2 Samuel 11:27 says that "the thing that David had done displeased the Lord." God sent David's pastor, Nathan, to preach against the sin that he had committed. David was cut to the heart. He responded, "I have sinned against the Lord." Nathan then announced to David, "The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

Now, the Lord didn't forgive David because he repented. Rather, David's plea for mercy was a fruit of his God-given faith. Through the Law, David had been brought to realize that He had gravely offended God and needed His forgiveness. God Himself worked this repentance in David's heart, in order to prepare him to be raised back up by the life-giving gospel.

St. Paul tells us what true contrition and repentance is all about in 2 Corinthians 7:10: "Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation." Notice that St. Paul says "Godly sorrow" produces repentance. This sorrow leading to repentance is not the result of our own efforts and struggles, as if that could please God in and of itself. Rather, the Holy Spirit leads us to an awareness of sin, and then draws us to confess and seek the forgiveness of sins bestowed on us through the means of grace.

Since there are many churches that actually turn contrition and repentance into a good work which we do to appease God, it is important for us to realize that this is all God's work. It is not our own wrestling and struggling against sin that causes repentance, but God's Word. Neither is it our feeling of guilt or our attempt to clean up our life that causes God to forgive us. He does that only because of His great love.

We cannot earn God's grace and favor by anything we do. We could never be sorrowful enough or feel guilty enough or repentant enough to earn anything from God. We are always saved by grace alone, through faith in Christ's atoning work. In fact, even faith is a gift of God (Eph 2:8-9), created in holy baptism and nourished through absolution, the preaching of the gospel and the Lord's Supper. Faith is nothing more than trust in the Word that covers us with the blood of Christ, which alone cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)

Now, what if David had responded to Nathan's preaching this way: "Oh Nathan, you old fool! I haven't done anything wrong, and even if I have, what does it matter? God forgives me. Go away and leave me alone!" Such an unrepentant response would have been an indication that David had no saving faith. It would have indicated that David believed He had really done nothing wrong and did not need God's forgiveness.

One of the effects of our "tolerant" society, is that even many who claim to be Christians today live in open sin without any remorse. They are shocked to hear the pastor tell them that what they are doing is sin, since they believe they are doing nothing wrong. What they forget, of course, is that it is God's Law and not society's standards that determines what is and what is not sin.

People who refuse to repent when they are confronted with God's Law actually resist the Holy Spirit and give evidence that they reject Christ. What they are really saying is, "There's nothing wrong with me. I don't need Jesus' forgiveness." Such people must be told that they are separated from God, that they are still in their sins and cannot enter heaven as long as they do not repent (Matthew 18). That is what makes un-repentance so serious. Un-repentance amounts to calling God a liar when He shows us our sins. Un-repentance takes God's gifts of forgiveness and salvation and throws them back in His face. Therefore, there is no such thing as an un-repentant Christian (Prov. 28:13; 1 John 1:8). On the contrary, true, repentant faith always listens when God points out sin and responds in the manner of the hymn writer:

Then, upon hearing the Gospel, faith rests confidently in the baptismal grace and mercy of Christ and sings:

Robert A. Lawson Jr. is pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Escondido, CA