I have often defined repentance as seeing our sin the way God sees it. It is a change of mind about our sin, and it happens at salvation and after salvation. The great old book from the 1600s called The Doctrine of Repentance is a series of sermons by the Puritan preacher Thomas Watson, which we took and modernized in format for today’s readers as part of our Calvary Classics series. In today’s video I want to go through chapter 3 of the book, along with a few other highlights on what biblical repentance is. Hi, folks. If you are new here, my name is Ryan Rench, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Temecula, California, and I love pointing people to resources that can help them grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. That is what this book helps us do today. I was talking with somebody about repentance recently, about how repentance is not just a checklist you follow; when there is real biblical repentance, it shows. It is obvious, and you cannot fake it. There is a worldly sorrow, a sorrow of getting caught and hating the effects of sin, but true biblical repentance, godly sorrow, goes deeper than that: “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” Godly sorrow for sin brings a lasting change, a real, effectual changing of the heart. When I first picked up this book, before I had read it, I thought it would be more about repentance for salvation, but it is almost entirely about repentance for the Christian, repentance after salvation, which is really a gift God gives us so we know how to be right with Him. The false religions out there are never quite sure whether they have angered their gods. Every sickness or disease or natural disaster is another time of reeling and questioning, wondering whether they did it right or offered enough incense or whatever. But God is very clear about what He expects. He has written it down in His Word. He has given us the Bible so we can know Him. So when we cross His lines, He has clearly laid out that it demands repentance. We have to see our sin the way God sees it. In chapter 3, Watson goes through several ingredients of repentance.
The Sight of Sin and Sorrow for Sin
He says the first ingredient is the sight of sin. Before anyone repents, they have to see their sin. You cannot turn from something if you refuse to acknowledge how evil and despicable it is. Jesus said, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” But a person has to realize they are lost before realizing they need to be saved. Repentance begins when God opens our eyes and we start seeing our sin the way He sees it. The second ingredient is sorrow for sin, and this is where Watson makes the distinction between worldly sorrow and godly sorrow that I mentioned earlier. The world is sorry because sin brings consequences, but godly sorrow is truly grieved that the sin offended God. It is not just others-focused; it is God-focused. He gives three reasons sorrow is so important. First, it makes Christ precious. When you understand the seriousness of sin, you appreciate the greatness of Jesus and what He did to save you. Second, it drives out sin. Godly sorrow is not meant to leave us miserable and wallowing in sin; it helps loosen sin’s grip on our hearts. And third, it makes way for real comfort. When we truly repent, the tears of repentance eventually give way to the joy of forgiveness: “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.” Watson then spends several more pages describing what godly sorrow looks like. It is an internal sorrow; it starts in the heart and is not merely on the face. It is sincere: we grieve because we have offended God, again not just for getting caught, but because of our relationship with God. He says true repentance is mixed with faith. Biblical repentance never loses sight of God’s mercy in Christ. You are not just doing penance. This is so much more than beating yourself up for sin; it is a sight of Christ and the restoration He gives. It is not necessarily emotional for every person in exactly the same way, but true biblical repentance is serious enough that we are willing to forsake our sin. And sometimes repentance includes restitution. If we have wronged someone, repentance seeks to make things right, as Zacchaeus did, whenever possible. That is true repentance. Finally, true repentance is abiding. It is not a one-time emotional event that lasts for the week of the shock; it becomes part of your Christian life.
Confession of Sin
The third ingredient he talks about is confession of sin: not just sorrow for sin, but actual biblical confession of sin. If our hearts are truly broken over sin, confession naturally follows; it is what comes out of the mouth from the heart. Watson gives eight characteristics of true confession. It is voluntary. We are not coerced; it is not forced: “Well, my wife told me I have to…” No, true confession is voluntary. It is filled with remorse; sin actually grieves us. It is sincere; we are not just saying the right words, but it comes from a sincere heart. It is particular; we name the specific sins instead of just saying, “I am sorry I did wrong.” Those are generalities. What about the specifics? How did it actually affect you and me and the person you are confessing to? It reaches the fountain, and I like that wording: we acknowledge not only our sinful actions, the outward things we have done, but their source, our sinful nature. Repentance deals with the fountain, the source. It recognizes the aggravations of our sin, admitting when we have sinned against greater light and greater privilege, realizing the far-reaching roots of sin in our lives. It clears God instead of blaming Him or making excuses. That is the right kind of repentance and confession. And it comes with a resolution to forsake sin, not merely to confess it. You do not just confess it and continue unchanged; an actual change happens in your life. In the next section Watson lists several blessings that come from confession: it glorifies God, it humbles us, it brings relief to the conscience, it helps purge sin from our lives, it makes Christ even more precious, and it opens the way to enjoying God’s forgiveness. Those are such precious pages, the good side of repentance. Watson reminds us that confession is both reasonable and gracious, because under the gospel God wants us not just to acknowledge our sin but to come to Him with it.
Shame for Sin, Hatred of Sin, and Turning from Sin
Then there is the ingredient of shame for sin. This is not unhealthy guilt. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” It is not a feeling of condemnation, but the true biblical shame associated with sin, the holy shame that recognizes, “This sin has defiled me. This dishonoring sin is bad for this vessel.” Watson gives several reasons the sin of this world ought to make us blush. Every sin makes us guilty. Every sin is an act of ingratitude toward God. Sin has stripped us spiritually naked. Our sins brought shame upon Christ as He bore them on the cross. Many of our sins come through the temptations of the devil. Sin degrades people who were created in God’s image. Sin is foolish. Our sin is worse than sins committed by those with less light, because we know the Scriptures; we knew better. And in many ways our rebellion is even worse than that of demons, because our sin is in the face of overwhelming grace. So seeing our sin the way God sees it is truly a shameful thing, and it is not a bad thing to be ashamed of our sin. We ought to be. The fifth ingredient is hatred of sin. Repentance is not merely hating the consequences of sin; it is learning to hate the sin itself. You begin to see it as God sees it. Again, you stop defending it and making excuses for it. You actually want it out of your life, because it is offensive not just in its effects but to your heavenly Father. And the last ingredient is turning from sin, and that is where repentance actually becomes visible. Repentance is inward before it becomes outward, but if it is truly inward, of course it will come outward. It does not mean instantaneous perfection, but it is a change in direction. Instead of running toward sin, we are now running away from sin and toward God.
That is why I especially appreciate chapter 3. It reminds us that repentance is not just a feeling. It is a change in thinking, a change in affections, that leads to a change in our words and our lives. Again, what I really appreciated when I first read this book was realizing that Watson is writing to believers. This chapter is not just about getting saved; it is about the ongoing work of repentance in the Christian life, as we continually learn to see our sin the way God sees it, and that is a lesson every Christian needs. So I encourage you to check out this book from our resource desk, or buy it on Amazon: The Doctrine of Repentance by Thomas Watson. I think you will enjoy the whole book, but there is at least a little snippet of it today. God bless you, and we will see you in the next video.
