A Good Thing

He reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me. They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress, but the LORD supported me. He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me. The LORD rewarded me for doing right; he restored me because of my innocence. For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not turned from my God to follow evil. I have followed all his regulations; I have never abandoned his decrees. I am blameless before God; I have kept myself from sin. The LORD rewarded me for doing right. He has seen my innocence. [Psalm 18.16-24] 

Psalm 18 and 2 Samuel 22 are, chronologically speaking, obviously in the wrong place as today's One Year Chronological Bible reading goes. David's claims in the passage above would simply be outright lies if they were made after the event with Bathsheba. However, the claims of Psalm 18.16-24 would indeed have been true for David up until around the time Saul died.

Psalm 51, in fact, accurately conveys David's (right) attitude after the event with Bathsheba. Verse 17 below tells all:

The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. [Psalm 51.17]

There is a tendency among people of faith to want to ignore the fact that they sinned. They want to claim, "Jesus paid it all..." (and rightly so), but because the Bible says there is "no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8.1), they go a step further to declare they are innocent. Something "sets wrong" with such a claim, especially for people who are supposedly associated with the Truth that is Jesus. They want to let "bygones be bygones" until, of course, they "share their testimony."

Living a lifestyle of repentance should never be mistaken for "condemnation." Repentance is an action (not a feeling) that assures the repentant that he or she is doing the works of faith (James 2). Repentance acknowledges that there is indeed an alternative selfish action, but that it has been willfully turned from in order to willfully turn to Jesus and His ways. Repentance is man's active choice in every life situation to "follow Jesus" instead of his own selfish way. Jesus said it clearly:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24 (also, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23)]

Anyone who thinks this is a one-and-done event in a believer's life has not actually tried it. Following Jesus requires decided willful action every moment of every day. It requires a broken and repentant heart because life relentlessly calls man to pride and selfishness otherwise. To be clear, a broken heart is indeed a feeling. However, only a repentant heart is one that actually carries out obedience to Jesus. While is may be sad to give up our own way, it is obedience to take up our cross and follow Jesus.

Repentance is a good thing because it is the one and only leg our faith has to stand on (see here). All the faith teaching in the world is useless (and powerless) if it is not built upon the foundation pillar of repentance.

Father, as Your people actually learn Your Word from the Bible (not from the established opinions, commentaries, doctrines, or denominations of man), help them - help us - to understand the power of faith as it stands upon a lifestyle of repentance. So be it.