If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. [1 John 1:8-10 (NLT)]
When the woman joined our group at the table in the school gym, she said, “I got a late start so I was speeding to get here. If a cop stopped me, I was going to tell him I was doing the Lord’s work and, since God will forgive me, he should too.” She insisted that speeding for a godly purpose was a justifiable offense and, since God offers forgiveness, so should the police. Granted, we were doing God’s work by packing meals for the needy but, as the Blues brothers learned when they saved the orphanage, a mission from God is not a “Get Out of Jail Free” card.
Short of rushing someone to the hospital in a life-or-death situation, I’m not sure there is a valid excuse for speeding. While the bags we filled with rice, beans, and seasoning could be considered life-saving, some fifty of us packed food for over three hours so her tardiness had negligible impact on our work. If the woman’s speeding had caused an accident or injury, would she still consider her “mission from God” a valid excuse?
Having pointed my finger at this woman, two were pointed at me and I plead “guilty” as charged. None of us like consequences and so, like her, we all make excuses. In fact, a 2020 poll found that the average American makes six excuses a day! If not to traffic cops, we make them to our teachers, bosses, classmates, co-workers, neighbors, parents, children, spouse, and even to ourselves! We claim we ran out of time, forgot, were too tired, or having a bad day. Instead of blaming the dog for eating our homework, we blame the heavy traffic, the computer that crashed, or the bad weather.
Worse, even though I’ve never had to excuse my driving to the police, I’ve offered a variety of excuses to God for greater offenses! I don’t think I’m alone on this. Rather than a contrite confession, we probably offer a litany of excuses justifying our various transgressions. Like the child who cries, “He started it!” we hold others accountable, claim inexperience or naivete, defend our motives, or blame extenuating circumstances. If a rose by any other name is a rose, I suspect a sin is a sin regardless of how skillfully we try to justify or defend it!
God doesn’t need to be told what we’ve done—He already knows that. He doesn’t want excuses because there is no excuse for sin. He wants us to repent of our sins and turn to Him! The Greek word translated as repent is metanoeó which is more than regretting one’s sin. Its literal meaning is to think differently afterwards. Eerdmans Bible Dictionary defines repentance as “a complete change of orientation involving a judgment upon the past and a deliberate redirection for the future.”
That change of direction can’t happen if we rationalize our sins by blaming others or validate them with excuses. Until we honestly recognize and admit our sins, we’re not likely to repent of them. We can’t turn away from what we’re unwilling to acknowledge doing! Unacknowledged is unrepented!
Although being on a “mission from God” is not an excuse for sin or law-breaking, part of the woman’s theology is correct—God will forgive her! She was, however, totally wrong about why. God doesn’t forgive us because of our good works or great excuses. It is only by God’s grace and our faith in Jesus that we are forgiven. It is when we truthfully look at our sins, contemplate how pitiful and unworthy we are, and offer our failures in their naked ugliness without excuse that we can understand how loving, compassionate, generous, and forgiving our God really is. It is only then that we truly appreciate the gift of God’s forgiveness Jesus gave us on the cross.
True repentance is no light matter. It is a thorough change of heart about sin, a change showing itself in godly sorrow and humiliation – in heartfelt confession before the throne of grace – in a complete breaking off from sinful habits, and an abiding hatred of all sin. Such repentance is the inseparable companion of saving faith in Christ. [J.C. Ryle]
Yosemite Sam, the cartoon arch enemy of Bugs Bunny, used to exclaim “Jumpin’ Jehosophat!” I was an adult before learning that Jehosophat was the fourth king of the southern kingdom of Judah. It’s ironic that the king said to be jumping in Sam’s pseudo-swear is best known for standing still in 2 Chronicles!
Saul, a man willing to kill his son rather than concede his error in making a foolish vow, wasn’t quite as eager to fulfill other vows he made. Later, he promised his daughter (along with exemption from taxes and military service) to the man who killed Goliath. While the vow prohibiting his men from eating came from his desire for revenge, this one may have come from fear. It was the king’s job to lead his men into battle and Saul, as the tallest man and the only one with bronze armor like Goliath’s, was the obvious choice to take on the Philistine. Perhaps Saul hoped the promise of wealth, honor, and a place at the king’s table would be incentive enough for someone else to volunteer to face the Philistine. For 40 days Goliath had taunted Israel but there were no takers until David.
Last week, when writing how Jephthah’s reckless vow caused his daughter’s death, I remembered how Saul’s equally foolish vow nearly cost his son’s life. While Israel was at war with the Philistines, Saul and his 600 men were camped near Gibeah. Israel was seriously out-numbered by the better-armed Philistines and, because their enemy controlled the pass at Micmash, Saul’s troops could proceed no further. Although the rest of Saul’s men were afraid, Jonathan and his armor bearer were confident that the Lord was with them. Tired of the hopeless standoff with their enemies, the two snuck out of camp and headed toward the Philistine garrison. After passing through two treacherous cliffs and scaling a steep slope, they entered the enemy outpost and, outnumbered ten to one, killed them all.
Skeptics love to ask how God could allow Jephthah to offer up his daughter as a burnt sacrifice. First, let’s note that it never says God approved of his sacrifice. In fact, Scripture makes it clear that such a sacrifice was abhorrent to the Lord. In His wisdom and mercy, God even provided a way out if someone made a rash or unrealistic vow. Leviticus 27 explains that such a vow could be purchased back with a 20% penalty and describes how valuations were to be determined. Although Jephthah displayed knowledge of Israel’s history when negotiating with the Ammonites, he showed his ignorance of God and God’s law with his rash vow. Moreover, there is no reason to think his daughter was sacrificed in the Tabernacle. It’s more likely that such a horrific event would have been part of a pagan ceremony.
One of the most disturbing stories in the Bible is found in Judges 11. Before leading the army into battle with the Ammonites, Jephthah made a rash vow to the Lord—if given victory, he’d make a burnt sacrifice of the first thing to come out of his house to meet him upon his return. God granted Israel victory but, when Jephthah returned home, it was his daughter who came out to greet him. When the anguished Jephthah told her of his vow, the girl willingly accepted her fate. She only asked for one thing—to go into the hills with her friends to mourn that she’d never marry or know the joy of motherhood. When she returned, “her father kept the vow he had made and she died a virgin.”
Devotions of the Heart 