Christi and I were walking through downtown Greenville last week after having eaten a nice anniversary dinner. As you walk south down Main Street toward the Westin Poinsett there are these blocks in the side walk that have random quotes from various celebrities and personalities. Most all of them are pointless (or at least they seem so to me). Some are funny. But one particular quotation struck me as truth and has rattled around in my head. It was by the ever so poignant statesman known to us as "Anonymous". I have come to learn that Mr. Anonymous has made so many life touching statements of truth throughout the years. This one however seemed to neatly package one brief statement of truth that I think everyone can learn from. He simply said, "Everyone could learn from their mistakes if they didn't spend so much time denying they had ever made them."
I have been thinking about this statement for nearly a week now, allowing it to be a distraction to my work at times. What kind of lessons could I have learned throughout my life if I had only been man enough to admit that I had made a mistake rather than blaming it on circumstance or others? But because I am corrupted by sin, I fall to the sin of pride which points me away from my mistake but to a deflection of fault to others, for, afterall, I am too good to have made a mistake. Is the corruption of sin ever so evident as when we are faced with a mistake? Do we own up to it or do we make excuses for it so as to not lose perceived respect from others? I often like to use a phrase that my grandfather was known to cuff at times. It is meant in jest, but it conveys this same sense of pride that indulges the flesh. "I've only been wrong once and that was the time that I thought I was wrong, but wasn't." Don't get me wrong, it's funny to think about. It's even funny to use and watch the reaction of the people who have just heard what you said. I used to be able to get a reaction from Christi out of it, but anymore I am lucky to even get an eye roll.
But this attitude
of deflecting mistakes is anti-Christian in its very concept and an ultimate rejection of the Gospel at its onset. Richard Owen Roberts wrote a book a few years back that gets to the very heart of what we are talking about. The book is called Repentance: The First Word of the Gospel. Roberts goes at length to describe the work of the Old Testament prophets, whose message was primarily "Repent and return to God". In the New Testament, this is seen in the forerunner to Christ, John the Baptist who preached repentance. Jesus, himself, came teaching repentance and belief. But, what does repent mean? What is at the heart?
Miriam Webster defines repent in two ways. First as an intransitive verb, or a verb with no direct object, which is normally a finite verb and found in commands (i.e., repent and believe), repent means to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to an amendment of one's life. Second as a transitive verb, or a verb with a direct object which would entail a stated action, repent means to cause to feel regret or contrition. Whether used transitively or intransitively, the heart of the gospel is tied up in the word repent. It is admission that mistakes have been made. But these mistakes were not failing to fill out an expense report or a breakdown in communication. These mistakes are sins and sins are what keep us separated from God on high.
Roberts writes: "Not only is the word repent the dominant note in John's message, but he made the concept of repentance absolutely clear. Repentance makes the path straight between the Lord and the repenting person." Embedded in this teaching is the idea that we must admit our faults. Jesus said in Mark 2.17, " It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." The call of Christ was a call to repentance. If you read the contextual verses around Mark 2.17, you see that his verbiage really has nothing to do with sick and healthy except reference. He is speaking with the religious elite of the Jewish faith, who saw themselves as too righteous for this teacher from Nazareth. They were too prideful to admit their flawed OT hermeneutic that kept them from seeing Christ as the Messiah. Instead, Christ says that he wants those who are ready to admit their mistakes and know their sin to come to him.
It seems fitting this week of Christmas that we all look at the mistakes we have made in our lives, whether they be intentional mistakes or mistakes made by circumstance. Theologically we will call the intentional mistakes "sins of commission" and the mistakes of circumstance "sins of omission". Sins of commission are those sins that we know we commit. Lies, pride, lust, greed, etc. Sins of omission are those that omit the reality of God in our lives. These are the sins that we commit just by being alive. WE are ALL sinners, whether we admit the mistakes or not, we are. And therefore, we excuse some sins because we are too lazy or too prideful to subject ourselves to the full scope of Scripture on how to live and how to interact. We omit the godliness to which we are called by Paul in 1 Tim 4.7.
