A true sense of sin. The man must see himself as God has always seen man after the fall.
Realization of guilt; Realization that he deserves punishment, in light of the justice of God.
Consciousness of pollution, as opposed to the holiness of God.
Consciousness of helplessness as opposed to the sovereignty of God (sovereignty = God’s control of all things)
A true understanding of the mercy of God in Christ.
Because the awakened conscience echoes God’s law
Because out of Christ, God is “a consuming fire,” and the fear of his anger should sicken the soul.
A sense of the amazing goodness of God to us in the gift of his Son.
As to its essence, true repentance consists—
In a sincere hatred of sin, and sorrow for our own sin. Sin must be understood as terribly wicked in the light of the divine holiness, of the law of God, and especially of the cross of Christ. The more we see of God in the face of Christ, the more we despise ourselves and repent in dust and ashes. “Godly sorrow works repentance to salvation.” “By the law is the knowledge of sin” and hence “the law is our school-master to bring us unto Christ.”
The essence of repentance consists—
In our actual turning from all sin unto God. This is that practical turning, or “conversion” from sin unto God, which is the instant and necessary result of regeneration. It is a voluntary leaving of sin as evil and hateful, with sincere sorrow, humiliation, and confession; and a turning to God as our reconciled Father, in the exercise of faith in the merits and assisting grace of Christ.
By these marks it may be seen that repentance unto life can only be exercised by a soul after regeneration by the Holy Spirit. God regenerates; and with new gracious ability… will repent. Repentance and conversion, therefore, are terms applying often to the same gracious experience. The Scriptural usage of the two words differs in two respects—
Conversion is the more general term, including all the various experiences involved in the start of the divine life. Emphasis on experience is a turning to God.
Repentance is more specific, giving importance to the work of the law upon the conscience, and especially emphasizing the experiences attending the new birth as a turning from sin.
Conversion is generally used to designate only the first acts of the new nature at the beginning of a religious life.
Repentance is a daily experience of the Christian as long as the struggle with sin continues in his heart and life.
There is a false repentance experienced before regeneration, and by those never regenerated.
Comes from the common operations of the truth and the Spirit upon the natural conscience, exciting simply a sense of guilt and pollution.
Does not lead to the hatred of sin, nor to the understanding of the mercy of God in Christ, nor to the practical turning from sin unto God.
The genuineness of true repentance is proved
By its being submissive to the requirements and teachings of Scripture.
By its fruits. Genuine repentance springs from regeneration and leads to eternal life. Christ is the vine; we are the branches.
We are also free, accountable agents. Every Christian duty is therefore a grace; for without Christ we can do nothing. And equally every Christian grace is a duty; because the grace is given to us to exercise, and it finds its true result and expression only in the duty.
That it should be diligently preached by every minister of the gospel is ---
Self–evident from the essential nature of the duty.
Because such preaching was included in the commission Christ gave to the apostles.
Because of the example of the apostles.
Repentance is not to be rested in, as any satisfaction for sin, or any cause of the pardon thereof.
Repentance does not cause of the pardon of sin is proved by all that the Scriptures teach us
As to the justice of God, which inescapably demands the punishment of every sin;
Repentance is of such necessity to all sinners that none may expect pardon without it. This is evident—
Because the giving of pardon to a non–repentant sinner would be in effect to approve his sin, to confirm him in his sinful state, and to encourage others therein.
Repentance is the natural and instant sequence of the grace of regeneration. It also embraces an element of faith in Christ; and that faith is the instrument of justification. He that repents believes. He that does not repent does not believe. He that does not believe is not justified. Regeneration and justification are never separated.
The design of Christ’s work is to “save his people from their sins.” He frees them from the guilt of their sins by pardon, and he brings them clear from the power of their sins through repentance.
Repentance, like faith, is a duty as well as a grace, and ministers are commanded to preach it as essential to forgiveness.
True repentance, is the fruit of regeneration, and no man is regenerated who is not also justified. True repentance includes faith, and faith unites us to Christ and secures the assignment of his righteousness, and the righteousness of Christ of course cancels all possible sin.
That men ought to repent not only in general of the corruption of their hearts and sinfulness of their lives, but also of every particular sinful action of which they are conscious, and that when possible they should to set right the wrong done by their actions, is a dictate alike of natural conscience and scripture. No man has any right to presume that he hates sin in general unless he practically hates every sin in specifically; and no man has any right to presume that he is sorry for and ready to abandon his own sins in general unless he is conscious of practically leaving and grieving for each particular sin into which he falls.
That every man should make private confession of all his sins to God, and that God will certainly pardon him when his sorrow and his renunciation of his sins are sincere. “If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
That when a Christian has personally injured a bother, or dishonored by his unchristian conduct the Church of Christ, he ought to be willing, by a public or a private confession, to declare his repentance to those that are offended, is also a dictate alike of natural reason and of Scripture. The wrong–doer is plainly in debt to the man he has injured. He must make every possible restoration to his feelings and interests; and the same principle holds true in relation to the general interests of the Christian community.
It is the duty of the Christian brothers, or of the Church, when offended, to forgive the offending party and restore him fully to favor upon his repentance. All honorable men feel themselves bound to act upon this principle. The Christian is, in addition, brought under obligations to forgive others by his own infinite obligation to his Lord, who not only forgave us upon repentance, but died to redeem us while we were unrepentant. As to public shame, the Church is bound to forgive them when the Lord has done so. As genuine repentance is the gift of Christ, its exercise is a certain sign that the person is forgiven by Christ and is a Christian brother.
Scripture does not bid us to confess to a Priest. Confession to a Priest is a perversion of Scripture and an acknowledgment of an unholy, man-made office. Scripture bids us simply to confess our faults one to another. The believer, has immediate access to Christ, and to God through Christ, and is commanded to confess his sins immediately to God.
