Blaspheme of the Holy Spirit

Many fear that they have committed the “unpardonable sin” and have passed beyond the hope of salvation. Usually, they cite these chilling words of our Lord:

•       And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. (Matthew 12:31-32)

This passage raises several questions. What does it mean to speak against the Holy Spirit (the blaspheme against the Holy Spirit) and why is it unpardonable? At first glance, this seems peculiar. Why would speaking against the Spirit be unpardonable while speaking against the Son be pardonable? Perhaps it is because speaking against the Son might have been done in ignorance:

•       1 Timothy 1:13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.

•       Luke 23:34  Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

However, speaking CONSISTENTLY against the miraculous manifestations of the Spirit – in this case, casting out demons – could hardly have been done in ignorance. Instead, such denials of the Spirit’s Jesus-attesting miracles could only arise out of a hard heart that refuses the light. Consistent with this, the Jamison, Fausset, Brown Commentary reads:

•       In charging Jesus with being in league with hell they were displaying beforehand a malignant determination to shut their eyes to all evidence, and so, bordering upon, and in spirit committing, the unpardonable sin.

I would add to this that their refusal to regard the light – the evidence of the Spirit’s miraculous workings – was a persistent refusal. Right before this, “Looking for a reason to accuse Jesus,” they assailed Him for healing on the Sabbath, and then “went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus” (Matthew 12:9-14). Clearly, all the evidence in the world would make no difference to them. It seems apparent that God would now allow them to go their own way and to reap the consequences of their refusal to be influenced by the evidence:

•       Romans 1:21-24  For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.

God finally allowed them to go their own way. Could this frightful fate also pertain to those who want the truth and salvation? The sage commentator Matthew Henry put it this way:

•       But humble and conscientious believers, at times are tempted to think they have committed the unpardonable sin, while those who have come the nearest to it, seldom have any fear about it. We may be sure that those who indeed repent and believe the gospel, have not committed this sin, or any other of the same kind; for repentance and faith are the special gifts of God, which he would not bestow on any man, if he were determined never to pardon him; and those who fear they have committed this sin, give a good sign that they have not. The trembling, contrite sinner has the witness in himself that this is not his case.

For someone who wants God’s salvation, Scripture assures them that if they seek, they will find. Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Rom. 10:13). Any who come to Jesus will not be cast aside but will be raised up in the last day (John 6:37). Any who confess their sins will be forgiven and cleansed (1 John 1:9). In fact, there is no instance in Scripture where someone sincerely sought forgiveness and was turned away.

We find that forgiving the greatest unworthiness, the worst of sins or the most plenteous of sins represents no obstacle to our Lord. He even seems to delight in saving the least deserving of people. He claims that He purposely choose this world’s rejects (1 Cor. 1:26-29). Paul had been the worst of sinners. He not only killed Christians but forced them to renounce their faith in Christ. (I can think of nothing worse!):

•       Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. (1 Tim. 1:15-16)

Paul explained that his life should serve as an example to any who might fear that they are un-savable. If Paul could be saved, then none need fear that they couldn’t be saved.

King Manasseh was perhaps the worst of Israel’s kings. He ruled for 55 years. If anyone had committed sins that made him ineligible for salvation, it was he:

•       Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations (he has acted more wickedly than all the Amorites who were before him, and has also made Judah sin with his idols), therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah...” (2 Kings 21:10-12).

However, the Assyrians captured Manasseh and threw him into prison:

•       Now when he was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God (2 Chron. 33:12-13).

God had given King David everything, but that wasn’t enough for him. Despite the fact that he had numerous wives, he took another’s wife and then killed her husband. David had to suffer greatly for these sins, but God gladly forgave him.

Israel had performed worse than other nations and became “more corrupt than they in all your ways” (Ezekiel 16:47). Nevertheless, God promised to restore them completely (Ezek. 16:59-63) even though they deserved nothing from their God. God’s offer of salvation was always available to Israel:

·       Isaiah 55:7  Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

·       Hosea 6:1 Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.

·       Jeremiah 3:22  "Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding.”

However, Israel’s problem was not that they had committed the unpardonable sin but that they consistently refused God’s offer:

·       Jeremiah 35:15  “Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, ‘Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your fathers.’ But you have not paid attention or listened to me.”

·       Luke 13:34  "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!”

The worst of sinners can come before God with the assurance that if they confess, they will be forgiven (1 John 1:9). One such sinner cried out, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner” and received mercy (Luke 18:13).

