Sorry 3-22-2010

There seems to be a lot of people lately saying they are sorry. Tiger Woods still tops the list as he prepares to re-enter golf at the Masters. David Letterman barely made ripples when he said he was sorry for having sex with his staffers. Presidential candidate John Edwards and Governor Mark Sanford have virtually disappeared after saying they were sorry for affairs that became public. After being caught with a male prostitute, Ted Haggard, the former pastor and president of the National Association of Evangelicals, went on a “I’m Super-Sorry” publicity tour last year. Last week Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington said he was sorry for using cocaine. Even the Pope has said he is sorry for the repeated child abuse by priests in Ireland while similar issues continue to surface in Germany and elsewhere.

I reckon it is good to say we are sorry. We all do stupid things. We all make mistakes. But it seems there should be something more. Two words seem to be missing from our vocabulary and our conversation. The first is “sin” and the second is “repentance.” They are seldom heard even in our pulpits.

We are all sinners like the prodigal son in Jesus’ famous story. (Luke 15) When the prodigal son returned to his father after having wasted his life in a far country, he said, “I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” The story might have ended very differently if the son had said, “I’m sorry. I have made mistakes. I will try to do better.” Somehow it doesn’t sound the same. .

We all need to repent. Repentance was not just an important word but an important concept in the New Testament. Perhaps John the Baptist was best known for preaching repentance in preparation for the Messiah. But Jesus also had a lot to say about it. In fact, the Bible says Jesus came preaching that all should repent. In one place, Jesus said, “Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish.”

Perhaps part of our problem is that we underestimate the meaning of repentance. The word translated repentance, metanoia, literally means “transformation of the mind.” Only God can truly transform our minds so that we think and act differently. We are all sinners and we all need the transformation of the mind called “repentance.” The Apostle Paul said, “Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

As we approach Easter we are reminded that God takes sin seriously. So seriously in fact that He gave His own Son to pay the penalty for our sins. Our sins cost Jesus His life. If we repent and put our faith in Him, the Bible says He will forgive us our sins and give us the gift of eternal life. (John 3:16). What’s more, he promises to transform our minds and deliver us from the sin that so easily beset us. (Romans 7-8).

It is a good thing to be sorry for what we have done. It is a better thing to repent and submit ourselves to God’s transforming power so that we don’t commit those sins in the first place.