“Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.” (Revelation 3:19, NIV)
There are some scriptures in the Bible that, because of nuances in the English language over time, are not as clear-cut as were originally intended. The above scripture gives you an example of this. An Old King James Bible from 1900 quotes this verse as “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” People today don’t often use words such as “rebuke”, “chasten”, and “zealous”. The Revised Standard Version of the Bible tried to modernize this verse’s meaning with the words, “Those whom I love, I reprove and chasten; so be zealous and repent.” It replaced the word “rebuke” of the King James Bible with “reprove”. It still doesn’t make things clear in modern times. In the 1980’s, the NIV version of the Bible rewrote this verse with the words, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.” This does make the verse somewhat more understandable by using the word “discipline” instead of “chasten”. Because of these changes in wording, the first half of this verse was given more clarity. God desires to correct (rebuke) and discipline those who God loves. But the second half of this verse is still somewhat unclear. What does it mean to “be earnest and repent”?
For a long time, I thought “be earnest and repent” meant that a person should focus or concentrate on repenting. However, the word “earnest” does not quite mean to simply focus or concentrate. The original Greek word for “earnest” implies the need to “be stirred”, “get enthusiastic”, “show some passion toward it”, or as the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament teaches, “to make it the goal of one’s striving”. In essence, to “be earnest to repent” is to make repentance a top priority, to get it done, and to put all your effort into getting the work completed. Thus, Revelation 3:19 is explaining that because God loves you, God will discipline and correct you. Your response should be a total commitment to repent, AT ONCE! Right now. To get the job done. You should not dawdle or wait or procrastinate when it comes to repentance!
I have known people to put off repenting for a wrong, to ignore a sin, to procrastinate when it came to making things right. This verse clearly urges the faithful to hurry up and repent. It declares the importance of answering God’s discipline with quick correction, making things right as soon as possible.
In hospital jargon, there is a word called “stat”. When I was a chaplain at Christian Northeast Hospital in St. Louis, every now and then there would be an announcement over the PA system that a doctor should report to an area “STAT!”. I knew this meant that the doctor should get there immediately but wondered why the word “stat” was used. What does “stat” mean exactly? Only recently, I learned that the word “STAT” used in hospitals comes from the Latin word “statim”, which means “instantly” or “immediately”. When a doctor is hailed “STAT!”, it means the doctor must drop everything and get somewhere for an emergency.
The scripture for today seems to have the same view for repentance. Repenting should be done “STAT!”. You should not wait. You should not hold back. Repentance, as God requires, should be done without delay.
After an argument with a co-worker, Jerry left work fuming. His blood pressure was probably through the roof. He was so upset; he drove through a stop sign and took the wrong exit ramp to get home. When he pulled into his garage, Jerry closed the garage door and entered the house. Immediately upon opening the door, he heard his two sons arguing loudly. His wife was trying to stop their argument and resolve the problem. Jerry, still fuming, yelled at the boys. He ranted and raved for twenty minutes, and then turned on his wife. He told her, “Can’t a guy come home to a house in peace? You can’t do anything right!”
For days, Jerry’s wife hardly spoke. Her eyes were often full of pent-up tears. The two boys avoided Jerry. Interactions between everyone in the house felt strained and awkward. There were no smiles or hugs when Jerry was around.
At first, Jerry figured his family deserved their chastisement. Then, after a few more days, he figured they would just move past it. He had. Things settled down at work. Jerry got back into the routine. But things at home were strained for two weeks. Pridefully, Jerry told himself that the family deserved his anger that day. He did not regret his yelling.
A month after his big outburst, Jerry was sitting in church. The topic of the sermon that day concerned the connection between love and forgiveness. The more Jerry thought about the pastor’s words that day, the more he felt guilt at his big outburst. Things between Jerry and his wife were still cool in the bedroom. His boys still whispered when near him. Home life was still awkward and strained. Jerry finally decided to do something. Swallowing his pride, Jerry asked for his wife’s forgiveness. He told her how he regretted the words he used and the way he treated her. Then, he told the boys how much he loved them and gave them hugs. Finally, home life returned to normal, and love was again the main emotion in the household.
Why did it take Jerry a whole month to ask for forgiveness after his terrible outburst? Why do people ignore the importance of repenting after doing a wrong? Waiting to make things right always takes a big toll. As Revelation 3:19 teaches, there is no time like NOW to repent and make things right.
