REPENTANCE: AGAIN AND AGAIN

The third time is a charm… I hope. I feel compelled to write once again on this important subject. The question to be addressed in this post is, ‘where does true repentance come from?’ Often in evangelical circles we try to conjure a feeling of repentance in our hearts thinking this is the way to true holiness of life. Apparently we believe that repentance is birthed by our own will power. We see a sin or pattern in our lives and then try to correct that sin by the sheer exercise of our will. Repentance then becomes a work that we are told is pleasing to God (or the lack of it displeasing to Him). In my last article I tried to argue that repentance is the normal experience of the Christian life. Sin lies so deep in the human soul that a constant spiritual cleansing is needed all the days of our lives. Unfortunately many evangelicals have subtly bought into the lie that Christians can maintain a pure life that needs little repentance. No teaching could be more dangerous than this. The truth be told, sin has stained every part of our being and those deep stains actually become more clear to us as we age in grace. Thus repentance ought to be a discipline that increases in the believer’s life as he matures. But is repentance something that originates with us? Many would say that since repentance is commanded by God then we must be able to do it in our own strength. But like any spiritual reality, God must birth it or it will never be born. Similar to every other virtue repentance is a gift of God. Period. That truth will be the focus of this blog. I begin by quoting the incomparable Spurgeon. ‘Put believing first, and repentance, sanctification, evidences and all else, will come afterwards.’ This short quote summarizes everything I mean to say. Repentance though important is a fruit of faith. It cannot be conjured up, forced, mimicked, developed, or manufactured. Repentance comes as a natural outgrowth of one’s belief in Jesus Christ. Thus, the command to repent is beyond any native human capacity. Yes, repentance is a necessary component of salvation. But it only comes when one looks to the beauty of Christ crucified and believes the gospel. The words, ‘He who believes in me has everlasting life’ must not be passed over too quickly. The foundation of eternal life is and will always be one’s faith in the Savior. Believe in Jesus Christ as your hope, as your only hope; trust that He alone has the merit to gain you entrance to heaven, believe He was raised from the dead which verified the acceptability of His sacrifice, yes, believe that His work is sufficient to bring you all the way to glory; believe this and you will live. And, may I add, you will also repent. Repentance is a glorious outgrowth of our faith in Christ. If a Christian desires to live a holy life (as every Christian does) and if a Christian seeks to develop the gifts and graces in his life (which he ought to do) and if a Christian wants to get a deeper love for people and holy zeal for service, then what must he do? Many would say, ‘try a little harder’, or to use biblical language, ‘work out your salvation with fear and trembling.’ This course of action has one major flaw; it tries to produce the fruit without first strengthening the root. And the root is faith. The Bible teaches this from Genesis to Revelation. For example when the Israelites were being bitten by the serpents and dying in great numbers God commanded them not to work on their sin or think about their their past failure. God did not instruct them to try to beat the disease on their own, or come up with an innovative remedy. The command was simple; look at the raised serpent and you will be healed. In the Passover account we have the same story told in a different way. Each Jewish household was commanded to sprinkle the blood of a certain lamb on the door posts and the lintel. Nothing else was required of the Jew but obedience to the commands of Moses. The Jews were to sprinkle the blood of the lamb on the door frames and lintel on the 14th day of the month. Then they were to roast the lamb and enjoy a good meal. But that was it. The work of redemption was all on the shoulders of God. He would come in the night and slay all those who had not put blood on their doors, that is, the unbelievers and He would ‘pass over’ those who obeyed, that is, those who believed the word of God. So the Jews trusted in God and waited during the night. There was no more for them to do. God would rescue all those who believed His word. Once again we see that faith alone was the entry way to salvation. Passages such as Ephesians 2:8-9; Acts 16:30-31; Romans 4:5 and a host of other texts demonstrate that faith is the seed which brings with it all the potential of full obedience to God, including repentance. Repentance therefore is a gift of God that arises out of the gift of faith. Repentance always accompanies faith. In noting the conversion of the Thessalonians Paul said, ‘For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.’ What did the Thessalonians do that brought them into a saving relationship to God? They ‘turned to God’. Salvation does not occur when we turn from something. In other words salvation does not come by making vows to live a different kind of life or give up certain sins. Salvation begins with turning to God in faith, or as the author of Hebrews says, ‘looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith.’ And whenever one honestly turns to God in faith, the act of turning away comes right alone with it. Thus, faith produces repentance, but repentance is not the grounds of one’s salvation. That belongs to faith alone. ‘So what’, says a certain kind of reader. ‘How does all this affect my daily Christian walk?’ Very profoundly. If you find yourself struggling with your Christian life. If you have a besetting sin that grips you, or an attitude that dulls you, or a confidence that erodes, you cannot fix any of these issues by trying a little harder. You cannot produce fruit by working on the fruit. You must get to the root and fix that. That means when you are struggling dear Christian, you must immediately go back to the great truths that you believed in the first place. Review in your heart the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord. Consider what He endured at Calvary for sinners. Meditate on the great sacrifice effected at Golgotha that fulfilled all the sacrifices in the Old Covenant. Ask God to increase your faith, that you might see the Lord’s work on your behalf more clearly and that God might fill you with the glory of the cross. And when your faith strengthens (which is also a gift of God) you can be sure that true repentance will follow and that you will find again delight in the Lord, an assurance of your salvation and a joy in the Lord that is inexpressible and full of glory. At once you will find the delight in sin diminish as your wonderment of God increases. We all must repent. It is a command. But it begins in a different place than in our resolve to do better. It begins with Jesus and what He did outside of us and our efforts. Amen