Dr MJ du Plessis Reformed Church Bellville Date: 6 February 2005 (evening)

Let’s start this meeting with God by openly professing to one another and to God:

Our help is in the Name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
Beloved, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, through the mighty working of God the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Psalm of praise: 33:1, 2
Prayer
Psalm 36:3

Scripture reading: 2 Chronicles 33
Scripture text: 2 Chronicles 33:12-13a; Catechism Lord’s Day 33

And when he was in distress he entreated the favour of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. He prayed to him . . . (RSV)

Manasseh’s conversion

In certain denominations great emphasis is placed on people’s conversion in their adult life, and also on the way in which such a person converted himself.

It is however not possible to recall the date and time of such a far-reaching event in the lives of all believers. Because, for example, when was Job converted?
Or when was Noah, Elijah or Moses converted?
A person who grows up in faith and as a child of the covenant cannot point out a specific time or event that led to his conversion, because he has known God since very early childhood.

But Manasseh is one of those who became converted when he was actuated by certain circumstances of life to repent.

He used to be a very sinful man.
The kind of person who should never have been a king, because he was not a man of sound character.

Hezekiah was Manasseh’s father. Hezekiah was a true believer and accomplished marked reformations among the people for the Lord.

Then his son Manasseh became king of Israel.
He immediately started undoing his father’s reforms.

He re-instituted worship of Baal.
He rebuilt the high places.
He also set up Asherah poles.
In 1 Kings 16:31-33 we read about Ahab and realise that Manasseh was as evil as he was.
It is also remarkable that Manasseh was the first person in the Bible who practised astrology.

This means that he worshipped the son, moon and stars.
This has never happened before in the history of Judah.

This idolatry was closely linked to fortune telling and witchcraft.
This same Manasseh also worshipped Moloch and even let his one son go through fire. He offered his own son to Moloch!

One can’t help wondering what would become of such a man. Can he be saved? And then the answer is:

Yes! He can if he would truly repent.
He can also share in God’s salvation.
He can also change his life so that his life would prove that the Holy Spirit guides him.

What is the meaning of true repentance? The repentance that eventually became part of Manasseh’s life?

The Bible tells that Manasseh humbled himself greatly before the Lord and prayed to Him. He no longer offered to Moloch or worshipped heavenly bodies.
He prayed to God in all sincerity! This is repentance.
Repentance is to sincerely regret the wrong we’ve done and to completely turn away from evil!

The Catechism describes it as follows (question 89): It is to grieve with heartfelt sorrow that we have offended God by our sin, and more and more to hate it and flee from it.

There’s a lot to be said about conversion to God.

In the first place conversion/repentance is imperative for everybody, because there is no person who has never fallen away from God through his sins!

It is also essential because the Bible teaches it. John the Baptist started his preaching with the following words:

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 3:2 RSV)

Some time later Jesus Christ said exactly the same:

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17 RSV)

These words became a refrain/chorus in the Christian church as the church developed. In Acts 2:38 we read that Peter also addressed the first converted people in similar fashion:

And Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38 RSV)

In his letter to the Corinthians Paul also added that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9). In other words, those who do not repent do not have access to God’s kingdom!

Here it is worded so strongly that our salvation is actually linked to our repentance.
In a certain sense it is also why we are appointed as one another’s keepers/guardians. When somebody falls away in his religious life we should go and fetch him.

We should see to it that he turns away from his bad habits.
In other words, we must make sure that he repents.

All of us often go astray. Since the fall of man nobody has had a sound relationship with God.

Therefore we are appointed as the keepers/guardians of our fellow-believers.
We are all equally responsible to point out to one another when we go astray.

The issue of repentance is even more imperative when we listen to God where He demands “true repentance” in the Scriptures.

Repentance is not a one-off event.
It is not just a case of turning away from idolatry and converting to God when in distress, like Manasseh when he was in exile in Babylon.
No, conversion entails much more:

Conversion is daily reviewing our works.
Every day we should consider everything we think and do and say.

The Catechism calls it the dying of the old nature and the coming to life of the new. In 1 Corinthians 5:7 Paul describes it differently:

He says the old leaven should be cleansed out so that the Christians could be like a new lump.

The old nature and old leaven are one and the same thing – the sins we commit.
It is our sinful nature that prefers to do wrong instead of good.

We should all fight against evil every day, and try to improve on our past accomplishments.

Partaking of the sacraments also calls for repentance.

Therefore we find a lengthy list of sinners in the Lord’s Supper formulary: no idolaters, adulterers, prostitutes, thieves, misers, drunkards, slanderers . . .
It is imperative that we repent before we have our child baptised and before we sit down at the Lord’s Supper.

