Repentance today
Repent and be baptised, every one of you… (Acts 2:38)
That the Christian life is a life of faith is a foundational truth believed by all Christians, but are we equally clear that it is also a life of repentance? ‘If I die in the pulpit I wish to die preaching repentance, and if I die out of the pulpit I wish to die practising repentance’ - so wrote Philip Henry (the father of Matthew Henry). It was this same conviction that led Martin Luther to begin his 95 Theses with this very truth: ‘Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, in saying "Repent ye…", intended that the whole life of believers should be repentance.’
The New Testament word for ‘repentance’ means to change one's mind. Indeed, it involves a radical change of heart, mind and will, and is the fruit of the Spirit's work in regeneration. It is a change which shows itself in outward behaviour and is, in fact, the beginning of a new life. Old things have passed away, all things have become new.
Repentance is the pathway to pardon and peace with God, and the call to repentance rings out clearly and prominently in the ministry of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:2), Jesus (Matthew 4:18), the Twelve (Mark 6:12), Peter at Pentecost (Acts 2:38), Paul to the Gentiles (Acts 17:30, 26:20), and the glorified Christ to the seven churches of Asia (Revelation 2 & 3).
Repentance is the prodigal son making his way back from the far country to his father's home, to receive a welcome and reinstatement into the family. It involves not only a sense of regret and a change of direction, but a hope, though faint, of his father's compassion – a reminder that repentance is inseparable from faith, which involves turning to Christ as Saviour and Lord.
Repentance is distinct from remorse, which is a hopeless, cheerless thing. True repentance is suffused with faith, so its tears are not only tears of sorrow and regret over sin but tears warmed by the measureless love and grace of the Saviour. Indeed, this sorrow is produced not only by the law, which convicts us of our sin, but by the gospel, which melts our hearts with the love of Christ. How often our sharpest sorrows come from a new view of Jesus dying for us on the cross. It is here that we learn to hate our sins, to turn from them and to ‘endeavour after a new obedience’, as the Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it.
The preaching of John the Baptist highlights another aspect of this theme. Repentance is not only a change of mind in general, but applies to particular sins in our lives. We must produce fruits in keeping with repentance, and John goes on to spell out what this will mean in practice for the rich, the tax-collector and the soldier (Luke 3:7-14). Consider what repentance means for you today. What specific sins call for repentance in your life?
Finally, just as faith is not a once-for-all act at conversion, but a lifelong trust in Christ, so repentance – inseparable from faith – is an ongoing activity in our lives. We live in Psalm 51 all our days, identifying with David's humble confession of sin, his penitent spirit, his plea for cleansing and his prayer for inner purity and restored joy. ‘Cleanse me with hyssop’ becomes for us ‘let the blood of Jesus Christ cleanse me from all sin’ (see 1 John 1: 7). It is a strange paradox of the Christian life that sorrow over sin and joy in the Lord are both a part of our experience - until the Day dawns and God will wipe away all tears from our eyes (Revelation 21:4).