Calvary Road Baptist Church
“A Practical Consideration Of Repentance”
This message from God’s Word will be a topical exposition. That is, I will survey the topic of repentance, but I will do so in an expository manner by explaining some of the basics of Bible truth related to this thing identified as repentance.
“The prominence given to the doctrine of repentance in the Scriptures can hardly be overestimated. John the Baptist began his public ministry, as did Jesus also, with the call to repentance upon his lips (Matt. 3:1, 2; 4:17).”[1]
“When Jesus sent forth the twelve and the seventy messengers to proclaim the good news of the kingdom of heaven, He commanded them to preach repentance (Luke 24:47; Mark 6:12).”[2]
“Foremost in the preaching of the apostles was the doctrine of repentance: Peter (Acts 2:38); Paul (Acts 20:21).”[3]
“The burden of the heart of God, and His one command to all men everywhere, is that they should repent (2 Pet. 3:9; Acts 17:30).”[4]
“Indeed, failure on the part of man to heed God’s call to repentance means that he shall utterly perish (Luke 13:3).”[5]
The question, of course, is what is repentance with confusion arising from the pernicious influence of Roman Catholicism’s distortion of related Bible doctrines. Anyone who has had a brush with Catholicism will be inclined to wrongly imagine that repentance is related to the Catholic notion of penance when the two have no connection whatsoever.
Catholic doctrine related to penance was expertly dealt with by the late Loraine Boettner in his classic Roman Catholicism, in which he writes,
Penance, as the [Catholic] catechisms say, involves confession of one’s sins to a priest and the doing of good works as the only way by which sins committed after baptism can be forgiven. According to the Roman system God has established a tribunal on earth in which the priest sits as judge, through which the penitent receives absolution and an assignment of works to be performed, in doing which he shows his sorrow for sin. According to this view God does not cancel out all the punishment due to the sinner when he forgives his sins. No limit is set to the works and services that can be demanded. The poor sinner is always left at the mercy of the priest.
The Church of Rome thus demands acts of penance before she grants forgiveness, inferring that the sacrifice of Christ was not sufficient to atone fully for sin and that it must be supplemented to some extent by these good works. But what God demands is not acts of penance, but repentance, which means turning from sin, vices, injustice and all wickedness in whatever form: “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to Jehovah, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Is. 55:7). From the Greek New Testament edited by Erasmus, Luther discovered that Jesus did not say, “Do penance,” as interpreted by the Roman Church, but “Repent.”
Protestantism is primarily a reassertion of New Testament Christianity, the teaching that salvation is by faith rather than works. Romanism on the other hand teaches that salvation depends ultimately upon ourselves, upon what we do, that one can “earn” salvation by obedience to the laws of the church, indeed that the saints can even store up excess merits in heaven beyond the requirements of duty, through such things as regular attendance at church, masses, rosary prayers, fastings, the wearing of medals, crucifixes, scapulars, etc. These excess merits Rome calls “works of supererogation.” Mary and the saints are said to have stored up vast treasures of merit, from which the pope can draw and dispense to the faithful as they perform the works assigned by the priests.[6]
Of course, Rome’s view is salvation by works, something repudiated in God’s Word. Titus 3.5 is very clear:
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.”
Ephesians 2.8-9 is another passage that repudiates the notion of salvation by works:
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Whatever repentance is, it is not connected to salvation by works, which the Bible certainly does not teach, as Romans 11.6 attests:
“And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.”
Baptist theologian Rolland McCune nicely summarizes:
Repentance is not merely reformation, doing better, turning over a new leaf or making a new resolution. All of these are self-help methods that, at best, only treat a few symptoms but never get to the real moral problem. Nor is repentance simply emotional distress, contrition, feeling sorry for one’s predicament or one’s sin... [T]rue repentance definitely has an emotional aspect, but a part should not be substituted for the whole.
There are many biblical examples of contrition for and admission of sin that are not cases of true repentance. Pharaoh (Exod 9:27), Balaam (Num 22:34), Achan (Josh 7:20), King Saul (1 Sam 15:24) and Judas Iscariot (Matt 27:4) all admit to sinning (cf. also Esau in Heb 12:27). However, all fall short of the repentance that is a gift from God that has inevitable and observable “fruit,” in John the Baptist’s words (Matt 3:8).
Biblical repentance is not penance - works assigned by a priest to help pay for the temporal punishment of sin. Roman Catholics believe that some saints have done excessive works of penance, and these works are stored up to be given to others (called works of supererogation). Penance, broadly speaking, is a sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church which involves three things: (1) Confession to a priest; (2) the priest’s pronouncement of absolution; and (3) the assignment of certain works of penance to do. Narrowly speaking, penance refers to those assigned works that are to help pay for the temporal punishment caused by sin. Since purgatory is [thought by Catholics to be] a place in the afterlife where a person eventually pays off this temporal debt, penance in this life can shorten one’s stay in that place. Penance thus teaches that Christ’s atonement is not a sufficient and complete payment for all the ramifications of sin and that salvation is not totally by grace. Penance is toward the [Roman] church more than toward God in the last analysis, and it becomes a meritorious ground of pardon rather than a condition of pardon.
