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Doctrine of Repentance (Puritan Paperbacks)

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A book exclusively on repentance is exceedingly rare in our day, almost non-existent. This is especially noteworthy when one considers the significance of the doctrine. Watson notes in the introduction that faith and repentance are the two great graces essential to a Christian in this life. The Puritans preached and wrote on this doctrine far more often and in much greater detail than has been the case in the last century. I believe this is because they understood its importance as an indispensable part of the saving work of God in the souls of men. In setting forth the nature of true repentance Thomas Watson gives us six ingredients that are present inwardly and outwardly:1.A sight of sin 2.sorrow for sin 3.confession of sin 4.shame for sin 5.hatred for sin 6.turning for sin. He also gives Biblical examples that help to illustrate each of the components of repentance. In opening up what it is to turn from sin Watson writes with characteristic depth on p.54"It must be a turning from all sin... so a true convert seeks the destruction of every lust. He knows how dangerous it is to entertain any one sin. He that hides one rebel in his house is a traitor to the crown... ."The Puritans were concerned with teaching doctrine but they wanted that doctrine applied to the heart with power by the Spirit of God. This can be seen in the exortations and powerful motives to repentance that are given in chapters six through eight. Some of the motives being:that repentance prepares us for every holy duty,mercy is given to those who are penitent, it is the end of all the afflictions that the Lord sends and the day of judgement is coming. The enourmous value of this book can be seen by the emphasis that the Word of God gives to the doctirne of repentance, by the scarcity of books on the subject and by the authors piety,gifts and usefulness in the service of his Lord and King.

Few books have had the impact on me that this one has. In fact, I would say this is the most influential book (non-divinely inspired book that is) I have ever read. I have read and re-read passages until they soaked deep into my soul. Much more than a how-to, it's a book of great depth and conviction. Would that we all would constantly have a godly sorrow that leads to repentance and great joy.

This is not only one of Watson's greatest works, but also a much needed addition to any church/personal library. Watson writes with classic Puritan conviction, and will encourage the believer's walk like few other authors can.

Thomas Watson, born in England around 1620, was a Puritan preacher and author of more than ten books. He was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. In 1646 he commenced a sixteen year pastorate at St. Stephen's, Walbrook. In 1686, he retired to Barnston, Essex, where he died suddenly while praying in secret (from Wikipedia). The Doctrine of Repentance, first published in 1668, is a small book that offers a complete teaching on biblical repentance.

Watson begins with a brief discussion of the order of salvation. Which comes first, faith or repentance? After defending his conviction that faith is wrought in the heart prior to seeing the fruits of repentance, Watson moves on to an explanation of how the Spirit and the Word work together to bring about repentance.

Oftentimes, it is helpful for a teacher to show what a thing is not in order to effectively show what it truly is. Watson does this with repentance. Before he delves into the specifics of what repentance is, he first discusses what repentance is not. Watson gives several examples of how we deceive ourselves into thinking that we are repentant, such as a troubled mind regarding our sin, the making of resolutions against sin, realizing that sin and its consequences are painful, quitting sin for fear of future evil, and quitting one sin only to take up another. None of these equal biblical repentance.

True repentance is explained over two chapters. Watson defines gospel repentance as "a grace of God's Spirit whereby a sinner is inwardly humbled and visibly reformed," and includes six ingredients:
1) Sight of sin
2) Sorrow over sin (which includes six qualifications)
3) Confession (including eight requisite qualifications and two ways it is used)
4) Shame (including nine considerations and two ways it is used)
5) Hatred of sin (including five ways we can know if we hate sin)
6) Turning from sin (including five requisite qualifications and three uses)

In these chapters, Watson gives special attention to those times when repentance is absolutely necessary, such as prior to participating in the Lord's Supper and upon one's death bed (if one is so fortunate to have a sound mind in his moments before death). He also expounds on sin's origin, nature, consequences, comparison to hell and affliction, and the coming judgment. Like many other protestants of his day, when writing about the need for confession, Watson takes issue with the catholic church and papacy. He explains that it is not only because of their obvious misapplication regarding confession to men, but because of their mishandling of gospel repentance. Watson, after giving his main points, asks and answers possible questions that may come to mind while reading, something he continues throughout the book.

