Read Psalm 78:32-37. 32In spite of all this, they still sinned; despite his wonders, they did not believe. 33So he made their days vanish like a breath, and their years in terror. 34When he killed them, they sought him; they repented and sought God earnestly. 35They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer. 36But they flattered him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues. 37Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not faithful to his covenant.
Sin – Punishment – Repentance – Sin again.
This is the cycle that Israel found themselves in throughout most of their biblical history. This cycle is vividly portrayed in books like Exodus and Numbers, Judges, Kings and Chronicles. And it is being described here in Asaph’s historiographical psalm.
Sin – In spite of all this, they still sinned.
Punishment – So he made their days vanish…he killed them…
Repentance – they sought him; they repented and sought God earnestly.
But their repentance was never whole-hearted – they flattered him…they lied to him…Their heart was not steadfast toward him.
Sadly, many Christians live within this same Sin-Punishment-Repentance cycle. We drink too much, lust too much, argue too much, complain too much, cheat too much. Eventually we get caught or the conscience kicks in. Fear of punishment brings worldly grief over sin rather than the godly grief over God’s broken heart. Half-hearted repentance follows. Re-dedications, re-consecrations, re-commitments, trying harder, doing better, all things that rely on our faithfulness to God, fade as quickly as they came.
The person in Christ must see that fear of God’s punishment never produces lasting change. God’s wrath never changed a heart. Not in the Old Testament and not in you. It is only the kindness of God that brings true and lasting repentance. Only the punishment of Christ on the cross has the power to break us and re-make us. Only his faithfulness, not ours. Only his dedication, his consecration, his commitment, his effort, can make our hearts steadfast toward God. Only to live is Christ can break the cycle.
You: Can you recognize the Sin-Punishment-Repentance cycle in your life?
You in Christ: In Christ we are dead to sin. It has no power over us. How does this truth motivate us to resist sin in all its forms?
Christ in you: Trust Christ’s dedication to you today, not yours to him?
Pray: Jesus, break this cycle in my own life by your kindness. The kindness of your life in me. Amen.
To Live is Christ 