God’s Kindness, Leading to Repentance
Josh December 2nd, 2007
From the moment I awoke this Lord’s Day, the holy, mighty, and loving God of Scripture visited me. His Spirit, brooding over my heart, convicted me of sin, showed me my laxity in spiritual graces, brought me once again to the end of myself, then reminded me of His grace.
Throughout the morning, and even through Church, he personally, particularly, and determinedly brought me to that state of brokenness which is always so sweet to the sinner who has been redeemed by God’s grace. Blessed be our God Who does not leave us untouched in our natural proclivity towards hardness, stalemate, and laxity! It is His kindness that leads us to repentance.
The Pastor’s sermon was certainly not by accident (then again, nothing is). As God graciously brought me into close fellowship with Him, I was being focused more and more on His greatness, and my finiteness. The Pastor then preached from James 4:7-10, which ends with:
9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
In many of the so-called churches of our day, introspection is often discouraged. I even hear Reformed folk many times warn against what they have perceived to be “too much” introspection from the pens and papers of the Puritans. While no doubt there are times where outward expressions of glee, joy, and zeal are most appropriate, and even mandated, there are nonetheless those times where we should sit, with humble contrition, in reflection over our sin. We must guard ourselves, however, against trying to manufacture emotions and psychological manipulations that conjure up a false piety or humility.
It is good to know that those whom the Lord love, he chastens. And this chastening, while not comfortable, ought always be welcomed by the believer. Not only is a time of burning away chaff, but it is a time of developing perseverance and steadfastness. James here issues a direct command to “be wretched and mourn and weep.” How does this happen? By the Holy Spirit through the reminders of what the Word of God teaches us about ourselves.
And what is the purpose of this process of being wretched, mourning, and weeping? So that by God humbling us, we may be exalted. No, I do not mean so that we can have our felt needs met. No, I do not mean so that we can feel a little more sanctfied. I mean, that God will exalt us so that the devil will not continue to rail against us concerning our sin. “Look what you’ve done! And you call yourself a Christian?” We need only be reminded that it’s preciseley because of our sin that we need Christ.
When a Christian humbles himself, and responds obediently to the chastening of God’s Spirit, he will be brought low. Then God, in His own wise and perfect timing, will lift up that man at just the right time, so that he may say to Satan, according to the Scriptures, “You have no accusation that will stand the test of time against me, you rebel! Nay, I have been bought with a price, the precious blood of my Lord, and there are no returns.” What a comforting reality for those who are among the Redeemed!
