People resist repentance with determination! People who reject God refuse to repent. Christians resist repentance. Repentance requires change, and people fight change. The older we become, typically the more determined we are to resist change.
Nowhere do we resist change more than in our own lives. We understand what this means: "He (or she) is set in his (or her) ways!" It means the person is inflexible. It means the person is certain he or she is okay. It means the person never admits the need to change anything in his or her life. It means the person is stubborn and unyielding. "The world is wrong, but I am not! The church is wrong, but I am not! My family is wrong, but I am not! Everyone everywhere needs to change, but I do not!" As we increasingly become "set in our ways," we increasingly destroy our ability to repent.
The most certain element of life is change. Consider: conception to full term, unborn to born, infant to toddler, toddler to preschool age, preschool age to kindergarten age, kindergarten age to primary age, primary age to middle school age, middle school age to junior high age, junior high age to senior high age, senior high age to college age, college age to career age--CHANGE, ENORMOUS CHANGE! Consider: single adult to married adult, childless marriage to family with infants, family with infants to family with young children, family with young children to family with preteens, family with preteens to family with teens, family with teens to family with children in college, family with children in college to empty nest, empty nest to grandparents, grandparents to retirement years--CHANGE, ENORMOUS CHANGE!
The most certain element of spiritual existence is change. For the godly man or woman, every step in life from baptism to death involves the process of spiritual maturity. The godly person does not "learn it, get it right, and live by the same rules" throughout life. The godly person builds a relationship with God through Christ. The godly person constantly grows in his or her understanding of what it means to serve God. Service based on a relationship between the servant and his master is the product of growth. By its nature, growth is change.
An essential element of spiritual growth is repentance. By its nature, spiritual growth makes powerful, positive use of change throughout our lives to mold us in God's spiritual image by developing in us Jesus' mind and heart.
The problem? People want God's forgiveness without repentance. We want salvation, but we do not want to change. "Teach me the necessary rules and deeds without changing me!"
The reasons for people refusing to repent are numerous. Following are only four of the many.
Some people love what they have. Read Mark 10:17-22.
He ran up to Jesus and kneeled before him. He addressed him as Good Teacher. He had full confidence in the fact that Jesus had the correct answer. He was not ashamed to acknowledge his confidence in this man who was opposed by the religious establishment [the significant political leaders of Israel]. Can you imagine a man of wealth behaving this way in public?
What shall I do to inherit eternal life? Today we yearn for the person who recognizes Jesus' identity and accepts his authority to ask us this question.
Jesus told him to keep the ten commandments: Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not lie about others, do not defraud, and honor your parents.
Always, from the time that he was young, he faithfully kept these commandments.
Jesus told him to sell all his possessions, give to the poor, and he would have treasure in heaven. After he did that, he was to come follow Jesus.
He owned a lot of property, and obviously did not want to sell it and give to the poor.
It was not possible for this man to follow Jesus' instructions without repenting. He had to love Jesus more than he loved his possessions. He had to value eternal life more than his current life. He had to value eternal life more than he valued his wealth. Following Jesus would mean a total change of life. This was a conscientious, religious man who kept God's commandments. His repentance did not involve rejecting the ungodliness of what is commonly called "evil behavior." His repentance would involve turning away from materialism. Americans have difficulty acknowledging that materialism is evil.
Some people are filled with a sense of their own goodness [self righteousness]. Read Luke 15:29.
I have served you for years! I have respected you, your position, and your authority! I have never neglected any commandment that you gave me!
He needed to repent. His service to his father demonstrated "his personal goodness." He felt no sense of privilege or blessing in being his father's son. He regarded his father to be dependent on him instead of him being dependent on his father. He had neither respect for nor appreciation of the opportunities the father provided him. He had no awareness of the blessings produced through his father's work and gifts. His "goodness" was "proven" by his brother's failures. He compared himself to his brother, not to his father. He could not see the blessings of compassion or the joy compassion brings because he was jealous and resentful. He desperately needed to repent.
Some people love evil. Read John 3:19,20.
The people rejected the light because they loved the darkness.
They loved the darkness because their deeds were evil. The darkness would hide their deeds; the light would reveal their deeds as evil.
They do not want their deeds exposed. They do not want people to see and understand who they really are and how they actually behave.
For awhile he was a missionary companion to Paul in Paul's traveling company of teachers and preachers. When it was evident that Paul would be executed for sharing the message of Christ with others, Demas deserted Paul and left Christianity. The price of death by execution was too much. He loved physical existence in this world too much to risk death for Christ.
These verses focus on wicked people who do ungodly things with no intention of changing. The list of ungodly conduct and behavior is impressive. The connection between the internal heart, thinking, and desires of the wicked is impressive. God's response: to turn loose of them. God permitted them to be and to become as wicked as they desired. They are a clear example of people who refuse to repent. Such people reject all godly influence.
Some people fail to see God's work in Jesus. Read Matthew 15:1-9.
The Pharisees challenged Jesus because his disciples did not practice the Jewish religious rite of hand washing before eating. A long-standing Jewish religious tradition required "the godly" to observe this religious ceremony prior to a meal.
They were religious, knowledgeable people, experts in the teachings of scripture.
They declared that any person who pledged a gift to the temple [to be used to support the upkeep and functions of the temple] had no responsibility to help his or her parents when their parents were in need. The accepted understanding of HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER was to care for them when they were in physical need. Their teaching placed caring for the temple above caring for your parents. God's priorities made caring for parents more important than supporting the temple.
Isaiah prophesied about people such as them in Isaiah 29:13.
They honored God with their mouths.
They kept their hearts far away from God.
Their teachings were vain [useless, of no importance, of no power] because they substituted humanly reasoned conclusions for God's teachings and priorities. This substitution commonly exists as a serious temptation to religious people. Christians often do the same thing today. In fact, most of the church's struggles are related to this substitution.
Because they did this, God rejected their worship. They technically did what God commanded in offering worship. However, their religious emphases made correct worship practices meaningless.
They did not see God at work in Jesus. They were convinced that their reasoning was God's will. They were convinced that their conclusions were God's conclusions. They were convinced that their priorities were God's priorities. They were convinced that their concerns were God's concerns. Jesus was too different. His perspectives were too extreme. His emphases were too radical. They regarded the God that Jesus revealed to them as a misrepresentation of the God they envisioned. It was much easier to oppose Jesus the man than to open their minds and hearts to his teachings. Understanding his teachings meant they had to change [radically] their spiritual concepts and religious practices. The most difficult change religious people can make are changes in spiritual concepts and religious practices.
Link to Student Guide
Quarter 3, Lesson 4