One of the biggest lessons in my Research and Design Methodology course was to read and write, read and write, and read and write. There is no such thing as reading and then writing a paper. You need to write as you read. Writing is part of your research. Even if you don't know what to write about you must always write. Ideas are abstract and intangible in the mind but gain substance and coherence when put to pen. This post then is my writing about Thomas Watson's doctrine of repentance. It is research for my thesis.
Watson held an immense amount of importance for repentance. The first and last lines of his book The Doctrine of Repentance are about how it is impossible for the Christian to get to heaven without it. Repentance is a grace given to you be God, it is not something that you conjure up on your own. It seems that in Watson's theology God allows you to repent and in repenting God relents from his judgement against you both now and in the life to come... unless you cease repenting in which case, woe to you for you are worse off than ever you were before. Repentance is a continual act, more like a lifestyle than an event. And Watson is very clear on this point, you can not repent apart from the enabling of the Holy Spirit. The act is spiritual just as much as it is practical. Apart from God's enabling you only have counterfeit repentance, which either a false turning away from sin or a turning away from sin for some other benefit than the Kingdom.
In his book, Watson outlines what is required for repentance.
First is the sight of sin. You can not repent of what you are ignorant of. You require a proper knowledge of sin in order to address it.
Second is the sorrow for sin. Once sin has been brought to light it should cause you to grieve. Many see their sins and are not grieved, some take pride in their sins, but the truly penitent will grieve for their sins. This point is the cause of much ink spilled. Sorrow for sin is of extreme importance to Watson for several reasons. Sorrow drives out sin, sorrow makes us long for Christ, sorrow is a cleansing agent, it is a powerful restorative force that causes the penitent to brook no bounds in making right what was spoiled. Those who are truly sorrowful will seek repentance by any means necessary. Watson continually refers to 'tears of repentance' as the salty river by which we swim to heaven, and how tears on God's bottle are precious and remembered.
Third is the confession of sin. This confession confesses all sin, going into particular details, and is a self accusation of sorts. You are beating Satan to accuse yourself so that when he has his chance to accuse you have already taken responsibility for your sins and Christ himself will acquit you. Watson goes into detail about how this is a natural part of repentance, how it gives vent to the sorrowful soul, how it gives glory to God, how it purges out sin, and makes way for pardon.
Fourth is the shame of sin. It is not enough to be sorrowful and confess, you must also be able to blush at your sins. It is an accepting of the guilt for the full magnitude of sin. Watson goes into detail about how our sins are worse than the devil's who was never given a chance or a savior, how our sins shame Christ, make us naked, causes us to act like beasts, and so on. This is where a lot of our stereotypical Puritan ideas seem to flourish as he describes how to be properly ashamed of ourselves.
Fifth is the hatred of sin. If we have the first four then the fifth should follow naturally. We should loathe sin. It is a mortal enemy. Just as the patriot can not have peace with the terrorist so too can the penitent find no peace with his sins. He hates them and seeks to destroy them. Would that he could he would murder them by any means necessary. He looks at his sins in comparison to the paradise of God and is filled with holy furor.
Finally there is the turning from sin, and what a turning it is. It is not a half turning or a turning for a time, it is a full breaking off of sin and casting it into the fires of mount Doom. I often find myself thinking of Lord of the Rings as I read Watson. The two are definitely related. Yes, a full turning but not just away from sin but a full turning away from sin and towards God. It is a full turning with all your heart mind and strength.
What might seem strange to us is that it seems like Watson actually believes that you can stop sinning. I'm not sure if he actually believes this or if he only uses the idea rhetorically to continually remind his hearers that repentance is ongoing and to check themselves carefully.
He is not shy about using scare tactics to convince his hearers to repent. God's judgment rests on the unrepentant and we should do everything we can to avert it by repentance. If we are too slow or if we plan on making a deathbed confession Watson explains in detail as to why this is a bad idea. There are numerous hazards to consider. What if, after hardening your own heart, God confirms its hardened state and no longer extends to you the grace required to repent? Or what if you say "I will repent tomorrow," only to find that God requires your life that night! Suppose you live to a ripe old age who is to say whether you will maintain your senses or your mind? Supposing you keep your senses and mind, will you be in any condition to undergo true repentance for a lifetime of sin in your old age?
We ought to repent now not just to avert the dangers of unrepentance but also to enjoy the rewards of repentance. The penitent enjoy a clear conscience, fellowship with God, joy, peace, and blessing. Watson lists dozens of reasons to convince us to repent.
The amount that he is willing to work out specifically how every piece of his doctrine can be applied practically is both astounding and sometimes a little frustrating. It takes him a long to explain all twenty four reasons that ought to persuade us to speedy repentance, going into detail, weaving in Scripture, and adding homily to make the idea stick. Some of these sorts of practical outworkings are quite close together, so much so that you would initially think that they were the same thing until he he specifically explained each to you and how they are slightly different.
For all his talk about the utmost imperative importance of repentance he also issues a caution that the reader not think too highly of it. Repentance does not save you, Jesus saves you, and it is not a sacrament as the Papists believe.
He finishes his book off with six means of repentance which, once again, seems to be very similar to the elements of repentance and the reasons for repentance. Perhaps my post-modern mind is just impatient and thinks that it can fill in the details for itself.
The first means of repentance is serious consideration. What should we consider? Watson lists twenty points about how serious sin is along with points about God's mercies, afflictions, and how much we will have to answer for if we do not repent.
The second means of repentance is to prudent comparison between the horrible state of the unrepentant and the blessed state of the repentant.
The third means of repentance is a settled determination to leave sin.
The fourth means of repentance is earnest prayer.
The fifth means of repentance is seeking out truer discoveries of God.
The sixth means of repentance is to labor for faith.
That's a summary of repentance and that's all I can write for now.
Greg Out.
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