What Repentance is NOT

You've sinned.  You realize it.  You do not excuse it.  You are ready to admit it.  The only right and proper Christian response to sin is repentance.  Unfortunately, we are not clear on what repentance is and is not, and so it is too common that we do not really repent of our sins.  I want to briefly sketch out some common misconceptions of repentance to help distinguish true repentance from false.  First, repentance is not just being sorry.  We've all seen and been the person who gets into sin, realizes the error, and feels really bad about it.  Maybe we even cry over it.  We're eaten up by guilt.  We feel very ashamed, and we're immediately sorry we sinned.  BUT, we don't need to confuse sorrow with repentance.  It will many times accompany and precede repentance, but it is not the same.  Paul says "Godly sorrow leads to repentance."  See that?  Real, godly sorrow is not the same as repentance, but should lead us to repent.  You can feel sorry, and still not repent.  Second, repentance is not the same as confession.  When I confess my sins, I am essentially agreeing with God that my sin is sin.  We're saying to God, "You call what I've done a sin, and I must now do the same."  The Bible says that if we confess our sins, that God is faithful and just and will forgive them.  Yet one might confess sin, and still not repent.  Again it is a part of repentance, but not the same as repentance.  We begin by recognizing our sin as sin, calling it that, and making a confession of it to the Lord.  Last, repentance is not just a firm resolve not to engage in that act of sin anymore.  How many times have you sinned, felt guilty, confessed it to God, and then put your foot down that this will never happen again?  Until it does happen again.  Then we make another firm resolution that lasts until it ends.  We should never be too impressed with our firm resolve.  I'm pretty certain God isn't.  Real repentance is not resolve though it includes resolve.  Do you not love posts that tell you all about what something is not, without telling you what something is?  Well, today that's what you get!  A post about what something isn't, but not what it is.  I will continue this post later, and look briefly at what real repentance is.