Wesley on True Repentance

Grace and Peace Friends,

In the following post I’d like to discuss and explore Wesley’s in depth doctrine of repentance. In doing so i’ll be quoting from his sermon ‘True Christianity Defended’ (1872 edition). I’ve felt compelled to write this post because I’ve witnessed a lack of Biblical repentance among Christians, specifically online. It seems to me, that we’ve watered down repentance and made it a rather superficial practice. This is not surprising to me given our current Christian climate; Western ideology has infiltrated the Church and as a consequence holy spiritual practices have been reduced to mere chatter and superficiality.

This is near and dear to my own heart, as I too struggle with spiritual practices. I myself am guilty of vain prayer, vain repentance, and superficial obedience. It’s easier for me to bloviate on social media than to come to the Heavenly Father in true repentance. It’s easier for me to virtue signal, behave self-righteously, and portray false piety instead of asking God for pardon and assurance. I find it’s easier for all of us to want to usurp the Throne in deed and action by pretending we have it “all together”.

I know the language I’ve used above is strong, it needs to be. We do not have it together, at all. To pretend we do truly keeps us at a falsely safe distance from our Benevolent Abba, Father. Christ our King and Mediator has made peace in His ultimate atonement so that we can come before the Throne. To neglect this rite as co-heirs, sons, daughters, saints, is detrimental and spiritually harmful. We’re not called to either faux righteousness (legalism) or cheap grace (antinomianism) but true relationship with The Holy Trinity. Hence our need for spiritual communion with our Heavenly Father, which I believe begins with a true spirit of repentance.

In his sermon ‘True Christianity Defended’ the Rev. John Wesley declares repentance is this,

“Now, repentance is not one work alone, but is, as it were, a collection of many others: For in its compass the following works are comprehended: — (1.) Sorrow on account of sin: (2.) Humiliation under the hand of God: (3.) Hatred to sin: (4.) Confession of sin: (5.) Ardent supplication of the divine mercy: (6.) The love of God: (7.) Ceasing from sin: (8.) Firm purpose of new obedience: (9.) Restitution of ill-gotten goods: (10.) Forgiving our neighbour his transgressions against us: (11.) Works of beneficence, or alms-giving.”

For Wesley, this ordo redemptio (order of repentance) is evident in Daniel 4:27. But what I also find fascinating is that for Wesley, repentance was a practice that fulfilled the Great Commandment in Matthew 22:36-40: love of God and a love of neighbor. You see points (1.)-(8.) express how we are to respond to God, point (6.) declaring “The love of God”. However, points (9.)-(11.) express how we are to respond to neighbor, in repentance. That’s vitally important to remember when we approach God and neighbor in a spirit of true repentance.

I think it’s important to also note both actions are private, not public. In repentance we either come to God or to the one’s we transgressed against. I believe Scripture is clear on this matter. Jesus declares in Matthew 5:24 to leave your tithe at the alter, and to go reconcile yourself to the person you’ve harmed. He doesn’t say do it at the alter for all to see and hear, that would be a much more empty act of reconciliation. It’s private, you go to that person alone, and with sincerity. Secondly, I think it’s safe to assume that repentance should be handled privately because as we see elsewhere in Matthew 6 pertaining to other spiritual practices: almsgiving (Mt. 6:1-4), prayer (Mt. 6:5), and fasting (Mt. 6:16-18) those who do those things superficially, or publicly, for all to see merely get just that as their full reward. Repentance should be no exception.

Now I know Wesley’s 17th century language may seem archaic to some of us, so I’d like to clarify what he mean’t point by point.

(1.) Sorrow on account of sin: In repentance we should be just that, truly repentant and grieved that we’ve missed God’s mark for us. I’d like to make an important distinction between shame and guilt as they pertain to sorrow of sin. We live in a culture of shaming, when I say shame, I mean it not in the superficial sense. You should be open to a feeling of shame, a casting down of your soul. We should not unhealthily deny negative emotions, but instead accept them, and work our way through them with the help of God. If your sin grieves you know that you have a Great Counselor to turn to, the Holy Spirit whom dwells in you. The distinction between shame and guilt is important because we should be open to feeling ashamed, but we should no longer accept sin’s guilt. Dear saint, Christ’s atonement did not leave you guilty! The sin that you’re ashamed of should lead you into the arms of your Saviour. Guilt is a device of the Deceiver. Feel sorrow, but mock that devil that dares to call you guilty beloved.

