A Life of Repentance

Ephesians 4:22-28 On October 31st, 1517, Martin Luther posted 95 Theses to the church door at Wittenberg--ninety-five “points of discussion” that addressed what he felt was wrong with the church of his day. 

The Christian life had fallen into what was essentially an economic transaction—give so much to the church and you could count on forgiveness.  All kinds of Christians were appalled by this and so to talk about it in his own community Luther posted 95 discussion points to address what was going on in the church.

The first three theses went like this:  1. When Jesus said "repent" he meant that believers should live a life of repentance 2. Only God can give salvation - not a priest.  3. Inward penitence must be accompanied by a real change in lifestyle. 

To make his point, Luther appealed only to the Bible—not to tradition, not to a priestly hierarchy.  We see how true this is in our text today which is the biblical foundation for Luther’s first three theses:  that the Christian life is one of repentance—that salvation comes from God, not from another person—and that a changed heart results in a changed life.  The Bible says:

Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self

            The first of Luther’s 95 Theses said that the entire life of the Christian consists of repentance.  When we hear that word “repentance”, most of us think of contrition or sorrow over sins—that I recognize that I have done wrong, am sorry for it, and confess it for the sin it is.  And that is certainly true as far as it goes.  In fact…

That’s what Paul is talking about in this first verse or so of our text—that we are to put off our old self, which belongs to our former way of life because it is corrupt and full of deceitful desires.  In other words, everything having to do with sin in our life is to be taken off like filthy clothes and cast aside. 

And because sin is not just the wrong things we say or do or think- but is as close to us as our own flesh- we will have to put off that old self again and again until we lay it aside in death.  We will never be rid of sin in this life but we must strive to put it off every day so that when it comes to sin we can always consider it something in the past rather than a present reality in our lives.

When we hear that the Christian life is one of life-long repentance, this ongoing sorrow over sin, and confession of it, is what we think about—and that is right—but it is still only half the story.

The other half of repentance—the other half of the Christian life—is where we turn to, after we turn away from sin--and what we put on, after we put off the old sinful self.  We turn from sin to Christ-- and put on the new self when we put off the old. 

In other words, repentance is not just sorrow over our sins (that’s just the first part) it is also faith in Jesus to forgive us our sins.  For example…

In our Gospel lesson today, the paralyzed man and his friends came to Jesus in faith—they had a confident trust that the power and compassion of Jesus could help them-- and they were not disappointed.  That is what faith is:  a confident trust that Jesus will do what he says and give us forgiveness and a new life.

Last week we talked about the identity that we have in Christ and the importance of living as who we are.  We heard that the Holy Spirit has made us God’s children and disciples of Christ. 

This is the new self that we are to “put on.”  We take off the old sinful self and we put on this new identity—this new self that is a child of God and disciple of Christ.

That we believe this and that we can do this (putting off the old and putting on the new) is from beginning to end, the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 

In his second thesis Luther made the point that this life of repentance is not accomplished in us by any priest or ritual but it is the work of God.  The bible calls it a renewal in the spirit of our minds and that we are a new creation after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

In the beginning, God created man in his own image (not that they looked like God who is Spirit) but that they reflected his righteousness and holiness.  That image of God was lost when man sinned.  The righteousness and holiness that they were given at their creation ceased—not only for them but for all their children—us too. 

And so every person, by nature, simply by virtue of their birth into the human family, can no longer can be counted as God’s child but as his enemy.  That is why Jesus told Nicodemus:  you must be born again!  In other words, you must be renewed and recreated to be what God intended you to be at the beginning.  And just like at the beginning, it is only God who can do that work.  And he has!

All of us who have been baptized and brought to faith in Jesus have been born again by water and Spirit.  God has chosen to give us new birth so that now the image of God (the true righteousness and holiness of Christ) has been restored in us. 

This is what Paul is talking about when he says that we are renewed in the spirit of our mind.  We have a new attitude towards sin, hating it and wanting nothing to do with it.  We have a new attitude towards those around us, loving them for Christ’s sake and bearing with them patiently.  And we have a new attitude towards the way we live, wanting to walk in the ways of Christ.  The Bible says:

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.  Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.  Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

            In the third of Luther’s 95 Theses he says that our inward repentance (that is our sorrow over sin and our Spirit-worked faith) ought to be plainly visible in how we live our lives.  It is a terrible perversion of the Gospel to say that the forgiven sinner can simply return to his former life of sin.  Nothing is farther from the truth!

            No one should come to Holy Communion this morning is they do not intend to make a complete break with sin.  If you are planning to return to a sinful life when you leave the communion rail—stay away—you will receive judgment not blessing.

            Instead, our sorrow over sin and our confident trust in Christ’s forgiveness means that our lives will make a complete 180 degree turn from what they were before.  Paul gives some concrete examples to illustrate what he is talking about but they are certainly not exhaustive.

First of all, Christians tell the truth.  Christians know the One who is the THE truth and so there is no place for falsehood in the Christian life.  Very few things are as destructive to our various human relationships as lying--and all people hold liars in contempt.  The Bible says that our speech must loving, straightforward, and that we are to be people of our word who can be trusted to tell the truth.

Secondly, the Christian does not live with bitterness and anger in their hearts.  The Bible writers recognized that there are situations where anger is the appropriate response.  How can we not be angry over injustice and brutality and perversion?  They anger God—they anger God’s children. 

But we cannot let this anger rule over us.  That we do not “let the sun go down on our anger” means that we are quick to be reconciled with those who have angered us so that Satan does not gain the upper hand over us.

And finally, Christians do not steal.  They don’t take things from work.  They do not fudge on their taxes or expense reports.  They give a fair day’s work for a fair day’s wage.  The Christian knows that the way to having their own possessions is work. 

Christians (unless profoundly disabled or ill or elderly) do not live on the charity of others—not their families—not their fellow church members—and not the government.  They work.  They work to support themselves and their families.  They work so that the mission of Christ can go forward.  And they work so that they have something to share with those in genuine need.  Labor- and the necessities of life- go together.   

Almost 500 years ago Martin Luther nailed 95 Theses to the church door at Wittenberg and the very first words the Reformation was a call to a life of repentance.  We hear the same thing in God’s Word today:  that we are to put off the old life of sin and put on the righteousness of Christ—that this life of faith can only be accomplished in us by the work of the Holy Spirit—and that a heart that has been changed by Jesus shows up in a changed life.  May God grant it for Jesus’ sake!  Amen.