Living in the Image of God M03S13
Repentance is necessary and sufficient for forgiveness and consists of three ordered steps: (1) recognition that you have sinned, feeling of remorse and personal responsibility for the sin, and recognition of the injured party; (2) commitment to turnaround from the sinful behavior and turn to doing right and just; and (3) confession to the injured party—confess the sin, your personal responsibility, remorse, and commitment to turnaround. God sees repentance as the return of a lost soul and welcomes and forgives the repentant person unconditionally.
Christ teaching in the Parable of the Lost Son provides an understanding of the value of repentance in human relationship with God and his purpose regarding repentance in human interactions and relationships. He explains in the parable that God sees repentance as the return of a lost soul and welcomes and forgives the repentant person unconditionally.
Also, he uses the parable to explain sin as wrongdoing that a person commits against at least one other—the injured party. In that case, repentance requires three actions in order: (1) recognition and remorse, whereby you recognize that you have sinned, feel remorse and accept personal responsibility for the sin, and recognize the injured party; (2) commitment to turnaround from the sinful behavior and turn to doing right and just; and (3) confession to the injured party, whereby you confess the sin, your personal responsibility, remorse, and commitment to turnaround. As we discuss in a previous study under Responding to Sin, Christ explains that the injured party must accept the repentance and forgive the repentant person.
We discuss our understanding of the parable first and conclude the study with a discussion of the parable itself based on the gospel according to Luke [15:11–21].
Description of Repentance
Repentance consists of three steps in order as follows.
- Recognition and Remorse: You recognize your sin, accept personal responsibility, feel remorse for the sin, and recognize the injured party.
- Commitment to Turnaround: You make a self-commitment to depart from the sinful behavior and turn to doing right and just.
- Confession to the Injured Party: You confess the sin, your personal responsibility and remorse for the sin, and your commitment to turnaround.
We discuss the steps and provide an example of repentance in the Parable of the Lost Son.
Recognition and Remorse
Repentance begins with recognition and remorse, when a person recognizes that he or she has done something wrong or unjust. The recognition could result either from self-examination or external counsel. Then the person feels remorse for the sin, accepts personal responsibility, recognizes the underlying behavior that led to the sin, and recognizes the injured party.
Commitment to Turnaround
The second step in repentance consists of a commitment to yourself to turnaround from the sin. Having recognized the underlying behavior that led you to sin, you make a personal commitment to turnaround from the underlying behavior. Also, you make a commitment to confess to the injured party: to confess the sin, personal responsibility for the sin, your remorse, and commitment to turnaround.
Confession to the Injured Party
The third and final step in repentance is the confession. You confess to the injured party. Confess the sin and your personal responsibility for the sin; confess your remorse; and confess your commitment to turnaround from the behavior that led you to sin.
Christ explains that the injured party has to accept the repentance and forgive the repentant person [Luke 17:3–4]: “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”
In this context, the word “rebuke” (from Luke 17:3) means you engage to guide the sinner to repentance—you discuss the sin with him or her privately at first, then escalate by involving more and more people in the discussion if necessary. If he or she repents, then accept the matter as resolved and forgive them. However, if he or she refuses to repent, then separate from them to protect yourself from sin: “If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector” [Matthew 18:17].
Parable of the Lost Son
The Parable of the Lost Son is the third in a series of parables that Christ told (Luke 15) to teach the value of repentance in human relationship with God. Also, he uses the parables to teach God’s purpose regarding repentance in human interactions and relationships. He told the parables in response to Pharisees and Teachers of the Law that wondered why Jesus allowed sinners to gather around him.
In the Parable of the Lost Son, a son broke away from his father and squandered his share of his father’s wealth in prodigal living. Subsequently, as he suffered from destitution, he recognized that he sinned against his father. He was remorseful for the sin, took personal responsibility for what he did, and understood the behavior that led him astray. Then he made a commitment to return to his father, confess his sin, and ask his father to consider accepting him back into the household as a hired servant [Luke 15:17–19]: “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’”
The parable describes the young man’s recognition of his sin and commitment to turnaround and confess to his father. His destitution despite previous wealth led him to re-examine his actions and experience. He recognized his sin, accepted responsibility, and was remorseful. He recognized his father was the injured party and that breaking away from his father was the underlying behavior that led him to sin. He committed to return to his father, accepting that he had lost his status as son in his father’s household.
He returned to his father and confessed his sin. He confessed his remorse for the sin, his personal responsibility, and commitment to turnaround. His father accepted him as soon as he realized that his lost son had returned, even before the son spoke his confession: “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him” [Luke 15:20]. This interaction in the parable provides an understanding that God sees repentance as the return of a lost soul and welcomes and forgives the repentant person unconditionally.
Summary of What We Learned
Repentance is necessary and sufficient for forgiveness and consists of three ordered steps.
- Recognition that you have sinned, feeling of remorse and personal responsibility for the sin, and recognition of the injured party;
- Commitment to turnaround from the sinful behavior and turn to doing right and just; and
- Confession to the injured party—confess the sin, your personal responsibility, remorse, and commitment to turnaround.
God sees repentance as the return of a lost soul and welcomes and forgives the repentant person unconditionally.