or adultery.

While some stop by to confess, others stop by to read other people’s confessions, maybe just to feel better about their own wrong-doings.

“It’s kind of the car wreck you’re driving by,” Fox explains. “You can’t help but watch.”

One visitor to the site writes:

“I’m totally addicted to this site! I can’t even get any work

done during the day. I love to read about all the adultery,

cheating, and crazy stories, they absolutely fascinate me!

Everyone, in one way or another, is completely messed up and I

love it!”

I find this appalling. Websites like these are sensational and voyeuristic at best. But what alarms me even more is that the Church seems to be buying into this trend, albeit with the noble goal of trying to teach people about true confession.

On Easter Sunday, one Florida church launched a website to help people open up about their sins and learn from their mistakes. Visitors to this website have confessed to drug abuse, self-harm, and abortion. One person even confessed to stealing $15,000.

The pastor of another church that launched a confessional website says that the purpose of the website is to help people BEGIN the confessing process. He warns visitors to the site not to confess to the computer, but to confess to God and discover true forgiveness.

I’m sorry, but “virtual confession” is a complete distortion of the idea of confessing your sins before God, and certainly falls short of James’s admonition to “confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”

Creating websites where people share their deepest, darkest secrets with each other — ANONYMOUSLY — does little to edify the body of Christ or to hold the repentant sinner accountable. At best, online confessionals merely relieve the so-called “penitent” of guilt feelings — perhaps. At worst, they provide sick entertainment for the curious onlooker.

Perhaps even more disturbing is this: these online confessionals are a symptom of the increasing individualism within the Church itself. God did not create virtual human beings. He created flesh and blood bearers of His image and has called them to physical community, not to isolation. This is why the writer of Hebrews urges us not to “give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing.”

Church is where we meet together to hear the Gospel preached, to sing praises, to be discipled, to be held accountable, and to participate in the sacraments and ordinances of the church.

True confession is not an end in itself. It is a springboard to repentance and restoration, reconciling ourselves with God and with those flesh-and-blood neighbors of ours.

Posting our anonymous confessions on a website and patting ourselves on the back is no substitute.

________

Copyright (c) 2007 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

Back in the 1950s, D. James Kennedy was an Arthur Murray dance studio instructor. It’s hard to believe it now. But back then, Dr. Kennedy was a drunk. He slept around. And he lived a very worldly life. When he started dating a Christian girl, she asked him, “Where do you go to church?” And he said, “Nowhere. You don’t have to go to church to be a good person.” Then, with an air of arrogance, he said, “You can be a good Christian WITHOUT going to church!” And the girl said, “No you can’t!”

Years later, Kennedy said, “That was the first time anyone had ever challenged my little pet saying. I was taken aback. And it made me rethink everything I believed.”

A week later, Kennedy was sleeping in bed in a drunken haze. When he woke up, he heard a preacher on the radio. He got up to turn it off. But before he got to the radio, he heard the preacher say this: “Suppose that you were to die today and stand before God. And he asked you, ‘What right do you have to enter my heaven?’ what would you say?”

The question stopped Kennedy in his tracks. He sat back down on the bed. And listened as Dr. Donald Barnhouse shared the gospel message. That Jesus died for our sins. And rose from the dead. And that if we surrender our lives to him, all our sins would be forgiven. And we would get to be with Jesus in heaven forever. And right then and there, Kennedy completely surrendered his life to Christ.

The next day, as he was shaving, he kept looking at himself in the mirror. And saying, “I’m forgiven! I’m completely forgiven! I’m going to spend eternity in paradise with Jesus!” And he was so happy. And so grateful. That he decided right then and there, “I want what happened to me to happen to as many people as possible.”

And he started going to church with his new Christian girlfriend. They dated for three more years. And they never slept together even once until his wedding night. That’s how much the power of Jesus Christ changed him. And for the last 45 years, Dr. Kennedy has shown his appreciation for Jesus Christ by living a life of loving service to Him.