Forgiveness and the mercy of God do not depend on our worthiness, but upon our willingness to humble ourselves by confessing our unworthiness, as Jesus explained:

•       Luke 18:14 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself [by confessing his sins] will be exalted."

The offers of God are despised by those who have hardened their hearts:

•       1 Cor. 2:14 The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

·       John 3:19-20 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

But the Bible promises our Lord is open to any who come to Him:

•       Romans 10:12-13  For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

•       Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Consequently, it is the refusal to come that is the unpardonable sin.

READING SCRIPTURE THROUGH THE LENS OF GOD’S LOVE

God is love, and, therefore, shouldn’t we understand Scripture with His love in mind? Well, yes, but what does God’s love entail? Bill, a self-identified “progressive Christian,” insisted on reading Scripture in a way that dismissed the verses Jesus had taught on repentance and eternal judgment. For Bill, God’s love had no room for repentance, righteousness, and judgment. Consequently, he claimed:

• I read Scripture through the lens of God’s love. I can’t believe that a loving God would punish, certainly not eternally. 

Consequently, Bill carefully chose for himself the verses that affirmed his understanding of love. But what does love look like in the Bible? Love takes many forms. The Prophets of Israel spoke of God’s love, but it came in the form of warnings against rebellion. Meanwhile, the false prophets embodied Bill’s understanding of love. They invariably preached a popular and comforting message. However, God censured them:

• They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among the fallen; when I punish them, they shall be overthrown, says the LORD. (Jeremiah 8:11-12; ESV) 

While preaching an indulgent message of “peace” has the appearance and even the “feel” of love, it is a message that failed to penetrate to the core problem – the rebellion of Israel. Consequently, it was a message that did not heal but allowed the cancer to fester. Therefore, the consequences would be great.

The prophet that truly loved God and his people would preach to heal:

• But if they [the false prophets] had stood in my [God’s] council, then they would have proclaimed my words [of warning] to my people, and they would have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their deeds. (Jeremiah 23:22) 

The false prophets had a perverted understanding of love. They only understood the immediate comfort that their message of “peace” would bring and the approval of men. They had little esteem for the Word of God. Therefore, God chastened them:

• Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; they have not exposed your iniquity to restore your fortunes, but have seen for you oracles that are false and misleading. (Lamentations 2:14)

A true message of love would aim towards restoration to God through repentance. Inevitably, such a message would sound harsh and unloving. Peter’s words to Simon the Magician, who offered to purchase the gifts of God, sounded unduly harsh:

• But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” (Acts 8:20-23) 

However, after being cut by his words, Simon asked for prayer. Therefore, it looks like Peter’s words were loving and merciful. Likewise, Peter had preached to the crowd that they were guilty of crucifying Jesus, but this harsh accusation produced fruit:

• Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:36-38)

Peter did not gloss over their guilt. He went right to the core of their problem and pricked their conscience. This represented true love.

Likewise, Peter’s Master spoke many harsh words against the religious leadership, for example:

• “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.” (Matthew 23:13-15)

This may not look like love to us, but if God is love, and everything He did was done out of love, then this too is love. From this perspective, these leaders needed strong words to penetrate their hardened hearts.

However, Jesus also spoke harshly to His own disciples:

• But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” (Matthew 16:23)

Love doesn’t always speak soft-cuddly messages. It speaks words that best serve the listener – words like what God had instructed Isaiah to proclaim:

• Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (Isaiah 1:16-20) 

Bill’s understanding of love in not the biblical understanding of love. He is like the false prophets who preached “peace” when there was no peace. Bill’s “love” is not a love that pleases God. It is a “love” that fails to heal, because it brings words that do not belong to God.

 

Apostasy: The Gaying of the Church

In 1997, City Church (Presbyterian Church of America – PCA) was planted in San Francisco to provide a biblical alternative. Fred Harrell and the church drew thousands! He also drew hundreds of thousands of dollars from supporting churches. However, this witness for Christ quickly became tarnished:

• On March 13, 2005… members were shocked when Harrell and sex elders – two resigned – sent out a letter announcing that City Church “will no longer discriminate based on sexual orientation.” The letter made it clear that sexually active gay and lesbian couples in same-sex marriages could become church members. (Marvin Olasky, World Magazine, July 11, 2015, 33-34)

