# Quick question on repentance



## chuckd (Jun 1, 2012)

I have a quick question for an ESL Bible study I'm doing tonight:

WSC: Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, does, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience.

What is a good/easier synonym for "apprehension?"


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## Edward (Jun 1, 2012)

chuckd said:


> What is a good/easier synonym for "apprehension?



comprehension.


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## py3ak (Jun 1, 2012)

Possibly too late now but you could use "grasp" or "sight" or "understanding". Grasp would be the closest, but I'm not sure it's much more commonly known - though you can always do a visual demonstration by grasping something yourself.


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## chuckd (Jun 2, 2012)

Not too late. Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'll use "understanding." I was using Microsoft Word's thesaurus and it was coming up with "anxiety", "worry", "fear". ???


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## Edward (Jun 2, 2012)

Here's how one of the modern versions treats it:

Q. 87. What is repentance unto life?
A. Repentance unto life is a saving grace, by which a sinner, being truly aware of his sinfulness,
understands the mercy of God in Christ, grieves for and hates his sins, and turns from them to God,
fully intending and striving for a new obedience.

That being said, if one of the purposes of the class is to teach ESL, it might be of some benefit to deal with current language and usage, rather than a document which uses older forms of language not readily apparent to a well educated native speaker such as yourself. I'd urge consideration (or reconsideration) of documents presented in modern English. Both the Confession and Catechism are available in acceptable modern versions - one of the documents was largely from folks with Reformed Seminary or First Pres Jackson back in the 1980s.


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## chuckd (Jun 2, 2012)

Edward said:


> Here's how one of the modern versions treats it:
> 
> Q. 87. What is repentance unto life?
> A. Repentance unto life is a saving grace, by which a sinner, being truly aware of his sinfulness,
> ...



Ok. Thanks so much for the suggestion.  I wasn't aware there were modern English versions.


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## Edward (Jun 2, 2012)

Here the WCF in a modern version. I'd recommend it:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Westminster-Confession-Faith-Authentic/dp/0961430354

Here's the Shorter catechism that I'd recommend:

CEP Bookstore - SHORTER CATECHISM, MODERN VERSION

I think the Evangelical Presbyterian church promotes modern versions, but I am not familiar with them, and don't know if they match these or not. Absent a comparison, I'll limit my recommendations to the two listed. 

Our church uses the WSC modern version for memorization in the church membership class for the junior high aged students. 

The CEP price seems slightly higher than the Amazon price, but CEP will discount for quantity.


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## Semper Fidelis (Jun 3, 2012)

chuckd said:


> I have a quick question for an ESL Bible study I'm doing tonight:
> 
> WSC: Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, does, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience.
> 
> What is a good/easier synonym for "apprehension?"



I know it is too late for your class but I like keeping the word apprehend and then explaining it.

Many see no difference between comprehension and apprehension but the former implies exhaustive, penetrating knowledge of a thing. It's a good opportunity to stress the difference between God's _comprehensive_ knowledge of all things and that we _apprehend_ truth insofar as we are able to understand it as a creature.

Apprehension, in a theological sense, implies analogical knowledge of things (creaturely) while comprehension implies that the Creator understands things as they are in themselves. We believe that all knowledge is by revelation so that to apprehend truth is to perceive truth insofar as it has been revealed to us by God. This is especially important to emphasize with respect to evangelical graces because we only apprehend the mercy of God in Chirst when we have been given eyes to see.


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## Rev. Todd Ruddell (Jun 4, 2012)

The word 'apprehension' in that context also includes laying hold of that mercy by faith.


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## Scott1 (Jun 4, 2012)

Oxford English Dictionary



> Pronunciation: /aprɪˈhɛnʃ(ə)n/
> 
> 
> noun
> ...



Once again, the richness of the meaning and the penetration of words is best as the Divines used it.


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## Scott1 (Jun 4, 2012)

The Scripture proofs for Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 87 will also give insight into the meaning of the statements and/or propositions of doctrine contained.



> Q. 87. What is repentance unto life?
> A. Repentance unto life is a saving grace,[180] whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ,[181] doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God,[182] with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience.[183]





> Scripture proofs
> 
> [180] Acts 11:18. When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. 2 Timothy 2:25. In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth
> 
> ...


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## Edward (Jun 4, 2012)

Semper Fidelis said:


> I like keeping the word apprehend and then explaining it.



Perhaps if the primary purpose of the students was to study theology. But they come to the class to learn English that they can use. To that end, I'd suggest sticking to vocabulary that is in common use. 

My views might be colored by the fact that I'm the only member of my household for whom English is the first language.


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