Repentance and Forgiveness: The Link

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” Galatians 6: 7,8.

These verses tell us we reap what we sow. This is older agriculture terminology. It just means the seeds we plant determine the type of harvest we will end up with.

To read the passage for context, click here.

So, we reap what we sow. And yet if we repent of our sowing to the sinful nature, we are forgiven. This means we are spared the penalty of our sin.

Remission of the Punishment

In other words, we don’t reap what we’ve sown after all. If we repent of our sin, we are forgiven. To be forgiven, according to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of the NT means “the remission of the punishment due to sinful conduct.”

And “the deliverance of the sinner from the penalty divinely and therefore righteously imposed. . . ” Therefore, when we repent, which means to change our mind about our sin, we don’t reap destruction. Even though we’ve sown to the sinful nature.

This is seen throughout the bible.

A notable example is the OT is the city of Ninevah. This was a wicked city. And God called Jonah to pronounce imminent judgment on it Jonah 1: 1-2.

But when they turned from their sin and repented, God had mercy on them. And He relented of the calamity He was about to bring on them Jonah 3:10.

When We Repent God Relents

When they repented, God relented.

The paralytic Jesus healed is an example in the NT. He told the man as He was about to heal him, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” When the Pharisees questioned Him, He said, “which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’ Mathew 9:2, 5?

In other words, both statements were equivalent. To say he was forgiven was to be delivered of the penalty of that sin, which was the paralysis.

David was forgiven of his sin with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband. The rightful punishment should have been death. But he was spared this when he repented and was forgiven, 2 Samuel 12:13.

He did have some consequences though. Nathan the prophet accurately prophesied that “the sword will never depart from your house” 2 Samuel 12:10.

However, I don’t believe this is a consequence for the adultery with Bathsheba or murder of her husband. He was forgiven for this.

I don’t think David went from being a man after God’s heart to an adulterer and murderer in a day.

His heart had to have been wandering for a while. And this was during the critical space of time when his children were in their formative years. I think this is why that sword in his house had to do mostly with his adult children.

The rest of 2 Samuel chronicles this sad saga.

How Do We Reap What We Sow if We’re Forgiven?

These examples clearly show the nature of forgiveness. It means not having to pay the penalty for our sin.

So, what does Paul mean then when he says we “reap what we sow”?

I believe he’s talking about the consequences of unrepentant sin. We only reap what we sow when we don’t repent and turn from our sin.

The one who sows to his sinful nature and then repents is no longer sowing to that nature. Or at least he’s trying hard not to.

He’s forgiven of his past sin. And doesn’t reap a harvest of destruction for past seeds sown to the sinful nature. Because he has repented.

He has embarked on a new path. He sees the error of his former ways.

Is Repentance Required for Forgiveness?

Now, if we ask for forgiveness, but don’t repent that’s different. If we continue to justify and excuse and rationalize our sin rather than deal with it, the bible says we’re not forgiven.

And we will still reap what we’ve sown.

I believe my son’s childhood cancer was the harvest of destruction of sowing to the sinful nature. For years I had an out-of-control tongue and temper.

I’m so ashamed to admit this now, but I would tell another son I couldn’t stand him. And that I didn’t want to be around him. I broke the kids’ things in fits of rage. I called the neighbor boy names.

And was guilty of some of the very things listed in the deeds of the sinful nature.

“The acts of the flesh [sinful nature] are obvious: hatred, discord. . . fits of rage. . . dissensions. . .I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God” Galatians 5: 19-21.

Why am I airing my dirty laundry for all to see and judge me for? Because it grieves my heart to see God blamed for things we are guilty of. It breaks my heart to see His reputation dragged through the mud.

So, when Sam got cancer, we (others in the family were also guilty) were merely reaping what we had sown. But God spared him.

My sinful behavior was causing a lot of stress in the family. Sam was being bullied relentlessly by an older brother. And there was constant fighting between family members too.

There was definitely a demonic spirit of strife in the house. We were living in what felt like a war- zone.

Connection Between Stress and Disease

Science has finally caught up with the word of God. It is now a well-established fact that stress impairs the immune system. And there is a clear correlation between chronic stress and disease.

This particular child was at greater risk because of inadvertent exposure to radiation in utero. And this caused a genetic defect.

The interesting thing is, I didn’t see the connection and repent of my sin in earnest until a year after his relapse (yes, he had it twice).

I had been controlling it before that. But I didn’t have an understanding of this principle yet.

I think God heard the prayers of my pastor and others in our church and that’s why he was spared. Because I hadn’t repented of my sin yet at the time he was healed.

Repentance, Forgiveness and Mercy

God had mercy on us in answer to prayers. But mercy eventually comes to an end without repentance.

I do believe Sam would’ve relapsed again had I not repented and changed my ways. In fact, there was evidence of this on a CT scan. But when we went back for a rescan the “lymphadenopathy” they had seen the first time was gone.

The first scan was July. I repented in August. And the rescan was in September. I can’t prove the connection. But I am convinced Sam wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for August.

Even though I had sown to the sinful nature. And therefore, deserved the harvest of destruction, God forgave me when I repented. And remember, to be forgiven means “the remission of the penalty due to sinful conduct”.

So, yes, I do believe we reap what we sow when we have a hard unrepentant heart. A heart that refuses to turn from sin. But repentance protects us from reaping the harvest of destruction we’ve sown.

Repentance brings about forgiveness.

To read another post with similar to Repentance and Forgiveness: The Link, see God Is My Shield When I Yield.

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