Archived Daily Manna | Rejoice Fellowship | A mission to release people to rejoice in the world.

Message: We have a guest commentary today, a continuing series on the Epistle of James, from Dr. Ken Boa of Atlanta. It is often taught that repentance means to change your mind about something (e.g., salvation or sin), and that confession means to agree with God about your sins. While this is true, it is only part of the story. If we reduce repentance and confession to an intellectual exercise, we become vulnerable to a flippant attitude that minimizes the gravity of sin. True repentance involves a “godly sorrow” over sin in the life of a believer (2 Cor. 7:11). When Paul said, “Wretched man that I am!” (Rom. 7:24), he used an adjective that is related to the verb translated “Be miserable” in James 4:9. Notice the way Paul speaks of repentance in his description of how the Corinthian church responded to his letter: I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, in order that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! (2 Cor. 7:9-11). Repentance in the biblical sense affects not only the mind and emotions (attitudes), but also the will (actions). This is precisely what James requires of his readers. They must mourn over their worldliness which has put them in opposition to their God and turn away from the scornful, self-satisfied laughter of frivolity and foolishness. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matt. 5:4). silhouette of man praying before cross at sunset The next verse adds, “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you” (Jas. 4:10). The biblical order is always the same: “humility goes before honor” (Prov. 18:12; cf. 11:2; 16:18; 29:23). Peter uses similar words: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time” (1 Pet. 5:6). Only in the light of the greatness and glory of God can we see ourselves clearly. In that light we realize that we are His creatures, bound by time and space, our destinies in His hand. It is then that we acknowledge His right to rule and say with Mary, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Dr. Boa is devoted to a ministry of relational evangelism and discipleship, teaching, writing, and speaking. He holds a B.S. in astronomy from Case Institute of Technology, a Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary, a Ph.D. from New York University, and a D.Phil. from the University of Oxford in England. I highly recommend a visit to his website, KenBoa.org, which is filled with free videos, written commentary, newsletters, etc.