Repentance is at the heart of the Christian faith. It is central to the message of Jesus Christ. In Mark 1:14-15, right at the outset of His ministry, we see the Jesus call people to repentance:
After John was arrested, Jesus went to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God: 15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Too often, we Christians are guilty of only remembering the role of repentance at the point of conversion—that time when we first believe the gospel and declare allegiance to Jesus as Lord. When we bind repentance to conversion and only see it as a doorway into the kingdom of God, we miss the glorious role that regular repentance plays in the regular rhythms of following Jesus. We sin often, so we must repent often!
And yet, we neglect repentance. Why? There are likely many reasons, but here are three common reasons we neglect repentance as Christians:
1. We’ve reduced repentance to a moment.
Many Christians have, unfortunately, reduced repentance to an action that only takes place at the time of conversion, but becomes less relevant after the moment of decision. Repentance is rightly seen as the first step of faith, but wrongly often discarded or forgotten after that. For many, repenting of sin after conversion may feel redundant, repetitive, or even backward to some degree, thinking, “Why do I need to repent when I’m already saved?”
To repent is to turn away from sin, and so while we must do this as a first act of obedience to and faith in Jesus, as we continue to sin as followers of Jesus, we must continue to repent as followers of Jesus. We must continually turn away from sin and toward life in Christ. In the letter to the church in Ephesus, we see Jesus calling His followers to repentance. We read this in Revelation 2:5, which says, “Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first.”
Repentance is a first step to following Jesus and a common step for followers of Jesus in their everyday lives.
2. We’ve confused repentance with shame.
Another reason we neglect repentance is because we have confused repentance with shame. To be honest, the confusion of these is somewhat understandable. When we reckon with our sin, the ways in which we fracture our relationship with God and choose to worship someone or something else, this reckoning can lead to both a decision to repent and a feeling of shame. We come face-to-face with our sin and decide to turn away from it (repent), yet we may also feel a crushing sense of guilt and perhaps embarrassment (shame).
Paul recognizes the common combination of these two when he writes in 2 Corinthians 7:10, “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly grief produces death.” Likewise, David cries out in repentance in Psalm 51:17, “The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God.”
Obeying the call we have to repent and turn away from sin must not be stopped by the common accompaniment of feelings of shame. When we repent and turn from sin, God meets us with gracious, open arms, welcoming us to His side. It is good and right for our hearts to be broken by our sin, but in response to this heartbreak we are meant to run toward God in repentance not run away from God in shame.
3. We’ve forgotten what repentance produces in us.
Third, and finally, we often neglect repentance because we forget the glorious fruit that comes from it. Repentance costs something, to be sure—it costs us our pride. To repent requires us to admit that we don’t have it all together. It requires us to admit that we still sin despite our faith in a God who saves us from our sin. This cost can be painful, so painful, in fact, that it can blind us to the beauty on the other side of our repentance.
Jesus reminds His listeners in Luke 15:7, “I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need repentance.”
Repentance leads to rejoicing in heaven! God is grieved by our pride and revels in our repentance. He knows we sin, so our repentance does not sadden or surprise Him. Rather, our repentance shows Him that our hearts are aligned with His!
The apostle John reminds us in his first letter that God is faithful to respond to our repentance. First John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Rhythms of Repentance Must Be Modeled
In order for Christians to stop neglecting the vital spiritual rhythm of repentance, they need to see it modeled by their pastors and church leaders. Christians who only see their leaders as perfect spiritual bastions of righteousness will be less likely to admit when they mess up than those Christians who are led by people who acknowledge and turn from their sin.
God honors and rejoices over those who repent. Let’s not neglect repentance out of fear or shame, but lead the way in taking the steps of faith required to trust God with our sanctification and not ourselves.
