Doctrine of Repentance chap 1 -Thomas Watson (edited by Michael John)

Saint Paul, having been falsely accused of starting a rebellion by Tertullus - ‘For we have found this man to be a public menace and one who instigates dissension’(Acts 24:5a) – makes a defense before himself after two years of imprisonment to Felix’s successor Porcius Festus and King Agrippa in chapter 26 of the Book of Acts (Acts 26: 12-18)

Paul proves that he is a trained public speaker. He addresses the king,

1. by his gesture: he stretched his arms forward, as was the custom of public speakers;

2. by his manner of speech: ‘I think myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself before thee speaking about all the things I have been accused of (Acts 26:2).

Paul then speaks on three topics and with such a persuasive way that he almost converted King Agrippa:

1. He speaks of the manner of his life before his conversion: ‘after the most strict denomination of our religion I lived as a pharisee’ (Acts 26:5). During the time before he was regenerated by the Holy Spirit(John 3:1-14) he was intensely passionate for his traditions (Matthew 15:1-9), and his false fire of passion was so hot it burned all who who stood in his way’; many of the saint did I put in prison… (Acts 26:10).

2. He speaks of the manner of his conversion: ‘I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun’ (Acts 26:13). This light was the very light that radiated off of the glorified body of Jesus Christ. ‘And I heard a voice speaking to me, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” The body(the church) being hurt, the head in heaven cried out. A this light and voice Paul was amazed and fell to the earth: ‘And I said, who are you Lord? And  he said I am Jesus whom you persecute (Acts 26:14-15). Paul was now no longer seeing himself in comparison to other men but to Christ. All his opinions of his own righteousness disappeared and he placed all his hope of heaven upon the stock of Christ’s righteousness.

3. He speaks of the way he has lived after his conversion. He who was formerly a violent enemy of Christ and His bride the Church, now is a preacher: ‘Arise, for I have appeared to you to make you a minister and a witness of the things that you have seen.’ (Acts 26:16). When Paul, this ‘elected vessel,’ was savingly molded and refined by God, he worked to do more for God than he had done evil. He hunted the saints and put them to death, now he preach sinners to life. God first sent him to the Jews in Damascus(the capital of modern day Syria) and then afterwards gave him a bigger job to preach the gospel to the pagan Gentiles. And the gospel that he preached was this, ‘That they should repent and place 100% of their faith in God through the salvation bought by the blood of Jesus Christ and live a life the demonstrates true repentance from all the sinful former ways of living.

I will not argue over whether faith or repentance comes first. There is no doubt that the fruit of repentance of sins is seen first in the life of a true Christian. Yet I do think that the seeds of faith are first formed in the heart. Similar to when you see someone walking down a hallway with a lamp, you see the light that comes from the lamp before you see the lamp itself, so we see the fruit of repentance(a changed life, where it is no longer ‘I think’ and becomes ‘God said’) first but the begging of faith were there before.

What makes me think that faith is first present in the heart before repentance is because repentance, because it is a grace, that must be exercised by someone who has already been regenerated. Now, how does the soul live by faith? ‘ The just will live by his faith (Hebrews 10:38). Therefore there must first be some seeds of faith in the heart of a person who has a deep sorrow over their sins, other wise if there is no deep sorrow for sinning against God it is a dead repentance and is therefore absolutely meaningless.

Whether faith or repentance goes first, however, I am sure that repentance is so important that salvation is impossible without it. After Paul’s ship wreck he swam to shore on broken planks and broken pieces of the ship (Acts 27:44). In Adam we all have suffered our lives being a ship wreck, and repentance is the grace of God that floats us to the shores of heaven.

It is an absolute necessity of every Christian to seriously, painstakingly, and without remorse repent (Luke 14:25-27) and turn over their life to God: ‘Repent for the kingdom of heaven is here.’ (Matthew 3:2); ‘Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,’(Acts 3:19); ‘Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.’ (Acts 8:22). By the mouths of three witnesses this truth is confirmed (Deuteronomy 19:15). Repentance is a foundational grace: ‘Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine and go on to maturity, not laying again foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,’ (Hebrews 6:1). The belief that is not built on this foundation of repentance must be destroyed and burned ( Joshua 7:25).

