Does Repentance Mean We Won't Do it Again?

What's the limit of your patience? If I'd be asked, I'll say it's when a person keeps on repeating his offense. I often lose my cool when a person seems to be too "stupid" and too "stubborn" to do the same mistake over and over again. And inside of me, I justify my impatience with thoughts like "who wouldn't get annoyed by that?"

Perhaps, you've done that too. You clearly tell a person his mistake, he promises not to do it again, and then he did it 5 times more!  Isn't that annoying? So, eventually, we get fed up with such people, who seem to be "unrepentant" of their sins since they keep on repeating them.

Sometimes, we apply the same with God's patience towards us. Have you uttered prayers like, "Lord, I'm sorry, I did it again" with a sigh? I did. Many times. Countless times. It's discouraging, isn't it?

And as we think about the N-th time we've done that particular sin, we get the feeling that God is probably already fed up with our prayers. Besides, we're going to do it again. It feels like there's no point in confessing and repenting because next week or next month I might do it again. And since we've done it again, it doesn't seem like we're repenting at all.

Maybe you have heard this a lot: a sign of true repentance is that you won't do it again. Maybe you've heard it from me before. But that statement is actually untrue because the struggle of a Christian with sin is a lifetime:
"For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing." (Romans 7:19, NIV)
Would we say that Paul in his struggle wasn't repenting at all? He keeps on doing the sin he hates. There's repetition there. [1]

It appears that we have gotten this kind of victorious Christian living that we will always overcome sin. Besides, we have verses like this:
"No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God." (1 John 3:10, NIV) [2]

The seeming contradiction has been a struggle for me both theologically and practically. I used to always emphasize that a Christian doesn't continue in his sins but the more I age in the faith, the more I find myself sinful and sinning. So I did re-evaluate what I believe.

Does a Christian keep on sinning or does he not? I found that the answer is both but in different senses.

In one sense, a Christian would not continue in sin to the point that he has no struggle with sin and has no progress in holiness at all and that living in sin has become his apparent lifestyle. When we say "lifestyle", it's the kind of conscious, repetitive sinning that doesn't fluctuate for a long period. I put some qualifying words there. "Conscious" means that we know that it's a sin and "doesn't fluctuate" means that there isn't really a struggle. "For a long period" means that he isn't turning his back on the sin. That's not how Christian lives. That's an unbeliever's life.

At the same time, a Christian will keep on sinning (though he shouldn't) in the sense that he will often discover deeper darkness inside of him and keep on repenting from such darkness.

In this life, sin will always indwell us, though not reign in us. It will keep on battling with us, and sometimes (many times!) it will win. Kris Lundgaard used to say that indwelling sin is like a big, haunted house. One terrifying door leads to another.

(For more information about this indwelling sin, see my post here)

So, back to our repentance issue, it appears that repentance doesn't mean we're not going to do it again. We don't want to do it again and we can avoid it for some time. But at some point in time, we will do some sins that we thought we have already overcome a few days or months, or years ago.

Yesterday, I was listening to a theological podcast [3] about sanctification. One of them named JJ Seid[4] quoted Martin Luther who said,

"Repentance isn't what you do when you fail to grow. Repentance is the way you grow."

That's one striking statement. We don't grow in our spiritual lives apart from repentance -- it's how we grow! And the more we grow in Christ, the more we see the malignancy of our sins. And the more we see it, the more we become repentant. Repentance is not just a thing of the past. Just like faith, repentance is continuous. It's how we grow.

I love the way JJ Seid illustrated Christian life and progressive sanctification. He said to picture a man going upstairs with a yoyo.

Christians are the yoyo. There will be highs and lows in our spiritual lives. We will fluctuate from victory to sin and sin to victory. We must always return to the hand (of God) through repentance. But note that the man is going upstairs. Our direction is towards holiness. That means even though we fluctuate day by day. we have the assurance that God will finish the work he started in us (Phil. 1:6). Though not in this life, He will completely vanquish indwelling sin one day.

So if you're just like me, if you have struggled with the thought that you have abused repentance and you feel like God is fed up with you already, there's one thing we need to do -- REPENT! We must repent from unbelief, for thinking that God isn't a forgiving God (1 John 1:8-9), and that repetitive repentance is a sign of being unChristian or unspiritual. Don't get tired of fighting sin. But when you fall, don't get tired of looking at your sins and confessing them to God and repenting over and over again. Remember Luther's words: Repentance is the way we grow.

"Repentance is never complete in this life, any more than is faith. We turn from our sins and then find ourselves repeating them. But we get back up and keep carrying our cross, knowing that it is not our cross that saves us but Christ's." (Michael Horton)

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[1] See also Job 40:3-4; Psalm 51:3; 1 John 1:8
[2] See also 1 John 1:6; Heb 2:14; 12:14; Ezek 36:26-27  
[3] Theology Unplugged includes Sam Storms, Michael Patton and Tim Kimberley
[4] JJ Seid is a pastor of Community and Discipleship at Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City

Why Don't I Seem to Grow Spiritually? (Hindrances to Spiritual Growth)

"Why don't I seem to grow spiritually?" is the question of many, not realizing that there are "spiritual earthworms" hindering the growth of their plant of spirituality.