Repentance is a change of mind away from sin and toward God. It is not merely a change of opinion. It is a change of view, feeling and purpose respecting God, sin and the sinner himself. These are all the workings of the total human personality and are seated in one’s mind, not just in the brain cells or glands. There are two general aspects of the turning/changing in the definition. (1) A change of mind away from sin, such as, “They did not repent of (ek) their murders, nor of their sorceries ... immorality ... thefts” (Rev 9:21). The author of Hebrews called on his spiritually stagnant readers to leave the elementary things of the Christian experience and persevere toward maturity, “not laying again a foundation of repentance from (apo) dead works” (Heb 6:1). (2) A change of mind toward God. Paul recounted to the elders of the church at Ephesus his earlier ministry there by emphasizing that he did not shrink from declaring what was profitable, “solemnly testifying ... of repentance toward (eis) God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21)
R. Kearsley defines repentance in this manner:
[Repentance] describes a radical change in the individual’s disposition, for the change of mind concerns his judgment upon himself and his sin together with an evaluation of God’s demands upon him. The transformation implied, therefore, is not a matter merely of mental judgment, but of new religious and moral attitudes (a turning to God, 1 Thess 1:9) and of new behavior (Acts 26:20).
G. T. Shedd notes correctly that the “mind” that changes in repentance includes the dispositions, will or inclination. It is synonymous in this case with heart, on the order of the way Paul uses the word mind: “So then on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God” (Rom 7:25). Millard Erickson has an excellent concise definition: “Repentance is godly sorrow for one’s sin together with a resolution to turn from it.” The latter note - a resolution to turn from sin or to seek pardon - is what is usually missing from many treatments on repentance.[7]
To anticipate a question you might have about repentance, turn to Second Corinthians 7, where we will read the apostle’s comments following his strong rebuke of the Christians in Corinth in his first letter and their response as Christians to his rebuke:
8 For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.
9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.
Though we haven’t the time for a thorough study of this passage, please note two important things: First, we see Paul acknowledging real Christians repenting. Thus, godly sorrow for sins, repentance, need not suggest someone is not already saved. As well, Paul’s discussion here acknowledges that there is a sorrow that can be strongly and intensely felt that, nevertheless, falls short of being real repentance.
Turn now to Matthew 21.28-32, where we see repentance accurately illustrated in a parable:
28 ... A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
Let me point out but three things from this parable related to our Lord’s portrayal of repentance: First, the son, who initially told his father, “I will not,” afterward reconsidered. That is, he reexamined what he had already decided on, reconsidered a course of action he had already dismissed. That is the initial part of repentance. But that part is not enough. Secondly, there was regret associated with what he had said and done. Regret, too, is important, but it is not enough. Necessary, but not sufficient. Finally, there was a change in conduct. The vital part that distinguishes repentance from remorse is that we do the thing we formerly were refusing to do.[8] What is called evangelical repentance involves believing in Christ when formerly there was a refusal to believe in Christ.
I am sure you have many questions about repentance, so allow me to bring home two more important features of repentance before leaving with you four summary declarations about repentance. First, repentance is a gift that is given by God. We already know that God gives faith, Ephesians 2.8, using hearing God’s Word preached, Romans 10.17, the gift of faith ultimately being given by the Holy Spirit, Second Corinthians 4.13.
Know, also, that God gives repentance. Repentance, too, is a gift that God gives:
Acts 5.31:
“Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”
Acts 11.18:
“When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.”
2 Timothy 2.25:
“In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.”
In Acts 20.21, the Apostle Paul shows the connection between repentance and faith:
“Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Sometimes faith is mentioned without reference to repentance in Scripture. Sometimes repentance is mentioned without reference to faith in Scripture. In such cases, it is better to understand the use by the writers of Scripture of a figure of speech in which a part stands for the whole. This is because repentance and faith are the two aspects of conversion.[9]
Allow me to now set before you four summary declarations in light of what the Word of God teaches throughout about repentance:
First, THERE IS NO REPENTANCE FOR THE LOST
Sinners are commanded to repent for their sins to be forgiven, for their sins to be blotted out, and so that they will not perish.[10]
Thus, the only people who have not repented are the same people who are lost. To be without repentance is to be lost and to be lost is to be without repentance. When the sinner repents he is forgiven, cleansed, and converted to Christ.
Second, THERE IS NO SALVATION WITHOUT REPENTANCE
Different sinners who are converted to Christ have different experiences of prominent impressions when God deals with them. To one, there is the prominent awareness of sinfulness in the sight of God. To another, there is the prominent awareness of the profound need for faith in Christ.
Since repentance and faith accompany each other, said by some to be different sides of the same coin of conversion, if there is saving faith in Christ there is, of necessity even without consciousness, this thing identified as repentance. Emory Bancroft wrote, in his Christian Theology, “True repentance never exists except in conjunction with faith.”[11]
How can we be sure? John’s Gospel is saturated with faith and belief and trust terminology, but one finds no direct use of the word repentance in that Gospel account. So, a sinner can come to Christ without consciousness of repentance as an issue, as a matter, as a thing, for one can be converted to Christ from the testimony of John’s Gospel alone.