(2.) Humiliation under the hand of God: Language is an ever evolving thing as I’ve mentioned in other blog posts. What Wesley mean’t by humiliation and what we mean in the 21 century are two different things. It’s helpful to understand this when reading Wesley’s sermons. The term mortification could be as easily used in this sermon in the place of humiliation, but that term doesn’t really help us modern readers either, unless you’ve read John Owen. By humiliation, Wesley doesn’t mean embarrassment but the action of subduing one’s bodily desires through God’s help and providence (hand). Hand here is an anthropomorphism, as we witness in Scripture. It’s attributing to God human categories in order to aid our understanding. It’s a literary device not a literal expression. God is not holding us in His hands ready to crush us. Instead, in subduing our bodily desires He is giving us His helping “hand”.

(3.) Hatred to sin: It’s interesting to note Wesley’s phrasing here. He doesn’t say “hatred of sin” but a “hatred to sin”. This is important because Wesley is not treating sin here as some kind of non-entity that we’re mad at because it makes us do unrighteous things. On this point Wesley is expressing a hatred to sin, as in a hatred of actions that lead to sin or sinful actions themselves. If my eyes cause me to look at pornography I should hate my viewing of said pornography. This holy hate has a qualm with the specific sin (pornography) not some kind of abstract.

(4.) Confession of sin: We do this so poorly, although we’re called to in Holy Scripture to not only pray to God and for each other but to confess our sins to God and each other as well (Jas. 5:16). Confession is simple but it takes humility. If you’re puffed up you’ll be reluctant to come to God or a fellow saint (privately). Such pride, prevents you. However, Scripture is clear, if you confess your sins to God, He is faithful to forgive them (1 Jn. 1:9). Amen.

(5.) Ardent supplication of Divine mercy: Again, the language here used escapes our modern understanding. It’s not as loaded as Wesley seemingly states it, it’s rather simple actually. To rephrase this point Wesley (and Scripture) both call us to a passionately humble posture of asking for God’s mercy. We can so ask our Father for mercy, and that’s very much a part of repentance.

(6.) The love of God: Precious saint, you know you are to love God. Beloved please know, that God loves you.

(7.) Ceasing from sin: This point is not a call to “turn or burn”, but through sanctifying grace we can literally cease from a specific sin through the sanctification of the Holy Spirit. In fact, all former points lead to this ceasing.

(8.) Firm purpose of new obedience: Here we see our cooperation in repentance with God. We love Him, we cease, and we rededicate ourselves to His holy call. This is a declaration that we enact! That we align ourselves to God’s Will, His purpose for us, and actively obey, though imperfectly. Obedience asks of us our efforts to turn from sin to our Saviour.

(9.) Restitution of ill-gotten goods: This point is vitally important as we seldom consider the consequences of our sins against others. We know the wages of sin lead to death, but we rarely take it to it’s logical conclusion. For example, if I steal from neighbor, say my employer; If I do so frequently, overtime that would add up for my neighbor, or employer. So much so that it leaves them not being able to afford to pay a fellow employee (another neighbor). Say they need such pay to care for their starving infant. My sin is ultimately harming another’s livelihood. In repentance, it would be my fault, and so I would need to repay both neighbors, my employer and co-worker, equally. Repentance restores, we should not neglect this fact.

(10.) Forgiving our neighbour his transgressions against us: If you love your fellow neighbor; if you love them as you should, then you’ll care for their soul. You’ll care for their wellbeing, their livelihood, their growth. If you resort to hate instead of grace, instead of forgiveness, then repentance is not in you. Our own sins should trouble us more than those who sin against us. In forgiveness we are called to forgive. Remember, it’s “grace upon grace” not a spirit of condemnation.

(11.) Works of beneficence, or alms-giving: Finally, repentance does not simply serve our own spirit, it’s not merely an erasing of said sin but a call to action! Mind you, we’re forgiven when we come to the Father in sincere repentance. It is a restoration or restitution for our sins against neighbor. But it should lead us to act, cooperatively with God in our heirship! Repentance is not a simple pardon but a rededication to serve as God calls us to do. If you’re sorrowed by sin turn to God, confess, and act! Do not make it simply a spiritual practice but instead a spiritual action. Look after the poor, serve them, look after the orphan and widow (Jas 1:27). True repentance according to Wesley, should redirect you from Self, to serving others.

The world is your parish dear saint. I hope this was helpful. Turn from sins in true repentance and serve your King!