Compelling Change—Part 1*
What Does Repentance Look Like In The Life Of A Believer?
What do you do with your sin? Do you deal with it or deny it? Recall the Apostle John’s words, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”(1) So it seems that denying our sin is not an option. However, in the next verse, John asserts, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”(2) Immediately, the Bible holds out real hope for Christ's followers to deal with their sins.
“Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change in life.”
Something Needs to Give
When genuinely confronting the sin in one’s life, a repentant believer realizes something must give, things must change. Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change in life. To summarize Kevin DeYoung’s multifaceted definition of repentance, “You change your mind about yourself, you change your mind about your sin, you change your mind about God, and then you change.”(3) Transformation is an indispensable mark of true repentance. The essence of repentance is consenting to be changed. Surrendering to Christ as Lord is an act of giving over the wheel, of relinquishing the driver’s position in your life.
You may recall the once-popular bumper sticker that read “God is my copilot.” At first, this sounds like a good philosophy. It conveys a message that the Creator of the universe is driving along with you, in cooperation with you, yet subservient in the final analysis of decision-making. However, when you understand biblical repentance, the idea is utterly ridiculous. That a person actually believes and is willing to promote, the Lord and Sovereign of the universe is in control of, say, 50% of my life as a Christian is ludicrous. As J. I. Packer retorts, “A [surrender and] willingness to be changed by Christ remains the fundamental element in all genuine Christian practice.”(4)
“This powerful capacity of our mind’s ability to focus and to consider, which then leads to action, is a critical component of godly change. ”
A Recipe for Change
In several of his letters, the Apostle Paul begins with the indicative, who and what we are in Christ, the orthodoxy of our beliefs. He then completes the latter half with the imperative, how and why we should behave and live, the orthopraxy of our faith in Christ. The letter to the church at Colossae is no exception. As chapter 3 begins, Paul turns to the imperative by beginning with the transition “If then,” or as some translations read, “Since, then.” He begins with the foundational reality of our position as redeemed, spiritually resurrected followers of Christ. To demonstrate the reality of who believers are and to further his argument, the apostle Paul uses phrases such as “raised with Christ” (v. 1) and “hidden in Christ” (v. 3). In other words if we have been spiritually resurrected (born again), there will be visible consequences of that resurrection. In verse 2 Paul implores us, “Set your minds on things above.” It sounds simple, “set your mind” on something, but it is a powerful tool with which God has gifted us. As John Piper notes, “One of the most remarkable capacities of the human mind is the capacity to direct its attention to something it chooses. It is an amazing power, a gift from God.”(5) Our actions are most often determined, if not always determined, by that to which we have set our minds. This powerful capacity of our mind’s ability to focus and to consider, which then leads to action, is a critical component of godly change.
My encouragement and challenge to you is to engage in the exercise of setting your mind on Christ. Spend time this week in the Word of God, specifically Colossians 3. Read through it multiple times, meditate on its words, pray through specific parts of it, and purposefully incorporate His Word into your daily rhythms of living. More to come on this crucial topic next time.
*This is the third in a series taken from the book The Power of Repentance by Barry Gibson
(1) I John 1:8
(2) I John 1:9
(3) DeYoung, What Does the Bible Really Teach?, 99–100.
(4) Packer, Growing in Christ, 145
(5) Piper, Godward Life, 228–29.
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