A church has a website called www.JesusDoesNotCare.com which emphasizes that Jesus does not care about appearances or social status, but he does care about us. Some who respond to the website expand the “Jesus does not care” part to include areas of sin in their lives. A page on the site contains a forum where visitors can leave anonymous remarks. One of those who wrote a response at the webpage was a 19-year-old male. He wrote:

Jesus cares about us repenting of our sins, and leading a life holy and acceptable to Him. To say that He doesn’t care about our sins gives many the false mindset that it is ok to live a sinful life... ‘cause Jesus doesn’t care, right? You guys have Christ-centered hearts, but I’m not fully on board with you on this “new series”. [Your church proclaims] “Jesus doesn’t care about the junk in your life as much as He cares about having an intimate relationship with you.” Well, it’s that “junk” that gets in the way of us obtaining that type of relationship.

In dealing with salvation there are many terms we hear and think we know what they mean. But sometimes when they are defined Biblically many have to say they did not know what those terms meant. Repentance is one of those terms that little is written about, especially in modern days, and few preach about it which results in even fewer experiencing it. Therefore, there are very few really saved in our so-called “Christian society.”

Just what is repentance? To answer that question let me ask and answer some other questions.

1. Where does repentance come from?

From heaven which is above. (John 3:27) Repentance is included in this verse. The goodness of God brings it. (Rom. 2:4) It is granted (to give or bestow as a gift) by God. (Acts 11:18) It is worked by godly sorrow. (II Cor. 7:10)

2. Who is to repent?

Sinners as well as saints need to repent. (II Peter 3:9; II Chron. 7:14) For a sinner it is necessary to go to heaven and for saints it is necessary to maintain fellowship.

3. Why do they need repentance?

1) The Lord commands it. (Acts 17:30)

2) John the Baptist preached it. (Matt. 3:1-2)

3) Jesus preached it and warned about it. (Matt. 4:17; Luke 13:3,5)

4) The apostles were sent forth to preach it. (Mark 6:7,12)

5) Commanded in the great commission. (Luke 24:46-47)

6) Paul preached it. (Acts 20:21)

7) Peter preached it. (Acts 2:38)

8) It is a message from hell. (Luke 16:30) [Holwick - I am not sure I would interpret this verse this way]

9) It is a must if we are to have forgiveness of sin.

10) It glorifies God. (Luke 15:7,10)

4. When can one repent?

When Holy Ghost conviction is completed. (John 16:8-11) Now in this age (day) of grace while there is an open door, a preacher of righteousness, and a striving Spirit. It will be too late after the day of grace had ended and the wrath falls. (Rev. 9:20-21; 16:10-11)

5. Just what is repentance?

a. To answer this we need to first look at what it is not:

1) Religion -- It is not doing penance or afflicting the body in any manner. It is not being baptized nor just praying the words “I repent.”

2) Remorse -- It is not crying or weeping, even though you will when repentance is worked. It is not a phobia or fear of hell. Many are just sorry they got caught in their sin but were not willing to repent.

3) Reformation -- it is not turning over a new leaf nor changing the outside by quitting drinking, cursing, and etc. It is not law keeping.

b. What is repentance?

The Greek definition means a change of mind which involves a change of attitude and a change of direction -- a turning around from sin, self, and the world and turning to the Lord, taking up sides with God against yourself. A person will not and can not do that without a completed work of Holy Ghost Conviction. (John 16:8-11)

One departed saint of God gave this definition of repentance: “Repentance is an awakened sinner giving up all pretension to righteousness and natural goodness, and taking his place as an utterly lost, wicked, condemned, hell-deserving sinner at the feet of a Holy God realizing his only hope is for God to pardon him and forgive him for Jesus sake. Whether it takes the Holy Spirit a few days, a few weeks, or even years, to bring a sinner to that place, he must be brought there or he will never be saved. The sinner who never comes to that place never gets saved.”

