The author of Hebrews 5: 8-10 captures the essence of Christ: His character, the trials that He suffered, and His authority to become the architect of our redemption. However, after his high praise, the author of Hebrews follows it with a stinging wake-up call to his current and future readers (Hebrews 5:11-14).
Because the readers remained unskilled in the basic principles of God’s word, they were unable to grasp deeper spiritual truths. In Chapter 6, the author identifies six foundational doctrines that serve as the essential starting points for any believer seeking to move from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity: “Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment” Hebrews 6:1-2).
The Greek concept of “elementary teachings” involves the very first principles of the faith. The believer can’t learn higher level “subjects” until he masters the six basics. In this sense, perfection is not a flawless life, but about achieving the maturity required to handle ‘solid food’. The solid food remains inaccessible to those who have not fully mastered the ‘milk’ or the beginning elements of the faith.
By placing repentance at the head of the list in Hebrews 6:1-2, the author emphasizes that we must master the essential primary principle of repentance first as we begin moving on this path to spiritual maturity. If we do not continually practice repentance, all other spiritual understanding is stunted. We can’t understand to the depth that the Holy Spirit can allow us.
And the second essential principle, “faith towards God” is directly tied to the first essential element of “repentance” because there is an “and” between them. This means that without continual repentance, our faith will always be weaker rather than stronger. So, this tie between repentance and faith is very important.
In the 1600’s Thomas Watson defined “Repentance as “a grace of God’s Spirit whereby a sinner is inwardly humbled and visibly reformed.”
‘Grace’ implies that repentance is a spiritual divine gift given by the grace of God rather than something we can manufacture within ourselves. We cannot repent without God’s help. Acts 5:31 and Acts 11:18 both reveal that God is the one that grants repentance to both Israel and the Gentiles.
‘Sinner’ requires a person to truly recognize his own spiritual condition. This realization determines the depth of the change that follows. If you have a feeling like “I’m a bad person” your depth of repentance is not going to be strong. But when you are convicted of sin, the depth of the ability to change is much greater. Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fall short of God in varying degrees. And Isaiah 64:6 describes our righteousness is like filthy rags. When Thomas Watson says ‘sinner’ that is what he’s talking about.
‘Humbled’ is the essential internal goal of the process of repentance. If we are not humble, we only have a relationship with ourself, not with God. God says He humbled Israel in the desert so He might know them (Deuteronomy 8:2-3). Humility is a necessary characteristic without which we cannot master the essential primary principle of repentance.
‘Visibly Reformed’, or being converted is the visible outward objective of repentance. “Outward” signifies a complete spiritual and physical transformation of one’s spiritual life. It has to be a life that demonstrates a reformed mind in which God can work through His Holy Spirit.
These four key concepts point to a pierced heart that has turned towards God for salvation. It is fundamentally incapable of attaining salvation through its own efforts. This realization shifts the focus away from the human willpower to repentance toward the divine gift of transformation and conversion. It’s all done through God and not by ourselves. By acknowledging that we are not capable of repenting, we become willing participants in God’s work, which is you and me becoming His children. the whole reason He made the physical creation.
Clearly, repentance is a non-negotiable requirement for spiritual life. It is a principle directly tied to the very faith that is required to please God. We’re not saved by works. We’re saved by faith, so to attempt a relationship with God without a repentant heart is to ignore the primary mechanism between us and God for conversion and growth (Hebrews 11:6, Acts 3:19).
True repentance is not just a fleeting feeling of regret that passes over us like a shadow. It needs to be a deep, permanent shift in how we think and live, not just a temporary reaction that lasts only for a moment. To offer anything less is to settle for a deadly, hollow, worldly substitution. God calls us to a higher standard that results in a true shift of character (2 Corinthians 7:9 NIV).
For repentance to be complete, sincere, and truthful, we need to cover six essential elements required for genuine repentance. All six of these elements must be present; the absence of even one dilutes the spiritual value of repentance and hinders our growth toward maturity and faith:
- We Must Recognize Our Sin in Its True Light
Our repentance must be based on a clear recognition of sin as a crippling disease of our own heart which hinders our relationship with the Father and Jesus Christ. This view shifts the focus from the faults of others or society around us. When we look at faults from the point of looking at our sin as it truly is, we start looking at ourselves more deeply and how vile sin is. We cannot soften in our hearts and our minds and say our sins are just mistakes or issues, but rather that sin is rebellion against God.
Notice the words in Luke 15:17-24 about what the prodigal son said, thought and did regarding his sin, and about the father’s excitement when his son saw his sin for what it was. The father knew that they could begin to have a relationship again. This Parable of the Prodigal Son does reveals the impact sin has on our relationship with God the Father and His graciousness when we repent.
- We Must Cultivate a Profound, Godly Sorrow for Sin
Godly sorrow for sin is the stage where the intellectual recognition of sin moves to our heart, literally breaking it. Israel had a hard heart, but God said He’s going to take that hard heart and soften it. For our repentance to be genuine it must be inward and deep if our life is to be reformed; not characterized by surface tears but by an inward bleeding of the heart. The focus is the brokenness of the spirit: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart — These, O God, You will not despise” (Psalms 51:17).
Our sorrow for sin should never center on the punishment that may follow, but on the offense we have committed against God and others. Godly sorrow grieves that a loving and holy God has been offended. It mourns the breaking of God’s law and the grieving of His Holy Spirit: “For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight — That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge” (Psalms 51:3-4).
