Devotional: Contrition, Part 1

Contrition, Part 1

"Let grace be shown to the wicked, yet he will not learn righteousness" (Isaiah 26:10a).

At first glance, this scripture didn't make sense to me. Grace is defined as God's divine, unmerited favor, available to the sinner for salvation and the redeemed for victorious living. So, if grace is shown to the wicked (or we could say the heathen, or unbelievers), why wouldn't he learn or receive righteousness? Well, the first obvious answer is that God didn't make robots. We have all been given a free-will, and therefore have the right to choose. So I suppose grace could be shown to the wicked and yet they still refuse it. As sad as that is, it happens all the time.

But actually all I've really done is interpret a "scenario" - I didn't really interpret the scripture. It says, "Let grace be shown to the wicked, yet he will not learn righteousness." In other words, we have to assume grace is shown (and therefore received) yet "he will not learn righteousness." We know righteousness is right-standing with God, the ability to stand before without guilt or inferiority as if we had never sinned. This scripture is stating that although divine, unmerited favor is shown to the wicked, they will not be able to stand before God in this fashion. The question still remains... why?

The Bible will never contradict itself, but you can take the Word of God and allow it to translate itself through other scripture. In several places, the Word says by "...the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established" (see Matthew 18:16 and 2 Corinthians 13:1). This is why it is so important to never build a doctrine on one scripture. It should always be interpreted in the light of the rest of the Word. So with this in mind, let's look at another scripture to help us better understand Isaiah 26:10. "Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and her penitents with righteousness" (Isaiah 1:27).

Zion is a literal location in Israel, but throughout the scriptures (both Old and New Testament) it is also used to describe God's people. This scripture says that Zion, God's people, shall be redeemed with justice and her penitents with righteousness. We know this to be true because of what Jesus did for us on the cross when He justified mankind and gave us right-standing with God. The interesting word here however, is the word "penitent." It is another word for "repentive." Repentance is a fundamental change of heart and mind from sin toward God. The opposite of this would be "impenitence" which means to show no remorse or CONTRITION. Now that's not a word you hear everyday! Contrition means to be broken.

Now before I bore you with all these definitions, I really do have a point to make!

The Bible says God's people will be redeemed with justice (Jesus' sacrifice - justice being paid in full). Jesus did this for all of mankind, not just those who will accept it. Hebrews 2:9 says He tasted death for EVERYONE! But Isaiah 1:27 also makes it very clear only the repentive are the ones who will receive righteousness (right-standing with God, as if they had never sinned). The repentive are those who not only acknowledge their sin, but are extremely remorseful and broken over it. They understand their need for a Savior.

This brings me back to our question: ("Let grace be shown to the wicked, yet he will not learn righteousness") - why? Because although they were given divine, unmerited favor (available for salvation), they did not learn righteousness because of a lack of contrition (or repentance)! Grace has been given to us as a free gift, but it should be received with gratefulness. The problem is, we have too many preachers teaching that God is so good that you don't have to worry about sin. "His grace is sufficient." But that doesn't line up with the rest of the Word of God. My God is good, and loving, and patient, and merciful, and kind - but He is not spineless! Why else does His Word say, "The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit" (Psalm 34:18)? Why else does God's Word say, "For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted" (2 Corinthians 7:10a)?

It is so very sad, but we are living in an age where grace is abused and people are not broken over their sin. God is so merciful that He said in First John 1:9, "If you confess your sin, He is faithful to forgive you and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness." But that does not mean we should take it for granted. NO! On the contrary, the scriptures warn us, "Think how much more terrible the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God and have treated the blood of the covenant as if it were common and unholy..." (Hebrews 10:29a). And just to remove all doubt, this scripture is not speaking to the wicked only. In the opening passage of this thought, it says, "For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins" (verse 26). This sounds a lot like our opening scripture which stated, "Let grace be shown to the wicked."

I'm not trying to depress anyone today, but I do hope that we have reverence for God and the sacrifice He made when He allowed His Son Jesus to die for our sins in order to give us right-standing with Himself. And that when we do blow it (and we all will at times) that we are truly broken over our sin and sincerely repentive before Him, grateful for His mercy, for it is the repentive who stand in righteousness.