14 Marks of True Repentance
My friend Damon, who lives in Houston, and I are meeting by phone each week. It is a time of great blessing for both of us. We talk about what God is doing in our lives, how we worship, our fears and failures, and pray for each other. At the top of our list is the prayer for a spirit of humility.
We are also studying together this book about repentance that I have mentioned in previous posts by Richard Own Roberts (the title is ‘Repentance – The First Word of the Gospel’). We are on chapter 3 now. God is using this book and our conversation to lead us deeper into His heart. The other day Damon mentioned a quote from the book he liked. It is tied to a scripture in Isaiah: “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord (i.e. repent), and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55: 6,7).
Here is the quote from Robert’s book that accompanied this scripture: “The words of the prophet go right to the very heart of repentance, for repentance must include: seeking the Lord, calling upon Him, forsaking wicked ways, and returning to Him”. Hallelujah – and the Lord will have compassion on us, and He will abundantly pardon!!! That is good news. If you are like me, you need this pardon many times each day.
I got to thinking about this whole repentance thing. How do I know if I am repenting or if I am repenting enough? I try to repent. Am I doing it right? Moses told Israel: “It is not too hard. You can do it” (Deuteronomy 30). But am I doing it correctly? Fortunately, there are marks in our lives that we can look at that will allow us to judge for ourselves if we are on the right track. What follows is a list, in no particular order (except humility, which is always first, and on which many of the other marks depend), of the marks of repentance that I felt God spoke to me during a recent time of prayer.
First, some context. Jesus says “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8) and “by their fruit you will recognize them…every good tree bears good fruit but a bad tree bears bad fruit” (Matthew 7: 16-18). Fruit in keeping with repentance. The marks of repentance that you see in yourself and others see in you every day are the fruit that Jesus is describing. In Acts 26 Luke quotes Paul, who says “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds” (v. 19, 20). It it our deeds, or the fruit in our lives, that are the marks, manifestations, or indications of our true repentance.
In Luke 13, Jesus talks about repentance in verses 1-5 (under the chapter heading “Repent or Perish”) and says two times “But unless you repent, you too will perish”. Following these warnings He speaks about a certain man who had a fig tree planted in his garden. This fig tree bore no fruit. “For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and I haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil”. Without true repentance, we are like Israel symbolized by the fig tree, barren of fruit or Kingdom deeds – probably synonymous with the fruit of the Spirit described by Paul in Galatians 5: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Second, some caveats. Not everyone will exhibit all of these marks all the time. None will exhibit any of these marks perfectly. There are certainly more marks than these; these are the ones that came to me during the time of prayer. I have not listed them in order, with the exception of humility which is first, and there is some overlap among them. The key is that we see some (or all) of these marks in our lives and observe (as do others) that we are growing (or not) in these marks. For example, we are becoming more humble, more peaceful, more unoffendable, etc, each week or each month, or even each day as we continue a repentant walk with Jesus. Remember, as I have written over the last few weeks, we do not just repent of what we have done. We most fundamentally repent of who we are. I can repent in church on Sunday of adultery (using the broad definition of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount) during the previous week, but if I don’t repent of who I am, I am still an adulterer when I leave the church service. And as we bring our pain and woundedness, our failures and faults, pride and arrogance; unforgiving, covetous, and religious spirits, and all the other stuff in our hearts before God and repent of these things, He will meet us and give us the power (His power) to be healed, made whole-hearted, and grow in humility. That is the gift and mystery of repentance. But we must cry out and call upon the Lord, as Isaiah tells us. And not one time, but daily.
As I look over this list it could also be said that these 14 marks are the marks of one who is living in the Kingdom of God. They can also be considered marks of holiness or Godliness, because these are marks we see in Jesus’ life. So repentance, the Kingdom life, and holiness are related. Perhaps it is best to say that without repentance we will not see these marks and we will certainly not grow in them over time; we will not grow in holiness. That is why Jesus tied repentance with fruit. It is God who makes us holy. But His work is conditioned on our true repentance.
So here is the list:
Humility. Probably the best book on humility is written by Andrew Murray titled ‘Humility – The Journey Toward Holiness’. Humility is the place of entire dependence upon God for all of our value, acceptance, significance, and safety – for everything. Pride, the opposite of humility, is the place of entire dependence upon self for all of our value, acceptance, etc. Humility is both the gateway to the Kingdom and the first mark of Kingdom living. Pride is the gateway to hell. Jesus came to bring humility back to Earth. We are not living and growing in the Kingdom of God if we are not growing in humility. As Murray says “His humility became our salvation. His salvation became our humility”. Humility is the first and most basic fruit of repentance and the foundation of obedience.
Joy. Joy is, of course, not happiness. Joy is entering into the heart of God and letting His heart become your heart. It is rooted in a deep sense of security – of being held, protected, and loved. Joy is a type of freedom, an exuberant freedom. We grow in joy as we daily repent. I think another dimension of joy is knowing, without reservation, how deeply loved we are by the Father and receiving that love daily. Outside of the Kingdom of God, apart from repentance, we perceive God’s love for us as more conceptual and less actual, and rarely, if ever, really received.
Gratitude, even in the difficult situations. I don’t have to thank God for the pain in my life. I do not believe that God is the source of my pain and woundedness. But I am grateful for how He meets me in these places. And, of course, grateful for all the many blessings in my life. They all come from Him. A spirit of gratitude is a mark of repentance. And the greatest gift for which I am grateful? God Himself in my life.
