8 & 9 Mar 2025 (Pastoral Page) A CONTRITE HEART

By Dr Daniel Chan

Today marks the first weekend of Lent, a season of forty days dedicated to preparation for Easter. Lent began last Wednesday, known as Ash Wednesday, and will conclude on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. This season provides an opportunity for self-examination, deeper repentance, and a recommitment to Christ. It’s not about earning salvation, but about spiritually preparing ourselves to fully understand and appreciate the miracle of Easter.

Practices like fasting, prayer, and meditating on Scripture are valuable ways to align our hearts with the gospel during this season.

The call to repentance and faith is a key part of the gospel message. John the Baptist, Jesus, and His apostles all called people to repent because the kingdom of God is near. In fact, the word “repent” or “repentance” appears 54 times in the New Testament, from Matthew to Revelation.

Repentance involves a change in direction—a Spirit-empowered turning away from sin and toward God. It is the first step we take toward Him. But in order to turn toward God, we must turn away from our sins.

Repentance is often difficult. Many of us struggle to repent, whether due to shame, pride, or spiritual blindness. Yet while repentance may seem painful or humbling at first, it ultimately leads to joy and peace with God. It restores our fellowship with Him and brings spiritual renewal, as Acts 3:19 reminds us: "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord."

The joy of a Christian comes from the knowledge that their sins are forgiven and that they are reconciled with God through Jesus Christ.

Early Church Father John Chrysostom (AD 357 – 407) offered this wise counsel on repentance:

“Be ashamed when you sin,

don’t be ashamed when you repent –

Sin is the wound, repentance is the medicine.

Sin is followed by shame;

repentance is followed by boldness.

Satan has overturned this order

and given boldness to sin and shame to repentance.”

Repentance is not only for new believers; it is equally necessary for mature Christians who desire to grow more like Christ. As the Reformer Martin Luther put it: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, 'Repent' (Matthew 4:17), He willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”

The need for repentance is ongoing because we don’t see all our sin at once. One might compare our sins to an onion: we peel away a layer, and there’s another one underneath. Thankfully, God doesn’t reveal all our sin at once. Theologian J.I. Packer describes repentance this way:

“Repentance is turning from as much as you know of your sin,

to give as much as you know of yourself,

to as much as you know of God.”

Repentance is a sign that God is at work in our hearts and a mark of spiritual growth. As we turn away from sin, we turn toward our compassionate Savior, who promises to forgive and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Repentance, then, is part of our journey toward Christ-likeness, a journey that leads to the promise of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

As C.S. Lewis puts it:

“A live body is not one that never gets hurt, but one that can, to some extent, repair itself. In the same way, a Christian is not a person who never goes wrong, but one who is enabled to repent, pick himself up, and begin again after each stumble—because the Christ-life is inside him, repairing him all the time, enabling him to repeat (in some degree) the kind of voluntary death which Christ Himself carried out.” (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, 1952).

Here is a prayer for Lent:

“Almighty and everlasting God, who hates nothing You have made, and forgives the sins of all who are truly sorry: Create in us new and humble hearts, that we, sincerely grieving our sins and recognizing our brokenness, may receive from You, the God of all mercy, complete pardon and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.” (Adapted from the Book of Common Prayer.)