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).
