Back to series
May 2018
In a chapter of Mere Christianity titled “The Perfect Penitent,” C.S. Lewis discusses what Christians mean by the word “repentance”:
Now what was the sort of “hole” man had got himself into? He had tried to set up on his own, to behave as if he belonged to himself. In other words, fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms. Laying down your arms, surrendering, saying you are sorry, realising that you have been on the wrong track and getting ready to start life over again from the ground floor — that is the only way out of a “hole.” This process of surrender — this movement full speed astern — is what Christians call repentance. Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means killing part of yourself, undergoing a kind of death…
Remember, this repentance, this willing submission to humiliation and a kind of death, is not something God demands of you before He will take you back and which He could let you off of if He chose: it is simply a description of what going back to Him is like. If you ask God to take you back without it, you are really asking Him to let you go back without going back. It cannot happen. Very well, then, we must go through with it. But the same badness which makes us need it, makes us unable to do it. Can we do it if God helps us? Yes, but what do we mean when we talk of God helping us? We mean God putting into us a bit of Himself, so to speak. He lends us a little of His reasoning powers and that is how we think: He puts a little of His love into us and that is how we love one another. When you teach a child writing, you hold its hand while it forms the letters: that is, it forms the letters because you are forming them. We love and reason because God loves and reasons and holds our hand while we do it.1
As Lewis observes, repentance is “no fun at all.” Let us be thankful, however, that as we repent, we are surrendering into the arms of a loving Father in heaven, who redeemed us at great cost, and who will bring us ultimate satisfaction and fulfillment in life.
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies
as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal
of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Romans 12: 1-2 (ESV)
1 C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (Touchstone, 1996), pp. 59-60.
COPYRIGHT: This publication is published by C.S. Lewis Institute; 8001 Braddock Road, Suite 301; Springfield, VA 22151. Portions of the publication may be reproduced for noncommercial, local church or ministry use without prior permission. Electronic copies of the PDF files may be duplicated and transmitted via e-mail for personal and church use. Articles may not be modified without prior written permission of the Institute. For questions, contact the Institute: 703.914.5602 or email us.
-
Recent Podcasts
The Side B Stories – Adam Terry’s Story
by Adam Terry, Jana Harmon on April 26, 2024Adam Terry experienced an intellectual crisis of faith....Read More
-
A Welcome Change in Apologetics
by Randy Newman, Aimee Riegert on April 19, 2024
-
Questions That Matter Podcast – Samuel James and Digital Liturgies
by Samuel James, Randy Newman on April 19, 2024
-
Recent Publications
Isn’t Morality Relative?
by Christopher L. Reese on April 1, 2024It is widely accepted in the Western world...Read More
-
Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?
by Andy Bannister on March 1, 2024
-
Artificial Intelligence and Its Impacts on Humanity
by John Lennox on February 13, 2024
0
All Booked
0.00
All Booked
0.00
All Booked
22140
GLOBAL EVENT: Keeping the Faith From One Generation To Another with Stuart McAllister and Cameron McAllister, 8:00PM ET
https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/?event=global-event-keeping-the-faith-from-one-generation-to-another-with-stuart-mcallister-and-cameron-mcallister-800pm-et&event_date=2024-05-17®=1
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr
2024-05-17
Next coming event
Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds
GLOBAL EVENT: Keeping the Faith From One Generation To Another with Stuart McAllister and Cameron McAllister, 8:00PM ET
On May 17, 2024 at 8:00 pmSpeakers
C.S. Lewis Institute
Author