Repentance or Penance?
What do we do when we know we’ve sinned? These two words appear nearly the same, but the chasm between them is infinite.
The Bible teaches that repentance is a sorrow over and turning away from sin (2 Cor. 7:8-12).
Penance, however, is an act of self-inflicted punishment in order to restore relationship and favor with God.
We know that the Bible commands all sinners everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30). True repentance provides peace and rest through believing that the sins we’ve committed have been forgiven. The Bible promises us that God always forgives us (1 John 1:9)! This is glorious news for people who are often caught in sin.
Repenting more than once…
But sometimes, if you’re like me, you find yourself repenting for sins more than once. You might repent, but the feelings of guilt and shame over the sin remain, and so you try and try again to confirm that God forgives you.
We may find ourselves hoping for certain emotional reactions that we would expect from being ‘truly repentant’. We may even do ‘spiritual’ things in order to restore God’s favor upon us.
All of this self-effort and multiple ‘repentings’ are actually nothing of the sort. Instead, these things become a form of penance. We feel that we must do something in order to regain the favor of God.
The danger of penance is that it always results in despair. If our efforts work, and we eventually find ourselves feeling closer to God, we are in danger of pride, since we ‘did it’ ourselves through our penance. That pride will lead to despair again, when we stumble again, and have to ‘climb back up’.
And, if our penance doesn’t work, and if we don’t feel closer to God, eventually we will despair that God doesn’t love us. We will live in constant doubt and discouragement.
So what’s the answer?
Repentance and faith
Our problem is not that we don’t ‘feel’ enough repentance or that we need to do more. Our problem is that we don’t truly believe in the forgiveness we receive from God. Repentance is ultimately an act of faith.
When we come to God in repentance for a sin, we must believe that Jesus died on the cross for that sin so that there is no condemnation for us from God. He is not angry. He does not condemn us. All our sins are forgiven through the power of the shed blood of Christ.
When we believe this promise, our hearts are set free from despair and guilt. We no longer try to punish ourselves enough to regain God’s favor, since we already have it in full through Christ. How joyful to know that my sins are forgiven! (1 John 2:12)
And, remarkably, in believing this good news of the forgiveness and grace of God, we find new power to turn from sin. The joy of the Lord becomes our strength (Neh. 8:10). We hate to think of causing grief to such a kind Savior and merciful Father. We despise anything that would come between us and our loving Father.
So…when you find yourself repenting over and over again, reject that notion. Go to the Bible, find again that Jesus died for your sins, and believe that reality. Let the full forgiveness of God wash over your soul, and rejoice in His finished work for you!
