Proverbs 1:25: Repentance or regret?

[Wisdom says:] “because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof,”
-Proverbs 1:25

What happened when you repent?

I ask because we don’t seem to know. Is it a matter of saying sorry and then ignoring the problem? Is it making a confession and then going to do the same thing again?

“To repent” means “to turn away from.” I find that very interesting. If you are going to really repent, you are going to turn away from that thing of which you are repenting. Are you repenting of junk food? Then you won’t eat it any more. If you do keep eating junk food, then you never repented; you only regretted.

I worked with a woman a few years back who smoked. She was making an effort to quit, but never could get over the cravings, and so she always went back. She would make an announcement to the office that she was quitting. A couple of days later she would be smoking again.

It’s interesting that she always said that: “I’ve quit smoking,” but she never did. I think that’s how a lot of people who go to church view repentance.

That’s not what it is.

The modern church clings to the truth that we are saved by faith. That is absolutely true, but they forgot part of it. What they do not understand is that faith must lead to repentance, which must lead to a change. If there is no change, there has been no true repentance; if there is no repentance, there has been no faith. In other words, if I have not been changed by the awesome power of Christ, can I really claim to have experienced it?

Take this example. If a man claims to love his children, but does not care for them, does not provide for them, and does not even speak to them, can we really say he loves them? Obviously not!

Take a look at John 14:12a: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do.” Did you catch that? If you believe in Christ, then you will also follow His example.

How about 1 John 1:6? “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”

Part of the call of Christ, of Wisdom in this chapter in Proverbs, is a call to obey. Turning to Christ means obeying Christ.

Some of you are going to read this and say to yourself, “We must obey Christ to get to heaven!”

You have it wrong. Faith is what gets us to heaven, not works. Works come out of faith. If you look at your life and you see no evidence of Christ in your heart, then your problem is not a lack of works. Your problem is a lack of faith!

The Bible tells us these things so we can test ourselves and know that we are children of God (1 John 2:5-6, 2 Corinthians 13:5). Have you repented, or only regretted?

Right now, some of you are getting upset, because you’re thinking, “Hey, I prayed a prayer when I was eleven and the pastor said I never had to worry about getting to heaven again! How dare this blogger question that!”

And I say to you, many will say “Lord, Lord” who never knew Jesus, and He says He will tell them to depart (Matthew 7:21-23). The Bible never says that you can pray a certain prayer and never worry about your spiritual state again. The Bible tells us to repent and to examine ourselves to see the evidence of Christ. I was one who prayed one of those prayers and thought I was saved, only to come to the truth years later when I truly repented. Examine yourself!

If you find yourself still in sin, then the solution is not to “try harder.” The solution is to turn away from sin and turn to Christ. Repent of your ways and seek His Grace. It was the religious who put Him to death, not who followed Him. And yet Jesus’ sacrifice has made room in heaven for even the most hardened, self-righteous, proud, religious person there is.

Look at yourself. Do you know Him? If not, let today be the day you turn.