7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
The wording in our verse for today is a description of what occurs in heaven when the heinous and habitual sinner changes their mind or disposition toward God – basically, rejoicing abounds. Specifically, repentance is “to undergo a moral reorientation of the soul”, according to the New Testament Lexical Aids of the Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible. Further it states:
“This reorientation acknowledges the error of one’s ways and turns them towards the divinely prescribed way of truth and righteousness. In terms of salvation (or conversion), repentance denotes a turning away from unbelief, mistrust, and rebellion against God and toward complete reliance upon His forgiveness and favor on account of Christ. Although repentance can be attended by and expressed through sorrow or contrition, it is fundamentally tied to the mind or heart and not the emotions.”
Paul, in speaking to King Agrippa in Acts, recounted words Jesus spoke to him on his Damascus road encounter:
15 "Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?' "'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 16 'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.' Acts 26:15-18 (NIV)
Here we see in Jesus’ own words repentance consists of turning from darkness to light (rebellion to righteousness) and from the power of Satan to the power of God. Again, this is tied to the mind and the heart and not the emotions. We simply cannot trust our emotions – they wax and wane like the waves of the sea. If we are basing our belief on this tossing and turning we are certain to be unstable in our ways. Scripture states:
6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. James 1:5-8 (NIV)
When we allow our emotions to control us, we vacillate over trusting in God’s provision and turning to our own fears and anxieties - as if we were in control of anything! When we do this we open up ourselves to Pandora’s Box becoming easily duped by those who “follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority”. Of these people Peter states us:
13 They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. 14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed--an accursed brood! 2 Peter 2:13-14 (NIV)
Again, we are warned by Paul in 2 Timothy:
1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. 6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. 2 Tim 3:1-7 (NIV)
Being unstable, vulnerable or gullible sets us up for a coup from the evil one. Beware! Know Truth through having a firm grasp of God’s Word. We are not to depend on our feelings. Scripture admonishes us to:
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Tim 2:15 (NIV)
“The best protection against Satan’s lies is to know God’s truth.” Anonymous
“If we suffer the good to grow weaker, the evil will surely gather strength and struggle desperately for the mastery over us; and so, mayhap, a painful desolation, and a lamentable disgrace may follow.” Charles Spurgeon