Why Should we Repent of Sin?

Repentance and faith are two necessary ingredient for the salvation of sinners.

In my particular faith tradition, there are some pretty loud voices who despise the phrase, "repent of your sin." So, I would like to answer the question, "Why should we repent of sin?"

The answer? Because we are sinners.

That's it!

That's enough, right?

Not quite. There's a little more to say.

What is Repentance?

The argument usually goes like this: Christians should repent of their sin, but if you call a lost person to repent of their sin, you are calling them to do a work in order to obtain their salvation. Yet, the scripture consistently divides repentance from works.

Consider what John told the Pharisees and Sadducees who came to his baptism:

Matthew 3:8, Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

The fruits (the things that would serve as evidence of repentance - I.e., good works) were things suitable for (and therefore, separate from) repentance.

Another great example is where the living Christ says to the church at Ephesus,

Revelation 2:5, Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

Repentance is, clearly, distinct from works. Repentance appears to be in the same category as faith, an act of the will, graciously granted by God to whosoever will believe.

Repentance, every time we find it in the Bible, is always a turning. When God repents, he turns from the evil he thought to do to Ninevah (see Jonah 3:9). The apostle Paul told King Agrippa he declared his message to both Jew and Gentile, telling them to "repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance" (see Acts 26:20).

All of humanity needs a Savior from sin.

God does not need to repent of sin because he has not sinned. People, however, all who are sons and daughters of Adam, need to repent of sin because sin is part of our DNA from birth (see Romans 5:12).

We could take it a step further and say that every time we find the word "repentance" in the New Testament, it is a turning from sin to righteousness. For example, when Simon the sorcerer was exposed as being a false convert, the apostle Peter said,

Acts 8:22, Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.

This kind of language is hard for some men to hear. Is God commanding men to turn from their sin in order to be saved? Of course he is. This is a faithful message: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners from their sin. If I need to be saved from sin, I must turn to a Savior who is able to save me.

The wonderful thing about the gospel message is that Christ is not calling us to turn to our own goodness to be saved.

So, Whose Righteousness?

God has commanded everyone everywhere to repent - to turn from their sins... but, to what?

Should a man turn from his sin to his own righteousness? Will he find salvation there? We read in the Bible that even our righteousnesses are as filthy rags (see Isaiah 64:6).

The message to repent of sin is really a message to turn from any attempts to save ourselves. This is the great news of the gospel: the righteousness that God demands, we could never produce. But the righteousness which God demands, he has provided freely.

How did God provide a perfect righteousness for sinners?

Christians are people who trust that only Christ's righteousness can make them right before God.

The character of God allows for a sinless sacrifice to bear the guilt of the guilty. In the Old Testament, lambs, rams, and turtledoves were used as symbols of a true sacrifice. That true, holy sacrifice was when God became a man, fulfilled his law perfectly, and gave his own blood as the sacrifice for our sins on the cross.

The great news of the resurrection of Christ is that he is now alive to offer his righteousness as a covering for sinners like us. When a person turns to God from their sins, it is because they believe only God can provide the righteousness they need!

This is the New Testament doctrine of repentance - to turn from our sin to God's righteousness. Sin is all we have. What else could we turn from? Righteousness is all God has. What else could he provide?

Stop Digging a Hole

Sin (especially habitual sin), if we could see it for what it really is, is an attempt to save ourselves from the negative effects of sin. Conscious sin is a way sinners try to be their own saviors.

Imagine you were born in a hole with no way out. As you grew up and understood your predicament, the effects of the hole began to weigh on you. At times, you felt lonely, discouraged, bitter, or afraid.

And all you had in the hole with you were some shovels. The shovels labeled "pornography" and "fornication" promised to relieve the loneliness of the hole. The shovel with the tag "wealth" promised to deliver you from your fear. And the shovel with the label of "drunkenness" promised to erase all of the negative feelings you had down in the hole.

Sin wrecks us. It destroys our relationships, our homes, our bodies... everything. And then it promises an escape. But the more you dig, the deeper you will be.

Conscious sins are ways we try to alleviate the negative effects of being sinners. Unfortunately, they only dig the hole deeper.

Some people have thrown down all of those shovels and, in a last ditch effort to save themselves have taken up the shovel with the label, "religion." Maybe this one will save them. But every amount of self-effort only brings them further down and further away from salvation.

The negative effects remain. And the final effect - death and hell - cannot be escaped through any amount of self-effort.

Unfortunately, they are blind to the man who stands atop the hole. Jesus holds the rescue rope.

This illustration, like every illustration, can only go so far, but it might point us to an important truth. Repentance is when we turn away from every shovel. It is when we say, "All of the things that have promised life have only delivered death. None of these things can save me."

So, yes! Repent of your sins. Repent of your sin of gluttony, pornography, idolatry, drug addiction, and religious self-efforts! Throw them down and turn to Jesus Christ as the Savior of sinners. No longer look for salvation from sin in anything that it is not Christ.

This is the apostolic message. The apostle Paul went everywhere and held nothing back...

Acts 20:21, Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Repentance is when we forsake all other helpers and no longer believe the lies that the world, the flesh, and the Devil offer to us. Faith is when we look to Christ and say, "You are my only hope. Will you save me?"

And the great news? He will. Jesus Christ is the Savior of sinners!