Many say that all a person has to do to be saved is just believe. But faith without repentance is a structure in mid-air, without a foundation and that will not stand.

6. What are the results of repentance?

A good example is found in the model church of Thessalonica. In I Thess. 1:9-10 we find where they turned (work of repentance) and five things were brought about. These same five things will be worked in some form in every heart where repentance has been worked.

1) Hunger for God -- they “turned to God” (verse 9) which made them new creatures (II Cor. 5:17) and produced new desires.

a. Desire for the milk of the Word. (I Peter 2:2; II Tim. 2:15)

b. Desire to follow the Lord. “Not my will but thine” will be your attitude.

c. Desire to fellowship with the Lord and His saints. (Heb. 10:25) A good example is Legion. (Luke 8:35,38)

2) Hatred for sin -- turned “from idols.” (verse 9)

a. Legion clothed himself. (Luke 8:35)

b. In Ephesus they burned their idols. (Acts 19:18-19)

c. One who repents hates sin because he fears God. (Pro. 8:13) Fear means a reverential awe of God with a hatred for evil.

3) Heart for service -- turned “to serve the living and true God.” (verse 9)

a. Legion began to publish (same word as preach) how great things Jesus had done for him. (Mark 5:19-20)

b. The Woman at the well began to testify of all the Lord told her and many believed because of her testimony. (John 4:28-29, 39)

c. All saints, not just preachers, are commanded to proclaim the gospel. (Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8)

d. We are to serve when, where, and how the Lord so directs.

4) Hope for the rapture -- “wait for his Son from heaven.” (verse 10)

The word “rapture” is not a Bible word but a Bible principle. We are taught to wait (speaks of waiting with patience and confident expectancy) and look (expectant longing; Titus 2:13) for the Blessed hope who is Jesus -- the same one God raised from the dead and the same one God promised would come again to rapture His saints. (Acts 1:11 -- this same Jesus; I Thess. 4:16 -- the Lord himself, not another)

5) Happiness for deliverance from wrath to come. (verse 10)

Wrath abideth on all the lost. (John 3:36; Eph. 2:3; Rom. 1:18) But saints are delivered from all of God’s wrath in any form. (I Thess. 5:9) If a person has experienced true repentance he will be delivered from:

a. Wrath during the end time. (Rev. 6:17) This wrath is described in Rev. chapters 8,9,10,11, and 16 as the trumpets, vials, and thunders but the saints are already caught out and are seen in Rev. 7:9.

b. Lake of fire after the Great White Throne of Judgment. (Rev. 20:11-15) The saints will not be cast in the lake of fire because they are in the first resurrection (Rev. 20:6) and the second death (separation from God forever in the lake of fire) will have no power on them.

Have you experienced genuine repentance? If so, that is great! But if you haven’t, you can, while there is a striving Spirit, an open door, and a preacher of righteousness. There is hope in this age (day) of grace. Continue in His Word (John 8:31-32) and allow the Lord to finish His work of repentance in you.

This article just gives the basics. If you would like to receive the tapes (2) on this message please let us know. They are at no charge, just for the asking. If we can be of help please let us know. We care.

10 biblical signs of what real repentance looks like

When leaders in the Body of Christ are caught in sin, it is their response to the charges that will ultimately reveal the true state of their hearts. God’s standard for the life and conduct of a leader is not perfection, but a humble heart that is willing to acknowledge sin, care for others above themselves, and walk in the fear of the Lord.

Godly repentance isn’t about charisma; it’s about character. When a minister or ministry is facing multiple charges of sin and wrongdoing from multiple witnesses, Scripture describes those who are truly serious about making things right versus those who simply deflect their guilt and defend their own reputation.

1. True repentance names the sin truthfully and specifically

“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).