That said, it can be insisted that if one’s faith in Christ has not come at the expense of turning from sin. As a result, there has been no conversion because there has been no repentance. One cannot truly turn to Christ without simultaneously turning from sin, which is repentance, though the convert is sometimes unaware of all that has occurred to bring him to a newfound faith in Christ.
Third, THERE IS NO CHRISTIAN LIFE WITHOUT REPENTANCE
We know from Second Corinthians 7.8-11 that Christians can have the experience of godly sorrow for their sins, which is repentance. As well, we know from Luke 17.3 that repentance is sought by the believer from a brother in Christ who has sinned against him:
“If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.”
Additionally, since every believer commits sins, it is appropriate for every Christian to from time to time repent for his sins committed against another believer or God. Do you know someone who claims to be a Christian and yet never repents? Does that person never sin, or does that person never properly address the sins he or she has committed?
The Christians in the Ephesian congregation in Revelation chapter 2 were urged to repent. The Christians in the Pergamos congregation in Revelation chapter 2 were urged to repent. The Christians in the Sardis congregation in Revelation chapter 3 were urged to repent. And the Christians in the Laodicean congregation in Revelation chapter 3 were urged to repent. Who urged them to repent? The glorified Lord Jesus Christ!
Would anyone suggest that a pattern has not been established in the New Testament for Christians who have sinned to repent for their sinful conduct, which is why I assert that there is no Christian life without repentance?
Finally, THERE IS NO FAITH WITHOUT REPENTANCE
I told you moments ago, and I showed you moments ago, of the close connection of repentance and faith. Indeed, orthodox Christianity denies the possibility of genuine repentance without saving faith resulting in conversion.
Both repentance and faith are given by God.[12] That said, though both repentance and faith are given by God, at no time are either repentance and faith exercised by anyone other than the sinner converted to Christ.
Thus, for you to pass from death to life, you must repent. And for you to pass from death to life, you must believe in Christ. No one can do either of those things for you, though both are gifts given by God to sinners. And once you become a Christian by repentance and faith, you will necessarily continue in your Christian life to repent and believe, as I have shown several times this morning.
This is not to say that any Christian ever consciously has either repentance or faith in Christ constantly on his or her mind. But it is to say that repentance and faith are infused in the Christian’s life to some degree, surfacing to your conscious thoughts from time to time.
Let me conclude by supposing you are here this morning having never trusted Christ as your Savior. You have never yet considered the claims of Christ and closed with Him by faith. I will set aside in my remarks comments related to someone brought to Christ by the Apostle John, who never used the words repent or repentance while including that concept in his presentation of the need for faith in Christ.
Today, with you, after introducing you to the concept of repentance, I seek to bring it home to you with these applications: Repent is what someone does who conclude he or she is wrong. You are wrong about God, about Jesus Christ, about yourself, about your sins, about your soul, and almost everything else.
Those of us who are Christians have come to realize that we were wrong about men, about women, about marriage, about children, about Church, about jobs, about morality, about wisdom, about recreation. In short, we were wrong about everything. That is why repentance is an ongoing feature in our Christian lives, as we learn what is right, compare that with what we had previously thought was true, and repent to please God and begin doing right in this area and in that area of life. It never stops.
But to become a Christian, you do not need to recognize that you are wrong about everything. That will come later. That is where repentance in the Christian life surfaces after conversion. For now, you only need to recognize that you are wrong about God, about you, about sin, about sinfulness, about sins, about death, about eternity, about salvation, and Jesus Christ. In your present spiritual state, you are in rebellion against God, and it angers Him.
You are not just wrong. You are so wrong. You are not just off base. You are way off base. You are so far astray, so spiritually dead that you cannot fix your problems. All that you can do, by God’s grace, is to plead to God, as the exiled Israelites did so long ago,
“Turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God.”
If your plea is for God to turn you from guilt to forgiveness in Christ, from death to life in Christ, and from defilement to holiness in Christ, then God has granted repentance and salvation from your sins is the result. With Christ as your Savior, you are no longer condemned, for there is now, therefore, no condemnation to those who are in Christ.
__________
[1] William Evans, The Great Doctrines Of The Bible, (Chicago: Moody Press, Enlarged edition, 1974), page 139.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Ibid., page 140.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Loraine Boettner, Roman Catholicism, (Phillipsburg, New Jersey: The Presbyterian And Reformed Publishing Company, 1962), page 255.
[7] Rolland McCune, A Systematic Theology Of Biblical Christianity, Volume Three: The Doctrines of Salvation, the Church, and Last Things, (Detroit: Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, 2010), pages 62-63.
[8] Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Great doctrines Of The Bible, (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2003), page 129.
[9] McCune, page 68.
[10] Matthew 3.2; 4.17; Mark 1.15; 6.12; Luke 13.3, 5; Acts 2.38; 3.19; 8.22; 17.30; 26.20
[11] Emery H. Bancroft, Christian Theology, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, revised edition 1961), page 231.
[12] Ephesians 2.8; Acts 5.3; 11.18; 2 Timothy 2.25
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