What Is Repentance?

Mark 1:14–15 records the first words Jesus said in His public preaching ministry: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Since Jesus’ first announcement of the gospel included the call to repentance for sin, we can conclude that repentance constitutes an essential element of Christian discipleship. To faithfully follow Jesus, we must be able to answer this question: What is repentance?

Repentance Unto Life

The Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms helpfully summarize biblical teaching on many subjects, including “repentance unto life,” which other theologians sometimes call “evangelical repentance.” Both phrases differentiate true, saving repentance from the worldly sorrow that is no true repentance at all. Paul talks about the godly grief that leads to salvation without regret and warns us about the worldly grief that produces only death (2 Cor. 7:10–11). In essence, he is distinguishing sorrow for how our sin has offended God and hurt others from our sorrow over the consequences for sin. Non-saving repentance is sorrow merely for how our sins have hurt us or sadness that we have been caught doing wrong. This is the kind of sorrow that a kid expresses when his hand is caught in the cookie jar and not when he is forthcoming about breaking his parents’ rules. It is the kind of sorrow that Esau manifested when he surrendered his birthright and blessing—sorrow not as a result of forsaking God’s goodness for a bowl of stew but sorrow that he lost the best inheritance (Gen. 25:29–34; 27:1–41; Heb. 12:16).

The Components of True Repentance

In contrast to non-saving, worldly repentance, repentance unto life turns away from sin so that we can return to God through Christ. Westminster Confession of Faith 15.2 assists us in defining the components of true, saving repentance. It states that “by [repentance unto life], a sinner, out of the sight and sense not only of the danger, but also of the filthiness and odiousness of his sins, as contrary to the holy nature, and righteous law of God; and upon the apprehension of his mercy in Christ to such as are penitent, so grieves for, and hates his sins, as to turn from them all unto God, purposing and endeavoring to walk with him in all the ways of his commandments.”

First, repentance unto life recognizes not only that sin is dangerous to us but that it is filthy and repulsive because all transgressions are violations of the righteous law of God and an affront to His perfectly holy character. We see this reflected in Psalm 51:4, where David confesses that his sin in the matter of Bathsheba and Uriah was a sin against God alone. This is poetic hyperbole. Having Uriah murdered was obviously a sin against both God and Uriah. David means that his transgressions are first and foremost sins against God. Because the Lord is the holy Creator and Lawgiver and we are made in His image, every sin is a sin against God before it is a sin against anyone else. Sins against others are sins against God’s image, so, by extension, they are attempts to hurt God. All sins are “cosmic treason,” as R.C. Sproul frequently said. They are attempts to replace God and His commandments with ourselves and our own standards.

Repentance unto life not only recognizes that our sins are primarily against God, but it also apprehends God’s mercy in Christ toward the penitent such that the sinner is motivated to turn toward the Lord, confess the sin, and ask for forgiveness (WCF 15.2). We see this too in Psalm 51, where David confesses his sin and asks for God’s mercy. Consider also the difference between Judas Iscariot and the Apostle Peter. Both men sinned grievously; Judas handed Jesus over to the authorities and Peter denied that he was Jesus’ disciple (Matt. 26:14–16, 69–74). Both men expressed sorrow for their sin (Matt. 26:75; 27:3–4). Yet Judas’ sorrow for sin ended in suicide whereas Peter’s led to restoration to ministry (Matt. 27:5–10; John 21:15–19). Why the difference? Despite his sin, Peter kept coming to Jesus, first to see the empty tomb and then to dine with Him on the seashore (John 20:1–10; 21:1–14). Peter ran toward Jesus, knowing that He is merciful to the penitent; Judas fled from Jesus to death at his own hands, not having believed the Savior’s mercy.

Finally, in repentance unto life, a sinner grieves for and hates his sins so much that he turns away from them with a new resolve to obey God and a corresponding effort to put that resolve into practice (WCF 15.2). Repentance, in other words, does not mean simply saying that one is sorry for sin and then making no effort to amend one’s life. We are to cast off the works of darkness and put on Christ (Rom. 13:11–14), to remember that we are new creations in Christ and, consequently, to seek to live like the new creations that we are. This turn from sin happens decisively in our conversion but then continues every day for the rest of our lives. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, but if we confess our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8–9).

The Duty and Privilege of Repentance

None of this means that we have not truly repented if we engage in the same sin more than once. It means that we should question the authenticity of our repentance if we love our sin and make no efforts whatsoever to stop it. For all those who know Christ, repentance unto life is both a duty to fulfill and a privilege that allows us to remain in uninterrupted fellowship with our Savior. Let us hate sin, ask for forgiveness, seek to learn Christ’s way, and strive to obey God’s law rather than transgress it.