The Nature and Necessity of True Repentance 2
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3. True repentance extends to all known sin, without exception.
If sin, considered in itself, or sin, as done against God—is the object of true repentance, then it follows, that whatever is sin in itself, or against God, must be the object of it. Every sin, whether it consists in neglecting what is commanded, or doing what is forbidden: whether it is immediately against God, against our neighbour, or ourselves; whether it is fashionable, constitutional, pleasing, or painful; every sin, without exception, as far as it is known—is hated and lamented by the true penitent. He should indeed regard them according to their different degrees of aggravation; but he should not except any of them, even the smallest. They are all forbidden by the same divine authority; all contrary to the holy nature of God; all opposite to the obligations of duty and gratitude we are under to him; and, therefore, they must be all repented of. This was the character of David—that he "hated every false way!" Psalm 119:128.
Now, does not this consideration prove some of you to be impenitent sinners? Do you not except some sins out of your repentance, and plead for an indulgence for them? If so, you may be sure that your hearts are not right with God.
4. True repentance always includes reformation.
There are many whose whole life seems to be one continued struggle between the strength of sin and conscience; and they run round in a circle of sinning and repenting; repenting and sinning—all their days. Sin is so strong that it will prevail, in spite of all the struggles of conscience; and conscience remains so vigorous, that it still continues to struggle, though without success. They commit sin—then are sorry for it; then commit it again. And in this vicissitude they spend their lives. Nay, the repentance of some is so far from reforming them from sin—that it rather encourages them to return to it; for now, they think, they have cleared off the old score, and they may venture upon a new one; until that also swells very high, and then they have another fit of repentance to clear off this new account.
Alas! friends, is this repentance unto life? What does that sorrow for sin avail—which leaves the heart as much in love with it as ever! The only reason why sorrow is a necessary ingredient in repentance is, because we will not, we cannot, forsake sin—until it is made bitter to us; and, therefore, when our sorrow has not this effect, it is altogether useless. Can that repentance save you, which is so far from being an ingredient of holiness, that it is a preparative to sin—a repentance that answers no other end but to make conscience easy after a debauch, and prepare it for another round of sin?
Is this the nature of true repentance? No! It is the character of every true penitent, that sin has not an habitual dominion over him. Romans 6:14. Remember that maxim of the wise man, "He who covers his sins shall not prosper; but whoever confesses andforsakes them, shall have mercy." Proverbs 28:13. Observe, not only confessing—but also forsaking them—is necessary to the obtaining of mercy. The same thing appears from the various expressions used in Scripture to describe repentance.
To repent, in the language of the Bible, is to depart from our evil ways; to cease to do evil, and learn to do well; to cleanse our hands, and purify our hearts. These expressions signify not only sorrow for sin—but especially reformation from it. In vain, therefore, do you pretend to repent—if you still go on in the sins you repent of! If you indulge yourselves in any one known sin, however small you may think it—then you are utter strangers to true repentance. I do not mean by this, that true penitents are perfectly free from sin in this life: alas! their painful experience makes the best of them sensible of the contrary. But I mean two things, which deserve your notice:
1. The one is, that every true penitent has a habitual dominion over sin: the principles of religion and virtue are prevailingly uppermost in his soul, and habitually regulate his behaviour. As for gross, overt acts of sin—he is habitually free from them, and, indeed, generally this is no great difficulty. To him it is no such mighty exploit to abstain from drunkenness, swearing, injustice, or the like. And as to his daily infirmities, they are contrary to the habitual, prevailing bent of his soul, and are matter of his daily lamentation.
2. And this introduces the other remark I had in view, which is this: that the true penitent cannot be perfect in this life—is the daily grief and burden of his soul. Many hypocrites seem well pleased that this is an imperfect state, because they think it furnishes them with a plea or an excuse for their neglect of the service of God, and for their sinful indulgences. In short, sin is their delight, and, therefore, freedom from it would be a painful bereavement to them; and they are glad they are in such a state as will admit of their retaining it. Now such people, as I observed, do really esteem it a privilege to be imperfect, and they rejoice in it as their happiness, that they are able to continue sin.
