As is the case with many aspiring readers, I have filled my bookshelves with titles with every intent to devour them—but they remain unopened. To my shame, the Ninety-Five Theses is one such work in my library; a seminary class first incited my need to read one of the most famous Christian writings in history. I opened the cover page and began reading, expecting this historic opening salvo of the Reformation to begin with a thunderous proclamation of the doctrine of salvation by grace alone through faith alone, a teaching for which Luther would rise to the annals of church history. I was surprised to discover that Luther had not become a thoroughgoing Reformed theologian overnight but penned his theses at a time when his theological maturity had yet to reach its height. Instead of a full-throated exposition of justification, the Theses begin in a seemingly innocuous position: the doctrine of repentance. Luther set on his labor with these words: “Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, in saying, ‘Repent ye, etc.,’ intended that the whole life of his believers on earth should be a constant penance.”¹

Rather than calling immediate attention to indulgences or to the solas that would later characterize the Reformation, Luther draws the reader to the centrality of this moldering doctrine, illuminating the neglect this biblical concept suffered under Roman teaching.

Should Luther find himself in attendance in a broadly evangelical church today or perhaps in many churches that carry on the legacy of Reformed theology, he might be inspired to author a similarly consequential work to shepherd the modern church. Thankfully for the people of God, Harrison Perkins perceived this spiritual need and addressed it in his latest work, A Penitent People, a richly needed title that seeks to address our need to comprehend repentance rightly and to practice it faithfully.

The book begins by helping readers see how their own conception of repentance is the first thing requiring attention. Christians are often tempted to see repentance as a miserable duty, a sort of theological chore for the believer that is necessary but thoroughly unpleasant. In the opening lines of the book, Perkins reminds his audience that such a belief is not consistent with Scripture. Transgression of the law of God is what truly “makes us miserable. It ruins our present lives. . . . Sin wreaks havoc upon every fiber of our being and corrupts us to the core” (5). In contrast, repentance is “a joyful aspect of the Christian life,” a central means of enjoying “freedom from sin’s power” (5). If we have experienced true repentance, this reversal in attitudes rings true in our hearts. I recall weekly meetings I had in college with a mentor whom I approached with dread. “Perhaps,” I thought, “he will forget we were to meet this morning.” But in his faithfulness, a text would arrive reminding me that we were indeed still on for our time together, and fear flooded my mind as I considered the sin for which he would call me to repent. While I hid my sin from my brother, the hand of the Lord was “heavy upon me,” and “my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer” (Ps 32:4). Departing these meetings having experienced the blessing of repentance, the weight of conviction was lifted as I was surrounded instead by “shouts of deliverance” (Ps 32:7), and the sweet elixir of the gospel flooded my soul. What each opportunity to turn from sin to the Lord revealed is that repentance is not what lays a weight on the Christian but sin. Perkins labors to make this clear so that we would not fear uncovering our sin to others or to the Lord. Far from a bleak requirement, repentance is a gift, and “true faith is the wellspring” of the blessing (11). Seeing repentance in its correct light is a great gift itself, as this reframing causes the penitent to understand that confession and turning to Christ is not acknowledging a mark of condemnation but a sign of sincere union with Christ. After all, what unbeliever would seek to expose rather than hide his sin? Repentance, then, is a fruit of sanctification borne by a lively branch for the glory of God and the encouragement of the Christian that the gospel remains true and his righteousness before God is held fast in the wrath-bearing death of the Son received by faith.

Drawing from his experience as a shepherd as well as a sheep, Perkins then helps us understand that repentance is not simply a one-time action but ought to shape our lives, a biblical observation Luther would applaud. Yet while it is a blessed gift from God, penance, the author acknowledges, remains a challenging aspect of the Christian life. It is a fearful thing to admit our wrongdoing. We ponder what others will think of us, whether they will forgive us if we open the dark portions of our hearts to them, and such fear can prevent us from obeying and experiencing freedom of repentance from the ongoing power of sin. Again, a right understanding of sin comes to our aid. We must strive to inculcate within our minds the heinousness of breaking God’s law. As we grow in our sanctification, our whole being ought to change—particularly, our affections. Christians should grow to love what God loves and hate what he hates, and “when this hatred develops, we quit caring about saving our face and start caring about seeking God’s face by destroying the sin of our hearts as thoroughly as we can this side of heaven” (31). Suppose you had a habit you concealed from your spouse that caused long-term health consequences. One day, the phone rings and the long-awaited call from your oncologist comes, and he reports that you are living on borrowed time. In that moment, all pride evaporates and your spouse hears what you have hidden because the only way the doctor may treat you requires radical therapy starting immediately. In such circumstances, because the threat is so severe, abandoning your own image becomes a minor concession readily made; after all, cancer is not a minor concern. This is the reality of sin. Sin is not a nuisance, a concern to be addressed when time permits. It is predatorially “crouching at the door,” and “its desire is for you” (Gen 4:7). Sin wages “war against your soul” (1 Pet 2:11), and until glory, Christians will combat sin in every aspect of their lives. When sin is viewed from this perspective, the Christian is encouraged to lay it aside and regularly seek repentance, combatting whatever would separate the believer from communion with God. Repentance thus becomes “a permanent, essential, and prominent aspect of what it means to live the Christian life” (32).

