THE SPIRITUAL BATTLE – 11 Pride Prevents Repentance
“18 O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: 19 and for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. 20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him” (Daniel 5:18-20). KJV
Loved ones, in our daily Spiritual Battle against evil, God has always demanded repentance. The command to repent was at the heart of the message of every prophet.
For example, in Ezekiel 14:6, Ezekiel commanded the people of Israel to "Repent, turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations."
We find no written command for Nineveh to repent; nevertheless, the city repented at the preaching of Jonah, which implies Jonah preached repentance (Jonah 3:1-10).
The message of Jesus as well as John the Baptizer was "repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17; 3:3).
Jesus emphasized the importance of every person repenting when He said, "I tell you no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3, 5). In other words, Christ placed a choice before the people, “repent or perish.”
The apostles also preached repentance. For instance, Peter wrote, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).
WHY IS IT SO HARD FOR MEN TO REPENT?
Life reveals that the hardest command in the Bible is the command to repent. The greatest obstacle to the salvation of men is the stubbornness or unwillingness of the human will.
There are several reasons why change is hard to come by in the souls all around us.
1. Repentance Calls For A Complete Change.
Repentance is a hard command to obey because repentance demands a complete change – a change of the will, intellect, and emotions. Repentance calls for a total surrender and commitment to God and His will.
It is difficult for man to make such a complete transformation. Since it is so hard, that may be one reason why many modern day “preachers” are hesitant to preach repentance.
Many ask, “How can I believe in and trust a ‘God’ I cannot not see.” Yes, it is demanding to commit and submit to someone who cannot be seen physically.
It is also difficult to surrender to those we can see. People often say they are committed, but they are committed only until a better option comes along. That is not a true commitment at all, certainly not a total commitment.
2. Repentance Calls For A Complete Change IMMEDIATELY.
Repentance is hard because it calls for a complete change immediately. Repentance is NOT a gradual process in which a person progressively stops one sin, then another, etc.
Repentance from sin demands a complete cessation IMMEDIATELY. An immediate turning from the devil to obedience to God’s word is what true repentance looks like (cf. Matthew 21:28-32).
That does not mean that one will never sin or have a relapse into former sins. Certainly, he will. However, repentance means a change of mind (cf. Romans 12:1-2). Your attitude towards sin has completely changed. No longer are you satisfied to be involved in a particular sin.
Often people will believe in and accept Christ by being baptized into him (Galatians 3:27) but continue to cling to one or more particular sins to which they are especially attached (cursing, evil thinking, etc.). That is not repentance, nor is it being pleasing to Christ.
When the people in Ephesus who were involved in witchcraft and sorcery heard and accepted the Gospel, they immediately burned their evil books (Acts 19:17-20).
Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new."
3. Repentance Calls For A Removal Of Evil Pride.
“The pride of life” (1 John 2:16) is the main cause of our blindness (cf. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4). “The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee…” (Obadiah 1:3).
Pride is the greatest hindrance to true repentance. The pride of life frequently prevents man from doing what God desires and prevents us from admitting that we have sinned.
The psalmist wrote, “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts” (Psalm 10:4). In other words, one’s pride and what other people think is more important than God's will.
Peter says, “6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 casting all your care upon him; for He careth for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7).
However, for some, even if they are willing to humble themselves and admit they were wrong, they often utter excuses at the same time. While not totally excusing the sin, they want others to think that if they were in the same situation, they would do the same thing.
The excuses are our prideful effort to justify our sin by blaming others who in some way (we think) caused us to do what we did.
Dear Friends, do not let pride hinder you from doing what God demands. Remember, “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate” (Proverbs 8:13).
4. Repentance Calls For A Confession Of Sins.
Repentance is hard because it calls for confession of sins. The confession should be as public as the sin is. We read in James 5:16, "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed…."
Notice we are encouraged to confess our sins to one another, not just to elders, preachers, or deacons, and all are told to pray for each other. How can anyone know that we have repented of our public sins unless we confess them?
A public confession of sins is a very challenging task to most people and is seldom done by Christians in today’s churches of Christ (cf. Romans 16:16-17).
Repentance and confession of sins is hard because the person thinks he will "lose face" if he publicly confessed some sin in his life. In actuality, confession of sins will not cause one to "lose face" in the sight true Christians; rather, the reverse is true.
Others are moved at the courage of one to confess wrong, and they are often encouraged to do the same because all of us struggle with sin, whether we admit it or not. We need the help and encouragement of other Christians.
Since all Christians have sinned (Romans 3:10, 23) and continue to struggle with sin, we should not be afraid or ashamed of confessing sin in our lives.
John wrote, “8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:8-10).
Not only will our faith and confession of sin bring to our aid the support of other Christians, it also is pleasing to God (Hebrews 11:6), who can and will provide the greatest aid.
Conclusion
ARE YOU LISTENING? (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22).
Jesus has commanded that AS we go through life, we are to teach every creature the gospel (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15). This is the MAIN duty of every child of God.
However, the subtle devil has given the loving child of God many distractions to keep him or her away from our soul winning duty.
Humans seem to be hardwired for distraction. Our brain is flooded with a pleasure chemical – dopamine – whenever we focus on something new. The distractions that are novel, pleasurable, and threatening tug our attention from what’s productive and meaningful.
Sometimes distractions come from internal and external factors, but other times they happen because we are not being challenged enough by our work. The distractions we give so much time to are there because we are NOT focused on God’s will for our life (cf. Colossians 3:1-4).
Sports, movies, entertainment, social media, mindless apps on our smartphone, surfing Facebook, will forever be more attractive objects of attention than knocking on a neighbor’s door to give them a Bible tract or personal invitation to come and hear the Gospel next Sunday (READ 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10).
Brethren, we are calling on you to gain control of your distractions, whatever they might be. Confess your weakness and repent.
Take some alone time each day with God. Leave your TV, phone, and tablet in another room. Pray and ask God to help you focus on what is actually important in life; that is, how you can fear Him and keep His commandments (cf. Ecclesiastes 12:13).
Meditate on the answers you receive from the Holy Spirit through His word as He teaches you how to be a better soul winner for Jesus (Proverbs 11:30). Let’s learn to love like Jesus. God is in control… Trust Him.
Shared with you by Samuel A. Matthews, preaching with the Liberty NW church of Christ, meeting in Portland, Oregon, USA. The God of Heaven and Earth is so good, and His love reaches all. He is in control, so trust Him. We love you with the love of the Lord (John 13:34-35).