repentance

Over the last couple of days and even continuing into the next couple, repentance has been talked about and shown in the lives of the Kings of Judah. Sometimes we see true repentance happening and at other times we see a fake repentance happening. This coming Sunday we will be looking at the topic of repentance and understanding what it actually is. In the teaching time I will be giving 12 signs to know that a genuine heart experienced repentance. Today I want to list in writing the 12 signs for us.

1. We name our sins as sin and do not spin it or excuse it. We demonstrate a godly sorrow, which is to say a grief chiefly about the sin itself.
   
   
2. We actually confessed before we were caught or circumstantial consequences of our sin caught up with us.
   
   
3. If found out, we confess our sin immediately or very soon after and come clean rather than having to have the full truth coaxed out of us.
   
   
4. We have a willingness and eagerness to make amends. We do whatever it takes to make things right or to demonstrate we have changed.
   
   
5. We are patient with those we’ve hurt or victimized, spending as much time as is required listening to them without jumping to defend ourselves.
   
   
6. We are patient with those we’ve hurt or victimized as they process their hurt, and we do not pressure them or guilt them into forgiving us.
   
   
7. We are willing to confess our sin even in the face of serious consequences (including undergoing church discipline, having to face jail, or having a spouse leave us).
   
   
8. We may grieve the consequences of our sin but we do not bristle under them or resent them. We understand that sometimes our sin causes great damage to others that is not healed in the short term or even perhaps this side of heave.
   
   
9. If our sin involves addiction or a pattern of behavior, we do not neglect to seek help from a counselor or a program or even a rehab center.
   
   
10. We do not resent gracious accountability, pastoral rebuke, or church discipline.
    
    
11. We seek our comfort in the grace of God in Jesus, not simply being free of the consequences of our sin.
    
    
12. We are humble and teachable.