My God and My Country

Repentance Towards God

Part 4.2b

By John Gill – Theologian

Edited & Prefaced by Doktor Riktor Von Zhades

Legal and Evangelical Repentance

There is a legal one, which is a mere work of the law, and the effect of convictions of sin by it, which in time wear off and come to nothing; for, There may be a sense of sin and an acknowledgment of it, and yet no true repentance for it, as in the cases of Pharaoh and of Judas, who both said, "I have sinned" (Read Exodus 9:27; Matthew 27:4), yet they had no true sense of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, nor godly sorrow for it. [Now] there may be a kind of sorrow for it, not for the evil of fault that is in sin, but on account of the evil of punishment for it, as appears in some cases, and in Cain's (Read Genesis 4:13). [Additionally] there may be a great deal of terror of mind because of sin, a great outcry about it, a fearful looking for of judgment for it, abundance of tears shed on the account of it, as were by Esau [Read Genesis 25:31-33, 27:37-41] for the blessing, without success; the devils believe and tremble, but do not repent; there are weeping and wailing in hell, but no repentance. Such a repentance, if no more than a mere legal one, issues in despair, as in Cain, whose words may be rendered, "My sin is greater than that it may be forgiven"; it is a repentance that may be repented of and is not unto life, but ends in death, as it did in Judas; it is "the sorrow of the world which worketh death" (Read 2 Corinthians 7:10).

[Conversely] there is an evangelical repentance, which lies: In a true sight and sense of sits; in a sight of it, as in itself considered as exceeding sinful in its own nature, and not merely as in its effects and consequences ruinous and destructive; not only in a sight of it in the glass of the divine law, but as that is held in the hand, and seen in the light of the blessed Spirit; and in a sight of it as contrary to the pure and holy nature of God, as well as repugnant to his will, and a breach of his law; and in a view of it as it appears in the glass of pardoning love and grace. In a hearty and unfeigned sorrow for it; this sorrow for it is the rather because it is against God, and that not only as a holy and righteous Being, but as good, and gracious, and merciful, of whose goodness, both in providence and grace, the sinner is sensible; the consideration of which increases his sorrow, and makes it the more intense and hearty.

It is attended with shame and confusion of face, as in Ezra 9:6,8,10 and Luke 18:13 this shame increases the more, the more a sinner is sensible that God is "pacified towards him for all that he has done" (Read Ezekiel 16:63). Such a repentance is accompanied with a loathing, detestation, and abhorrence of sin as the worst of evils; to truly penitent sinners sin appears most odious and loathsome; nay they not only loath their sins but themselves for them, and the rather when most sensible of the goodness of God in bestowing both temporal and spiritual blessings on them, and especially the latter (Read Ezekiel 20:40-44; 36:25-31), yea they abhor it as of all things the most detestable, when they are in the exercise of this grace; so it was with holy Job, when favored with a special sight of the greatness and goodness of God (Read Job 42:6; Isaiah 6:5).

Where this repentance is there is an ingenuous acknowledgment of sin, as may be seen in David (Read Psalm 32:5, 51:3; Dan. 9:4,5), and in the apostle Paul (Read 1 Timothy 1:13-15), so the prodigal, as soon as he came to himself, and was made sensible of his sin, and repented of it, went to his father, and said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight" (Read Luke 15:21), and to encourage such a sincere repentance and ingenuous confession, the apostle John says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (Read 1 John 1:9) It is [then] followed with a resolution, through the grace of God, to forsake sin [Read John 5:14, 8:11]; this the sinner is encouraged unto, as before observed, by the abundance of pardon through the mercy of God in Christ (Isa. 55:7), and indeed it is only such who can expect to share in it; "Whoso confesseth (sins) and forsaketh them, shall have merry" (Read Proverbs 28:13). Now such a repentance appears to be evangelical; inasmuch, as, it is from the Spirit of God, who reproves for sin and convinces of it, enlightens the eyes of the understanding to see the exceeding sinfulness of sin; and as a Spirit of grace and supplication works this grace in the heart, and draws it forth into exercise, to mourn over sin in a gospel manner at the throne of grace (Read Zechariah 12:10). Such repentance, in the exercise of it, follows upon real conversion and divine instruction, "Surely after that I was turned I repented, and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh" (Read Jeremaih 31:19) upon such a turn as is made by powerful and efficacious grace, and upon such instruction as leads into the true nature of sin, the effect of which is blushing shame and confusion. It is what is encouraged and influenced by gospel promises, such as these; (Read Isaiah 55:7; Jeremiah 3:12,13), now when repentance proceeds not upon the terrors of the law, but upon such gracious promises as these, it may be called evangelical.

It is that which is attended with faith and hope: repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, go together as doctrines, and so they do as graces; which is first in exercise is not easy to say; our Lord says of the Pharisees, that they "repented not, that they might believe", which looks as if repentance was before and in order to believing (Read Matthew 21:32), and elsewhere faith is represented as first looking to Christ, and then repentance or mourning for sin; repentance, as some have expressed it, is a tear that drops from faith's eye (Read Zechariah 12:10). However, that is truly evangelical repentance which has with it faith in the blood of Christ for the remission of sins; for repentance and remission of sins, as they go together as doctrines, so also as blessings of grace (Read Luke 24:47; Acts 5:31), for where true repentance for sin is, there must be faith in Christ for the remission of it, at least hope of pardon by his blood, or else such repentance would issue in despair, and appear to be no other than the sorrow of the world which worketh death. It is such a repentance which flows not from dread of punishment, and from fear of the wrath of God, but from love to God, and of righteousness and holiness, and from an hatred of sin; they that love the Lord hate evil, and they love righteousness and hate evil because he does; and when tempted to sin reason after this manner, "How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God", so holy just, and good, and who has shown such love and kindness to me? (Read Genesis 39:9), it was love to Christ, flowing from a sense of pardoning grace and mercy, that fetched such a flood of tears from the eyes of the penitent woman at Christ's feet , with which she washed them, and wiped them with the hairs of her head; and which caused Peter, under a sense of sin, to go out and weep bitterly (Read Luke 7:37,38,47; 22:61,62).