Chapter 1: What Repentance Is

Repentance is a work of grace arising of a godly sorrow, by which a man turns from all his sins to God, and brings forth fruits worthy of amendment of life.

I call repentance a work, because it seems not to be a quality, or virtue, or habit, but an action of a repentant sinner. This appears by the sermons of the Prophets and Apostles, which run in this tenor: Repent, turn to God, amend your lives, etc. By which they intimate that repentance is a work to be done.

Again, repentance is not every kind of work, but a work of grace, because it cannot be practiced by any but such as are in the estate of grace. Reasons are these. 1. No man can repent unless he first hate sin and love righteousness; and none can hate sin unless he be sanctified; and he that is sanctified is justified; and he that is justified must needs have that faith which unites him to Christ, and makes him bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. Therefore he that repents is justified and sanctified, and made a member of Christ by faith. 2. He that turns to God must first of all be turned by God; and after that we are turned, then we repent. Surely after I was converted I repented; and after that I was instructed I struck upon my thigh; I was ashamed, indeed even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth (Jeremiah 31:19).

Some may object that repentance goes before all grace, because it is first preached. The first sermon that ever was made was of repentance, preached by God himself in paradise to our first parents. And ever since, the sermons of all the prophets and Apostles and of all faithful ministers have had repentance for their beginning and scope. The answer may be this. If we respect the order of nature, there are other graces of God which go before repentance, because a man's conscience must in some part be settled touching his reconciliation with God in Christ before he can begin to repent. Therefore justification and sanctification in order of nature go before repentance. But if we respect time, grace and repentance are both together. So soon as there is fire, so soon it is hot; and so soon as a man is regenerate, so soon he repents. If we respect the outward manifestation of these two, repentance goes before all other graces, because it first of all appears outwardly. Regeneration is like the sap of the tree that lies hidden within the bark; repentance is like the bud that speedily shows itself before either blossom, leaf, or fruit appears; indeed, all other graces of the heart which are needful to salvation are made manifest by repentance. And for this cause repentance (as I take it) is first preached.

I add further that repentance rises of a godly sorrow in the heart, as Paul teaches. Godly sorrow causes repentance to salvation, never to be repented of. It is called a godly sorrow, or a sorrow according to God, that it may be distinguished from worldly sorrow, which is a grief arising of the apprehension of the wrath of God and other miseries — as fear of men, loss of good name, calamities in goods and other things which in this life follow as punishments of sin. Whereas the godly sorrow causes grief for sin because it is sin. And it makes any man in whom it is to be of this disposition and mind, that if there were no conscience to accuse, no devil to terrify, no judge to arraign and condemn, no hell to torment, yet he would be humbled and brought on his knees for his sins, because he has offended a loving, merciful, and long-suffering God (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Further I say that repentance stands in turning again to God. Man at first was made a goodly creature in the image of God, having fellowship with him, by which he dwelt in God and God in him. By sin there is a partition made between God and man, who is alienated and estranged from God, and is become the child of wrath, a firebrand of hell, the prodigal child going from his father into a far country, the straying — indeed the lost — sheep. Now when men have grace to repent, then they begin to renew this fellowship and turn again to God. And the very essence or nature of repentance consists in this turning. Which Paul does seem to intimate when he says that he showed both to Jew and Gentile that they should repent and turn to God, and do works worthy of amendment of life. In which words he sets down to us a full description of repentance (Isaiah 59:2; Ephesians 4:18; Acts 26:20).

Again I say that repentance is a turning from sin, because it does not abolish or change the substance of body or soul, or any of the faculties thereof either in whole or part, but only rectify and amend them by removing the corruption. It turns the sadness of melancholy to godly sorrow, choler to good zeal, softness of nature to meekness of spirit, madness and lightness to Christian mirth; it reforms every man according to his natural constitution, not abolishing it but redressing the faults of it.

Further I put down that repentance is a turning from all sin to God, that I may exclude many false turnings. The first, when a man turns from God to sin — as when one who is a Protestant becomes a Papist, an Arian, a Familist. The second, when a man turns from one sin to another. As when the riotous person leaves his prodigality and gives himself to the practice of covetousness; this can be no repentance, because it is a going from one extreme to another, whereas repentance is to leave the extremes and keep the mean. The third is, not when a man turns from sin, but sin turns from him and leaves him. As when the drunkard leaves drunkenness because his stomach is decayed, the fornicator his uncleanness because the strength of nature fails him, the quarreler his fighting because he is maimed on leg or arm. The last is when men turn from many sins but will not turn from all. As Herod did many things at the advice of John the Baptist, but could not be brought to leave incest in having his brother Philip's wife. This repentance is nothing. For as he which is truly regenerate is wholly in body, soul, and spirit regenerate, so he which truly repents turns from all sin and turns wholly to God.

Neither is this to trouble any, that they cannot know all their sins; for sound repentance for one special sin brings with it repentance of all sin. And as God requires particular repentance for known sins, so he accepts a general repentance for such as are unknown.

To proceed further, the conversion of a sinner in repentance has three parts. The first, a purpose and resolution in the mind. The second, an inclination in the will and affections. The third, an endeavor in life and conversation to abandon and leave all his former sins, and to employ himself in obedience to God's commandments.

Lastly, this repentance must bring forth fruits worthy of amendment of life, because it cannot be known to be sincere unless it bring forth fruit. Repentant sinners are trees of righteousness of God's own planting, and they grow by the waters that flow out of the sanctuary, and therefore they must bear fruit that may serve for food, and leaf for medicine; otherwise the axe of God's judgment is laid to their roots to cut them up (Isaiah 61:3; Ezekiel 47:12; Matthew 3:10).