In Chapter 5, Watson offers five reasons, centered on the nature of God, to enforce repentance. This chapter also includes an exposition of two kinds of people who will find it especially difficult to repent, and ends with a warning to the hard-hearted.

Chapter 6 is a many-faceted exhortation to repentance. Here Watson exhorts all kinds of people, the great and the small, the nation of England, those who are moral and think they have no need of repentance, hypocrites, and God's own people, "Christians indeed," to repent. Repentance is necessary for all people and for all sins.

In Chapter 7, Watson gives sixteen reasons for why we should be motivated to repent. And Chapter 8 includes all the reasons for why we should be motivated to repent posthaste.

In Chapter 9, Watson uses 2 Corinthians 7:11 to teach the reader how to test whether or not his repentance is sincere. According to Watson, there are seven fruits and products of repentance. Only when we know that our repentance is true can we then speak peace to ourselves with scriptures that tell us our sins are pardoned and passed into oblivion.

Chapters 10-12 deal with impediments to repentance and the means for repentance. Watson writes, "When you lack water, you search the cause, whether the pipes are broken or stopped, that the current of water is hindered. Likewise when no water of repentance comes (though we have the conduit-pipes of ordinances), see what the cause is." These ten impediments to repentance can be summarized as ignorance, presumption, laziness, love of the world and sin, the idea that one's sins are to great to be forgiven, fear, and the opinion that repentance means no more joy. Watson then takes two chapters to prescribe the means for getting passed the impediments. The means include, but are not limited to, an education in sin and its hellish effects, the coming judgment, and the mercies of God.

A few quotes:

Tomorrow may be our dying day; let this be our repenting day.

Spiritual sorrow will sink the heart if the pulley of faith does not raise it.

Repentance must be kept alive in the soul.

When the soul is going out of the body, it should swim to heaven in a sea of tears.

A wicked man acknowledges his is a sinner in general.

Christ is never loved till sin be loathed.

Loving sin is worse than committing it.

God has two places he dwells in, heaven and a humble heart, so the devil has two places he dwells in, hell and a hard heart.

The hypocrite feigns humility, but it is that he may rise in the world. He is a pretender to faith, but he makes use of it rather for a cloak than a shield.

A repenting person fears and sins not; a graceless person sins and fears not.

A true penitent pursues his sins with a holy malice.

Watson writes with sharp insight and understanding of our sinful condition. He knows how we will seek to deceive ourselves in order to assuage our consciences. We need to be aware of this human tendency and grow in our ability to discern our own hearts. I believe this book will help do that. Watson's biblical tests for proving our repentance will be invaluable to any believer. The Doctrine of Repentance is easy to follow and comprehend, however, it is best if the reader takes his time to deeply consider each point and see if there may be an immediate application to his life. I can attest to needing to stop and evaluate my own heart several times. In a religious culture where the words "sin" and "repent" have fallen out of vogue, I daresay many believers have never heard the truths presented here. Watson's treatise on repentance will be a helpful addition to any believer's library, especially those who have been granted the responsibility to teach others.

Repentance is a word whose meaning and the force thereof has been incredibly diluted and cheapened. I am one of those responsible for doing so and therefore, like many others, need to be rebuked and corrected. I have known of no exposition on repentance more forceful than what Pastor Watson does here, who begins with St. Paul's address in Athens recorded in the book of Acts that God commands people everywhere to repent. He then goes on with a warning of what he calls counterfeit or deceitful repentance (p.15-17) or what I call expedient repentance whose characteristics consist of either fear of punishment only, resolution only without actions, and half-hearted repentance which has something to do with love of sin and love of the world, discussed in a separate chapter (10) where Watson talks about impediments to repentance.

The meat of this book is the nature of repentance that consists of sight, sorrow, confession, shame, hatred and turning from sin. Something that I thought interesting is when it is pointed out that though confession is directed primarily to God, there are occasions where it should be done to "some prudent, pious friends, who may advise him and speak a word in due season (James 5:16)." Then Watson adds, "It is a sinful modesty in Christians that they are not more free with their ministers and other spiritual friends in unburdening themselves and opening the sores and troubles of their souls to them. If there is a thorn sticking in the conscience, it is good to make use of those who may help to pluck it out" (p.37).

