Repentance and forgiveness are vital even among believers. Repentance to God is most important, but if there is an offence, then there should be an apology and regret, and there is forgiveness, and that is the pattern among God's people. Of course, we cannot be apologising to each other non-stop. We commit many offences against each other, some of which are done artlessly. We don't even know; we are not even aware we have given offence. But there are many causes of offence between Christian people. Many quite small things. We may hurt each other, deliberately or inadvertently; it doesn't matter. Sometimes repentance is expressed equally well by simply a change of attitude and behaviour. So you don't necessarily demand an apology. If a person has offended you in some way, but changes their manner and attitude, and has obviously considered that wrong, and has mended their ways, then we accept that and we forgive them. Of course, some offences may make us careful. Somebody may have forfeited trust. We can't trust them one hundred percent immediately, overnight. We will try to relate; we won’t hold it against them; we won't complain about it, or talk about it, but the person has certainly got to re-earn our trust. So it's not as though an apology or change of behaviour necessarily requires of us – if we are the offended ones – complete total warmth, and happiness, and trust. No, if you have offended someone, you've got to re-earn your spurs, and earn the trust again. So it may take a little while for full warmth to be restored. But nevertheless, there must be forgiveness.
Sometimes we hear of people presenting repentance in such a light way. Some of the popular evangelists just say, ‘Tell God you are sorry.’ Is it enough to just utter these few words? The evangelists give you a form of words. ‘I'm sorry for the life I've lived.’ I don't know anything about what sin involves. Trespass, sin, evil: there is much to be sorrowed and repented of. There must be great heartache and realization that we need the mercy of God and the substitutionary death of Christ. These brothers have understood it now.
‘Joseph wept when they spake unto him.’ Some people write that Joseph was an emotional man. He wasn't an emotional man. He was as emotional as we are, no more so. He wasn't a conspicuously emotional man. He was a man who could patiently bear years of waiting, servitude, slavery, holding on to the promise of God for the future, putting his faith in him, living a righteous life, whether it was appreciated or not. He wasn't a volatile, emotional man, but he is emotional here. Joseph wept when they spake unto him. Would that we were all very emotional at the right time and over the right things, and always, always moved when we remember Christ on Calvary for me, always affected by spiritual things, knowing warmth of heart. You read the diaries of John Newton. He's so hard on himself when he's feeling cold, not physically cold, but spiritually cold. He feels the necessity of being warm as a Christian, and feelingful, and moved by the great things of God that should move us. Would that we considered ourselves and prayed even for the right kind of feeling in response to God for all his mercy and goodness.