Do I Have to Say Sorry?
How good are you at saying, “I’m sorry?” To be sorry is to be repentant. It’s hard to say “I am sorry. Forgive me.” Saying sorry is not in our natures. Our pride gets in the way. Here’s the hard part-we have to say. “I’m sorry.” We are called to repent. If makes things easier, the call does not come from someone we’ve had words with. The call comes from Jesus.
Jesus doesn’t hide the truth. He never does. He is the truth. It is Jesus who calls us to repent. “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” He said to the people. The choice Jesus gives is narrow: repent or perish. There are no other alternatives. Jesus said it this way.
“There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.””
Luke 13:1-5
Can we see? It’s unmistakably clear…twice in 5 verses Jesus tells us to repent or perish. When someone repeats a message, they are serious. When Jesus repeats the message, it is more than urgent. Perish means die. Repent and we live forever.
Repent is a verb. To repent is to take action. Take action about the sins in our lives. When we repent, we feel remorse for our sins, we have regrets. Our sins bring sadness into our lives. Repentance brings joy. To repent is to turn from our sins to Jesus. While the sins of our lives are sources of shame for us, there is relief and joy when we tell them to Jesus.
While we may not realize it, our sins burden us. They hang on our backs; they bring sorrow and shame. But when we repent-tell Jesus-He removes them. He died on that cross to be able to take away our sins! We don’t tell the world our sins. The world is filled with sin already. But we don’t tell the world-We tell Jesus. In the quiet of our hearts. He knows everything about us-He waits for us to turn to Him. Turning to Jesus is what repentance is. We can bring our sins to Him any time…and Jesus is the ONE who can do something about them.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9
We have regrets. Everyone does. The sin in our lives does that. As we regret our sins there is hope-it’s found in Jesus. When we repent-turn to Jesus and tell Him our sins…we do not perish…we are saved. This is not fantasy. The forgiveness of Jesus is real. With Jesus, saying, “I’m sorry,” brings forever forgiveness.
That’s why this message is called the Gospel-it’s good news!