Watching out for "making penance"

[StephenMartyr]

In a recent thread on repentance, someone said this (are we supposed to withhold names? I'm not sure!):

"Remember that repentance is not the same as doing penance."

Great line! It made me think of my outworkings / dealings with sinful circumstances. I'll make up a story to get my thought across.

Suppose one day I'm at home and supposed to help my Dad do yard work. I'm in a grumpy mood and don't really want to. I tell my Dad that after I help him out I'm going out to a coffee shop. I bring my grumpiness before the Lord and ask forgiveness. Now I feel bad that I've been so grumpy. Do I go out to the coffee shop or do I continue to stay at home to see what else needs to be done? I know I'm forgiven but to go out feels wrong. So I decide to stay at home feeling that if I didn't get grumpy in the first place, I would have had greater ease and freedom to go out than I do now. So I'm at home and decide not go out.

Does this appear to be "penance" rather than repentance? Guilt can creep in and dictate a direction contrary to a direction you would have taken if you didn't "sin".

I sinned so instead of A (which would have been the direction if I didn't sin) I go to B (because I sinned and no longer can do it in freedom).

Forgiveness happens, because of what Christ has done on the cross, but "forgiveness flippancy" is dangerous so the previous logic comes in.

To me, yes, it does seem a little "penancy"...but how to avoid this using Gospel freedom?

 

[Joshua]

Your scenario could have different proper reactions at different times, which illustrates the complexities that sin -as a hard taskmaster- brings us. I would make a distinction between a person being penitent -which, for the regenerate, is an inexorable and required response to the stain our sins are- and one trying to perform that papist concept of penance, which carries with pharisaical ideas of merit. We are to "bring forth therefore fruit meet for repentance," (Matthew 3.8), but this is a response and expression of contrition, not a means of merit or appeasement of wrath, which alone was accomplished by the perfect sacrifice, death, and resurrection of our elder Brother, the Lord Jesus Christ.

We also do not make up means of repentance outside of the guidelines of scripture. "Gospel freedom" is the freedom to rise to new obedience to God's Law, as an expression of our thankfulness to God, our desire more and more to be like Christ, though with the knowledge that this obedience is halting, imperfect, non-meritorious unto justification, and never to be trusted in.

The same goes for our contrition. It is a proper response to the guilt and knowledge of the desserts of our sins, but -as with many good things - the enemies of our souls (the world, the flesh, and the devil) can twist even that as a means of merit. "O, Soul, look how torn up over my sin I am. Surely the Lord will be pleased with that. Look how I have chastised myself. That must count for something, right?" Wrong. So, then, we endeavor to bear fruit meet for repentance, making exhaustive use of all lawful obedience and sorrow, all the while knowing that such things will never be pure enough, sincere enough, "right" enough to have favor with God. We only have favor with Him in the Beloved, according to the perfection of His obedience and sacrifice.