Having reframed repentance for the reader and introduced its goodness as an ongoing blessing and beneficial responsibility, Perkins moves to show us how repentance works. He begins by illustrating the great difference between a worldly grief for the consequence of sin and a “godly grief” (34) brought about by an “apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ” as well as “a grief and hatred of his sin.”² Godly grief for sin is far from simply a bad feeling of “discomfort” (34), though it may incorporate such feelings. The distinguishing mark of such grief is that it does not regret only the consequence but also the transgression against a holy God, and rather than producing shame, a desire to turn from sin to God is its yield. The renewed attitude of the Christian ought to be hatred toward sin: We should “hate it when our thoughts, words, and deeds are displeasing to God” (35) so much that our self-image does not enter the conversation and we reveal our sins for the glory of God and our own good. Accordingly, the Holy Spirit empowers believers to forget themselves, remembering the steadfast love of the Lord shown in Christ and growing in hatred of things that displease him. Then, the Christian confesses sins with sincere desire to follow wherever the Lord leads, obeying as well as he or she is able.

Demonstrating biblical warrant for his writing thus far, the writer proceeds to ground his teaching in the Word of God, showing the pattern of repentance found in Psalms 38 and 143. In these chapters, we find David exercising faithful sorrow at his own sin and setting the mercy of God before himself. In both cases, the psalmist is motivated by a growing disgust at his own sin as well as an understanding of the kindness of his Father. Sweetly, the desire for renewed obedience saturates his poems. Perkins illustrates that he is not creating obligations but receiving the testimony of Scripture itself, which calls us to repent and demonstrates the manner in which penance is rightly enacted.

As the book concludes, we are greeted in the final chapters with a beautiful picture of the unity of the body of Christ. I have often fallen into the trap of imagining that repentance belongs in the quiet recesses of my own heart as I pray and perhaps to a few people whom I have offended. Here is where the title A Penitent People finds its fullest exposition, as believers are called by the Lord to repentant unity in the sacrament of the Supper. Perkins writes that as the people of God in Exodus 24 came forward for confirmation of the covenant, “they all needed forgiveness. They all also came to acknowledge their sinfulness. They were repentant as a people, coming in unison to receive forgiveness and to commune with God” (98). So, too, when believers come to the Lord’s Supper, they are instructed that approaching the Table of the King is to be done in humble and collective penance. We come “knowing that we need Christ to receive our repentance there,” and “we should come to the Lord’s Supper realizing that all faithful Christians are doing the best they can . . . The church needs to be a place where people find gracious help to grow in their repentance” (100). We gather to receive mercy and spiritual nourishment from the hand of the Lord, and it is mercy we are then prodded to offer to our brothers and sisters in Christ. As we mutually enjoy the constant safety of the gracious harbor of grace, we find vulnerability with one another and so prove our understanding of the gospel as we extend helping hands rather than withholding forgiveness from our brethren.

Repentance is not a bygone doctrine but a lively blessed gift, the fruits of which befit the Christian. A Penitent People echoes the calls of the Word of God that “Christians should be a penitent people both at the individual level and holistically” (106). In its pages, the Christian is instructed, exhorted, and often confronted with the aim of producing the fruits of repentance in its readers. Having been edified by a fresh look at the doctrine and stirred up to love and good works therein, I heartily commend the book that you too may find renewed freedom in “turning from your sin unto God with purpose of and endeavor after new obedience”³

Notes

1. Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses, Internet Archive.
2. Westminster Shorter Catechism 87.
3. Westminster Shorter Catechism 87.

©Seth Adams. All Rights Reserved.

Harrison Perkins. A Penitent People: The Doctrine of Repentance (Christian Focus, 2025).

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Post authored by:

• Seth Adams

  

  Seth Adams is a graduate of Westminster Seminary California, an honorably discharged naval officer, and now, the Associate Campus Minister of Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota. His wife and three young children enjoy sanctifying one another, cheering when we all sit still during family worship, and looking for pheasants along the road during car rides.

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