An honest heart will call the sin as God calls it: deceit, immorality, abuse of power, partiality, intimidation, exploitation, cover-up, or falsehood. There will be no hesitation in naming the sin as God does (Psalm 51; Ephesians 5:11–13). The false version downplays the offense. Saying “mistakes were made,” “boundaries were crossed,” or “I was in a season of weakness” seeks to lessen the charge and minimize the sin. Reframing a repeated pattern of offense as a momentary lapse in judgment reveals a heart that is unwilling to admit faults and take ownership for the transgression (1 John 1:8-9).

2. True repentance fully embraces correction and accountability

“For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter” (2 Corinthians 7:11).

An earnest heart will do whatever it takes to make things right in the sight of God and before others without trying to preserve a reputation or ministry. The priority is to reveal truth for everyone’s sake, not just defend one’s personal intentions (1 Timothy 3:1-7). When the first response is to act more upset by the exposure than the sin itself, or to disqualify any charge as coming from a perceived enemy, it reveals an unwillingness to look at the evidence and weigh responsibly (Proverbs 12:1; 15:31).

3. True repentance is quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger

“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:19-21).

A humble heart will listen without prejudice to clearly understand the charges being brought, free of anger or resentment. A pure heart seeks the truth more than vindication. (1 Peter 5:1-3) The false version is quick to justify through emotional appeal. Tears, references to brokenness, childhood wounds, pressure, or burnout, may all be real, but can still function as deflection if they replace clear and open confession. When the accused draws attention to their own pain and victimization, their personal ego and need for validation have become more important than the pains inflicted on those they have hurt (Romans 12:17-21).

4. True repentance prioritizes the harmed, not the minister or ministry

“Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked” (Psalm 82:3-4).

A true shepherd will acknowledge the specific sin committed and the specific pain suffered by an individual, showing care and compassion for those who have been harmed or mistreated. Forgiveness and appropriate restitution will be the priority, even at personal cost (Isaiah 1:17). Repeated claims of “I’m so sorry,” or declaring “I’m sorry if anyone was hurt,” avoid admission of guilt and diminish the impact of specific sins inflicted on specific individuals. To generalize a wrongdoing without acknowledging the particular wrongs committed reveals an unwillingness to account for sins and seeks to bypass accountability (Numbers 5:7, Matthew 5:23-24).

5. True repentance rightly grieves the loss of witness for Christ

“Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Peter 2:12 NIV).

A godly heart will grieve over the loss of testimony and stain upon the Body of Christ. The pain inflicted on others and the reproach upon the Church will be just as painful as the personal cost of sin (Titus 2:7-8). The false version shifts focus to the good fruit the ministry produces. When this happens, the severity of sin is sidestepped to bolster the gifts or talents of the accused. This grasping for recognition exposes idolatry of ministry and the lack of godly sorrow (Psalm 51:3-5).

6. True repentance brings everything into the light

“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light” (Ephesians 5:11-14).

A repentant heart will not withhold details or seek to hide uncomfortable truths. There will be a readiness to give an account for not only the charges being brought, but also to openly share about the process of accountability, including appropriate consequences, restitution, and all necessary actions being taken to address concerns and needed policy changes for the future.

Those who feign remorse only after repeated exposure simply confirm their lack of personal conscience or conviction. When the fear of man is greater than the fear of the Lord, unrepentant hearts will spin the details to their own advantage in order to maintain control of a false narrative (Proverbs 8:13).

7. True repentance speaks consistently without spiritual embellishment

“Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil” (Matthew 5:37).

Someone who wants to walk in the light will tell the whole truth from the very beginning, without changing narratives or details. There will be no attempt to spiritualize their sin, but a readiness to confess their faults without excuse.

When storylines change and narratives continually shift, it demonstrates a manipulation of facts to benefit the one being charged. When words are twisted, and details change, the one speaking only reveals their intent to confuse and control (Acts 20:30).

8. True repentance invites outside investigation and oversight

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy” (Proverbs 27:6).

A minister of integrity will seek correction and counsel from outside his circle of friends and peers. Objective truth will be sought for the sake of the Church rather than limiting oversight to those influenced by ministry loyalties or partiality (Hebrews 13:17).

