The Grace of Repentance
Chip Chambers // UGA Graduate
“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” - Matthew 4:17
“I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” - Luke 5:32
“I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin” - Psalm 32:5
It was the primary call of John the Baptist (Mark 1:4).
It was the first public command Jesus gave (Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:15).
And the first of 95 bullet points nailed to a 16th century German church door stated, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent,’ he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”
So, when was the last time you consciously repented?
Do you even know what that would look like?
Because if you’re like me and much of the modern church, there’s a good chance you’ve lost the grace of repentance. If we haven’t repented recently, there are two possible options; we either (1) haven’t sinned, or (2) have neglected Jesus’s command. I have often fallen into the second category, and I’m guessing you have too.
But is repentance just something we do once when we become a Christian? Well, in the first few chapters of Revelation, we see God addressing believers that seem to have neglected one important action. Let’s see if we can pick up a theme here:
To the church in Pergamum: “Therefore repent.” (Rev 2:16)
To the church at Sardis: “Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent” (Rev 3:2)
To the church in Laodicea (the infamous “lukewarm” Christians): “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent” (Rev. 3:19)
To the church in Ephesus: “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent” (Rev. 2:4–5).
Ouch.
I believe the reason we have failed to follow many of God’s commands (of evangelism, of holiness, of purity, etc.) is because we have not made repentance the air we breathe. We have not, as Martin Luther said, made our entire lives into lives of constant repentance.
God does not primarily sanctify us through annual church retreats where we finally decide to deal with the big, looming addictions and shortcomings in our life. He makes us holy through the day-in, day-out forsaking of sin and clinging to him. We move closer to God one step of faithful repentance at a time, remembering that he runs to us when we step toward him (Luke 15:20).
“We move closer to God one step of faithful repentance at a time, remembering that he runs to us when we step toward him.”
Many of us have admitted in small group, “I’ve been bad in my quiet times.” Yet we don’t consciously repent of our apathy. We just feel a low-grade embarrassment. We admit “yeah I’ve probably not been the best with alcohol recently,” yet we do not repent of breaking God’s law. “I know I’m supposed to be more loving towards my family,” yet we do not repent of our hard-heartedness. “I should share the gospel more” but we do not forsake our self-centered idolatry of what others think of us.
Ironically, the reason many of us feel constant shame nagging us is because we have failed to repent. We go through life with a subtle, nagging sense of guilt, inadequacy, and failure, rather than dropping our idols and running back to the cross, where grace is always extended. If we would leave our sin behind, God would shower us with grace.
God does not call us to repentance because He wants to hurt us. He calls us to repentance because He wants to hold us.
Repentance names our idols and identifies them as enemies to be fought. It stops the gradual slide into sin because it recognizes and renounces subtle sins before they blow up. It reminds me of my sinfulness, but it also reminds me of Christ’s sufficiency. And because of that, it frees me of shame and makes Jesus look beautiful.
Why Don’t We Repent?
There are a few possible explanations. Maybe our idols have tougher holds on us than we want to admit. Repentance means being serious about leaving them behind. Or maybe our culture prizes being happy too much and misses the joy that follows Godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:9-10).
Maybe we have justified our sin, seeing ourselves as victims rather than perpetrators. Or maybe we don’t actually believe that holiness is required to see God (Hebrews 12:14) and so we have the audacity to approach God in worship without confessing our sinfulness.
Maybe we don’t actually believe sin will kill us. We would not ignore a hungry lion sitting in our living room, but we tolerate unrepentant sin in our lives. Apparently we don’t believe James when he tells us that sin “brings forth death” (James 1:15). Or maybe we don’t believe God when he promises that grace is always given to those who repent (Psalm 32:5-7).
It’s time to leave these delusions behind. So, what does repentance practically look like?
How to Repent
Charles Spurgeon explains that “Repentance is a discovery of the evil of sin, a mourning that we have committed it, a resolution to forsake it. It is, in fact, a change of mind of a very deep and practical character, which makes the man love what once he hated, and hate what once he loved.” I see in this definition 6 components of repentance.
Name the sin to God. Name all of it (Psalm 32:5), even if others don’t know about it yet.
Name the root. Identify the idol underneath the surface action.
Recognize whom we have sinned against (Psalm 51:4) because ultimately our sin is rebellion against God himself.
Embrace godly sorrow. There is a good kind of sadness that is eager to repent and be restored to God (2 Corinthians 7:9-10). While worldly sorrow is upset about the consequences of sin (like getting caught), godly sorrow weeps that it has turned its back on a loving Father.
Welcome guaranteed mercy. Your standing before God was never on your own merits to begin with (Titus 3:5). He is eager to receive you on Jesus’s resume again (Hebrews 4:16). We do not beat ourselves up, because Jesus took the punishment for us, and God is the executor of justice, not us.
Chase holiness. A truly repentant heart will never abuse grace, but always wants to imitate the Father in holiness (1 Peter 1:14-16).
This process doesn’t need to be a 3-hour ordeal. It might be as simple as thinking, “Lord, I made that comment because I wanted to be seen as funny (1). I care too much about what other people think of me (2), which is why I broke your commandment to avoid crude joking (3). I am sorry (4). Thank you for forgiveness (5). Keep me from this sin by your grace (6).”
Sometimes, there is one more step of repentance: owning consequences of the sin. Some sins will require making amends, like in the case of Zacchaeus, who repented and returned the money he had taken (Luke 19:1-10). There might be legal ramifications, a broken relationship, or church discipline required. True repentance accepts that there are consequences of sin and takes these head-on, without trying to avoid them or justify itself.
The beauty is that even repentance is a work of God. Much like faith, our decision and ability to repent is ultimately the Holy Spirit’s power working in us. And he promises to always supply it (Philippians 4:19).
Will you receive God’s grace through repentance today?
Chip, a long-time Watkinsvillian and WFBCer, graduated from UGA in December, 2019 with degrees in biology and economics. He has served in Watkidsville and with the college teaching team while at Watkinsville, and plans to attend medical school in the fall of 2020 (James 4:15). He enjoys puns, watching Planet Earth, and has a passion for people’s heads and hearts to both be full with the knowledge of Jesus, which is both conceptual and experiential.
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