Biblical Repentance/The Means of Repentance

From Gospel Translations

Let us consider now the means by which repentance is worked in the heart.

The Word of God Is the Instrument of Repentance

In true repentance we see a radical change of mind and heart that leads to a complete turnabout of life; this is wrought in the soul by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. But what is the instrument He uses? My friend, He uses the Word of God, which He authored, to convict “of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8). You see, apart from the Word of God there can be no salvation, for we read in Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” And 1 Peter 1:23 says, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”

Now with your Bible in hand, let us read Hebrews 4:12-13:

“For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”

You see, in true repentance, the Word of God is brought home to our hearts by the Holy Spirit in convicting power so that we might be saved. Paul, in writing to the church of the Thessalonians on this subject says, “Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.” How? “For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance” (1Th 1:4-5). And in salvation, this is exactly the way the Word of God comes home to the heart of every sinner for whom Christ died.

Did you notice the description given of the Word of God in our text, Hebrews 4:12-13? It is spoken of as being “quick,” that is, a living Word. Our blessed Lord represents it in the same way in John 6:63: “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” Yes, the Word of God awakens a sinner to his need of turning to God from his rebellious ways. He will cast down his arms of rebellion, hoist the white flag of surrender, and look by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ to save him, cleanse him from sin, and deliver him from the wrath to come. You see, God’s quickening Spirit uses the Word to give that soul knowledge of his sinfulness before God and knowledge of the Holy God against Whom he has sinned.

“For the Word of God is quick and powerful”—it is not a mere dead letter that will soon vanish away! No, it lives in the mind of God! It lives in the decrees of heaven! And it lives and will live forever in the hearts and minds of all God’s redeemed ones because it is the living Word of God. It operates in the mind and in the affection and will not leave you alone. It is truly the law of God in the hands of the Holy Spirit which is the schoolmaster to bring you to Christ (Gal. 3:24).

The Word of God Is Powerful

Also this Word spoken of here in our text is powerful. Hear the appeal which God Himself makes to you concerning His Word in Jeremiah 23:29: “Is not My Word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” And, I say it is! I believe, yea, I know, that every child of God will say that God’s Word burned itself into his soul, and he could not be still until he fell at God’s feet in true repentance. His heart was truly broken by the powerful Word of God!

The Word of God in the hands of the Holy Spirit is so powerful that it slays the soul! Paul says in Romans 7:9, “For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came [home to his heart], sin revived, and I died.” The Word of God slew him, because as II Corinthians 3:7 tells us, the Law is the ministration of death. It puts to death your cherished sins, your cherished ambitions, your cherished plans, your self-righteousness, your self-will, and your pride and leaves you at the feet of a sovereign God crying, “God be merciful to me, the sinner!”

You see, the Holy Spirit puts this powerful and living Word into your mind and writes it upon your heart (Heb 8:10; 10:16). You cannot get away from it; it follows you and cries out in your soul, “Thou art the man; thou art the sinner!” I ask: have you ever experienced the slaying work of the Word of God? If not, you are still in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity. God’s Spirit uses the Word to bring death to the soul before He raises it to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. You must be slain before you are ever raised to life.

This precious Word is described in 1 Peter 1:23 as a living Word. Why? Because by the power of the Holy Spirit it brings life. And, praise the Lord, it can never be destroyed or exterminated! Heaven and earth will pass away, but God’s Word shall abide forever (Mat 24:35).

The Word of God Is Effectual

Hebrews 4 also tells us that this Word of God, in the hands of the Holy Spirit, is not only quick and power-ful, but effectual. It is active, operative, energizing, and effective. It brings conviction—convincing us of sin and the evil of unbelief—for it discerns between good and evil in the most holy thought of the best man and shows him what he is: a sinner before God!

The Holy Spirit will use the Word to convince you that you are spiritually blind because of sin. You cannot see the danger you are in nor can you see any beauty in Christ. “If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not” (2Co 4:3-4).

Then the Word will convince you that you are deaf because of sin. You cannot hear the voice of God apart from His effectual call (Mar 8:18). It will convince you that you are defiled, corrupt, and morally unsound be-cause of sin (Gen 6:5; Rom 3:10-12). And it will convince you that you are in a state of spiritual paralysis because of sin. Sin has paralyzed your will, so you have no power to raise yourself from your helpless condi-tion. Romans 5:6 reads, “For when we were yet without strength...”

The Word will convince you that your sins have separated you from God (Isa 59:1-2) and have made Him your enemy. And it will convince you that sin has filled your heart and mind with rebellion, so you will ac-knowledge that Romans 8:7 is true: you are carnal, enmity against God, rebellious against God, and you need true repentance.

Oh my friend, you desperately need the powerful work of the Holy Spirit to write the eternal Word of God upon your hearts! You need to cry out in sorrow for sin and for mercy before God in Christ!

Again, Hebrews 4 tells us that the Word of God in the hands of the Holy Spirit is sharper than any two-edged sword. You see, the Word of God is so comprehensive that there is not a thought or purpose in the whole creation that is not within its range: “God knows my downsitting and mine uprising, He understandeth my thought afar off. For there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether” (Psa 139:2, 4). Because its Author is spiritual, the Word is spiritual. And it searches men spiritually. When the Holy Spirit brings the Word home to a man’s soul, He convinces him of sins of which he had not the least conception be-fore.