Repentance is a work of grace arising from a godly sorrow, by which a person turns from all his sins to God and produces fruit worthy of an amended life.

I call repentance a work because it appears to be not a quality, virtue, or habit, but an action performed by a repentant sinner. This is clear from the sermons of the prophets and apostles, which consistently say: repent, turn to God, amend your lives, and so on. By these words they show that repentance is a work to be done.

Repentance is not just any kind of work — it is a work of grace, because it can only be practiced by those who are in a state of grace. The reasons are these. First, no one can repent unless he first hates sin and loves righteousness. No one can hate sin unless he is sanctified. He who is sanctified is justified. And he who is justified must have the faith that unites him to Christ, making him bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh. Therefore, the one who repents is justified and sanctified, and made a member of Christ by faith. Second, he who turns to God must first be turned by God. After we are turned, then we repent. As Jeremiah says: 'Surely after I was converted I repented; and after I was instructed I struck upon my thigh; I was ashamed, indeed even confounded, because I bore the reproach of my youth' (Jeremiah 31:19).

Some may object that repentance precedes all other grace, since it is what is first preached. The first sermon ever preached was on repentance, delivered by God Himself in paradise to our first parents. And ever since, the sermons of all the prophets, apostles, and faithful ministers have had repentance as their starting point and goal. The answer is this. If we consider the order of nature, certain other graces of God come before repentance, because a person's conscience must be at least partly settled regarding his reconciliation with God in Christ before he can begin to repent. Therefore, justification and sanctification precede repentance in the order of nature. But if we consider time, grace and repentance come together at once. Just as fire is hot the moment it exists, so the moment a person is regenerate, he repents. If we consider the outward appearance of these two, repentance comes before all other graces, because it shows itself outwardly first. Regeneration is like the sap of a tree hidden beneath the bark. Repentance is like the bud that quickly appears before blossom, leaf, or fruit — indeed, all the other saving graces of the heart are made visible through repentance. For this reason, I believe repentance is what is preached first.

I add further that repentance arises from a godly sorrow in the heart, as Paul teaches. Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, a repentance that is never regretted. It is called godly sorrow, or sorrow according to God, to distinguish it from worldly sorrow — which is grief arising from awareness of God's wrath and other miseries such as fear of people, loss of reputation, or calamities in goods and other things that follow as punishments for sin in this life. Godly sorrow, by contrast, grieves over sin because sin is sin. It produces in the person who has it this disposition: even if there were no conscience to accuse, no devil to terrify, no judge to arraign and condemn, no hell to torment — he would still be humbled and brought to his knees for his sins, because he has offended a loving, merciful, and patient God (2 Corinthians 7:10).

I also say that repentance means turning again to God. At first, man was made a glorious creature in the image of God, enjoying fellowship with Him — dwelling in God and God in him. Sin created a wall between God and man. Man became alienated and estranged from God, and became a child of wrath, a firebrand of hell — the prodigal son going from his father into a far country, the straying and lost sheep. When people receive grace to repent, they begin to renew that fellowship and turn back to God. The very essence of repentance consists in this turning. Paul seems to indicate this when he says that he declared to both Jews and Gentiles that they should repent, turn to God, and do works worthy of an amended life. In those words he gives us a full description of repentance (Isaiah 59:2; Ephesians 4:18; Acts 26:20).

I also say that repentance is a turning from sin — not in the sense that it abolishes or changes the substance of body or soul, or any of their faculties in whole or in part, but rather that it corrects and amends them by removing the corruption. It turns the sadness of melancholy into godly sorrow, irritability into righteous zeal, softness of temperament into gentleness of spirit, and restlessness and frivolity into Christian joy. It reforms every person according to their natural constitution — not abolishing it, but correcting its faults.

I further specify that repentance is a turning from all sin to God, in order to exclude many false kinds of turning. The first false turning is when a person turns from God to sin — as when a Protestant becomes a Catholic, an Arian, or a Familist. The second is when a person turns from one sin to another — as when someone who has been wasteful gives up extravagance and takes up greed instead. This cannot be repentance, because repentance means leaving the extremes and holding to the middle ground. The third is not when a man turns from sin, but when sin turns from him and departs on its own — as when a drunkard gives up drinking because his stomach has given out, a fornicator gives up immorality because his strength has failed, or a brawler stops fighting because he has been crippled. The last false turning is when someone turns from many sins but refuses to turn from all of them — as Herod did many things at John the Baptist's urging, but could not be brought to give up the incest of living with his brother Philip's wife. This kind of repentance is worthless. For just as the truly regenerate person is wholly regenerate — in body, soul, and spirit — so the one who truly repents turns from all sin and turns wholly to God.

This should not trouble anyone who cannot know all their sins — for sound repentance for one particular sin carries with it repentance for all sin. And just as God requires particular repentance for known sins, He accepts a general repentance for those that are unknown.

To go further, the conversion of a sinner in repentance has three parts. The first is a purpose and resolve in the mind. The second is an inclination in the will and affections. The third is an effort in daily life and conduct to abandon all former sins and give oneself to obedience to God's commandments.

Finally, this repentance must bring forth fruit worthy of an amended life, because it cannot be known to be sincere unless it produces fruit. Repentant sinners are trees of righteousness planted by God Himself, growing beside the waters that flow from the sanctuary — and therefore they must bear fruit that serves as food, and leaves that serve as medicine. Otherwise the axe of God's judgment is laid to their roots to cut them down (Isaiah 61:3; Ezekiel 47:12; Matthew 3:10).