Sight, Sorrow, Shame, Hatred and Turning from sin are certainly some things we always need in an increasing degree everyday. Not only when discussing these, but also throughout the text, Watson uses some graphic and vulgar words that are both necessary and true. Something that should strike our conscience is when he points out that the sin committed by Christians is worse that that by unbelievers because Christians sin against clearer conviction. Not only are we worse than the unbelievers when we sin, but we are also worse than the devils, where Watson points out, "The lapsed angels never sinned against Christ's blood. But we have affronted and disparaged His blood by unbelief" (p.42).

While hammering relentlessly on the danger of sin, the assumption that there is no need of repentance, or that repentance is easy or it can be put-off to a later time, and hypocritical repentance, the hardening of heart which is the most dreadful state one can ever fall into, as well as an all-out commitment and action (Watson calls it endeavor) against sin, he balances it out with the hope of the gospel. What is done here is to prevent one to fall into either extreme of presumptuous cavalier antinomianism or despair. The former is cured and guarded against with the warnings of the hardening of heart and the threats of apostasy, while the latter is conquered by the hope and grace of the Gospel. Just as there is a grave danger in antinominanism, so there is also a mortal danger in despair in the sense that it "rejects mercy. It throws the cordial of Christ's blood on the ground. Judas was not damned only for his treason and murder, but it was his distrust of God's mercy [through Christ] that destroyed him." Therefore, it is critical to remember that God "has bowels of love to repenting sinners (Joel 2:13). Mercy rejoices over justice. God counts his mercy his glory (Ex 33:18-19). He is the God of tenderness and compassion No sooner do we mourn than God's heart melts. No sooner do our tears fall than God's repentings kindle (Hos 11:8). Do not say then that there is no hope" (p.103).

What I suggest is this. Get the book and after reading it, write a summary similar to what Prof. JI Packer suggested after or when reading John Owen's texts. Why? First, it is because there are indeed similarities between Watson and Owen. Both understand both theology and human heart and the corruption thereof at a depth only few ministers and theologians have. Second, though Watson is much more organized than Owen, throughout their texts, they teach so many incredibly striking truths that it is necessary to write them down on a separate note that we may be able recollect later without having to re-read the text and start all over again. Though Watson sometimes uses Scriptural references that are out of context and plenty of Latin words which the Banner of Truth thankfully translates to English, his study on repentance is a beautiful tasty bitter sweet cordial that I pray for myself and every reader, that by the grace of God, He may use to drive us into a genuine sense of bitterness and sincere forsaking of sin and the sweetness of Christ.

The culture in which we live, blinds our eyes, and numbs our consciences. Our day-to-day emersion desensitizes us to the point where we are unable to see evil in sin. The conquest of our minds is reflected in our actions, our entertainment, our humor, and our vocabulary (significant other, homophobe). We salivate lidke Pavlov's dog in the presence of temptation. By subtle, gradual, incremental slips, we earn our place in hell. One day, we arrive therein insensible of how or why. If you would bethink yourself to resist an effortless descent, read this book. Also consider "Battlefield of the Mind: How to Win the War in Your Mind" by Joyce Meyer, and "There's Dynamite in Praise" by Don Gossett.

Excerpt from Chapter 3, "The Nature of True Repentance (1)":

Sin must first be seen before it can be wept for.

"Hence I infer that where there is no sight of sin, there can be no repentance. Many who can spy faults in others see none in themselves. They cry that they have good hearts. Is it not strange that two should live together, and eat and drink together, yet not know each other? Such is the case of a sinner. His body and soul live together, work together, yet he is unacquainted with himself. He knows not his own heart, nor what hell he carries about him. Under a veil a deformed face is hid. Persons are veiled over with ignorance and self-love; therefore they see not what deformed souls they have. The devil does with them as the falconer with the hawk. He blinds them and carries them hooded to hell: `the sword shall be upon his right eye' (Zech. 11.17). Men have insight enough into worldly matters, but the eye of their mind is smitten. They do not see any evil in sin; the sword is upon their right eye."

End of Excerpt.

