- Jan 28, 2019
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This is from a prominent 'reformed' Baptist minister's appreciation page. I don't agree with the sentiment, but I put it out there to see what any of you think. I also linked to the facebook page it comes from.
“I don’t understand why Christians are so fuzzy in their thinking and practice concerning what has come to be called ‘apologizing.’ A pastor of my acquaintance relates the following incident as illustrative of the point I am making. If one of his children would come to him and say, ‘Dad, I’m sorry; I did this and this,’ he would respond by saying, ‘That’s interesting---you are sorry; well, I am hungry.’ He would then proceed, patiently and biblically, to instruct the child that both of these statements concerned their present state of feeling. The child is sorry, and the dad is hungry.
“Desirous of instructing his child concerning the nature of true repentance and confession of sin, he would then proceed to interact with the child along the following lines: ‘Now tell me what you mean by telling me that you are ‘sorry.’
‘Well, I did or said something I should not have done or said.’
‘Oh, you did? I agree with you; now tell me, what does God call those things we do and say that we should not do or say?’
‘God calls those things sin.’
‘That’s right, and God expects you to call what you did exactly what he says it was---that it was a sin.’
‘Well, Dad, I sinned by doing or saying this or that particular thing. Will you forgive me?’
“At that point, the father acknowledged that he freely and fully forgave his child for the particular sin that he confessed. A spiritually wise father or mother will also seek to instruct his or her child that forgiveness must be sought from God in exactly the same way. The language of Scripture is clear: ‘If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ (I John 1:9).”
---Pastor Martin, "Encouragement for Pastors' Wives" booklet, page 27 (available from Chapel Library). A Tribute to Pastor A.N. Martin for his 85th
“I don’t understand why Christians are so fuzzy in their thinking and practice concerning what has come to be called ‘apologizing.’ A pastor of my acquaintance relates the following incident as illustrative of the point I am making. If one of his children would come to him and say, ‘Dad, I’m sorry; I did this and this,’ he would respond by saying, ‘That’s interesting---you are sorry; well, I am hungry.’ He would then proceed, patiently and biblically, to instruct the child that both of these statements concerned their present state of feeling. The child is sorry, and the dad is hungry.
“Desirous of instructing his child concerning the nature of true repentance and confession of sin, he would then proceed to interact with the child along the following lines: ‘Now tell me what you mean by telling me that you are ‘sorry.’
‘Well, I did or said something I should not have done or said.’
‘Oh, you did? I agree with you; now tell me, what does God call those things we do and say that we should not do or say?’
‘God calls those things sin.’
‘That’s right, and God expects you to call what you did exactly what he says it was---that it was a sin.’
‘Well, Dad, I sinned by doing or saying this or that particular thing. Will you forgive me?’
“At that point, the father acknowledged that he freely and fully forgave his child for the particular sin that he confessed. A spiritually wise father or mother will also seek to instruct his or her child that forgiveness must be sought from God in exactly the same way. The language of Scripture is clear: ‘If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ (I John 1:9).”
---Pastor Martin, "Encouragement for Pastors' Wives" booklet, page 27 (available from Chapel Library). A Tribute to Pastor A.N. Martin for his 85th