Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 15, Section 6
To summarize the previous five sections concerning repentance:
1. It is a Gospel Grace meaning true repentance brings life. Godly Sorrow leads to repentance which leads to salvation. 2 Cor 7:10.
2. By repentance we mean hating sin and turning to Christ and seeking his mercy. In repenting we recognize that we are sinners, that it is only through Christ that we are righteous and only by the power of the Holy Spirit that we can change.
3-4. We recognize the need for repentance and even daily repentance we are not mindful of the things of God. No sin so small that it does not deserve damnation nor any sin so great that it can bring damnation to those who truly repent.
5. Our repentance should be to repent of each particular sin particularly. Each specific sin reveals or is an indication of some part of our heart that is still captivated by something besides God.
As we close off Chapter 15, we note that God’s desire for repentance is not only in a right vertical relationship between God and man but also a right relationship horizontally, between man and man.
We see two aspects in this horizontal dimension of repentance:
The offender (the one who sins against his brother or the church) confessing his sin, and having sorrow for his sin, declaring his repentance to the offended party AND
The offended party being reconciled to the offender and receiving him in love.
We have few passages regarding horizontal repentance:
James 5:16 Confess your faults to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Matthew 5:23″Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
Matthew 18: 21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven.
True repentance means confessing specific sins specifically, recognizing our fallen condition and that we all desperately need Christ and recognizing that those that sin against us also desperately need Christ. We are called to pray and forgive them when they fail and have them pray and forgive us when we fail. There is also a great urgency to do this quickly. We are not to let unconfessed sin nor unforgiveness linger or simmer as it will destroy relationships. True repentance leads to true worship and true fellowship.
As genuine repentance is the gift of Christ, its exercise is an indication that the person exercising it is forgiven by Christ.
We, then, as sons through faith in Christ, can have Shalom with our Father… wholeness and peace, reconciliation and love… just as Jesus had with his Father. This Shalom is what God desires for us to have with one another…
6. It is the duty of each one to make private confession of his sins to God, praying for pardon (and whoever confesses his sins, prays for forgiveness, and forsakes those sins shall find mercy). Similarly, anyone who has scandalized a brother, or the church of Christ, ought to be willing by private or public confession, and sorrow for his sin, to declare his repentance to those that are offended, who are then to be reconciled to him and receive him in love.
Related posts:
- Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 15, Section 1
- Westminster Confession of Faith Chapter 11, Section 2
- Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 5, Section 5
Tags: confession of faith, repentance