Thoughts on Thomas Watson

Saturday March 24, In the year our Lord 2012
My House, Caronport Saskatchewan
Waiting for supper to cook, 6:29 PM
Weather = Cool


The final project for my Theology of Forgiveness and Reconciliation course is to do a research paper on a man named Thomas Watson and his understanding of repentance. There were a number of options, but I choose the historical research paper and I chose Thomas Watson to do it on. This blog post will be my 'thinking out loud in preparation for writing my paper.'

Thomas Watson was a 17th century Puritan who lived and died in England (1620-1686). He received his theological training at Cambridge, witnessed (and publicity protested) the execution of Charles I, became a well known and well loved preacher at St. Stephen's church in London, was jailed for taking part in a plot to bring Charles II to England, got reinstated, was ejected for being a Nonconformist, was reinstated again (this time at Crosby Hall), wrote an incredible amount of books and sermons, and died suddenly while in private prayer. He was a man of incredible learning and rigorous study and, concerning his doctrine of repentance, very developed theology.

I say 'developed' theology because one can not simply pick up any piece of his theology without every other piece coming with it. After reading him all week I've found that all of his ideas tie into one another very tightly. So to talk about Repentance without also talking about forgiveness, mercy, grace, Jesus, the Old and New covenants, sorrow, joy, and authenticity is just impossible to do. In one sense this makes my job easy, because I have lots to write about. I was unable to detect any alteration in his thinking from his early works to his later ones, it seems that he was always advocating for a thoroughly 'Puritan' understanding of... well... everything.

So in very short form I will talk about repentance. Repentance is necessary for salvation, but it is not meritoriousness. Repentance means turning away from sin and turning towards Christ. It is not enough to simply turn from sin, one must in the same movement turn TOWARDS Christ. One must turn from ALL sin, not just one or two. True repentance is motivated by sorrow, sorrow at how we have wounded God, sorrow at our own falleness, sorrow at how Christ has died for our very sins. Sorrow is good, it is a briny sea that washes us clean and purges us to repentance. Repentance is to hate sin, ALL sin, not just our own sin, but the sin others as well! The sorrow that we feel is a mercy of God and the enabling of our repentance is only by the grace of God, not anything we could do ourselves. Repentance is the only appropriate reaction to what God has done for us, which means that repentance is also a form of worship. True repentance will bring joy because God forgives us, although sorrow must come first and linger afterwards. Repentance must be done as soon as we have the whit to know we need to repent, for to wait is extremely perilous. True repentance is a repentance that comes from the heart, not a mere outer display.

There, I think I've condensed and stripped away everything. Now it is a hyper condensed ball of knowledge that may still need more knowledge squished into it somehow.

Time to mold it into the shape of my paper.

Greg Out.