Harrell claimed that his beliefs had “evolved.” However, it couldn’t have been on the basis of biblical teaching, which gives no encouragement whatsoever to non-heterosexual sex. On top of this, there are many warnings that those who make a practice out of sin will face judgment:

• If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:6-7)

John follows this up with the assurance that we will be forgiven if we confess our sins (1 John 1:9). However, this is precisely what same-sex couples will not do and what the church has condoned in defiance of Scripture:

• We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. (1 John 2:3-6)

Does the homosexual lifestyle defy the commands of God? Clearly:

• Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

When church membership is granted to active, unrepentant homosexuals, they are, in essence, told that they are accepted by God. Meanwhile, it is scripturally obvious that the unrepentant are not and have no place in the Kingdom of God:

• For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a man is an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them. (Ephesians 5:5-7)

By extending church membership to the unrepentant gay, we are now “partners.” We can no longer say, “You cannot promote homosexuality here,” or “You cannot provide leadership and influence our youth.”

Also, if the church makes this allowance for gays, to be consistent, it must also make such an allowance for all sinners. It also means that the church can no longer define what it is or what it stands for.

But are we actually loving the gays, when we throw open the doors of our church, telling them that they are fully acceptable before God? No! Instead, we are contributing to their damnation:

• The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)

If we love them, we must warn and plead with them to confess and repent of their sins, as we have. According to Jesus, confession and repentance are key:

• Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them--do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish." (Luke 13:1-5)

Yes, warning causes hurt, but warning is essential. Many things cause hurt, like surgery to remove a cancer, but this is often essential. Jesus often warned:

• "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'” (Matthew 7:21-23)

Warning is precisely what the apostate church is not doing. It is telling everyone that they are okay and will have peace and freedom. Yes, we must extend hope, but it must be a true hope. If instead, we extend an unbiblical hope, we become false teachers. Peter gives us a telling description of a false teachers:

• These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity--for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. (2 Peter 2:17-21)

When we give membership to those who are unrepentant, we are telling the entire church that sin is okay. And when we do that with sexual sin, we unleash a tsunvami.

And what about those who know better and yet give the gay community an unbiblical hope and assurance? The Hebrew Prophets gave us many descriptions of what the false prophets preached. It was always a popular message and always included what the people wanted to hear - “peace.”

• “They keep saying to those who despise me, 'The LORD says: You will have peace.' And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, 'No harm will come to you.'  But which of them has stood in the council of the LORD to see or to hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word? See, the storm of the LORD will burst out in wrath, a whirlwind swirling down on the heads of the wicked. The anger of the LORD will not turn back until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart. In days to come you will understand it clearly. I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied. But if they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds.” (Jeremiah 23:17-22)

Often times, a popular message can kill. It is not faithful either to God or to those who He is calling. However, this is a temptation against which we must all guard. We want the approval of others. We want worldly peace, even at the expense of our peace with God. Therefore, the Apostle James warned us:

• You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. (James 4:4)

God and His Word must remain number one! When we disregard the Word of God, we disregard God and become His enemy:

• It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8)

We therefore cannot be a friend to the world and retain a friendship with God:

• Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him… The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:15-17)

We must all, therefore, repent of our sinful ways in order to find a real peace with God:

• Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:7-8)

Do not be deceived by the growing hoard of false teachers who are trying to justify homosexuality on a biblical basis. Editor-in-Chief of World Magazine, Marvin Olasky, writes:

• I appreciate the honesty of Emory University professor Luke Timothy Johnson, who teaches courses on the New Testament and acknowledges that he and liberal seminary colleagues “do, in fact, reject the straightforward commands of Scripture, and appeal instead to another authority when we declare that same-sex unions can be holy and good… we are fully aware of the weight of scriptural evidence pointing away from our position, yet place our trust in the power of the living God to reveal as powerfully through personal experience and testimony as through written texts. (World, July 11, 2015, 24)

May we all seek our Lord and His truth, sincerely asking Him to search and expose any sins!

Our Relationships: Why they Fail and why they Succeed

What does it take to maintain a thriving relationship or marriage? Several websites contain quotations identifying many essential ingredients. Some quotes emphasized sacrificial effort:

• “The difference between an ordinary marriage and an extraordinary marriage is in giving just a little ‘extra’ every day, as often as possible, for as long as we both shall live.”

• “A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.”

• “The greatest marriages are built on teamwork. A mutual respect, a healthy dose of admiration, and a never-ending portion of love and grace.”

• “A great marriage isn’t something that just happens; it’s something that must be created.”

