Thoughts on Repentance
W. Carl Ketcherside
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In the letter of Paul to the Romans we are treated to an incidental revelation of the nature of repentance and its antecedents, and impenitence and its consequences, which is very enlightening. We shall quote from the New English Bible. "Or do you think lightly of his wealth of kindness, of tolerance, and of patience,
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The word translated "change of heart," rendered "repentance" in other versions, means literally to "take an after view," and then to change the mind as the result of taking a second view of the subject. The subject is sin and its effect upon one's character and destiny. One must be motivated to take a rational view of sin since his passions, emotions and inclinations are keyed to the enjoyment of its pleasure. All sin is an offence against the majesty of God, and only his kindness, tolerance and patience, operate to permit a guilty sinner to live.
The individual who is blinded intellectually by lust will not recognize the purpose of divine kindness to the transgressor, but those who do recognize it will readily see that it is intended to direct or guide them to a change of heart. This change is everywhere represented as one of moral character. This means it is not a mere state of intellect. It is not a conviction of sin, a consciousness of guilt, or a recognition and fear of retribution. All of these are passive states of the mind and can never have moral character attributed to them. All involuntary states of mind are passive and moral character cannot be postulated of a passive state.
For the same reason repentance is not a mere reaction of the sensibility. It is not a feeling or an emotion. It is not sorrow for wrongdoing, nor regret for a sinful act, nor remorse for hurtful conduct. It is not grief for the consequences of sin either to oneself or to another victim. These feelings and emotions may operate to impel one to take a second view of life and thus may be secondary causes leading to repentance but they are not of themselves repentance. You cannot command a feeling or an emotion.
Repentance is an act of volition, a positive phenomenon of the will. It represents a deliberate choice involving a complete change of purpose and intention, a choice made in the full light of intelligence. Since choice has to do with the expression of a preference, and all life can be summed up in two terms--selfishness and selflessness--repentance is an act of turning from the former to the latter. But "selflessness" must not be regarded as a mere negation of self. It is rather a surrender of the self to Jesus Christ as Lord. Repentance involves the abasement of self as unworthy, the indictment of self at the bar of conscience, and the consequent embracing by the heart of God and His ruling majesty.
While this is true, it must be remembered that in the rational being, every faculty is related. It is this relationship which is broken up when one becomes irrational, so that the irrational person may demonstrate emotions incongruent with circumstances and may be wholly incapable of exercising the will. Thus, with the rational person the intellect weighs the nature and result of the life of sin, and the sensibility registers a deep remorse and consciousness of guilt, and these impel the will to action so that the heart is changed as to the aim, purpose and duration of life.
Because of the involvement of the sensibility the penitent loathes sin. It is abhorrent because of what it does to his own personality and to the world of mankind. He hates sin because it is sin, and because it creates a battlefield within upon which he is at war with himself and God. When he realizes his helpless-
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Conscious of the fact that God can declare or pronounce him justified, not because he is no sinner, but precisely because he is one, he transfers his allegiance. And this last term is probably the best that we can do in expressing what is meant by the phrase "believe in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ." The remorseful sinner places himself, through full and unreserved commitment of self, in Him, where sin is not imputed or counted unto self, for he has no self. Self has been crucified. Such a person is dead and his life is hid with Christ in God. His condition is described in Romans 5:1, "Therefore, now, that we have been justified through faith, let us continue at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have been allowed to enter the sphere of God's grace."
Now let me say a few words about impenitence which is also generally misunderstood and confused with other states and conditions as is repentance. Our original text uses the expression, "rigid obstinacy of your heart," and this is a good rendering. Throughout God's entire word impenitence is looked upon as a frightful sin and fraught with terrible consequences. But a great many people are charged with impenitence who are ignorant or apathetic, or who seek to justify themselves in their present state. Such self-justification may be a fruit of impenitence, but it is not impenitence of itself.
Impenitence is not the love of sin. It is not a desire for sin, nor a craving after it. It is not an involuntary passion which cries and clamors for gratification. Rather, it is an act of the will, a voluntary and deliberate choice to pursue one's course, taken in full light of the consequences. This last is very important, for just as one must have light in which to view his true condition and be motivated to repentance, so he must have light against which he deliberately closes his inner eyes to be impenitent. Repentance and impenitence are the reactions of the heart taken in the light which illuminates and reveals the true state of the sinner.
Impenitence is rooted in the worship of self. It deposes God and drives Him from the throne-room of the heart. It installs self as the usurper of the divine prerogatives and privileges and insists that every wish of this tyrant be regarded as sovereign. Impenitence is not passive. It is not simply inattention to sin or indifference to its consequences. But it is an active, obstinate, belligerent state of the will. It is a grim, unyielding and resolute determination to be served at all costs, not from a love of sin, but because of the gratification which is derived from it. Sin is simply the lackey who does the bidding of Self, and it is no more loved than any other menial servant would be.
A knowledge of these facts will at once enable us to see why impenitence is denounced with such stringent woes in the sacred oracles. When the claims of God are presented to the mind and are weighed by the mental powers, the heart must take action in the light of these claims. It must either throw open the door to the Lord of life or begin immediately to strengthen the bars and locks to prevent his entrance.
It is this deliberate attempt to barricade the door from within which is called impenitence. The excuses which are voiced and the cavils at truth which are indulged, are not impenitence. They are the articles of furniture which impenitence piles against the door. And we need to remember that we may demolish the furniture without touching the occupant.
There is much more we would like to say and a great deal more which needs to be said upon this subject, but time and space will not permit of our saying it at this time. We shall close with the scriptural statement as to the fate which the impenitent must expect.
"In the rigid obstinacy of your heart you are laying up for yourself a store of retribution, when God's just judgment
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