20. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1959),
Jesus Explains His Gospel
will of God produces a repentance without regret." It is difficult to imagine a true repentance that does not include at least an element of contrition — not sorrow for getting caught; not sadness because of the consequences; but a sense of anguish at having sinned against God. In the Old Testament, repentance was often shown with sackcloth and ashes, the symbols of mourning (cf. Job 42:6; Jonah 3:5 – 6). Volitionally, repentance involves a change of direction, a transformation of the will. Far from being only a change of mind, it constitutes a willingness — more accurately, a determination — to abandon stubborn disobedience and surrender the will to Christ. As such, genuine repentance will inevitably result in a change of behavior. The behavior change is not itself repentance, but it is the fruit repentance will certainly bear. Where there is no observable difference in conduct, there can be no confidence that repentance has taken place (Matt. 3:8; cf. 1 John 2:3 – 6; 3:17).
Real repentance alters the character of the whole man. As D. Martyn LloydJones said:
Repentance means that you realize that you are a guilty, vile sinner in the presence of God, that you deserve the wrath and punishment of God, that you are hell-bound. It means that you begin to realize that this thing called sin is in you, that you long to get rid of it, and that you turn your back on it in every shape and form. You renounce the world whatever the cost, the world in its mind and outlook as well as its practice, and you deny yourself, and take up the cross and go aft er Christ. Your nearest and dearest, and the whole world, may call you a fool, or say you have religious mania. You may have to suff er fi nancially, but it makes no diff erence. Th at is repentance.20
Repentance is not a one-time act. The repentance that takes place at conversion begins a progressive, lifelong process of confession (1 John 1:9). This active, continuous attitude of repentance produces the poverty of spirit, mourning, and meekness Jesus spoke of in the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3 – 6). It is a mark of every true believer.
The Fruits of Repentance
When Jesus preached, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 4:17), those who heard Him understood the message. With their rich
20. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1959), 2:248.
The Call to Repentance
heritage in Old Testament and rabbinical teaching, His hearers would not have been confused about the meaning of repentance. They knew He was calling for far more than simply a change of mind or a new perspective on who He was. Repentance to them meant a complete surrender of their will and an inevitable change of behavior — a new way of life, not just a different opinion. They realized He was calling them to admit their sin and turn from it, to be converted, to turn around, to forsake their sin and selfishness and follow Him instead.
After all, the Jewish concept of repentance was well developed. The rabbis held that Isaiah 1:16 – 17 described nine activities related to repentance: "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless; defend the orphan, plead for the widow." Note carefully the progression: beginning internally with a cleansing, repentance then manifests itself in attitudes and actions.
The Old Testament was filled with rich truth about repentance. Ezekiel 33:18 – 19, for example, says, "When the righ teous turns from his righ teousness and commits iniquity, then he shall die in it. But when the wicked turns from his wickedness and practices justice and righ teous ness, he will live by them." Second Chronicles 7:14 is a familiar prescription for repentance "[If] My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." Isaiah 55:6 – 7 gives the Old Testament invitation to salvation, and repentance is a key element: "Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrigh teous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." Jonah 3:10 says, "When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it."
Look carefully at that verse from Jonah. How did God evaluate the Ninevites' repentance? By their deeds. It was not that He read their thoughts or heard their prayers, though an omniscient God certainly could have seen the reality of their repentance that way. But He looked for righ teous works.
John the Baptist also demanded to see good deeds as proof of repentance. He preached the message of repentance even before Jesus began His ministry (cf. Matt. 3:1 – 2). Scripture records that when the religious hypocrites came to John for baptism, "He said to them, 'You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance' " (Matt. 3:7 – 8).