"For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Rom 3.23). In light of this truth, what can we learn by admitting that we make mistakes? How can we grow in grace as we let repentance and turning to the Gospel shape our lives? It is Christmas, so how can we let down our guard so that we can submit ourselves to Christ and the life He wants for us? Repent and believe, it is the message of Christmas.
I have been thinking about this statement for nearly a week now, allowing it to be a distraction to my work at times. What kind of lessons could I have learned throughout my life if I had only been man enough to admit that I had made a mistake rather than blaming it on circumstance or others? But because I am corrupted by sin, I fall to the sin of pride which points me away from my mistake but to a deflection of fault to others, for, afterall, I am too good to have made a mistake. Is the corruption of sin ever so evident as when we are faced with a mistake? Do we own up to it or do we make excuses for it so as to not lose perceived respect from others? I often like to use a phrase that my grandfather was known to cuff at times. It is meant in jest, but it conveys this same sense of pride that indulges the flesh. "I've only been wrong once and that was the time that I thought I was wrong, but wasn't." Don't get me wrong, it's funny to think about. It's even funny to use and watch the reaction of the people who have just heard what you said. I used to be able to get a reaction from Christi out of it, but anymore I am lucky to even get an eye roll.
But this attitude
of deflecting mistakes is anti-Christian in its very concept and an ultimate rejection of the Gospel at its onset. Richard Owen Roberts wrote a book a few years back that gets to the very heart of what we are talking about. The book is called Repentance: The First Word of the Gospel. Roberts goes at length to describe the work of the Old Testament prophets, whose message was primarily "Repent and return to God". In the New Testament, this is seen in the forerunner to Christ, John the Baptist who preached repentance. Jesus, himself, came teaching repentance and belief. But, what does repent mean? What is at the heart?Miriam Webster defines repent in two ways. First as an intransitive verb, or a verb with no direct object, which is normally a finite verb and found in commands (i.e., repent and believe), repent means to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to an amendment of one's life. Second as a transitive verb, or a verb with a direct object which would entail a stated action, repent means to cause to feel regret or contrition. Whether used transitively or intransitively, the heart of the gospel is tied up in the word repent. It is admission that mistakes have been made. But these mistakes were not failing to fill out an expense report or a breakdown in communication. These mistakes are sins and sins are what keep us separated from God on high.
Roberts writes: "Not only is the word repent the dominant note in John's message, but he made the concept of repentance absolutely clear. Repentance makes the path straight between the Lord and the repenting person." Embedded in this teaching is the idea that we must admit our faults. Jesus said in Mark 2.17, " It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." The call of Christ was a call to repentance. If you read the contextual verses around Mark 2.17, you see that his verbiage really has nothing to do with sick and healthy except reference. He is speaking with the religious elite of the Jewish faith, who saw themselves as too righteous for this teacher from Nazareth. They were too prideful to admit their flawed OT hermeneutic that kept them from seeing Christ as the Messiah. Instead, Christ says that he wants those who are ready to admit their mistakes and know their sin to come to him.
It seems fitting this week of Christmas that we all look at the mistakes we have made in our lives, whether they be intentional mistakes or mistakes made by circumstance. Theologically we will call the intentional mistakes "sins of commission" and the mistakes of circumstance "sins of omission". Sins of commission are those sins that we know we commit. Lies, pride, lust, greed, etc. Sins of omission are those that omit the reality of God in our lives. These are the sins that we commit just by being alive. WE are ALL sinners, whether we admit the mistakes or not, we are. And therefore, we excuse some sins because we are too lazy or too prideful to subject ourselves to the full scope of Scripture on how to live and how to interact. We omit the godliness to which we are called by Paul in 1 Tim 4.7.
"For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Rom 3.23). In light of this truth, what can we learn by admitting that we make mistakes? How can we grow in grace as we let repentance and turning to the Gospel shape our lives? It is Christmas, so how can we let down our guard so that we can submit ourselves to Christ and the life He wants for us? Repent and believe, it is the message of Christmas.
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