Repentance Versus Apology

By:  Dale Weckbacher

2 Chronicles 33:12-13

And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. ¹³ He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.

(ESV)

Romans 3:23 reminds us that we all have sinned and fallen short of God’s standard for our lives.  As such, we have all done things in our lives that we later came to regret.  However, when this regret goes public because someone is a public figure, a public apology usually follows.  While apologizing to those we have wronged by our actions is important, restoration to God also involves repentance. 

Unfortunately, celebrity apologies have become formulaic in nature and are not genuine but an attempt to cover and maintain a positive public image.  In fact, there is even a “Celebrity Perv Apology Generator” to help public figures with developing an apology for their actions.  For Harvey Weinstein the apology consisted in blaming the culture of the 60’s and 70’s in which he grew up.  (1)  Charlie Rose claims to have learned a new respect for women due to these events.  (1)  Mr. Rose, are you speaking of the events with these women or the event of them going public with the events.  If the events you are apologizing for are these women going public about your actions, the apology is shallow and an expression of guilt at the allegations going public. 

For Matt Lauer, the apology claims some untruth in the allegations against him but also that enough truth exists to cause embarrassment and shame.  (1)  However, Mr. Lauer’s apology comes closer to expressing repentance for he goes on to express a desire to repair the damage his actions did by going through a time of soul searching and taking a hard look at his troubling flaws.  With repentance defined as “to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one’s life”, (2) Mr. Lauer’s apology is closer to an expression of repentance.  What remains for the public to see is if Mr. Lauer will continue his 180 degree about face in behavior. 

The Bible has much to say about the need for sinners, of which we all are (Romans 3:23), to repent.  Ezekiel 18:30 speaks of repentance as one turning from their transgressions.  This is the first step in salvation for without the realization of sin in our lives and the need to turn from it, there can be no genuine turning of one’s life over to Christ.  Jesus speaks of the absence of repentance leading to one perishing (Luke 13:3).  The Apostle Peter urged those listening to him to repent and be converted so their sins may be blotted out (Acts 3:19).  Peter later said that repentance was a command of God for people everywhere (Acts 17:30). 

According to Billy Graham, repentance is not,

1)      Penance – Penance is an admission of guilt for one’s actions but does not necessarily indicate a change of character.  (3)  While one’s actions do have consequences, the suffering of a penalty for sins does not guarantee one will not continue in their sinful behavior as evidence by the high recidivism rates among those released from prison.  (4) 

2)      Remorse (3) – Judas and Peter both experienced remorse for their actions (Matthew 27:3-5, Luke 22:54-62).  The difference between Judas and Peter was that Judas experienced remorse but instead of repenting and seeking forgiveness from God, he hung himself while Peter went out and wept in repentance and received forgiveness (John 21:15-19). 

3)      Self-condemnation – Condemning ourselves for our sins only serves to heap more guilt upon ourselves instead of healing the wounds caused by our sins.  (3)  The penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23), but instead of leaving us all to die, God sent us his son to provide atonement for our sins.   However, the first step in receiving this atonement is a genuine desire to turn from these sinful behaviors. 

According to Billy Graham, repentance consists of three elements,

1)      Conviction – This is a realization prompted by the Spirit of God that our life is going in the wrong direction and needs a change of direction.  (3)

2)      Contrition – This is a brokenness of heart that draws us near to God (Psalm 34:18).  It is a Godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:10) and not a shallow sentiment or show of empty emotion.  It is this element of contrition that is missing from most of the apologies we see from public figures caught in their sins.  Peters tears of contrition (Matthew 26:75) are what led to the third element of repentance and receiving full forgiveness from God.

3)      Changing your mind – Biblical repentance involves a change of direction.  (3)  We close the loop of repentance when we vow to change the direction of our life and not venture back into the sinful lives we once led.  2 Corinthians 7:10 reminds us that godly sorrow (contrition) leads to repentance and then to salvation. 

Repentance goes beyond just an apology to others for the wrongs we have done to them and involves a soul searching and turning to God vowing to change the direction of our lives.  The recent sexual allegations of public figures in politics and entertainment are disgusting but even more disgusting are the empty apologies that do not close the loop into repentance, insuring these disgusting allegations will end at some point.  May we be like Peter who turned from his path of denial through genuine repentance into one who led the early church. 

1. Eckardt, Stephanie. Ranking the Absolute Worst Apologies by Men Accused of Sexual Assault Post-Harvey Weinstein in 2017. www.wmagazine.com. [Online] W, November 30, 2017. [Cited: December 31, 2017.] https://www.wmagazine.com/story/worst-apologies-by-men-harvey-weinstein-kevin-spacey-charlie-rose.

2. Merriam-Webster . Repent. www.merriam-webster.com. [Online] Merrian-Webster Dictionary. [Cited: December 31, 2017.] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/repent.

3. Graham, Bily. True Repentance, Real Change. billygraham.org. [Online] Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, December 1, 2006. [Cited: December 31, 2017.] https://billygraham.org/decision-magazine/january-2007/true-repentance-real-change/.

4. Zoukis, Christopher. Report Documents U.S. Recidivism Rates for Federal Prisoners. www.huffingtonpost.com. [Online] Huffpost, December 6, 2017. [Cited: December 31, 2017.] https://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-zoukis/report-documents-us-recid_b_9542312.html.