All of Grace/How Repentance Is Given

From Gospel Translations

Revision as of 16:23, 28 July 2008

“Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”—Acts 5:31

To return to the grand text: “Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour; for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” Our Lord Jesus Christ has gone up that grace may come down. His glory is employed to give greater currency to his grace. The Lord has not taken a step upward except with the design of bearing believing sinners upward with him. He is exalted to give repentance; and this we shall see if we remember a few great truths.

Possible, available, and acceptable

The work which our Lord Jesus has done has made repentance possible, available, and acceptable. The law makes no mention of repentance, but says plainly, “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Eze 18:20). If the Lord Jesus had not died and risen again and gone unto the Father, what would your repenting or mine be worth? We might feel remorse with its horrors, but never repentance with its hopes. Repentance, as a natural feeling, is a common duty deserving no great praise: indeed, it is so generally mingled with a selfish fear of punishment, that the kindliest estimate makes but little of it. Had not Jesus interposed and wrought out a wealth of merit, our tears of repentance would have been so much water spilt upon the ground. Jesus is exalted on high, that through the virtue of his intercession repentance may have a place before God. In this respect he gives us repentance, because he puts repentance into a position of acceptance, which otherwise it could never have occupied.

The Spirit of God

When Jesus was exalted on high, the Spirit of God was poured out to work in us all needful graces. The Holy Ghost creates repentance in us by supernaturally renewing our nature, and taking away the heart of stone out of our flesh. Oh, sit not down straining those eye-balls of yours to fetch out impossible tears! Repentance comes not from unwilling nature, but from free and sovereign grace. Get not to your chamber to smite your breast in order to fetch from a heart of stone feelings which are not there. But go to Calvary and see how Jesus died. Look upward to the hills whence comes your help. The Holy Ghost has come on purpose that he may overshadow men’s spirits and breed repentance within them, even as once he brooded over chaos and brought forth order. Breathe your prayer to him, “Blessed Spirit, dwell with me. Make me tender and lowly of heart, that I may hate sin and unfeignedly repent of it.” He will hear your cry and answer you.

Consecrating all the works of nature and providence

Remember, too, that when our Lord Jesus was exalted, he not only gave us repentance by sending forth the Holy Spirit, but by consecrating all the works of nature and of providence to the great ends of our salvation, so that any one of them may call us to repentance, whether it crow like Peter’s cock (Mat 26:75), or shake the prison like the jailer’s earthquake (Act 16:26-30). From the right hand of God our Lord Jesus rules all things here below, and makes them work together for the salvation of his redeemed. He uses both bitters and sweets, trials and joys, that he may produce in sinners a better mind towards their God. Be thankful for the providence which has made you poor, or sick, or sad ; for by all this Jesus works the life of your spirit and turns you to himself. The Lord’s mercy often rides to the door of our hearts on the black horse of affliction. Jesus uses the whole range of our experience to wean us from earth and woo us to heaven. Christ is exalted to the throne of heaven and earth in order that, by all the processes of his providence, he may subdue hard hearts unto the gracious softening of repentance.