Quote 4177
117
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Repentance is a discovery of the evil of sin, a mourning that we have committed it, a resolution to forsake it. It is, in fact, a change of mind of a very deep and practical character, which makes the man love what once he hated, and hate what once he loved.
Repentance causes a change in the affections, which move under the will as the commander-in-chief. It metamorphoses the affections. It turns rejoicing in sin into sorrowing for sin; it turns boldness in sin into holy shame; it turns the love of sin into hatred.Ten Commandments, 207
Surely no rebel can expect the King to pardon his treason while he remains in open revolt. No one can be so foolish as to imagine that the Judge of all the earth will put away our sins if we refuse to put them away ourselves. All of Grace (116)
The New Testament word for "repentance" means changing one's mind so that one's views, values, goals, and ways are changed and one's whole life is lived differently. The change is radical, both inwardly and outwardly; mind and judgment, will and affections, behavior and lifestyle, motives and purposes, are all involved. Repenting means starting to live a new life.Concise Theology Section 60
Repentance is to leave the sin we loved before, And show that we in earnest grieve by doing so no more. All of Grace (120)
Repentance is not by our own merit, but it springs into the soul by the mere good-will of God, and immediate power of the Holy Spirit.
The nature of true repentance is clearly and unmistakably laid down in holy Scripture.
It begins with knowledge of sin.
It goes on to work sorrow for sin.
It leads to confession of sin before God.
It shows itself before man, by a thorough breaking off from sin.
It results in producing a habit of deep hatred for all sin.
Above all, it is inseparably connected with lively faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance like this is the characteristic of all true Christians.Gospel of Luke Commentary
we have to remember that genuine repentance is more fundamentally a matter of the heart's attitude toward sin than it is a mere change of behaviour. What is the Gospel?(81)
There is a legal and there is an evangelical repentance.—A legal one, which is a mere work of the law, and the effect of convictions of sin by it, which in time wear off and come to nothing; for,—1. There may be a sense of sin and an acknowledgment of it, and yet no true repentance for it, as in the cases of Pharaoh and of Judas, who both said, I have sinned; yet they had no true sense of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, nor godly sorrow for it.
There is a hypocritical repentance, such as was in the people of Israel in the wilderness, who when the wrath of God broke out against them for their sins, returned unto him, or repented, but their heart was not right with him, Psalm 78:34–37; so it is said of Judah, she hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the Lord; and of Ephraim, or the ten tribes, they return, but not to the Most High, they are like a deceitful bow, Hos. 7:16, who turned aside and dealt unfaithfully.
There is an external repentance, or an outward humiliation for sin, such as was in Ahab, which, though nothing more, it was taken notice of by the Lord, Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? and though it lay only in rending his clothes, and putting on sackcloth, and in fasting, and in a mournful way, yet the Lord was pleased to promise that the evil threatened should not come in his days, 1 Kings 21:29. And such is the repentance Tyre and Sidon would have exercised, had they had the advantages and privileges that some cities had, where Christ taught his doctrines, and wrought miracles; and of this kind was the repentance of the Ninevites, which was also regarded of God, Matt. 11:21.
Repentance is expressed by sorrow for sin.
It is a change of the mind for the better, and which produces change of action and conduct: this, as it is expressive of true repentance, flows from the understanding being enlightened by the Spirit of God, when the sinner beholds sin in another light than he did, even as exceeding sinful; and loaths it, and abhors it and himself for it.
Some because of their sinful lusts they indulge themselves in, and their contempt of the means of light and knowledge, and the stubborn choice they make of error and falsehood, are given up to judicial blindness and hardness of heart; as many among the heathens, who because they liked not to retain God in their knowledge, were given up to a reprobate mind, or to a mind void of judgment, and so imbibed notions and performed actions not convenient
There is in many an affected ignorance, which is very criminal; they are willingly ignorant, as the apostle says of the scoffers who shall arise in the last time, or rather they are unwilling to understand what they might, they know not, nor will they understand, they walk on in darkness; they do not choose to make use of but shun the means of knowledge, and shut their eyes against all light and conviction;
Let it be observed, that while men are in a natural, unregenerate, and unrenewed state, they are destitute of divine knowledge; the time before conversion is a time of ignorance; this was not only the case of the Gentile world in general, before the gospel came unto them, but is of every particular person, Jew or Gentile
Without the knowledge of God there can be no true worship of him;https://www.monergism.com/worship-god-or-practical-religion-ebook
It is godliness which distinguishes between one who truly serves and worships God, and one that serves and worships him not.https://www.monergism.com/worship-god-or-practical-religion-ebook
if we sing his praise, it should be with melody in our hearts to the Lord; herein lies powerful godliness; and godliness is the ground-work of internal worship, and without which there can be no worshipping God aright, and therefore it deserves our first consideration.https://www.monergism.com/worship-god-or-practical-religion-ebook
if the heart is not engaged in worship bodily exercise is of little advantage, that being only the form without the power of godliness; yea vain is such worship where the heart is far removed from God.https://www.monergism.com/worship-god-or-practical-religion-ebook
repentance is a turning to God which, even though he stirs it up in us by his word and other means, is so wrought in us, notwithstanding, especially by the Holy Ghost, that with fear we love, and with love we fear our just God and merciful Lord, from whom we were turned back, being sorry now with all our hearts that with our sins, we ever offended so gracious a Father.The Decades, https://www.monergism.com/decades-ebook
Knowledge without repentance will be but a torch to light men to hell.
Sincere repentance is continual. Believers repent until their dying day.
When repentance is attributed to God it noteth only the alteration of things and actions done by him, and no change of his purpose and secret decree, which is immutable. Repentance with man is the changing of his will; repentance with God is the willing of a change.
There is an eternal difference between regret and repentance. Regret feels bad about past sins. Repentance turns away from past sins. Regret looks to our own circumstances. Repentance looks to God. Most of us are content with regret. We just want to feel bad for awhile, have a good cry, enjoy the cathartic experience, bewail our sin, and talk about how sorry we are. But we don't want to change. We don't want to deal with God.
Top Authors
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2. Thomas Watson (128)
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