Genuine godly sorrow must be abiding and continuous. It should result in a “holy settling” of the heart, a state that maintains a tender conscience toward sin long after the initial act has occurred. We must resist the natural human urge and the pressure of the world to bypass the stage of sorrow as quickly as possible. While modern psychology often labels such profound grief as unhealthy, the opposite is true when sorrow is directed toward God as a means of seeking that reconciliation and justification.
- We Must Sincerely and Specifically Confess All Sin to God
While sorrow is analogous to the bleeding of the heart, confession is the discharge of the poison. If sin is a spiritual disease, confession is the act of bringing it to light so that our Father can heal and forgive it. For a confession to be an essential ingredient of repentance, it must be voluntary and heartfelt. Not obligatory. The confession cannot be general; it needs to be specific. True confession names the sin, puts a label on it, and details the way the heart strayed.
Naming our sins humbles our hearts and removes the filter of our self-love (feeling sorry for ourself) and turns its focus onto the love of God. We take the side of God against ourselves, do not offer any excuses, nor compare ourselves to others’ sins. We acknowledge that God is righteous and His law is just. Remember, David said, “Against You and only You have I sinned.”
When we’re confessing specifically, we are really allowing God to work His salvation in us so we’re not condemned with the world. We’re saying, “You’re right God and I acknowledge You’re the Holy One.” We accuse ourselves (1 Corinthians 11:31, Psalms 32:5).
- We Must Experience a Holy Shame for Sin
By shame, we do not mean a destructive, worldly embarrassment, but rather a humble blushing before a pure and holy God. If confession is the verbal admission of the debt that we have, then shame is the emotional realization of the vileness of our sin (Ezra 9:5-6 ESV). The inability to blush is a sign of a seared conscience or a dead heart that is so hard it cannot be touched.
Jeremiah wrote when Judah was being carried off to Babylon for their sins: “Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed; Nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time I punish them, They shall be cast down,” says the Lord” (Jeremiah 6:15).
If inability to blush is about seared conscience, conversely, the ability to blush is evidence that the heart has a very strong conscience that desires to know God and deeply wants to be able discern between good and evil. Shame acts as a direct antidote to pride by stripping away the sinner’s armor of self-righteousness. It reduces self-esteem to esteeming our pure and holy God.
- We Must Develop a Deep and Abiding Hatred for Sin
It is not enough to be afraid of sin or to be sorry for its consequences; one must develop a visceral holy loathing for the sin itself; to hate it just as God does (Psalms 119:104).
‘False way’ in Psalm 119 is another word for sin. One common way we make light of sin is by relabeling or softening it. We use euphemisms that strip away its moral weight Instead of honestly calling it a sin or rebellion against God. We often reframe it in such a way to minimize our personal responsibility and our need for genuine repentance.
True mistakes happen but sometimes we take our sin and say it was just a mistake. Or we say it is a “personality quirk”. Or “it’s a personal struggle” or “just a joke”. Those are euphemisms people use for sin. However, followers of Christ cannot allow themselves to minimize the hate that we should have for sin by calling it what it is not.
Until we hate sin, we don’t have room to love God: “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverse mouth I hate” (Proverbs 8:13). Hate sin; Love God.
- We Must Permanently Turn from Sin to God
Turning from sin is synonymous with transformation and conversion. This is the mechanical and practical culmination of the previous five steps that bring us to the point that we are turning from everything that we hate, from everything that’s shameful.
It begins internally with a change of our will and of the things we love. There must be external measurable and significant spiritual fruits displayed which are accomplished by turning from sin and turning to God, who develops His righteous character in us, His fruits. The heart is the first thing that turns, and a new heart inevitably produces a new life. True repentance is a two-fold motion. It is turning from sin and dead works and turning to God (Acts 26:20).
To leave sin without turning to God is merely secular self-improvement. To claim to turn to God without leaving sin is hypocrisy. It is not a one-time event but a permanent change in one’s trajectory: “Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:7). Turning permanently from sin requires our knowing that we are unable to do so without God. Hence the need for faith ((Ezekiel 36:26).
And repentance is not a task we should approach with lethargy, but one driven by powerful motives and a sense of urgency knowing that it’s tied to our eternal life. To delay is exposing our eternity to uncertainty. Scripture shows Christ’s death ensures our eternal life. The only thing that can expose it to uncertainty is our non-repentance.
Romans 2:4 reminds us that it is God’s goodness that leads us to repentance. His mercy is not an excuse to sin, but a reason to abandon sin and to turn to Him. The alternative to not repenting is not a pleasant one: “… Unless your repent you will all likewise perish: (Luke 13.3). Note also Hebrews 3:7-11 regarding the consequences of having a harden heart of unbelief.
We must remember that removing sin is more than a physical chore. It is a spiritual mandate. Repentance is the bedrock of that mandate and of our maturity, our perfection. It is the essential first principle that moves us from the milk of the word to solid food, to understanding the word of God.
Without recognition of our sin, holy sorrow for our sin, specific confession of our sin, holy shame for our sin, hating the evil, and a permanent turning to God – our efforts are merely religious theater or acting.
True repentance is a divine gift that pierces the heart and transforms our lives. It is the daily mechanism that matures us from spiritual babes into children of God who rightly discern good from evil. Unlike the wilderness generation of ancient Israel who hardened their hearts, we must look to our High Priest, Jesus Christ. His sacrifice grants us access to the Father, and to true continual repentance.
Followers of Christ must refuse the worldly imitation of faith that avoids the sting of guilt and produces no fruit. We must choose the path of sincerity and truth. Let your sorrow lead to a transformation without regret. Know Christ our Savior is securing our foundation as we strive toward the spiritual maturity and the perfection God intends for all of His followers.
Bill Hutchison