True Repentance

On and off throughout the weekend I continued working my way through the 700 + page biography of Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the dynamic Welsh preacher of the 20th Century. He preached for 30 years at Westminster Chapel in London. And his influence was pervasive throughout the evangelical world.

His preaching was very God-centered, where he emphasized the depravity of man, God's judgment on sinners and the marvelous and amazing grace that can be found through Christ alone and His death and resurrection. Here's one quote on true repentance that really gripped me:

Repentance means that you realize that you are a guilty, vile sinner in the presence of God, that you deserve the wrath and punishment of God, that you are hell-bound. It means that you begin to realize that this thing called sin is in you, that you long to get rid of it, and that you turn your back on it in every shape and form. You renounce the world whatever the cost...and take up the cross and go after Christ. Your nearest and dearest, and the whole world, may call you a fool, or say you have religious mania. You may have to suffer financially, but it makes no difference. That is repentance.

Our natural self doesn't want to admit our badness and our desperate need for a Savior. And yet I believe that in the preaching of the gospel the Holy Spirit will grip people with their utter sinfulness and realization that there is no where to turn but to Jesus.

I felt this trembling in my soul when I attended my first Promise Keepers and heard one of the first speakers preach on the power of the cross. I thought that I had come to that event to become a better husband and father. But what the Lord revealed to me first and foremost was a vision of His holiness and greatness and of my sinfulness and realization of how much I needed Him as my Savior. I needed to repent of my self-righteousness and self-sufficiency.

Facing the truth about ourselves and repenting of our sin is painful. And yet until we admit that in ourselves we have nothing to offer for our salvation and that it's all about God's grace, we're never going to experience true peace in our souls. At least that's been my experience. And that's what reading Dr. Lloyd-Jones biography has confirmed to me over and over.

Jim