Chapter 9: True and False Repentance And here I cannot but remark, that you see why the doctrine of the Saints' Perseverance is true, and what it means. True repentance is such a thorough change of feelings and the individual who exercises it comes so to abhor sin, that he will persevere of course, and not go and take back all his repentance and return to sin again.
III. I am to speak of false repentance.
False or spurious repentance is said to be worldly, the sorrow of the world; that is, it is sorrow for sin, arising from worldly considerations and motives connected with the present life, or at most, has respect to his "own happiness" in a future world, and has no regard to the true nature of sin.
1. It is not founded on such a change of opinion as I have specified to belong to true repentance.
The change is not on fundamental points. A person may see the evil consequences of sin in a worldly point of view, and it may fill him with consternation. He may see that it will greatly affect his character, or endanger his life; that if some of his concealed conduct should be found out, he would be disgraced, and this may fill him with fear and distress.
It is very common for persons to have this kind of worldly sorrow, when some worldly consideration is at the bottom of it all.
2. False repentance is founded on selfishness.
It may be simply a strong feeling of regret, in the mind of the individual, that he has done as he has, because he sees the evil consequences of it to himself, because it makes him miserable, or exposes him to the wrath of God, or injures his family or his friends, or because it produces some injury to himself in time or in eternity. All this is pure selfishness. He may feel remorse of conscience biting, consuming remorse and no true repentance. It may extend to fear deep and dreadful fear of the wrath of God and the pains of hell, and yet be purely selfish, and all the while there may be no such thing as a hearty abhorrence of sin, and no feelings of the heart going out after the convictions of the understanding, in regard to the infinite evil of sin.
IV. I am to show how this false or spurious repentance may be known.
1. It leaves the feelings unchanged.
It leaves unbroken and unsubdued the disposition to sin in the heart. The feelings as to the nature of sin are not so changed, but that the individual still feels a desire for sin. He abstains from it, not from abhorrence of it, but from dread of the consequences of it.
It leads to hypocritical concealment. The individual who has exercised true repentance is willing to have it known that he has repented, and willing to have it known that he was a sinner. He who has only false repentance, resorts to excuses and lying to cover his sins, and is ashamed of his repentance. When he is called to the envious seat, he will cover up his sins