The following is an article by Robert Cheong, from Sojourn Counseling.

Opening:

What images and feelings come over you when I mention the “R” word—“repentance”?

Ripping of the clothes
Sack cloth & ashes
Pounding on the chest
Weeping while laying face down on the floor

These images are biblical, but are they the only images and feelings that are associated with repentance?

Definition

What is Repentance?

“Repentance is a heartfelt sorrow for sin, a renouncing of it, and a sincere commitment to forsake it and walk in obedience to Christ” (Grudem).

Our Sinful Movement Away From Our Savior

Unrepentance

Aspects of Unrepentance:

Spiritual Warfare Abounds
- “. . . observe that Satan, in hiding the love of God from you, and tempting you under the pretence of humility to deny his greatest, special mercy, seeks to destroy your repentance and humiliation, also, by hiding the greatest aggravation of your sin” (Baxter)
- “Excusing sin, and heading for and extenuating it, and striving against the Spirit and conscience, and wrangling against ministers and godly friends, and hating reproof, are not the means to be cured and sanctified” (Baxter)
- Blinded by sin, thus no recognition of sin from which to repent
- Deceived by sin, thus adamant about the need not to repent. Our reasoning or rationalization is not reflective of our professed submission to Christ or a mind renewed by Truth.
- Hardened by sin, decidedly wayward, intentionally rejecting & rebelling against God and His ways. God is standing in my way!
- False Worship—idols of the heart
Our Fortified Kingdom
- Self-rule = no one will tell me what to do!
- Self-glory = it’s should be all about me and you can’t have any part of my glory!
- Self-satisfaction – I want what I need so I am going to get it no matter what!

Dynamics of Unrepentance:

As believers, unrepentance brings disorder to the soul.
God created us, as His people, in His image, and redeemed us to be in a love relationship with Him. Therefore, when we knowingly (or unknowingly) live in a manner contrary to His redemptive design, we experience chaos and turmoil in our souls.
- “Think what the soul of man is made for, and should be used to, even to love, obey, and glorify our Maker; and then you will see what sin is, which disables and perverts it” (Baxter).

God’s Redemptive Movement Towards Us

“Repentance is the gift of God; that Jesus is exalted to bestow it” (John Newton)
Repentance is a gracious principle & habit implanted in the soul by the Spirit of Christ (John Colquhoun)
God’s indwelling Spirit graciously imparts clarity and conviction of our sin (cf. Ps. 73:16-17) as a God-ordained pathway to growth and fruit-bearing (cf. Gal. 5:22-23).
- . . . the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Rom. 5:5b)
God Bears Down
- O LORD, rebuke me not in Your wrath, And chasten me not in Your burning anger. For Your arrows have sunk deep into me, And Your hand has pressed down on me. (Ps. 38:1-2)
Sorrow Prompts
- For I am ready to fall, And my sorrow is continually before me. . . . I am full of anxiety because of my sin. (Ps. 38:17-18)
  (2 Cor. 7:9-10) I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
Gospel Repentance is brought about by sorrow that is according to the will of God
Gospel Repentance is Without Regret—no shame, no condemnation
Gospel Repentance is Redemptive—“leads to salvation”
Godly Sorrow versus Worldly Sorrow—produces death
Most sorrowful for having sinned against an infinitely holy & gracious God (Colquhoun)
Against You, You only, I have sinned and done evil in Your sight so that You are justified when You speak (Ps. 51:4)

Our Redemptive Response Towards Redeemer

Confession Issues
- For I am ready to fall, And my sorrow is continually before me. For I confess my iniquity; I am full of anxiety because of my sin. (Ps. 38:17-18)
- Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the greatness of Your compassion, blot out my transgression. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sins For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me . . . Deliver me from bloodguiltiness O God, the Lord of my salvation (Ps. 51:1-3;14)

Repentance Flows
6Seek the LORD while He may be found;
Call upon Him while He is near.
7Let the wicked forsake his way
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him,
And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.
8"For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD.
9"For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Isaiah 55:6-9

Repentance is Rooted in Relationship—“return to the Lord” (Isa. 55:7b)