1. False Security (Are you fully persuaded that you need spiritual growth?)

One hindrance to spiritual growth is the presumption that we're already spiritual enough and need to grow no more. The Bible teaches that sanctification--the process of being holy or of growing spiritually--takes a lifetime (Phil. 3:12). I think most of us are unwilling to deny that with our lips. But we do so with our lives. Sometimes we draw false security from good things around us. One of which is having godly parents, an orthodox church, and/or a Christian fellowship.

We should remember that each of us has personal accountability before God. You cannot bring your godly pastor-father there. God measures you by your own practical holiness (cf. 2 Cor 5:10).

Another good thing from where we might draw false security is our theological knowledge. Whenever we think we know God enough, our thirst for Him drifts away, along with our spiritual progress. But the infinite God can never be fully comprehended by finite, sinful creatures like us. Moreover, knowledge by itself is not enough (Jas 2:17). It takes the application of the Word to cultivate holiness in our lives and, consequently, grow spiritually.

Everybody needs growth. But the question is more than just whether you intellectually believe that. The question is whether you constantly live in awareness of such need. And the sign that you don't is when you don't evaluate your spirituality every day.

2. False Sources (What is your means of spiritual growth?)

Pragmatism is the key of most churches for discipleship. Basically, it is the belief that we should use whatever method will work to win people. Since most young people love bonding and fun, outing and games might be a good move. Since most unbelievers love music jamming, why not utilize Praise and Worship to evangelize them?

The problem with this, aside from the fact that it is man-centered, is that it contradicts the Bible. Paul warns us from trading "the wisdom of this world" with the simplicity of the gospel preaching (1 Cor 1:17ff) and ear-tickling tactics with sound doctrine. (2 Tim. 4:3) Through and through we can read that it is God's word that transforms us. (Psa 19:7-11; 1 Pet 2:2; Rom. 12:2). Jesus Himself, while praying at Jerusalem, gave us the true key for spiritual growth: "Sanctify them by Your Truth. Your Word is truth." (Jn 17:17)

You can indulge yourself in many "spiritual" strategies but they won't grow your faith. Christ's disciples are being made holy by the truth of God's word. What we need is the word of God saturating our lives. What we need is to have the word read, the word listened to, the word prayed, the word memorized and the word sung.

3. False Standards (Who is your standard in spirituality?)

One of the biggest mistakes we can do is to compare ourselves with unbelieving people for a spiritual checkup, forgetting that these people naturally will not progress in spirituality because they're dead (Eph 2:1). It is just normal for them not to grow because they don't even have life. But it is utterly abnormal for Christians not to grow because we are already born again (Jn 1:13).

How about co-believers? Albeit helpful for some reasons, comparing ourselves to them to the point of making them our standard of spirituality is wrong. Just because you are spiritually better than your churchmates or siblings, it doesn't mean you can be lax or assume you're growing according to God's will. Also just because your mentor is better than you, it doesn't mean being like him is your chief end. Our standard for spirituality is Christ alone (1 Jn 2:6).

So the question is not whether you are better than others. The real question is whether or not you are being more like Christ every day.

4. False Success (How do you know that you are pursuing spiritual growth?)

You've gone to the church. You've read your Bible. You've said a prayer. You got all of your spiritual disciplines done, and you still feel like God is far away and you're not spiritually growing. What's wrong?

It's not that you are doing the wrong things. But you are doing it the wrong way. We got used to do's-and-don'ts and how-tos that sometimes we already forget the essence. We are forgetting why we're trying to maintain our spiritual disciplines. We are forgetting that these are means of God's grace. It is God Himself who sanctifies. These are just doors we knock at to see God more and beg for His sovereign, sanctifying grace.

Most of the time we see spiritual disciplines as an end in themselves so we end up dog-tired with unfruitful legalism. We should, by God's grace, pursue spiritual disciplines only because we want to know God more, be closer to God more and love God more. We succeed in growing when we do not just perform our religious routines but pursue God through them.

5. False Spring (Why do you desire to grow spiritually?)

Finally, motive matters! If we seek to grow spiritually because we want the attention and praise of others, God will not bless our desire. Only when we seek His glory in our pursuit of spiritual growth will He be with us in our pursuit (1 Cor 10:31).

There is a very thin line between pursuing personal growth for God's sake and pursuing personal growth alone. Beware not to be too consumed with looking at yourself. Those who are being transformed into Christ's likeness gaze at His beauty (2 Cor 3:18).

Had we shunned these hindrances our growth will be assured. That will happen not instantly though. So be patient and know that God is not done with you yet (Phil 1:6).