We were in staff meeting discussing Acts 2:37-41, specifically looking at the understanding of confession and repentance. One of our staff members brought up the illustration that repentance is like being on a diet and choosing to stop eating unhealthy foods while choosing the more healthy options. As I began to process this illustration, it made a lot of sense because at the time of writing this I have been "dieting" for about three months. As I began to relate repentance to healthy eating, I discovered three truths that we can gain from this understanding of repentance.
The term "confess" occurs 20 times throughout the NASB translated from two different Hebrew words and three different Greek words. Most often the term is used in reference to declare oneself guilty or to profess, declare openly, or speak out freely. Prior to changing my diet, I personally had to come to the point of confession to recognize that I was overweight, unhealthy, and developed an inability to effectively do everything God had called me to. When I found the correct motivation, it was in that moment that I was able to make changes. While I knew my eating habits were creating an unhealthy version of me, those habits continued until the moment when I became fully aware of the damage. I am reminded of Romans 10:9, "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus [as] Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;" (NASB). As we understand confession as it relates to salvation, it is at this moment that we recognize that we are living an unhealthy lifestyle that must be changed. This unhealthy lifestyle involves a fractured relationship with God and others. The moment we come to this understanding is the moment we confess that Jesus' redemptive work on the cross is the only thing powerful enough to mend our unhealthy lifestyles.
Another significant aspect of confession is the opportunity we have to not only confession to God, but also to one another. James 5:16 says, "Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." When we confess to one another, it provides specific ways to pray. When we can pray specifically for one another, it paves a path for the Holy Spirit to work in an individual's life. To refer back to the diet illustration, part of my diet plan involves a weekly accountability group to discuss what went well for the week, discuss potential challenges, as well as gain strategies from other individuals. Accountability provides a healthy environment to learn and serve others. While I am still personally responsible for my lifestyle choices, accountability allows others to come alongside me in the journey. Confession, whether to God or others, often does not include immediate changes to one's lifestyle, but it does provide power to initiate changes.
“In confession occurs the breakthrough of the Cross. The root of all sin is pride, superbia. I want to be my own law, I have a right to my self, my hatred and my desires, my life and my death. The mind and flesh of man are set on fire by pride; for it is precisely in his wickedness that man wants to be as God. Confession in the presence of a brother is the profoundest kind of humiliation. It hurts, it cuts a man down, it is a dreadful blow to pride...In the deep mental and physical pain of humiliation before a brother - which means, before God - we experience the Cross of Jesus as our rescue and salvation. The old man dies, but it is God who has conquered him. Now we share in the resurrection of Christ and eternal life.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community
Once we come to a point of confession, our hearts are softened to the idea of implementing changes. Too often within the church, we can place an emphasis on behavior modification rather than the work of the Holy Spirit. True confession leads to heart change, which empowers a believer to make adjustments to his or her life. As I am dieting, it is my responsibility to make healthy food choices throughout the day. Everything I eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks contribute to the overall health changes I am attempting to make. Some days are better than others, but every day I must make the conscious decision to say "no" to unhealthy choices and "yes" to the healthy ones. It is the same way within our spiritual walk. As I confess, the Spirit gives me power to make better lifestyle choices, but I have the responsibility of making those choices throughout the day. Do I lie to advance my career, or do I choose to live a life of integrity? Do I drown my sorrows with alcohol, or do I look to God to be filled with the spirit? Do I live a life of sexual promiscuity, or do I recognize myself and others as the respected individuals who have been created in the image of God? Repentance involves making necessary choices to adjust our lifestyle each day, that flows from a heart of awareness to our sin made through confession. While confession involves knowledge of the holiness of God and inadequacies of ourselves, it produces heart change. Heart change leads us to repentance, which provides the opportunity to put action to desire to follow God's holiness.
With each passing day since confessing that I needed healthier eating habits, I have been required to make choices regarding what types of food I would eat. Would I eat fruits and vegetables or reach for a bag of chips and a cookie? These choices helped reveal the process of repentance, and the activity involved in turning away from the unhealthy choices for the new ones. However, another aspect that surrounds repentance is the desire for the old way of living. Though I am 3 months into my health changes, I continue to have a desire to eat an unhealthy snack. I never know which unhealthy snack might be tempting from day to day, while some are even items that I would not have craved before changing my diet (Darn you, pizza... while I would usually eat pizza as one of my wife and son's favorite foods, I never particularly desired it. However, once my diet changed there have been many days in which I flat out crave the stuff). Research has shown that when we implement diet changes, it has a direct affect on our metabolism, which in turn affects regaining of lost weight. Here is an article in the New York Times that explains more on metabolism and weight loss. I believe here lies once again another truth that corresponds to our spiritual life. As we confess and repent daily, there are moments we continue to desire the old way of living. Paul would write of his thorn in the flesh, which could have been a multitude of challenges (2 Cor. 12:7). We often think of Jesus' only moment of temptation was his forty days in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1-11). However, if Jesus was not only fully God, but also fully man, it is much more likely that he would have continued to face temptation throughout his entire life and ministry. The key difference in this situation between Jesus and us is our sin nature. While Jesus didn't have a sin nature, we do as a result of the fall which gives temptation a foothold to succeed. While we may be committed to Christ, are being changed by Christ, and committed to the mission of Christ, our sin nature will often times lead us to desire, crave and be tempted to return to our prior way of living. While I am firm believer that the Holy Spirit can and does remove such desires, there are many things we will struggle with until we are with Him in eternity. Repentance is laying something aside even when we desire it. An alcoholic having the power to abstain from drinking (Eph. 5:18). A spouse having the power to refuse an adulterous relationship (1 Cor. 6:18). An overeater making the decision to forego high calorie options for low calorie options (Prov. 23:20-21). The true power of the Holy Spirit is revealed when we turn from our worldly desires and commit to a new way of living even while our sin nature is still yearning for our unhealthy lifestyle. As Jesus said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me" (Luke 9:23). Let us take up our cross daily by confessing our need for a Savior, repenting from our former lifestyles, and committing Jesus as Lord of our life to have the power to repent even when former desires exist.
