Repentance

In Luke 15, we read about the parable of the prodigal son, who took his inheritance from his father to a distant land and wasted it all away. While longing to fill his hungry stomach one day, he thought of how the servants in his father's household would be faring better than he was, and decided to return home. Upon return, he told his father, "I have sinned against heaven and you." (Luke 15:21).

Jesus told an expert in the law that all the Law and Prophets hang on two commandments: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Matthew 22:37-39). Since sin is breaking God's law (I John 3:4), when one repents, he must repent of sins of breaking these greatest commandments. He must repent of sins against God and against people, just as the prodigal son repented of his sins against heaven and his father.

As for the sins against God, the primary sin is not loving Him with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my mind. Because of this lack of love, I may have committed the sin of worshipping other gods or making an idol to bow down and to worship (Exodus 20:2-6, Deuteronomy 13:1-5); the sin of worshipping money (Ephesians 5:5, Colossians 3;5, Matthew 6:24); the sin of misusing the Name of the Lord (Exodus 20:7), instead of using the Name to remember Him (Exodus 3:15), to call upon and worship Him (I Chronicles 16:29, Acts 2:21), and to praise Him (Psalm 8:1,9, 9:2, 18:49); and the sin of not returning to God what is due to Him, whether it is time (Exodus 20:8-11), honor (Malachi 1:6-9), or tithes and offerings (Malachi 3:8-11).

The second greatest commandment is "Love your neighbor as yourself." When the expert in the law asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?", He told him the story of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37): As a man was going down to Jericho, he met robbers, was beaten and stripped. A priest and a Levite passed by him on the other side, but a Samaritan took pity on him and took care of him. Jesus then asked, "Which one of the three was a neighbor to the man who was robbed?" Applying to the commandment of loving your neighbor as yourself, I think the question becomes "Whom can you be a neighbor to and love as yourself?" The answer, of course, becomes everyone around me.

So, as for the sins against my neighbors, I need to repent of sins committed against all people, starting with those closest to me -- my parents, my spouse, my children, my relatives, my friends, my coworkers, etc. I may have committed the sin of not honoring or respecting; the sin of hatred and murder (Matthew 5:21-22, Exodus 20:13); the sin of seeking unjust gain (Exodus 20:15, 17, Proverbs 20:10,23, Micah 6:11), not being content with what I have earned (Luke 3:12-14); the sin of false testimony (Exodus 20:16) or any sin committed with my tongue (James 3:1-12); and the sin of not looking after those in need (Matthew 25:41-46).

As I review the list, what I recognize is that all these sins are essentially sins against the ultimate law-giver, who is our Lord God. Committing any one sin amounts to committing the whole list of sins; breaking one law amounts to breaking all the laws, because neither can be tolerated by our holy and just God (James 2:10). In repentance, I must be thoroughly purged of all sins, confessing fully to the sins committed against God and men and asking for forgiveness. But in so doing, I have the assurance of forgiveness by the Lord (I John 1:9).

Heavenly Father, I am like the prodigal son. I have committed sins against you and people around me. Forgive me and purge me of all evil on account of Jesus' blood shed on the cross. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.