Avoidance of third-party investigations or input given by trained counselors or psychologists reveals a need to control a narrative. Any assumption that a leader’s sin is only “spiritual” (can be dealt with “in-house”) and void of other potentially destructive (mental or psychological) causes is blind, presumptuous, and dangerous to the Body of Christ (1 Timothy 5:21).

9. True repentance communicates clear and specific changes for the future

“So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

Repentance is not merely confession; it is changing direction. The fruit of repentance is not behavior modification, but a change of heart and a commitment to long-term transformation. Trust and credibility must be reestablished through consistent godly practices over time (James 2:24, 4:8). Calling for forgiveness, mercy, and “love” in hopes of sidestepping the consequences exposes a leader unwilling to surrender their influence or platform. When being charged with spiritual malpractice or abuse, forgiveness is not the issue. Restitution and rebuilding trust are the first steps in true restoration (Matthew 3:8).

10. True repentance surrenders title, office, and platform when biblically disqualified

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

Leaders of integrity understand the sacred charge given to them and will yield any claim or right in maintaining their positions of influence when biblical standards have been violated. They will willingly lay down their ministry for the honor of Christ and step away from all public ministry with no expectation of returning (Titus 1:5-9).

Selfish ambition and idolatry of ministry become apparent when compromised leaders refuse to step down or remove themselves from the spotlight. The more one grasps for the microphone or platform, the more entrenched they are in their own delusion of importance. When “the call” is touted as priority, character has been dismissed, and they disqualify themselves from any position of true spiritual authority.

Preaching at North Point Community Church, in a sermon series known as “Christian,” Andy Stanley preached a message titled “When Gracie Met Truthy” on April 15, 2012. With reference to John 1:14, Stanley described the challenge of affirming grace and truth in full measure. He spoke of grace and truth as a tension, warning that “if you resolve it, you give up something important.”

The message was insightful and winsome, and Andy Stanley is a master communicator. Early in the message he spoke of homosexuals in attendance, mentioning that some had shared with him that they had come to North Point because they were tired of messages in gay-affirming churches that did nothing but affirm homosexuality.

Then, in the most intense part of his message, Stanley told the congregation an account meant to illustrate his message. He told of a couple with a young daughter who divorced when the wife discovered that the husband was in a sexual relationship with another man. The woman then insisted that her former husband and his gay partner move to another congregation. They did move, but to another North Point location, where they volunteered together as part of a “host team.” The woman later told Andy Stanley that her former husband and his partner were now involved as volunteers in the other congregational location.

The story took a strange turn when Stanley then explained that he had learned that the former husband’s gay partner was still married. Stanley then explained that the partner was actually committing adultery, and that the adultery was incompatible with his service on a host team. Stanley told the two men that they could not serve on the host team so long as the one man was still married. He later told of the former wife’s decision not to live in bitterness, and of her initiative to bring the whole new family structure to a Christmas service. This included the woman, her daughter, her former husband, his gay partner, and his daughter. Stanley celebrated this new “modern family” as an expression of forgiveness.

He concluded by telling of Christ’s death for sinners and told the congregation that Jesus does not condemn them, even if they cannot or do not leave their life of sin.

Declaring the death of Christ as atonement for sin is orthodox Christianity and this declaration is essential to the Gospel of Christ. The problem was that Stanley never mentioned faith or repentance — which are equally essential to the Gospel. There is indeed no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, but this defines those who have acted in repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). As for those who are not in Christ, they stand condemned already (John 3:18).

The most puzzling and shocking part of the message was the illustration and the account of the homosexual couple, however. The inescapable impression left by the account was that the sin of concern was adultery, but not homosexuality. Stanley clearly and repeatedly stressed the sin of adultery, but then left the reality of the homosexual relationship between the two men unaddressed as sin. To the contrary, he seemed to normalize their relationship. They would be allowed to serve on the host team if both were divorced. The moral status of their relationship seemed to be questioned only in terms of adultery, with no moral judgment on their homosexuality.