Otherwise we are just like Manasseh. He was the child of a very devout father, but he dishonoured his people and God through his evil life, until he repented.

This kind of repentance is possible. God does not demand the impossible from us!
As Manasseh was able to repent, everybody is able to repent through the grace of God.

No matter how far we’ve gone astray, it is always possible to be converted.
No matter how much we’ve sinned, the Lord’s grace is sufficient to forgive us.

Even the most incorrigible person can be converted – even if God has to use war to save one man – as in the case of Manasseh.

Then Manasseh humbled himself before God and prayed. This is what every one of us should do.
For it is possible for us to sincerely feel remorse, kneel down before God and repent.

Every day we surely have sins to confess before God.
Every day we surely need to ask God for forgiveness for some kind of evil.

This is repentance. It is definitely possible that every one of us can receive strength from God to lead a better life.

We should also say something about the nature of repentance.

Repentance should not be pretence. It must be sincere.
Repentance should be internally and externally.
The power of repentance lies in what we do. The nature of repentance is turning away from evil and doing the will of God.

It is so absolutely necessary that we all repent, because an unrepentant person is a disgrace.

It surely is a disgrace that none of us can keep the Ten Commandments – while the Ten Commandments do not even demand the impossible. On the contrary, they entail only what is really appropriate in our daily lives.
Because the Lord’s commandments are so simple, it is so much worse for us if we cannot keep them because we do not repent.

Because of this, Israel was punished numerous times. In Amos 5:5 they are told that they will go into exile because they have not kept the Ten Commandments, in other words because they did not repent.

but do not seek Bethel, and do not enter Gilgal or cross over to Beer-sheba; for Gilgal shall surely go into exile, and Bethel shall come to naught. (Amos 5:5 RSV)

Then the prophet, Amos, tells them what conversion entails (Amos 5:15):

Hate evil and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. (Amos 5:15 RSV)

True repentance therefore leads to laying off all evil and striving to do good. Manasseh learnt this the hard way.

He wouldn’t have gone into exile if he had followed his father’s example from the very beginning.
He had to learn the hard way about repentance and to do good works naturally.

True repentance involves our entire life.

A converted person is easily known by his unforced willingness to do good works. And as a saint.
Don’t we all wish to be converted? Don’t we all want to serve the Lord whole-heartedly?
We all wish to do so and therefore we should try to live according to God’s commandments with heart and soul. Therefore we should kneel down remorsefully and pray God to forgive our sins.

Whoever repents like this receives God’s gift of grace. They partake of the meritorious fruits of Christ’s atonement.

Their repentance proves it, and their repentance also proves their responsibility with regard to their salvation.
They never forget about the grace of God and will therefore continue to make a determined effort to live a holy life.
This holy life is the faithful person’s endeavour to try and live as he is going to live in the hereafter. To live like the new person the Catechism refers to.

Did you think it was possible for Manasseh to be converted? No, but through God it was possible and that is why he was converted.

Therefore it is possible for you and me to daily repent. Ask and you will receive. The Lord is always aware of his covenant of grace.
Let us the repent, because our repentance is proof of the fact that our lives go pass the grave into the glorious kingdom of God.

Let’s look at what our creeds say about this in Catechism Lord’s Day 33:

88 Q. What is the true repentance or conversion of man?
A. It is the dying of the old nature and the coming to life of the new.[1]

[1] Rom. 6:1-11; I Cor. 5:7; II Cor. 5:17; Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:5-10.

89. Q. What is the dying of the old nature?
A. It is to grieve with heartfelt sorrow that we have offended God by our sin, and more and more to hate it and flee from it.[1]

[1] Ps. 51:3, 4, 17; Joel 2:12, 13; Rom. 8:12, 13; II Cor. 7:10.

90. Q. What is the coming to life of the new nature?
A. It is a heartfelt joy in God through Christ,[1] and a love and delight to live according to the will of God in all good works.[2]

[1] Ps. 51:8, 12; Is. 57:15; Rom. 5:1; 14:17. [2] Rom. 6:10, 11; Gal. 2:20.

91. Q. But what are good works?
A. Only those which are done out of true faith,[1] in accordance with the law of God,[2] and to His glory,[3] and not those based on our own opinion or on precepts of men.[4]

[1] Joh. 15:5; Rom. 14:23; Heb. 11:6. [2] Lev. 18:4; I Sam. 15:22; Eph. 2:10. [3] I Cor. 10:31. [4] Deut. 12:32; Is. 29:13; Ezek. 20:18, 19; Matt. 15:7-9.

Amen.

Closing prayer
Closing hymn: Psalm 73:10, 12

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Amen.

Dr MJ du Plessis
Reformed Church Bellville
Date: 6 February 2005 (evening)