The Indispensability of Repentance

“There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:1-5).

John Wesley wrote that repentance is true self-knowledge, in that it shows us, even before we have come to faith, just how corrupt and sinful we are. “Know that corruption of thy inmost nature, whereby thou are very far gone from original righteousness,” Wesley wrote. “Know that thou are corrupted in every power, in every faculty of the soul, that thou art totally corrupted in every one of these, all the foundations being out of course.” When we are confronted by the consequences of sin and the true condition of our soul we gain a heightened appreciation of the indispensability of repentance.

Jesus is patient about repentance. The Spirit inspired Luke to remember and record for us a parable that revealed Jesus as the patient vinedresser… “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure.  Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” (Luke 13:6-9). Christ came into our world to prompt us to confession and repentance that we might be born again and begin to bear fruit worthy of that repentance. That God sent His Son is a revelation of His patience.

Jesus is persistent toward repentance. When the Pharisees ordered Him to leave Jerusalem, Jesus answered with a clear declaration of His persistence toward the repentance of Jerusalem and its citizens… “Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” (Luke 13:33-34). Christ would not leave our world until He was lifted up as a call to repentance and forgiveness on Calvary’s cross. That He was undeterred by any earthly opposition is a revelation of Christ’s persistence.

Jesus is the pattern for repentance. The life of Christian discipleship in its simplest form is becoming more like Christ… “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). Acknowledging that it’s not easy, Jesus still commands us to imitate His patience and persistence toward others as we prompt them toward repentance and forgiveness… “Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him” (Luke 17:3-4). The pattern for overcoming sin through genuine repentance is revealed through genuine disciples as we stay close to Christ and draw others closer to Him!

The place of repentance in God’s salvation plan is revealed in the great prayer of a humble tax collector… “The tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’” (Luke 18:13). We are saved when God gives us the grace to…

Confess: Agree with the truth that we are infected by sin

Repent: Adjust our attitude and thinking about sin

Believe: Affirm that our sin nature has been buried with Christ and we are raised to a new life in Him!

As we grow up into Christ, our walk with Him should increasingly reveal to a lost and fallen world…

The Indispensability of Repentance.