Was this intended as a salvo of sorts? The story was so well told and the message so well constructed that there can be little doubt of its meaning. Does this signal the normalization of homosexuality at North Point Community Church? This hardly seems possible, but it appeared to be the implication of the message. Given the volatility of this issue, ambiguity will be replaced by clarity one way or the other, and likely sooner than later.

We can only hope that Andy Stanley and the church will clarify and affirm the biblical declaration of the sinfulness of homosexual behavior, even as he preaches the forgiveness of sin in any form through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. His affirmation of grace and truth in full measure is exactly right, but grace and truth are not actually in tension. The only tension is our finite ability to act in full faithfulness. The knowledge of our sin is, in truth, a gift of grace. And grace is only grace because of the truth of what God has done for us in Christ.

“Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession.... Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”

— Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Although I feel vaguely sacrilegious saying this, when I first heard the name “Carlos Danger” yesterday, the very next name that came to my mind was the heroic Dr. Bonhoeffer’s (for those unfamiliar with Bonhoeffer’s compelling life story, here are the basics [1]). His formulation of “cheap grace” – the easy grace we give ourselves – felt appropriate to not just the ongoing Anthony Weiner trainwreck but also to the Eliot Spitzer comeback and to Mark Sanford’s recent reelection as well. And I’m not just picking on politicians. The Oprah confession has become such a staple of modern pop culture that it’s a virtual standing joke.

The pattern is familiar and depressing: Public stumble, public apology, public rebirth — and then the next public stumble follows with depressing frequency. Certain Republican politicians have become adept at opting out of scandal by marrying their mistresses and prancing in front of cameras with their latest adoring spouse. At least Spitzer and Weiner have been able to keep their families intact, so far. (Memo to allegedly Christian conservative pols: Your marriage maneuver may work with some Republican primary voters, but I don’t see any biblical evidence that it works to placate the One whose opinion actually matters.)

We’re all susceptible to cheap grace. Perhaps that’s why we’re so eager to bestow it on others. Failure is embarrassing. Shame is unbearable. We want to close the worst chapters of our lives as quickly as possible and just get on with living on the same trajectory as before, minus the embarrassment. Such an outlook, however, neglects true repentance — invariably to our detriment.

At its theological core, repentance represents a true “turning,” not just a feeling of shame, and certainly not a mere cessation of the narrow set of behaviors that caused the shame. Saying, “I haven’t sexted for a whole year” hardly defines or represents a truly penitent heart.

I’d recommend reading Peggy Noonan’s recent profile [2] of John Profumo, the disgraced British politician, who responded to his scandal not by regaining power but by serving the poor, in the most humble form imaginable (cleaning toilets and washing dishes). That is a true turning, a true rejection of the person he was.

There is no politician so brilliant, so captivating, and so charismatic that we need them in our lives even in spite of their scandal and shame. Sure, some may go on to do fine work even as their personal lives fall apart, but do we need them?

We do, however, need examples of repentance. In other words we don’t need their “public service” — the name politicians give to their quest for power — but we do need the true public service of humility, honorable living, and redemptive suffering. We need the Cross and the sanctification that follows its embrace, but even in the absence of that vital spiritual transformation, simple humility would be a vast improvement.

Go away, Anthony Weiner. Go away and do some good. The people of New York will survive without your leadership.

________

1. http://www.dbonhoeffer.org/Biography.html

2. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324425204578600230806506440.html

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Breakpoint commentary related to the article above

"Carlos Danger and Cheap Grace: No Road to Respectability," by Eric Metaxas

How is it that disgraced politicians keep popping back into public life without much trouble?

As I record this, former congressman Anthony Weiner is staying in the race for mayor of New York. In case you forgot, he’s the one who resigned in 2011 after sexually suggestive tweets he sent to virtual strangers became public.