Repentance is a grace required under the gospel. Some think it is a work; but the first sermon that Christ preached, indeed, the first word of His sermon, was ‘Repent’ (Matthew 4:17). And His farewell that he left when He was going to ascend was that ‘repentance should be preach in His name’ (Luke 24:47). The apostles all hammered this point: ‘ They went out and preached that men should repent’  (Mark 6:12).

Repentance is a pure gospel grace. The covenant of works done by the law admitted no repentance; there it was, sin and die (Genesis 1:17). Repentance came by the gospel (Genesis 3:15). Christ has purchased in His blood that sinners that repent will be saved. The law required personal, perfect (James 2:10), and never ending obedience. It cursed all who could not live up to this standard (This is the standard that God set and under grace the standard is still the same. This is who God has created all people to be and then to not regard God by not regarding who we are supposed to be and trampling the gospel(Matthew 7:4) by saying that this is not how we are supposed to live is a huge evil. The gospel is Look at Jesus, that is who you are supposed to be, are you like him? Look at how Jesus regarded the Father, do you regard the Father in the exact same way? Look at how Jesus kept the law, do you keep the law like Him? No, REPENT! Believe that Jesus is the Christ and that it is by His works you are saved from the wrath of God. Now live a life of repentance by looking to Christ the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Every true Christian is actually trying to be just like Him and to fall short is heart breaking. Does it break your heart when you are not living a life that looks the way Jesus lived in how He submitted to the Father and loved those around Him?). It cursed all who did not obey to this standard: ‘ Cursed is everyone who does not live by all the things written in the Book of the law and does them.’(Deuteronomy 27:26). It does not say, the one who doesn’t obey perfectly, let him repent, but let him be cursed. Therefore the doctrine of repentance is only brought to us by the light of the gospel.

How is repentance constructed in a persons heart? The way that repentance is constructed is:

1. Partly by the word

‘When they heard this, they were pricked to the heart’(Acts 2:37). The word being preached is the tool that God uses to cause one to repentance. It is compared to the tools that a black smith uses to forge metal which are a hammer and fire (Jeremiah 23:29), the one to break and shape and the other to melt the heart and make soft enough to be shaped. How wonderful of a blessing is it to have the Word of God, which is of such moral excellence and righteousness, given to us (2 Timothy 3:16)! And how hard will it be for those who deny the truth (light) given from heaven to escape going to hell (1 John 1:5)!

      2)   By the Spirit

Ministers are nothing more than the instruments used. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit breathing and working through them that makes what they do have any effect: ‘While Peter was speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on those that heard the word’ (Acts 10:44).  The Spirit that is in the word of God illuminates the mind and converts the heart of stone in the unregenerate person(a person who has not been born again by the Spirit of God). When the Spirit touches the heart it dissolves the heart of stone and turns it into a living heart of flesh that cries because of the sudden realization of how loving God is towards them and how in response to that love they have spent every moment of their life to that point actively hating Him and doing all that they did to curse Him: ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace… and they will look on the one they have stabbed, and they will mourn’(Zechariah 12:10). It is is amazing to think about how there can be such a difference in how the word effects people. Some people hear a sermon of repentance like the Ninevehites who listened to Jonah: their hearts were deeply affected and they cried out in deep distress for their sins against God. Other people hear the word and are not more affected than a deaf man who has music played for him. Some listen to the word and bear fruit of repentance and grow in their faith, and others hear the commands of God and feel oppressed and resentful and go even further into the sins that they truly love. The same dirt that the grapevine grows out of producing sweet fruit is the same dirt(Genesis 2:7) that the plant wormwood grows out of producing poison. Why does the word work so differently in some people compared to others? It is because the Holy Spirit gives eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart to understand to one person and leaves the other one unchanged(Romans 9:14-18, Deuteronomy 29:4, Ezekiel 36:26-27). One person has received divine knowledge and anther person is left with their earthly knowledge(1 John 2:20). O pray that the dew may fall with the manna(Exodus 16:4-5), that the power of the Holy Spirit will come along with the word (That is that when we read our bibles or hear the gospel preach that the Holy Spirit will enable us to truly hear and understand what is being said so that it will have a real changing impact on our soul and life.). The the vehicle of God’s word will not be able to drive us to heaven unless the Spirit of God is in this vehicle( Think of trying to drive a car with no gas, that is how effective the word of God is without the working of the Spirit of God in the person).