The life of a Christian begins with the Holy Spirit giving us repentance and faith so we turn away from sin and towards Christ for salvation. We cannot end our discussion of repentance here, however, because repentance is an essential part of the whole Christian life, not just something that starts it off. Though all of our sins are forgiven when we repent and become Christians at conversion, that does not mean we no longer need to ask God to forgive us when we sin.
It may be helpful to think of repentance as a seed. When the Christian life begins, the Holy Spirit freely and graciously regenerates or gives new life, which comes with the gifts of repentance and faith. At regeneration, the seed of repentance is planted, and throughout our lives, it grows and produces fruit. As the Puritan theologian Thomas Watson put it, “Repentance is a continuous act. The issue of godly sorrow must not be quite stopped until death.”1 Repentance begins at conversion and continues through life as we are sanctified. Real repentance happens when we know intellectually that we have done wrong, feel shame and sorrow at our disobedience to God, and seek to turn away from sin and live holy lives. This is an ongoing, lifelong practice in the Christian walk.
Repentance is integral to the Christian life for many reasons. When we repent the Scriptures give us great confidence and comfort that we are forgiven. Because Christ died in our place for our sins, God accepts us: “[God] does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities… as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103: 10, 12). God will never hold back forgiveness; he never harbors a grudge or waits to get revenge on us for our rebellion.
If we have faith in Christ, our sins are placed on him, and his righteousness is freely given to us; our sins have been completely removed, forgotten, and covered. Repentance gives us peace with God. What a great blessing, not only objectively in regard to our status before God, but subjectively in regard to our relationship with God! When we repent we know that we are forgiven, and our guilty consciences are relieved; the tears of shame and sorrow that we shed for our sin are wiped away.
Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). When we repent we experience the truth of Jesus’s teaching. Those who repent, even as they mourn their sins, will know the blessing and comfort of God found in Jesus Christ, the savior of our souls. To experience the richness of the comfort of God, we must continually discover, lament, and confess the sins of our heart, mind, and body. When we come before the Father, through Christ the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us, we will find not only forgiveness but joy and love eternal. Christian, do not be slow to repent. Do not be afraid to ask God’s forgiveness; it is yours, freely given in Christ Jesus.
