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We are coming upon the season of Lent once again, with February 14 being Ash Wednesday. During Lent, you will be hearing a lot about repentance. In fact, Lent is sometimes called “the season of repentance.”
For Lutherans, however, repentance is not just a seasonal act. It is a way of life. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg. The very first of those 95 Theses reads, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’ [Matt. 4:17], He willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance” (AE, Vol. 31, p. 25).
Repenting the Lutheran way means that we daily confess our sin and sinfulness to God. It is a part of the rhythm of our daily lives.
In addition, when many people think of repentance, they only think of sorrow over sin and the act of confessing that sin. While that is certainly one half of repentance, the Lutheran way of repentance also strongly emphasizes belief in the forgiveness of sin by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ that follows confession. This is how our Lutheran forefathers defined repentance in the Augsburg Confession, emphasizing both the sorrow/confession, and the forgiveness/absolution: “Now properly speaking, true repentance is nothing else than to have contrition and sorrow, or terror about sin, and yet at the same time to believe in the Gospel and absolution that sin is forgiven and grace is obtained through Christ. Such faith, in turn, comforts the heart and puts it at peace” (Kolb-Wengert, p. 44).
Repenting the Lutheran way means that we daily ask for the forgiveness of our sins and, at the same time, daily rejoice in the forgiveness of sins that is ours through Christ. It means that we daily plead for God’s mercy and, at the same time, daily rejoice in God’s mercy toward us through Christ. For Lutherans, it’s a “both-and” — repenting and rejoicing. John reminds us of this “both-and” aspect of repentance when he writes, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Repenting the Lutheran way also includes the desire and the expectation that our life will change with regard to sin, that we will desire to walk with God and do that which is His will. The next time we are confessing our sins corporately in church, notice that in the final line of our confession we ask God to, “Forgive us, renew us, and lead us, so that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your holy name” (LSB, 151).
Repenting the Lutheran way is actually repenting the biblical, Christian way. It is what God desires and invites us to do. As such, may God help us daily to delight in His will and walk in His ways as we experience the blessing, comfort, and peace of repenting the Lutheran way!
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