Begin Here, Remain Here (2)

“I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” Luke 13.5

Repentance defined
The best definition of repentance I know comes from The Westminster Confession of Faith, that great 17^th-century document which sets forth the essential doctrines of the Christian faith. Chapter XV of The Confession deals with repentance, calling it “an evangelical grace” which should be preached along with faith in Christ by every minister of the Gospel.

The Confession declares of repentance, “By it, a sinner, out of the sight and sense not only of the danger, but also of the filthiness and odiousness of his sins, as contrary to the holy nature, and righteous law of God; and upon the apprehension of His mercy in Christ to such as are penitent, so grieves for, and hates his sins, as to turn from them all unto God, purposing and endeavouring to walk with Him in all the ways of His commandments.”

Let’s observe the following conditions for repentance as they are set out here.

Conditions
First, in order to repent one must first acknowledge that he is a sinner, that is, that there are in his life things which offend against the holy character of God and the requirement of loving our neighbors as ourselves. Repenting is what sinners do, and we’re certainly not going to make much headway in this “evangelical grace” until we identify, confess, and begin to have a changed mind about the sin in our lives.

Second, we recognize, as Jesus indicated, that the presence of sin in our lives puts us in danger of the judgment of God. God hates sin so much that He moves to eradicate and destroy it; if we happen to be harboring sin in our lives, therefore, it’s quite possible that we may find ourselves in the divine sights unless we repent.

Repentance, in other words, has a fear motive back of it – fear of the judgment of God, or, if we are believers and therefore delivered from eternal judgment, of His discipline against us for our sin (Heb. 12.3-11).  It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God, and we must not minimize the enormity of God’s indignation against sin.

Now in order to acknowledge our sin we will need to see it as such. This requires exposure to the Law of God, for anything that is contrary to the Law of God is sin, and the Law of God is able to help us see the sin that we have heretofore been ignoring (Rom. 3.20; 7.7-9). Where there is no Law, the apostle explains, there is no guilt for sin. But once we begin to bring the Law of God into our preaching, conversation, and Christian lives, then soon enough, sin will become evident all around. Exposure to the Law of God – and all His Word – is therefore essential if we are to recognize and repent of our sin.

Third, we will not repent until we apprehend the mercy of God, shown to us in the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. When we see ourselves as responsible for His suffering, we will grieve that our sin could do this to Him, and we will begin to hate sin like we never have before (Ps. 97.10).

Finally, real repentance seeks another path to walk, one that follows “all the ways of His commandments.” Here again we must stress the importance of gaining increasing familiarity with the Law and Word of God.

We will not repent of our sins until all these conditions are met. And, as often as they are met, we will repent, and thus discover again the starting-point of saving faith.

No salvation without it
Repentance does not earn salvation; however, there is no salvation without it.

Moreover, as The Confession goes on to say, “As there is no sin so small, but it deserves damnation; so there is no sin so great, that it can bring damnation upon those who truly repent.” Repentance is thus an avenue for great hope, relief, and joy, and a new beginning each day for knowing the salvation of the Lord.

And so, The Confession continues, “Men ought not to content themselves with a general repentance, but it is every man’s duty to endeavour to repent of his particular sins, particularly.” Full faith not only begins in repentance, it is sustained and nurtured by it as well.

When we practice repentance like this, then the salvation we have in Jesus Christ will begin to flourish, we will feel ourselves increasingly drawn and motivated by the expectations of full faith which Jesus holds out to us, and our full faith in Him will result in both inward assurance and outward evidence of a life that is being truly transformed.

Repentance is the first step on the path of such full faith, and by it we daily sustain momentum and direction in walking with the Lord.

For reflection
1.  Why can we not practice repentance without a growing familiarity with the Law and Word of God?

2.  Why does a life of repentance bring us hope, relief, and renewed faith?

3.  How can repentance become daily an ongoing discipline in your life?

Next steps: How can believers help one another to take up repentance as an ongoing discipline? Talk with some Christian friends about this question.

T. M. Moore

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This week’s ReVision study is Part 3 of a 10-part series, “Full Faith.” You can download “Begin Here, Remain Here” as a free PDF, prepared for personal or group study. Simply click here.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.