Repentance is a Response to Revelation—“My ways . . . My thoughts . . . (Isa. 55:8-9). The
Spirit of God opens eyes and redirects the affections of the heart; therefore repentance is worship.
Result of Repentance—“compassion and abundantly pardoned (forgiven)” (Isa. 55:7)
“When you have found out your disease and danger, give up yourselves to Christ as the
Saviour and Physician of souls, and to the Holy Ghost as your Sanctifier, remembering that he is sufficient and willing to do the work which he has undertaken” (Baxter).
“When you fail, keep Jesus and his work in view. Run to your Lord, not away from him. Receive his forgiveness, get back up, and follow him once more, knowing that each time you fail, you can experience your identity as one for whom Christ died. Each failure reminds us of why he had to die, each confession reminds us of the forgiveness that only the Cross could provide” (Lane & Tripp, How People Change, p. 175).

Joy Results
Psalm 51 . . .
- Make me to hear joy and gladness, let the bones which You have broken rejoice (8).
- Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit (12)
- O Lord, open my lips that my mouth may declare Your praise (15).
Faith Deepens
- Repentance is a fruit of faith (Colquhoun)
- Repentance requires faith. Repentance is a step of faith. We turn back to Christ trusting in His past, present, and future mercy. We know this to be true because “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6).
- To live a life of repentance is to live by faith (cf. Gal. 2:20)
Tongue Praises
Psalm 51 . . .
- Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners will be converted to You (13).
- My tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness (14b).

A Comparison of “Religious” versus Gospel Repentance (Keller)

God’s Redemptive Response Towards Us

Forgiveness: A beautiful portrait of our Heavenly Father’s forgiveness when we turn back to Him in repentance (The Prodigal Son—Luke 15:11-32)— 20So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
- Intimacy—Mercy—Redeeming Love & Forgiveness

God’s Redemptive Work In Us

A Deepening Intimacy with & Identity in Christ
- God’s renews/restores our souls by allowing us to experience afresh His redeeming love, mercy, and faithfulness.
- Psalm73...

17Until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I perceived their end.

23Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand. 24

With Your counsel You will guide me,

And afterward receive me to glory.

25Whom have I in heaven but You?

And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.

26My flesh and my heart may fail,

But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

27For, behold, those who are far from You will perish;

You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You.

28But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;

I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,

That I may tell of all Your works.

Psalm 130…
1Out of the depths I have cried to You, O LORD.
2Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplications.
3If You, LORD, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
4But there is forgiveness with You,
That You may be feared. 5I wait for the LORD,
my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope.
6My soul waits for the Lord More than the watchmen
for the morning; Indeed, more than the watchmen
for the morning. 7O Israel, hope in the LORD;
For with the LORD there is lovingkindness,
And with Him is abundant redemption.
8And He will redeem Israel From all his iniquities.

A Life of Repentance:
- The Lord’s Prayer—And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. (Matt. 6:12)
- “The more you see your own flaws and sins, the more precious, electrifying, and amazing God’s grace appears to you. But on the other hand, the more aware you are of God’s grace and acceptance in Christ, the more you are able to drop your denials and self-defenses and admit the true dimensions of your sin” (Keller).
Gospel Repentance in Action (cf. Keller):
- Putting Off Pride & Putting On Humility
  - Have I looked down on anyone? Have I judged someone out of my own insecurities? Have I caught myself saying, “who do they think they are?” or “do they know who I am?”
  - Repent like this: Father, thank you for reminding me of my sinful pride. Forgive me for my self-glory, for thinking and acting like I am at the center of the universe. Lord, help me to remember that I can do nothing apart from Christ (cf. Jn 15:4-5). I praise you that I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who lives but Christ who lives in me (Gal. 2:20). Help me to boast only in the cross and in Christ Jesus (Gal. 6:14).
Putting Off Indifference and Putting on Love
- Have I spoken or thought unkindly of anyone lately? Have I been impatient and irritable? Have I been self-absorbed, indifferent, and inattentive to people
- Repent like this: Father, forgive me for my cold and self-centered heart. I praise you for the sacrificial love of Christ and for your long-suffering towards me in spite of my continued sins against you. Lord, may your love do its perfecting work in me (1 John 4:12) so that I can love you with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength and I can love others like Christ (Matt. 22:37- 40)