• ‎”No one can go back and change how it started but a new future for any marriage can begin the moment one person begins to invest in it.”

Similarly, others emphasized commitment and acceptance:

• “Once we figured out that we could not change each other, we became free to celebrate ourselves as we are.”

• “A long-lasting marriage is built by two people who believe in -and live by- the solemn promise they made.”

• “Marriage is a commitment- a decision to do, all through life, that which will express your love for one’s spouse.”

• “A happy marriage doesn’t mean you have a perfect spouse or a perfect marriage. It simply means you’ve chosen to look beyond the imperfections in both.”

Other sayings emphasized the importance of forgiveness:

• “A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.”

• “Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit.”

• “To keep your marriage brimming, with love in the wedding cup, whenever you’re wrong, admit it; whenever you’re right, shut up.”

• “A successful marriage isn’t the union of two perfect people. It’s that of two imperfect people who have learned the value of forgiveness and grace.”

Forgiveness is so critical. When one partner refuses to forgive, bitterness and disappointment reign, and these undermine a relationship at its foundation. Curiously, though, I didn’t see any quotes stressing apologies - confession of wrongdoing. Without these, there cannot be any real healing or reconciliation. I can forgive my wife in my heart, but the pain, disappointment, and resentment might remain until there is a genuine humbling to admit the wrongdoing.

I think that real apologies have become a dying breed, and, along with them, real reconciliation. Why? I think that there are many reasons:

Admitting that we are at fault is difficult. Too often, our sense of self – our self-esteem – depends on being right. When we get into a fight, we are inclined to blame the other. This is easier to do than to take the blame upon ourselves.

We are taught to believe in ourselves. However, in order to believe in ourselves, we have to think good things about ourselves and to deny the negative – our wrongdoing.

However, I have found that the more highly I esteem myself, the less I will esteem others and my wife. The less I esteem myself, the more I esteem my wife and am grateful to have such a woman, despite her failings.

We believe that we should be easy on ourselves. This means that we shouldn’t hold ourselves to a high and scrupulous moral standard.

This too is problematic. For example, if my wife tells me, “You are speaking harshly to me,” but I respond, “Well, you’re just too demanding of me,” we will not be reconciled. Her hurt feelings and my guilt feelings remain. Besides, we will continue to obsess about how right we both are! Instead, reconciliation requires humble and sincere confession.

If, instead of apologizing, I take my wife out to dinner and buy her a new dress, this will fail to penetrate to the place of the hurt. In fact, all of the other things that go into making a good relationship – respect, commitment, and devotion – will also fail to address the source of the problem.

It is interesting to find that the problems we encounter in our relationships serve as a reflection of the problems with have with our Primary relationship. Serving God entails commitment, respect, and hard work, but even more fundamentally, it requires us to confess our sins. Repeatedly, God instructs us to take a careful moral inventory in regards to Him:

• “Return, faithless Israel, declares the Lord. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the Lord; I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt, that you rebelled against the Lord your God and scattered your favors among foreigners under every green tree, and that you have not obeyed my voice.” (Jeremiah 3:12-13)

God doesn’t require that Israel first pay Him a great sum of money or make exhaustive sacrifices before He will forgive them. Instead, He asks for one thing – acknowledgment of their guilt.

In the end, when Yahweh pours out His Spirit upon Israel, the result will be a mourning over their sins:

• “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him [Jesus] whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.” (Zechariah 12:10)

From contrition will come forgiveness and restoration. The great prayers of the Bible reflect an understanding of this principle – that confession must precede reconciliation (1 Kings 8; Dan. 9). Where there is a refusal to confess sins, there is also an absence of mercy.

In the end, God will unilaterally restore and transform Israel:

• I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.  And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. (Ezekiel 36:24-29)

However, God’s unilateral action on behalf of His people must be associated with confession and mourning over their sins:

• Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations.  It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel. (Ezek. 36:31-32)

• I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the Lord, that you may remember and be confounded, and never open your mouth again because of your shame, when I atone for you for all that you have done, declares the Lord God.” (Ezek. 16:62-63)

Shame is a necessary God-given emotion. It instructs us about ourselves and our relationships. It also directs us to take corrective action – confession of sins – in order to bring true reconciliation and joy.

Perhaps, even in heaven, we will need to recall how we had been in rebellion against God. I am growing in appreciation for my wife, but this only occurs as I take a good and deep look at myself.