Equanimity. I think this word comes closest to what I am trying to say. I am thinking of the ‘unoffendable heart’ or unoffendableness. A truly repentant person is difficult to offend. Most of the time, we are offended when we feel rejected, and this can happen at many levels in our hearts. To live as repentant men and women is to find all of our value and acceptance in Jesus. I am accepted and loved by Him. Your words of rejection, judgement, and condemnation have no, or little, effect on me. Of course, this is the ideal. But a truly repentant person will find that they are increasingly impervious to the rejection of others.
Peace. Even in the midst of Spiritual Warfare. Even in the midst of all types of strife and rejection.
Selflessness. It is not about my needs, wants, desires. They come a distant second. I give up the right to myself when I live a repentant life. Or, I guess I should say, true repentance is the necessary condition for a selfless life (also related to humility).
Power. This can easily be misunderstood, but it is critical part of our walk with Christ. It is not my power but God’s power (!!!) working in and moving through me. But I have this power, or at least I can say I have access to this power and am called to use it to release God’s Kingdom. A person who is not truly repentant will exhibit little or no power. This is power to conduct warfare against the dominion and forces of darkness. It is the living water that Jesus exhorts us to release into the world. It means that we have stepped into the role for which God created us: ruler. We see power manifested in answered prayer; intercession that changes lives, circumstances, and communities. We see power manifested as we pray for healing and see people healed. We exhibit power at different levels in our lives. You don’t have to be a spiritual powerhouse, although some are, to be truly repentant. But you should be growing in power.
Freedom. I mean freedom from fear, anxiety, and the spirits of condemnation and discouragement. You know those words “you are not good enough” or similar words that have the same effect; words spoken to you by others or by the enemy who whispers them into your heart at all hours of the day or night, but especially at night. As we repent daily, our hearts are cleaned up and set free. We can stand in a place of power and righteousness, knowing that we are loved by God. Just like the prodigal son who was given the sandals signifying sonship and freedom, we know we are more than conquerors, as Paul says, and that knowledge sets us free.
Surrender and submission. Ok, two words. But related. I surrender my right to myself (selflessness and humility). I totally depend upon God. I submit to His ways and His plan for my life. As I repent, I grow in surrender and submission. And this leads to peace and confidence. As we grow in surrender, we relinquish the control of our lives. So, one mark of repentance is a decreasing need to be in control of our life and situations around us. I believe this is such an important mark of true repentance that if I have a strong need to control, especially others, I need to ask myself which kingdom I am living in. Submission is another word for obedience to God and His word. The more I repent, the more I will have a submissive heart.
Sorrow. This is a strange mark. But as we repent daily, we become increasingly convicted of our sins and our Sin (our selfish heart that has turned away from God). We see over and over again how our Sin necessitates a Savior and wounds God’s heart. We see over and over again how we sent Christ to the cross. This sorrow is both a mark of repentance and inducement to continue to repent.
Healed and made whole. As we repent we are healed of the deep wounds in our heart. Jesus is the healer. But repentance opens the door for Him to go to the deep places of woundedness and pain. As we repent we find the strength to forgive others and ourselves. We know that Jesus can heal anyone, even those with little or no faith. But consistent, long-term, progressive spiritual, emotional, and even physical healing is tied, I believe, to true repentance. As I said before, true repentance is not what we do to enter the Kingdom of God. We cannot earn that right by any type of work. But Scripture is clear that we are called to repentance and so repentance, while not the means of entering the Kingdom, it is a condition for entrance. It is in the Kingdom of God that we find all true healing and wholeness.
Sufficiency. Jesus is sufficient. He is all I need. I grow in this certainty as I live a truly repentant life. This is one of the great fruits of repentance and is the foundation for some of the other marks listed above like peace and gratitude.
Confidence and boldness. As I walk increasingly in the certainty that I am loved, accepted, and powerful I find my confidence increasing. Not only my spiritual confidence, but also confidence and boldness in my interactions with the people in my life – those I know well and those I don’t. And confidence and boldness in my prayer life. Rebuke and cast out those spirits in your life and the lives of those you pray for with confidence and boldness.
Contentment. This is a big one. It also overlaps with some above like peace. But contentment is big because it is the opposite of covetousness. Covetousness is not only wanting what you don’t have, but wanting others to have less than you (or wanting for yourself what others have). Out of covetousness comes great evil, both in your life and the lives of those around you. A truly repentant heart grows in contentment.
That is my list. As I said, there is a lot of overlap in these marks. Some are different ways of saying the same thing. Most depend upon humility or are other ways of expressing humility. You will undoubtedly think of other marks that I have not. And you might say “what about love?” Isn’t that a mark of true repentance. “And what about Godliness?” Yes, of course both are marks of true repentance. Love is over all of these marks. And God is love, so Godliness is acting with perfect love, and is also over all of these as well. I believe that if you thought of each of these marks as a strand, like the strands of a rope; or as small tributaries of a river system, and wove or brought them together you would have a strong cord or a mighty river. These would be metaphors for the power and strength of love to bind any enemy and break through and wash away any stronghold that separates us from God, others, and even within ourselves.
Jesus tells us to produce fruit in keeping with repentance. The Amplified Bible says it this way “bring forth fruit that is consistent with repentance (let your lives prove your change of heart)”. Only God can change our hearts. But one of the mysteries of repentance is that He will generally not change our hearts apart from our repentance. So the marks (fruit) of repentance I have listed above can be used to gauge the extent to which I am allowing God to move in my life. None of us will ever hit any mark perfectly. That is not the point. The point is “do I see some or all of these marks in my life to some extent, and am I growing in these areas, even if slowly”. If the answer is “yes”, than keep on doing what you are doing. If the answer is no, then spend time with God and ask Him if your assumption about being saved, i.e. living in the Kingdom of God, is correct. That question might radically change your life.
If you think of other marks of repentance send them to me in a comment. If I receive enough of them I’ll put them together and share them in another post.