He’s staying in the race, despite reports of serial sexting under the nom de thumb “Carlos Danger.” He joins disgraced former governor Eliot Spitzer, who is running for comptroller, on the ballot.

It isn’t only New York: recently, South Carolina voters returned Mark Sanford, who ruined the phrase “hiking the Appalachian Trail” for the rest of us, to Congress.

These and other instances of politicians “falling from grace” and then being restored to a measure of respectability, are usually explained by the statement “Americans are a forgiving lot.”

As a Christian, I am all for forgiveness, as I’m sure you are. But what’s on display in these instances isn’t so much an example of forgiveness as it is of “cheap grace.”

That’s how David French put it at National Review. The expression “cheap grace” comes from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s “Cost of Discipleship.” “Cheap grace,” Bonhoeffer wrote, “is the grace we bestow on ourselves [and] the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance.” Ultimately, it is “grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.”

As French pointed out, “the pattern is familiar and depressing: Public stumble, public apology, public rebirth — and then the next public stumble follows with depressing frequency.” Some politicians “opt out of scandal” by “marrying their mistresses and prancing in front of cameras with their latest adoring spouse,” but the end result is the same: a parody of forgiveness and grace that makes the real thing increasingly unrecognizable.

I agree with French that the allure of “cheap grace” is easy to understand. “We want to close the worst chapters of our lives as quickly as possible and just get on with living on the same trajectory as before, minus the embarrassment.”

But grace and true forgiveness are supposed to alter the trajectory of our lives, not preserve it. They are supposed to make us better as well as wiser.

How this might happen is illustrated in the story of John Profumo, the British Secretary of State for War. In 1963, Profumo was at the center of a huge sex-and-spies scandal that eventually brought down Britain’s conservative government.

Profumo resigned “disgraced and stripped of all public dignities.” Yet when he died in 2006, the Telegraph wrote “few ended their lives as loved and revered by those who knew him.”

That’s because, as Peggy Noonan recently wrote in the Wall Street Journal, Profumo “did the hardest thing for a political figure. He really went away.” “He didn’t give interviews, never wrote a book, didn’t go on TV.”

Instead, he spent the next forty years working at “a rundown settlement house called Toynbee Hall in the East End of London.” Really working. He washed dishes and cleaned toilets.

In a 2003 interview, in response to the question “what have you learnt from this place?” he replied, “humility.”

And that’s precisely what is missing in our culture of public confession and cheap grace. Profumo “got it;” he demonstrated remorse and died “loved and revered.” You might remember another famous, disgraced public figure who got it: Chuck Colson. After his fall from power during Watergate and a stint in prison, Colson spent the rest of his life ministering to “the least, the last, and the lost.”

By embracing repentance and humility, Profumo and Colson experienced true grace: A grace that God makes available to each and every one of us.

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Copyright (c) 2013 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BreakPoint" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

On a recent visit to India, I met a father of two sons. One son has been dutiful and loyal through the years. The other? Well, let’s just say the police were familiar with his activities.

The wild child was a big, hard-punching brawler. He picked fights all over town. When he grew up, he got involved in criminal gangs, bringing shame on the family name.

“Do something about your son, or we will!” angry neighbors demanded.

“Please, give him a little more time,” pleaded the heartbroken father, a Christian leader in the community. “I am praying for him.”

The father wept many tears and prayed many prayers, refusing to give up on his wayward son. One day, the son came home, seeking forgiveness. Today, he joyfully works alongside his father and brother to spread the Gospel in Hindu villages. When asked about his son’s formerly evil ways, the father waves his hand, as if sweeping the painful memories away. Those days are past, he says. My son has come home.

“Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in,” wrote the poet Robert Frost.

But here’s the thing: They don’t have to take you in. They probably will, if they love you. But they don’t have to.

Nor does the Lord have to take you back when you come stumbling home -- hungry, ashamed, afraid even to ask for restoration as His child -- after abandoning Him yet again. But He will, if you ask with a repentant heart, because of who He is.