Excellant! If you are serious about your walk with Christ you must read this book. Watson nails the heart of repentance. He takes you down the road that calls you to place your hope and trust in Christ. Watson calls us to remember that Christ will never be sweet ubtil our sin is bitter.

The Doctrine of Repentance took me a little while to get through. The Puritans usually packed an awful lot of truth into very few pages. I find if I just read through it I learn very little, but if I read little by little I retain a lot more.

Watson really changed my idea of repentance. There is a whole lot more in the concept of repentance than just asking God for forgiveness.

He cautions the reader about "Counterfeit Repentance" Being sorry for your sin and being repentant are very different from each other. Judas was very sorry for his sin after he betrayed Jesus, but he was not repentant. A man may leave one sin and only replace it for another. Or perhaps give up a sin for ulterior motives, such as a man may stop stealing because he's afraid of going to prison. "True leaving of sin is when the acts of sin cease from the infusion of a principle of grace." (p. 17).

Watson wrote for about 30 pages on The Nature of True Repentance, which he says that repentance involves 6 things:

1. Sight of Sin - you must first be aware of their sin before they can repent of it.
2. Sorrow for Sin - you must feel sorrowful for the offense rather than the punishment of the offense.
3. Confession of Sin - your confession is not of sin in general, but you acknowledge specific sins by diligently inspecting your heart, and take whatever steps necessary to ensure you will not go back.
4. Shame for Sin - sin is vile and filthy, and that's what it makes us. An interesting point Watson makes is that our sins are worse than those of unbelievers because we sin against light.
5. Hatred of Sin - "Christ is never loved till sin be loathed." (p. 45).
6. Turning from Sin - you must truly forsake your sin and never return to it.

Watson goes on in the book to give numerous reasons to repent, and to repent speedily. To those who plan on repenting on their deathbed he makes some interesting points. Many times death comes quick and you wouldn't know when your end was coming. Many people also loose their minds on the deathbed, so who's to say you would be in a stable frame of mind? Furthermore, it seems that God usually punishes those who have neglected repentance all their lives with hardness of heart in the end.

I heartily recommend this book to every believer. There are many truths in this book to be learned and applied. As with all Puritan books, you just need to give it the time it deserves - a quick, cursory reading will profit little.

The culture in which we live, blinds our eyes, and numbs our consciences. Our day-to-day emersion desensitizes us to the point where we are unable to see evil in sin. The conquest of our minds is reflected in our actions, our entertainment, our humor, and our vocabulary (significant other, homophobe). We salivate like Pavlov's dog in the presence of temptation. By subtle, gradual, incremental slips, we earn our place in hell. One day, we arrive therein insensible of how or why. If you would bethink yourself to resist an effortless descent, read this book. Also consider "Battlefield of the Mind: How to Win the War in Your Mind" by Joyce Meyer, and "There's Dynamite in Praise" by Don Gossett.

Excerpt from Chapter 3, "The Nature of True Repentance (1)":

Sin must first be seen before it can be wept for.

"Hence I infer that where there is no sight of sin, there can be no repentance. Many who can spy faults in others see none in themselves. They cry that they have good hearts. Is it not strange that two should live together, and eat and drink together, yet not know each other? Such is the case of a sinner. His body and soul live together, work together, yet he is unacquainted with himself. He knows not his own heart, nor what hell he carries about him. Under a veil a deformed face is hid. Persons are veiled over with ignorance and self-love; therefore they see not what deformed souls they have. The devil does with them as the falconer with the hawk. He blinds them and carries them hooded to hell: `the sword shall be upon his right eye' (Zech. 11.17). Men have insight enough into worldly matters, but the eye of their mind is smitten. They do not see any evil in sin; the sword is upon their right eye."

End of Excerpt.

I appreciate the imagery and wide base of knowledge Watson uses to illustrate his points. I keep coming back to a few quotes from this book that change the way I think about repenting. St. Augustine said, "Repentance damns many". How true. We put our faith in repentance as opposed to placing it in the object of our faith.

His illustration of Paul grasping at the planks of his wrecked ship in the water is how we try to be good, grasping at the wreck of Adam's shipwreck.

There are so many illustrations like that worthy of pondering and mediating on.

I agree he wrote better, but he even said that this one was one he was holding on to, then decided to publish. I'm glad he did.