But it is quite the reverse with the true penitent—perfection in holiness, and an entire freedom from sin—is the object of his eager desire and most vigorous pursuit; and he can never be easy until he is free from it. If he cannot enjoy the pleasure of serving God as he would in the present state, he must, at least, enjoy the pleasure of grieving over and lamenting his guilty imperfections. If he cannot get free from sin, his old enemy, he will, at least, take a kind of pleasing revenge upon it, by hating and resisting it, and loathing it, and himself upon the account of it. In short, the remains of sin afford him more uneasiness, perplexity, and sorrow—than all other things in the world. Oh! if he were but delivered from this body of death, he would be happy, however oppressed with other burdens; but while sin lies upon him, all the world cannot render him easy and happy.
From the whole, you see that reformation is an essential ingredient of true repentance; and in vain do you pretend that you repent of sin—if you still indulge yourselves in it. You may try to excuse yourselves, from the frailty of your nature, the imperfection of the present state, or the strength of temptation. But in spite of all your excuses, this is an eternal truth—that unless your repentance reforms you, and turns you from the outward practice or secret indulgence of those sins you are sorry for—it is not repentance unto life.
5. And lastly, Evangelical repentance implies a believing application to God for pardon—only through Jesus Christ.
Evangelical repentance does not consist in despairing agonies and hopeless horrors of conscience—but is attended with an humble hope of forgiveness and acceptance; and this hope is founded entirely upon the merits of Jesus—and not of our repentance and reformation.
How opposite to this is the prevailing spirit of the world! If they repent, it is to make amends for their sins, and procure the divine favour by their repentance; and thus, even their repentance becomes a snare to them, and one cause of their destruction! In this sense, a bold saying of one of the church fathers is true: "That more souls are destroyed by their 'repentance'—than by their sin!" That is, their superficial, servile repentance has the appearance of goodness, and therefore they make a righteousness of it; and upon this quicksand they build their hopes, until they sink in remediless ruin!
Thus I have endeavoured to open to you the great gospel duty of repentance, as distinguished from all counterfeits and delusive appearances. I hope you have all understood me; for I have laboured to make myself understood, and spoke as plainly as I could. If you have experienced such a sincere, evangelical repentance, as has been described, you may venture your souls upon it, that it is repentance unto life; but if you are strangers to it, I may leave it to yourselves to determine, whether you can be saved in your present condition.
I have only two or three remarks more to make for the farther illustration of this subject:
1. The first is, that all the principles of degenerate human nature can never produce this sincere and thorough repentance—but that it is the peculiar work of the Holy Spirit. Self-love, and the other low and slavish principles of human nature, may produce a servile, mercenary repentance, proceeding from the fears of punishment. But only the love of God, and the noble principles of thenew nature, can bring you to a kindly, sincere repentance, from noble motives. And it is the Holy Spirit alone who can shed abroad the love of God in your hearts, and implant these sincere principles of the new nature.
2. The second remark is, that this sincere, supernatural repentance, is not the first repentance of an awakened sinner. No; he is first alarmed with terror and dreadful apprehensions of punishment; and all the springs of human nature are put in motion before these nobler principles are infused, and he is brought to a genuine, evangelical repentance.
3. Therefore, thirdly, The only way to attain to this supernatural repentance is, to use all proper means to excite the springs of natural repentance, particularly: to reflect upon your sins, upon their number and aggravation, and your dreadful danger. While you are destitute of the love of God—let self-love excite you to be sorry for your sins. While you cannot see the intrinsic evil of sin as against God, see at least the insupportable misery it will bring upon you. If you have not such sincere souls as to mourn over sin as against a sin-forgiving God, at least mourn over sin as against a sin-punishing God. And while the principles of nature are thus exerted—who knows but God may work in you diviner principles, and give you repentance unto life.
My subject is now ripe for APPLICATION; and this shall be nothing else but a short illustration of the other parts of my text.
1. Let me then, in the first place, publish the royal edict of the King of heaven in this assembly: "God commands all men to repent!" He commands you in various ways: commands you with the motions of his Spirit striving with you; and by the voice of your own consciences, which is the voice of God; commands you by his providence, which tends to lead you to repentance; and especially by his gospel, which he has sent to you for this end. He now commands you by my mouth; for while I speak what his Word authorizes, it does not lose its efficacy, nor cease to be his Word by passing through my lips.
Remember, he commands you, he lays his authority upon you—to repent. You are not left to your discretion in the case. Dare you reject the known, express command of the divine Majesty? Should a voice now break from the excellent glory, directed to each of you by name, saying, "Repent! repent!" Would it not startle you? Would it not shock you, to set yourselves in opposition to so express and immediate a command of the God who made you? Well, his command to you in the gospel is as real, as authoritative and binding, as an immediate voice from heaven!
