WHAT IS REPENTANCE?

“I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn, from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?” With these words, the ancient prophet, Ezekiel, exhorted those ancient people to get right with God. In God’s eyes, in order for anyone to be saved he or she must turn away from their sin. In theological terms we call this repentance. That this is truly a life or death issue is underscored by Jesus’ unambiguous words in Luke 13:3, “Unless you repent you shall all likewise perish.” But what exactly is repentance? Is it a work that must be done by the human will prior to coming to God? Must a sinner clean up all his sins or bad habits before coming to Jesus as Lord and Savior? The role of repentance in salvation has often been misunderstood by the church. Bad teaching on this topic has often driven discouraged sinners away from the gospel. So let us for a moment consider the nature of this sticky issue of repentance. We note in our text that God enjoins the wayward nation to turn back toward him. Repentance is something we may rightly demand of others. Peter in the first Christian sermon said, “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Repentance is a product of the human will. And while repentance is an act of the will which can be demanded, it is also a gift of God that must be received. Peter again preaching says, “Him (Christ), God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:31). In 2 Timothy 2:25 Paul adds, the servant of the Lord must in humility correct “those who are in opposition if God perhaps will grant them repentance so that they may know the truth.” Putting these two concepts together we are left with the usual gospel paradox. Repentance is both something man must do as well as something God must to do. Both are true. As with faith, repentance is an act of man’s will that is preceded by God’s will. Thus a man is completely culpable for not repenting of his sins because he is responsible to do so. And when a man does repent God alone gets the glory. All men have a will and all men have the natural capacity to repent. What men lack is a moral capacity. All men are born in rebellion against God. They have a nature that is allergic to God. And because they have the nature of a sinner, they have no inclination to turn to a God they don’t really like. Thus, in order for a man to repent, God must intervene and give the sinner a new desire that moves him toward God and a new repulsion that moves him away from sin. This leads to an important point. What is the relationship of faith to repentance? Some have argued that faith and repentance are two separate acts of the will. That is, when a man turns to Jesus in faith (act one) he also solemnly swears to turn away from every sin (act two). This sounds good at first, but on analysis it simply does not accord with reality. A desperate sinner who comes to Jesus is thinking primarily of his need to be healed, not how he will kill sin in his future life of faith. He knows he is sick. He knows he is in trouble and so he casts himself upon the mercy of God in Christ. Period. What that man does not do is come to Jesus recounting all his sins and vowing to flee them. If that were the case no man would ever come to Jesus, for what sinner would feel so brash as to believe he could stop doing things he has done his entire life? Does a sick man go to the doctor bringing with him his own plan for a remedy? No! A man goes to a doctor for the very reason that he does not have a remedy. Similarly, a sinner does not come to Jesus bringing with him the willpower to conquer sin. He comes expecting Jesus to give him that willpower. In other words repentance is embedded in the act of faith. Faith and repentance are really two sides of the same coin. When a person believes in Jesus he is in effect turning his face toward Jesus, putting all his hope in Jesus’ saving ability. As he does this, he is also turning away from self. The first is faith, the second repentance. They are two aspects of the same act. Think of it this way. A man walks into an art museum and is enraptured by one painting. He turns toward that painting and studies it intensely. In doing this the man has turned away from all other paintings. Looking at one thing means he must turn away from everything else. Or when man takes a wife he turns toward her and gives her his focused love and devotion. In doing this the man does not turn to other women and give them his singular devotion. Both “turnings” are inextricably bound. They happen at the same time. Thus, faith is the turning toward Christ while repentance is the turning away from all else. They are two faces of the same reality, two processes subsumed under the same act. Like the old song says about love and marriage, “You can’t have one without the other.” All this implies that repentance is more than a mere stoppage of sin but a movement away from sin. Many therapy groups succeed in getting a person to stop doing bad things. But that does not save him. Turning is more than stopping. Turning implies moving in the opposite direction. Repentance never stands still. It always turns and goes home. True faith is “repenting faith” while true repentance is a “believing repentance.” So reader, do as God instructed ancient Israel. First, don’t try to conjure up repentance in your soul but look to God who alone gives it. Second, repent of your sins by seeing that all the remedy for your lost estate in Jesus Christ. And third, don’t confuse repentance with stopping your bad habits. That is nothing more than moral reformation and it cannot save you. Rather, believe Jesus, turn toward Him as you turn away from all other remedies. And as you walk toward Christ and walk away from your former life you shall be most blessed indeed. So the prophet says, “Turn, turn, why should you die, O house of Israel?”