What makes the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) one of the Bible’s most moving descriptions of God’s grace is the way the rejected father responded before his returning son even opened his mouth: “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20b, NASB).

I heard a preacher put it this way: God’s mercy is not giving us the punishment we deserve. God’s grace is giving us the love we don’t deserve.

Another Scripture passage I’ve rediscovered is Isaiah 30:15 (KJV): “For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.”

“And ye would not.” How sad is that?

Instead of returning to the Lord and quietly trusting Him to defeat an invading enemy (mighty Assyria), Jerusalem panicked. God’s people sought help from Egypt, Israel’s old slave master, without even consulting the Lord. It was a political, military -- and above all spiritual -- mistake doomed to failure. But His offer of salvation stood, and as Isaiah later prophesied, it would be extended to all nations with the coming of the Messiah.

It stands today, as an invitation both to wandering souls and to wandering nations (peoples). America seems very far from God at the moment. Other nations and peoples are even farther from Him -- so far that they don’t even know He is Lord of all. But He is standing at the doorway of His kingdom, scanning the distance for any sign of His children coming home.

“Come, let us return to the Lord. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us,” appealed Hosea, Isaiah’s contemporary and the prophet of a God heartbroken over the unfaithfulness of His people. “He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, that we may live before Him. So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth” (Hosea 6:1-3, NASB).

Saint Augustine knew all about wandering from God. He was an enthusiastic sinner in a pagan age. But he yearned to return to his true and eternal home.

“Life with You is the good life indeed,” Augustine prayed in his “Confessions.” “When we live apart from You, our life is a twisted life. Let us come home to You, Lord, lest we be lost. Life with You is a life in which nothing is lacking, because You are life. We do not fear that there is no home to turn to. We may have turned away from it. But it remains. It did not fall because we fell away. Our home is Your eternal life.”

Come home to the One who is waiting for you.

None of us likes to confess our sin to another believer. Instead, we too often choose to hide in our sin. Ultimately, God is the one who forgives us, but here are reasons we must prayerfully consider confessing our wrong to another brother or sister in Christ:

1. The Bible expects us to do so. While scholars debate the best interpretation and application of James 5:16 (“Confess your sins to each other”), the text surely speaks of the importance of wisely and discreetly being honest with each other about our sin.

2. It stops us from developing a life of hypocrisy. Hypocritical living does not happen overnight; it’s a pattern that develops over time. Confession puts the brakes on that kind of living.

3. It shares the burden of righteous living. Following Christ in a dark world is not easy – especially when we try to live it alone. A brother or sister in Christ with whom we can be completely honest is a gift of God who strengthens and encourages us.

4. It breaks the enemy’s stronghold. Satan wants us to fall into sin, hide it, and stay in the bondage. Confession moves our sin out of the darkness into the light, where forgiveness is freeing.

5. It facilitates genuine repentance. Real repentance is not just a single act of, “I won’t do this again”; instead, it’s a continual choice after choice after choice to say “no.” I’ve found it easier to say “no” when someone else who knows my struggle is walking beside me in prayer.

6. It allows the church to be the church. Godly relationships are deep and transformative. Only believers can truly understand what it means to bare our soul to another person – and still be loved.

7. It encourages others to confess their sin, too. When I confess my sin to another brother, my action invites him to do the same. It doesn’t always happen that way, but it does more often than not.

8. It brings cleansing and renewal. When we confess our sin, God is “faithful and just and will forgive us our sins?and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). I can’t explain how it happens, but the joy of forgiveness is real when we confess our sin to God.

9. It allows others to “put flesh on” the forgiveness that God grants. There’s something quite special about receiving forgiveness and love from other brothers and sisters in Christ when we confess our wrong.

10. It helps us sleep better. Sin we cover up keeps us awake at night, but sleep is sweet when we’ve been honest with God and others.

I invite you today to find somebody with whom you can be honest, and be real about your sin.