When professing Christians look at their life and desire to get close to God, what do they find is the most important thing they can do to foster that closer relationship? Repentance. This is the first and primary step we all have to take. Repentance is composed of several parts:
- Conviction of Sin: The Holy Spirit is always at work in us, helping us recognize and acknowledge our sin. You can’t confess what you fail to see.
- Contrition: This is godly sorrow, a deep sense of grief for having violated God’s holiness in our lives. This is not the worldly sorrow of regret nor mere remorse over consequences, such as Judas experienced, which led only to death (Matthew 27:5). This is godly sorrow, a critical factor in repentance (2 Corinthians 7:8-12).
- Confess: It is made real by openly admitting our sin. Psalm 51:3 says, “For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me,” and 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.“
- Renounce: We must renounce our sin and turn away from it, seeking to never commit it again, or if we do, to immediately deal with it. There is a wonderful English word that powerfully captures this step: forsake – to quit or leave entirely; abandon; desert. We must forsake our sin.
- Convert: We must turn from our sin and turn to God instead. This is done both with the will and the heart. With our will we choose God, and with our heart we trust He hears us and forgives us as He has promised in His Word ( 1 John 1:9).
- Reformation: We make a practical and observable change in our lives in an effort not to sin again. Yes, the old man, Satan’s minions, and the world at large will continue to try to drag us down (Romans 7:15-21), but we fight the fight for holiness and righteousness, persevering to the end so that we might present to our Father a wholesome bride for His Son at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
True repentance is a gift of grace from God working through the Holy Spirit to both convict us of our sin and aid us in repentance.