You can tell how much God means to you by how quickly you repent of your wrongs. If God means a lot, you will repent of a sin right away. Those who have the sin of pride will often wait to repent, hoping they won’t have to admit their mistakes. King David of the Bible waited too long to repent of his sin. Only after the prophet Nathan chastised David and David’s son died did he repent of his adultery with Bathsheba. Death was the result of David waiting to repent. Judas’ sin caused Jesus’ crucifixion. As a consequence of not repenting, Judas committed suicide. From the pages of the Bible to the pages of modern life, there are many examples of people taking too long to repent of their sin. Don’t you make the same mistake.
When God says repent, do it quickly, or suffer the inevitable effects of living with sin.
For a long time, I thought “be earnest and repent” meant that a person should focus or concentrate on repenting. However, the word “earnest” does not quite mean to simply focus or concentrate. The original Greek word for “earnest” implies the need to “be stirred”, “get enthusiastic”, “show some passion toward it”, or as the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament teaches, “to make it the goal of one’s striving”. In essence, to “be earnest to repent” is to make repentance a top priority, to get it done, and to put all your effort into getting the work completed. Thus, Revelation 3:19 is explaining that because God loves you, God will discipline and correct you. Your response should be a total commitment to repent, AT ONCE! Right now. To get the job done. You should not dawdle or wait or procrastinate when it comes to repentance!
I have known people to put off repenting for a wrong, to ignore a sin, to procrastinate when it came to making things right. This verse clearly urges the faithful to hurry up and repent. It declares the importance of answering God’s discipline with quick correction, making things right as soon as possible.
In hospital jargon, there is a word called “stat”. When I was a chaplain at Christian Northeast Hospital in St. Louis, every now and then there would be an announcement over the PA system that a doctor should report to an area “STAT!”. I knew this meant that the doctor should get there immediately but wondered why the word “stat” was used. What does “stat” mean exactly? Only recently, I learned that the word “STAT” used in hospitals comes from the Latin word “statim”, which means “instantly” or “immediately”. When a doctor is hailed “STAT!”, it means the doctor must drop everything and get somewhere for an emergency.
The scripture for today seems to have the same view for repentance. Repenting should be done “STAT!”. You should not wait. You should not hold back. Repentance, as God requires, should be done without delay.
After an argument with a co-worker, Jerry left work fuming. His blood pressure was probably through the roof. He was so upset; he drove through a stop sign and took the wrong exit ramp to get home. When he pulled into his garage, Jerry closed the garage door and entered the house. Immediately upon opening the door, he heard his two sons arguing loudly. His wife was trying to stop their argument and resolve the problem. Jerry, still fuming, yelled at the boys. He ranted and raved for twenty minutes, and then turned on his wife. He told her, “Can’t a guy come home to a house in peace? You can’t do anything right!”
For days, Jerry’s wife hardly spoke. Her eyes were often full of pent-up tears. The two boys avoided Jerry. Interactions between everyone in the house felt strained and awkward. There were no smiles or hugs when Jerry was around.
At first, Jerry figured his family deserved their chastisement. Then, after a few more days, he figured they would just move past it. He had. Things settled down at work. Jerry got back into the routine. But things at home were strained for two weeks. Pridefully, Jerry told himself that the family deserved his anger that day. He did not regret his yelling.
A month after his big outburst, Jerry was sitting in church. The topic of the sermon that day concerned the connection between love and forgiveness. The more Jerry thought about the pastor’s words that day, the more he felt guilt at his big outburst. Things between Jerry and his wife were still cool in the bedroom. His boys still whispered when near him. Home life was still awkward and strained. Jerry finally decided to do something. Swallowing his pride, Jerry asked for his wife’s forgiveness. He told her how he regretted the words he used and the way he treated her. Then, he told the boys how much he loved them and gave them hugs. Finally, home life returned to normal, and love was again the main emotion in the household.
Why did it take Jerry a whole month to ask for forgiveness after his terrible outburst? Why do people ignore the importance of repenting after doing a wrong? Waiting to make things right always takes a big toll. As Revelation 3:19 teaches, there is no time like NOW to repent and make things right.
You can tell how much God means to you by how quickly you repent of your wrongs. If God means a lot, you will repent of a sin right away. Those who have the sin of pride will often wait to repent, hoping they won’t have to admit their mistakes. King David of the Bible waited too long to repent of his sin. Only after the prophet Nathan chastised David and David’s son died did he repent of his adultery with Bathsheba. Death was the result of David waiting to repent. Judas’ sin caused Jesus’ crucifixion. As a consequence of not repenting, Judas committed suicide. From the pages of the Bible to the pages of modern life, there are many examples of people taking too long to repent of their sin. Don’t you make the same mistake.
When God says repent, do it quickly, or suffer the inevitable effects of living with sin.