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HOW THE WISE MAN DEALS
WITH SIN
Marks of True
Repentance in Proverbs
Dr. Marc A. Graham, Director
Biblical Counseling Center of Southeast
Michigan
I. THE IMPORTANCE OF DEALING
WITH SIN CORRECTLY
Prov.
28:13---He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but
whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. [Mercy and
forgiveness are only received when sin is dealt with
Biblically.]
Prov.
28:1---The wicked man flees though no one pursues, but
the righteous are as bold as a lion. [When sin is not dealt
with Biblically one has a guilty conscience and fears, even when
there is no reason to do so.]
Prov. 28:9---If
anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are
detestable. [When sin is not dealt with Biblically, it impacts
our prayer life and spiritual walk. Even if we do pray, it will be
selfish and vindictive.]
Prov.
28:14---Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord,
but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble. [When sin is
not dealt with Biblically, we move from problem to problem and end
up piling sin upon sin.]
Prov.
28:18---He whose walk is blameless is kept safe, but
he whose ways are perverse will suddenly fall. ["Perverse"
means to have "crooked ways." A person who does not deal with sin
is headed for a fall. It is just a matter of time and place. Their
sin will take them down suddenly, without warning.]
Prov.
21:8---The way of the guilty is devious, but the
conduct of the innocent is upright. [One who does not deal
with sin will begin to develop a deceitful heart and deceptive
ways. You cannot trust people who refuse to deal with
sin.]
Prov.
21:10---The wicked man craves evil; his neighbor gets
no mercy from him. [When sin is not dealt with, the heart
becomes more corrupt. Such a person becomes more and more selfish
and grows to enjoy sin. Sin not dealt with just leads to more
sin.]
Prov.
21:15---When justice is done, it brings joy to the
righteous but terror to evildoers. [When sin is not dealt
with, one fears justice being done for he knows his sin will be
exposed and he will be in trouble.]
Prov.
15:8---The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked,
but the prayer of the upright pleases Him. [Sin not dealt with
disqualifies us from worship.]
Prov.
15:29---The Lord is far from the wicked, but He hears
the prayers of the righteous. [There is no fellowship with
God, no sense of His closeness and presence when sin is not being
dealt with.]
Prov. 14:2---He whose walk is upright fears
the Lord, but he whose ways are devious despises Him. [When
sin is allowed to remain in the heart, eventually one will grow
cold and indifferent to the things of God. Ultimately, he may even
come to despise God, His Word, His people, His Church.]
We can see from the above that
Proverbs warns us in many places of the great danger of refusing to
deal with sin Biblically.
II. THE PROVERBS FORMULA FOR
DEALING WITH SIN
Prov.
28:13---He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but
whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
A. We must first recognize the
tendency of the flesh to want to conceal, deceive, deny when it
comes to our sins.
1. "Conceal"---Hebrew word is
kacah which originally meant to "fill up hollow places."
In other words, you are filling up hollow place for the purpose of
covering or concealing them, so that no one knows they were
there.
2. Examples of the tendency to
deceive, deny, conceal in Scripture:
a. Adam and Eve---they hid from God
(Genesis 3:8-10). (Note that they hid because they were "afraid."
People tend to conceal sin out of fear.)
b. David's deadly cover up after his
sin with Bathsheeba. (2 Samuel 11---the cover up lasted about a
year---note the terrible lengths he was willing to go to conceal
his sin. Concealing sin leads to more sin, piling sin upon
sin.)
B. Reject the temptation
to conceal and realize the great value of a right heart. This is
gained through "confessing and renouncing" our sin.
1. "Confesses" in Hebrew is the word
yadah which meant "to hold out the hand, as in throwing a
stone." It was also used to mean "bemoaning" as in the wringing of
the hands over something. This gives us a flavor of what true
confession is---a heart attitude of sorrow over our sin that drives
us to want to throw it out of our lives.
a. Beware of playing I John 1:9
games with God. We might try to play them, but God does not play
such games.
b. Note the right heart attitude of
dealing with sin---Matt. 5:4.
2. "Renounces" in Hebrew
is the word azab which meant "to loosen or relinquish"
something.
3. Note that true repentance
involves both confession and forsaking sin. If you don't desire
change and aren't taking steps to change, you have not truly
confessed your sin, Biblically.
III. THE DOCTRINE OF
REPENTANCE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
A. Greek word most commonly used for
"repentance" in the New Testament is metanoia. This comes
from a root word which means "to think differently" about
something---to change our minds with a view to changing
direction.
B. The classic passage defining
repentance---1 Corinthians 7:9-11.
1. The issue of worldly sorrow
versus Godly sorrow.
a. Worldly sorrow---"I'm sorry I got
caught." "I'm sorry for what my sin is going to cost me." "I'm
sorry of have to give this up." "I'm sorry this is causing me such
embarrassment." Note the emphasis of worldly sorrow----"I, me,
my!"
b. Godly sorrow produces true
repentance. It is that brokeness and mourning over sin we spoke
about (see David in Psalm 51).
2. The definition of
repentance that is produced by Godly sorrow (what true repentance
looks like, how to spot it). ---2 Corinthians 7:11.
a. Earnestness: spoude in
the Greek text which means "speed, haste", the idea being a focus
in paying serious attention to what needs to be done and getting it
accomplished right now.
b. Eagerness to clear yourself:
apologia in the Greek text which means "a plea, an answer,
a defense." There is an eagerness to deal with your sin and put it
behind you so that you might be clear of it and your reputation
restored.
c. Indignation: aganaktesis
which means "to be greatly afflicted, sorely displeased, moved with
indignation." This is the idea that you hate your sin and anything
that led you into it. You want this terrible thing out of your life
once and for all.
d. Alarm: phobos which is
the word we get "phobia" from---"to be frightened." A repentant
heart is frightened at the wickedness of sin and the damage it
does. It wants no part of it.
e. Longing: epipothesis
from root word which means "to yearn, to dote upon, to crave."
Epi is a preposition on the front of the word which
intensifies it. What is it that this intense craving is focused on?
Righteousness. A right heart. A restored testimony!
f. Concern: zelos from the
root word zeo which meant to "be hot." Have you ever heard
of being "on fire" for something? That is what this word is
speaking of. A truly repentant person is on fire to change and be
conformed to God's will. He is passionate.
e. Readiness to see justice done:
The meaning of the phrase is obvious. The truly repentant person
asks: "What do I need to do to make this situation right, no matter
what it costs me?"
C. It is clear from all of
the above that a truly repentant heart is not worried about
"covering its tail" (concealing sin).
D. Note what awaits a repentant
person---"they will find MERCY!
1. Mercy---the withholding from us
of what we deserve.
2. Reflect on the following
passage-Psalm 86:15 (abounding in mercy).
E. The mark of a true believer is
that they deal with sin Biblically---(1 John 1:9; 1 John
3:7-10).
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