And dare you disobey it? Dare you go home this day with this additional guilt upon you, of disobeying a known command of the supreme Lord of heaven and earth? Dare you provoke him to jealousy? Are you stronger than he? Can you harden yourselves against him—and yet prosper? I again proclaim it aloud in your hearing. The King of kings, my Master, has issued out his royal mandate, requiring you to repent—upon pain of everlasting damnation. This day it is proclaimed in your ears, therefore this day repent. If you refuse to repent, let this conviction follow you home, and perpetually haunt you—that you have this day, when you were met together under pretence of worshipping God, knowingly disobeyed the great gospel-command. And to the great God you must answer for your disobedience!
2. In the next place, my text tells you, he commands all men to repent: all men, of all ranks and characters. This command, therefore, is binding upon you all. The great God cries to you all, "Repent! Repent, young and old, rich and poor, white and black! Repent, you young sinners, now, while your hearts are soft and tender, and your passions easily moved, and you are not hardened by a long course of habitual sinning. Repent, you grey-headed, veteran sinners, now at last repent, when the load of sins, heaped up for so many years lies so heavy upon you, and you are walking every moment on the slippery brink of eternity! Repent, you rich men; you are not above this command! Repent, you poor; you are not beneath it! Repent, you poor slaves; your colour, or low estate in life, cannot free you from this command! Repent, you masters, for your sins against your Master, who is in heaven!"
In short, God commands all men, kings and subjects, the highest and the lowest, and all the intermediate ranks, to repent!
To render the call still more pointed and universal, it is added, "He commands all men, everywhere to repent!" Everywhere, in city and country; in palaces and cottages; in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, wherever the trumpet of the gospel sounds the alarm—to repent! Repentance is a duty that extends as far as human nature, as far as the utmost boundaries of this guilty world. Wherever there are sinners under a dispensation of grace—there this command reaches. It reaches to the busy merchant in his store, to the laborious planter in the field, and to the tradesman in his shop; to the sailor tossing on the waves, and to the inhabitant of solid ground; to the man of learning in his study, and to the illiterate peasant; to the judge upon the bench, as well as to the criminal in the dungeon; to the man of sobriety, as well as to the brutish debauchee; to the minister in the pulpit, and to the people in their pews; to the dissenter in the meeting-house, and to the conformist in church; to husbands and wives; to parents and children; to masters and servants; to all people, whatever they are, wherever they dwell, whatever they are doing; to all these the command to repent reaches. And do you not find yourselves included in it? If you are men, if you dwell anywhere upon this guilty globe, you are included; for, let me tell you once more, "God commands all men, everywhere, to repent!"
Nor are you allowed to delay your compliance. Repentance is your present duty: "God commands all men everywhere to repent!" Now, when the times of ignorance are over, and the gospel sheds heavenly day among you! Now, when he will no longer wink, or connive at your impenitence—but takes strict notice of it with just indignation! Now, while the day of grace lasts, and there is place left for repentance! Now, before you are hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, and while his spirit is striving with you! Now, while his judgements are in the earth, and your country is surrounded with the terrors of war! Now, while he is publishing his command to a guilty country to repent, by the horrid sound of trumpets and cannons! Now, while you have time, which may be taken from you the next year, the next week, or, perhaps, the very next moment! Now, while you enjoy health of body, and the exercise of your reason, and your attention is not tied down to pain and agony! Now, and not tomorrow; not upon a sick bed; not in a dying hour. Now is the time in which God commands you to repent; he does not allow you one hour's delay; and what right have you to allow it to yourselves?
Therefore, now, this moment, let us all repent! All, without exception. Why should there not be one assembly of true penitents upon our guilty globe? And oh! why should it not be this one? Why should not repentance be as universal as sin? And, since we are all sinners, oh! why should we not all be humble penitents? Repent, you must—either in time—or eternity; either upon earth—or in hell. You cannot possibly avoid it. The question is not, shall I repent? for that is beyond a doubt. But the question is, "Shall I repent now, when it may save me; or shall I put it off until the eternal world, when my repentance will be my punishment, and can answer no end but to torment me?"
And is this a hard question? Does not common sense determine it in favour of the present time? Therefore, let the duty be as extensively observed as it is commanded: Let all men everywhere repent! Blessed God! pour out upon us a spirit of grace and supplication, that there may be a great mourning among us; that we may sincerely repent—and be eternally saved. Grant this for Jesus' sake! Amen.
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