Psalm 119: Heth

Repentance is a tough word to digest.  It usually carries with it a connotation of being in trouble with God and religious leaders.  There comes a level of humility and sometimes shame associated with it.  When telling a person to repent, the one speaking should make sure they are speaking from a place of Godly authority and not personal preference.  When exhorted to repent, we feel as if we have done something wrong, or are doing something wrong, and now must “receive punishment” for what we have done.  It is generally a negative term.  This is at least how I have come to learn what this word means.

In other circles, I have also seen the word “repent” taken too casually.  Someone might report, “I sinned, I repented, asked God forgiveness, and now I am back on the horse,” only to repeat the same action again the next day.  Personally, that doesn’t seem like repentance to me!  It seems too much like Bonhoeffer’s “cheap grace” concept.  For more context on cheap grace, read The Cost of Discipleship.  Lets dig into what repentance really means today so that we can do it better, shall we?

I would like to share first a complete definition of repentance.  I think it is important that we understand where it comes from in the bible and how it is used in various occasions.  Easton’s Bible Dictionary breaks it down like this:

There are three Greek words used in the New Testament to denote repentance. (1.) The verb metamelomai is used of a change of mind, such as to produce regret or even remorse on account of sin, but not necessarily a change of heart. This word is used with reference to the repentance of Judas (Matt. 27:3). (2.) Metanoeo, meaning to change one’s mind and purpose, as the result of after knowledge. This verb, with (3.) the cognate noun metanoia, is used of true repentance, a change of mind and purpose and life, to which remission of sin is promised.

Evangelical repentance consists of (1) a true sense of one’s own guilt and sinfulness; (2) an apprehension of God’s mercy in Christ; (3) an actual hatred of sin (Ps. 119:128; Job 42:5, 6; 2 Cor. 7:10) and turning from it to God; and (4) a persistent endeavour after a holy life in a walking with God in the way of his commandments.

First, I must confront my own misconception of repentance.  While the “sorrow and guilt” part is accurate, it is incomplete!  It is only a piece of the puzzle.  The true essence of repentance is turning around towards God.  This is a demonstration of grace and mercy, not judgment!  Take into account what Paul writes in Romans 2:

1Therefore you are without excuse, O man, every one of you who passes judgment. For in that which you pass judgment on someone else, you condemn yourself, for you who are passing judgment are doing the same things. 2 Now we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who do such things. 3 But do you think this, O man who passes judgment on those who do such things, and who does the same things, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you despise the wealth of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

Notice that the ability to repent is a result of kindness and patience!  Repentance is a good thing!  It is the essence of salvation!  It is why Jesus had to die for us so we actually have somewhere to repent towards.  I would like to bring up another “dirty word” that we also misunderstand a lot: exhortation.  This word also generally brings feelings of negativity, shame, and punishment.  The Greek word for exhortation is parakaléō, which actually means to “encourage, comfort, or urge.”  That doesn’t seem very negative, does it?  Of course, the way in which we do it could be negative, but it is a positive thing!  We should exhort people to exhort us!  The Greek base word for this is also the same word used for the word paraclete which is the word used for the Holy Spirit…the “helper” that Jesus promised to send the disciples once He ascended into heaven.  A paraclete is an advocate, encourager, one who walks beside you and helps you.  So, we can conclude that to exhort someone to repent means to encourage and help someone along the right path.  Let’s make this one level easier for us to understand.

Imagine you are driving to a new place.  You have the address and are excited to get there because you know it’s going to be good.  Maybe it’s a new restaurant, you’re meeting an old friend for the first time in a while, maybe it is even a date with a new guy or gal (only if you aren’t married, right???).  You plug the address in your GPS and get going.  You had already looked up the route ahead of time to make sure you leave the house on time to get there when you are supposed to be there.  As you drive, you are following the directions to get there but you start daydreaming about your encounter and miss a turn.  GPS recalculates and now you are befuddled because now you are “lost” but really just off track.  It takes a few seconds too long for the machine to recalculate and you miss the next turn, as the new course tells you to turn down a road you just passed.  Now you start to get frustrated.  You’re upset with yourself.  Maybe you yell at the voice in your device, “I know I am off track, give me the right directions!”  You start to sweat.  You worry about making a bad impression for being late.  You curse the planner who made all these one-way streets.  Now you have to drive 3 blocks in the wrong direction to get back on course.  You speed up to make up for lost time.  Your mind becomes chaotic.  Now, instead of thinking about how awesome it is going to be when you get there, you are just worried about getting there and your stress levels are rising.

Sound familiar?  In this day and age, it’s happened to the best of us.  What actually happened though?  We got off the planned course and the GPS exhorts us to repent!  It’s frustrating when we get off course, isn’t it?  Yet, it is still our paraclete, encouraging us and showing us how to get back on track.  THIS is what the psalmist is writing about!  He is talking about God’s Word being his guide.  Even when things go horribly wrong, he just needs to take another look at the map (i.e. the Scriptures) and figure out how to get back on course.  In the spiritual sense, the Holy Spirit is your assistant driver, sitting right next to you and telling you, “hey, you missed the turn, let’s take the next one and get back on track.”  Our spiritual friends are in the back seat.  If we ignore the Holy Spirit’s prompting, they eventually speak up and get your attention!

Many people despise what we call “back seat drivers,” but when we are way off course or lost, sometimes we need them to help us get back on track.  Maybe we pull over and have a discussion.  We might be late, but at least we will get there!  I have had to do this on a number of occasions, particularly in Guatemala when GPS isn’t always accurate because a bridge is out, traffic is jammed, or a landslide has created a catastrophe.

Things happen in our life that are unexpected.  We could be on the right path or think we are until someone exhorts us to take the path we need to get to where we are going!  Who would have thunk that GPS was invented thousands of years ago and recorded in the scriptures!?!  Yet here it is, Psalm 119: Heth tells us where to look when we need to get back on track.  As this stanza ends with teach me thy statutes he is really saying, “show me the way.”  God’s response: recalculating route.