Practical Repentance

“When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said “Repent”, He called for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” – Martin Luther, Thesis 1 of the 95 Theses

The Danger of Theoretical Repentance

I remember hearing sermons as a kid which called us to “lay down our pride,” or “surrender to God,” or “give it to the Lord.” During the sermon it made sense, but I later realized that I have no clue what any of that means. What does it look like to lay down pride? I don’t have a suitcase labeled “pride” that I can set on the ground. What does it actually mean? Pride is something strongly tied to my nature and as much as I would like to lay it down, I don’t know what could actually be done to unload the burden of pride from my back. In other words, this call to lay down pride sounds good, but comes up empty. It works in the theoretical and theological, but in the real world it lacks meaning and does not help me.

I am worried that, for many people, repentance can be the same way. When left to the realm of the theoretical or theological, repentance makes sense. We repent of our sins and receive forgiveness from God on account of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection from the grave. But what does it mean in a practical sense to repent? What does it look like? How do I do it?

Repentance Toward God

Faith always has an object. When the gospel calls us to have faith, it really calls us to trust a person named Jesus, specifically to trust him, his teachings, and his death on the cross and resurrection from the grave for your sins. Yet repentance and faith are always tied together, so wherever you find faith in Christ you also find repentance. As a result, repentance always has an object. Repentance is a change of orientation from sin to God that occurs while trusting in Jesus.

Practical Remorse

Before repentance, you must feel conviction or contrition, both that you are sinner by nature and that you have committed specific sins. Let’s take King David as a practical example:

It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.” (expand chapter) 2 Samuel 11

Here is a king of Israel who has been noteworthy for his impecable faithfulness and righteousness up to this point. Yet here, David sends his troops out to war while himself staying behind to lounge around. He rises from his couch to watch a woman bathe to prepare for worship, and abuses his position of authority to commit adultery with the wife of one of his own soldiers. We hear nothing else until she announces that she is pregnant. Next, he takes the husband through a dog and pony show where he tries to fool the husband into sleeping with his own wife, yet out of a noble loyalty to his fellow soldiers and king, he refuses. Finally, David creates a battle plan that will intentionally kill his own men and, to add insult to injury, makes Uriah the husband carry the letter containing his death sentence. Then David marries his wife and carries on as if nothing has happened.

Up until this point David has no conviction. Yet God sends Nathan the prophet to David who tells him a parable. David pronounces condemnation on the selfish man in the parable until Nathan exposes that the selfish man is really David. Conviction hits David deeply.

Our hearts are naturally blind to our own wickedness. We are always quick to see the wrong in others but slow to see it in ourselves. This is where the law of God comes into the picture. Sometimes, we are fortunate enough to have a “Nathan” in our life who will bring the law to bear against us when we sin, but other times we have to be our own Nathan and preach God’s law to ourselves. We should actually take the time to think about our sins, point them out, recognize that they are evil and come from within, and see the offense that they deserve from God.

Practical Confession

It is not enough to feel convicted or sorry about our sins. Judas felt sorry for betraying Jesus, but rather than repenting he hung himself. We must trust Jesus enough to not seek our own torment when we feel convicted but flee to the mercies of God found in Jesus Christ just as David did. The notes in Psalm 51 explicitly tell us that this is the repenting song of David after this sinful incident.

Psalm 51

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!

For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
build up the walls of Jerusalem;
then will you delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.

What does David do? He confesses his sins in prayer to God, but also confesses God’s mercy. He confesses his wicked nature but God’s purity. He begs for the Holy Spirit and for the ability to rejoice in God in spite of being disciplined. Psalm 51 is a model prayer for repentance that we should all pray along with David when we sin. Additionally, we should confess to one another just as David confesses publicly. This enables us to take an extra jab against our pride and gives us the opportunity to build up others by reminding them of God’s forgiveness.

Practical Joy

Once we have prayed that God purge us, clean us, forgive us, and embody us, we must find joy and satisfaction in the assurance that God has pardoned our sin. We know for a fact that David was pardoned, “…And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.” Likewise, the same pardon is offered to us when we repent and trust in Christ who is God’s mercy, God’s purging hyssop, God’s deliverance from bloodguiltiness, and God’s bull sacrificed at the alter.

Do not rob yourself of forgiveness. Do not rob yourself from fully knowing the love of God in the face of your own sin. Do not rob yourself of the joy of being the adopted son of God whom he disciplines out of love for your good. Bring your repentance out of the theoretical realm. Repent and believe the good news.

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