Psalm 51:4 NASB
There are many men who have made the mistake of trying to patch up a disagreement with their wives, by giving them flowers. Sadly, they think that somehow a nice bouquet will appease their wives, and go a long way to getting things back to normal in their relationships.
What these poor, unfortunate husbands fail to understand however, is that they have not taken any personal responsibility for the hurt they have caused. Instead of a heartfelt " I'm sorry," they hope that a gift will suffice. This is only selfishness. An individual who was truly sorry for offending his wife, would offer a sincere apology, no excuses, no ulterior motives, just a plain, honest, apology. He would be grieved over his actions, and the pain that they have caused. I think most wives would greatly appreciate the sincerity of this over the superficiality of a bouquet of flowers.
This, sadly, is the gospel message that so many people respond to today. We are told that if we say a prayer, turn from sin, accept Christ, we can avoid hell, and spend eternity in heaven. Just say a prayer, and your relationship with Jesus is patched up, and everything is good.
It is true that sin has consequences, and eternity in the lake of fire is the final outcome for the unrepentant (Rev 20:15). It is also true that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins (1 John 1:9). It is true that those who have been redeemed will spend eternity with Christ (Rev 22:1-5).
What is so often lacking from our gospel presentation, is the fact that we as sinners, have offended God. Our sin has been against Him, and has grieved His heart. Just as a superficial act cannot restore a broken relationship in our human lives, so also, a superficial "repentance" cannot restore one to God either.
It is selfishness that leads us to Christ, only so that we can avoid punishment, or gain heaven. When we only accept Him so that we can have a wonderful life, or escape other hardships in life, whether due to our sin or not, we show that we are only thinking of ourselves. In reality, we are using God as a means to an end. Think about this for a moment. If God is a means to promote my eternal happiness as an end, is this not selfish? Does this not imply that self is still on the throne, and all has not been surrendered to Jesus? This amounts to nothing more than an empty ritual.
Paul speaks of two kinds of sorrow. The sorrow of the world, and godly sorrow (2 Cor 7:10). The sorrow of the world thinks only of self. It tries to avoid the consequences of sin. This individual is sorry he was caught, and is only too happy to find a way out of his troubles. Godly sorrow however, is understanding, and taking the blame for our sin against God. It means that I am truly sorry for how I have treated God. This is the sorrow that produces repentance leading to salvation. It is a repentance and surrender to Christ, not for what He can do for me, but a surrender for His sake. I have grieved God by my hostility towards Him (Romans 8:7). In true repentance and faith, the penitent comes back to God through Christ. It is about Him, He is right, I have been wrong, I am sorry, I surrender.
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