The Second Helvetic Confession Chapter 14
Of Repentance and the Conversion of Man
The doctrine of repentance is
joined with the Gospel. For so has the Lord said in the Gospel: Repentance
and forgiveness of sins should be preached in my name to all nations (Luke
24:27).
<Do not misunderstand the intent of this statement that
repentance is joined to the Gospel. Rather
without the Gospel (Jesus Christ) there would be no repentance.
Then there enters the consideration of the sequence of events that lead
to repentance. Thus as will be
shown in the following paragraphs, as the Holy Spirit working in and through the
Word (Gospel) reveals Christ, the elect will repent and turn toward God. Salvation by grace alone is not to be diminished and such is
not the intent here. The intent is
to show that the whole of salvation is connected.
Compare Eph. 2:8-10.>
What Is Repentance? By
repentance we understand (1) the recovery of a right mind in sinful man awakened
by the Word of the Gospel and the Holy Spirit, and received by true faith, by
which the sinner immediately acknowledges his innate corruption and all his sins
accused by the Word of God; and (2) grieves for them from his heart, and not
only bewails and frankly confesses them before God with a feeling of shame, but
also (3) with indignation abominates them; and (4) now zealously considers the
amendment of his ways and constantly strives for innocence and virtue in which
conscientiously to exercise himself all the rest of his life.
<Later the Puritans will call this personal piety, or a
right relationship with Christ. The
right relationship with Christ will breed prudence, which simply means the
ability to consistently make right decisions.
What are these right decisions? To
fulfill the creation mandate and the only duty properly assigned to man by God,
to glorify God. Repentance then
follows regeneration by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God.
Faith comes by hearing and hearing from the Word of God is the way Paul
renders it in the epistle to the Romans. >
True Repentance Is Conversion
to God. And this is true repentance, namely, a sincere turning to God and
all good, and earnest turning away from the devil and all evil. Now we expressly
say that this repentance is a sheer gift of God and not a work of our strength.
For the apostle commands a faithful minister diligently to instruct those who
oppose the truth, if God may perhaps grant that they will repent and come to
know the truth (II Tim. 2:25). Now that sinful woman who washed the feet of the
Lord with her tears, and Peter who wept bitterly and bewailed his denial of the
Lord (Luke 7:38; 22:62) show clearly how the mind of a penitent man ought to be
seriously lamenting the sins he has committed. Moreover, the prodigal son and
the publican in the Gospel, when compared with the Pharisee, present us with the
most suitable pattern of how our sins are to be confessed to God. The former
said: 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer
worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants' (Luke 15:8
ff.). And the latter, not daring to raise his eyes to heaven, beat his breast,
saying, God be merciful to me a sinner (ch. 18:13). And we do not doubt that
they were accepted by God into grace. For the apostle John says: If we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from
all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his
word is not in us (I John 1:9 f.).
<It is only in the light
and enablement of the Holy Spirit mankind can put aside his pride and ego to bow
before God. Such a revelation by
the Spirit leading to repentance is far more than the initial confession of sin,
but becomes the heart and action of the person so blessed of God.
Sincerity here is not to be confused with the intellect or will of man,
but of the regeneration and revelation of Christ and His completed work by the
Holy Spirit. Note that even David
knew this doctrine and thus we also once more here see the consistency of God in
His revelation from the beginning until the end of the Holy Writ. >
Sacerdotal Confession and
Absolution. But we believe that this sincere confession which is made to God
alone, either privately between God and the sinner, or publicly in the Church
where the general confession of sins is said, is sufficient, and that in order
to obtain forgiveness of sins it is not necessary for anyone to confess his sins
to a priest, murmuring them in his ears, that in turn he might receive
absolution from the priest with his laying on of hands, because there is neither
a commandment nor an example of this in Holy Scriptures. David testifies and
says: I acknowledged my sin to thee, and did not hide my iniquity; I said, 'I
will confess my transgressions to the Lord'; then thou didst forgive the guilt
of my sin (Psa. 32:5). And the Lord who taught us to pray and at the same time
to confess our sins said: Pray then like this: Our Father, who art in heaven, .
. . forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors (Matt. 6:12). Therefore
it is necessary that we confess our sins to God our Father, and be reconciled
with our neighbor if we have offended him. Concerning this kind of confession,
the Apostle James says: Confess your sins to one another (James 5:16). If,
however, anyone is overwhelmed by the burden of his sins and by perplexing
temptations, and will seek counsel, instruction and comfort privately, either
from a minister of the Church, or from any other brother who is instructed in
God's law, we do not disapprove; just as we also fully approve of that general
and public confession of sins which is usually said in Church and in meetings
for worship, as we noted above, inasmuch as it is agreeable to Scripture.
<This paragraph is against the error taught by Rome and
the acts of repentance assigned by a priest for the absolution of sins, or in
other ceremonies of the church. Again,
let us understand such confession will not happen without the regeneration of
the heart and opening of the eyes by the Holy Spirit. It is written that none have sought God.
By sincere then it is meant not the sincerity of man despite the
circumstance of life that has turned man to repent, but from the depth of the
enlightened soul awakened by the Holy Spirit to its depravity and hopelessness
without the grace of God being bestowed. >
Of the Keys of the Kingdom of
Heaven. Concerning the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven which the Lord gave to
the apostles, many babble many astonishing things, and out of them forge swords,
spears, scepters and crowns, and complete power over the greatest kingdoms,
indeed, over souls and bodies. Judging simply according to the Word of the Lord,
we say that all properly called ministers possess and exercise the keys or the
use of them when they proclaim the Gospel; that is, when they teach, exhort,
comfort, rebuke, and keep in discipline the people committed to their trust.
<The doctrine that the keys were given to the apostles
alone as might be understood here is in error.
By apostles it is meant church, for in the beginning the apostles were
the church, meaning the only ones with the complete revelation of God concerning
the foundation of the church and her mission to teach all nations to observe
whatsoever Christ had commanded. The
keys are not for the exclusion of any from heaven, thus upsetting the election,
but the keys are for the exercise of discipline within the body thus protecting
and perfecting the purity of the church on earth.
All discipline has as its goal the reconciliation of the fallen (sinner)
with God. Paul in Corinthians tells
us that when a person will not acknowledge their sin and repent such a person is
to not only be put out but given to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so
that the spirit might be saved. There
is no place then for man to create his own kingdom in the exercise of godly
discipline to the end a person or organization is exalted. Note well that the
keys are the preaching of the Gospel and godly discipline. These two go together
and are the foundation of the church and church discipline. >
Opening and Shutting (the
Kingdom). For in this way they open the Kingdom of Heaven to the obedient
and shut it to the disobedient. The Lord promised these keys to the apostles in
Matt., ch. 16, and gave them in John, ch. 20, Mark, ch. 16, and Luke, ch. 24,
when he sent out his disciples and commanded them to preach the Gospel in all
the world, and to remit sins.
<Understand that the remission of sins lies not in an
earthly power in the possession of the keys, but in the promise of God whereby
John could say that as often as we confess our sins God is honorable and just to
forgive them. We might ask at this
point what is this kingdom of God, and where is this kingdom today?
The keys were given to the church, the body of Christ.
The keys then are useful for discipline, not by setting aside the eternal
decree of God, but lawfully excluding from fellowship one who does not flee from
all evil. The church is this
kingdom and is to use the keys for discipline alone, the exclusion from
fellowship being severe enough punishment on the conscience of the elect to
bring them to confession and repentance, but causing anger and a moving away
from the kingdom of God and properly God also the reprobate who in his pride
denies the right of any to so judge him. The Gospel unlocks the door; discipline
stands guard at the open door of the Gospel. >
The Ministry of Reconciliation.
In the letter to the Corinthians the apostle says that the Lord gave the
ministry of reconciliation to his ministers (II Cor. 5:18 ff.). And what this is
he then explains, saying that it is the preaching or teaching of reconciliation.
And explaining his words still more clearly he adds that Christ's ministers
discharge the office of an ambassador in Christ's name, as if God himself
through ministers exhorted the people to be reconciled to God, doubtless by
faithful obedience. Therefore, they exercise the keys when they persuade [men]
to believe and repent. Thus they reconcile men to God.
<When a minister speaks the truth of the Bible in all of
its simplicity, he speaks the very Word of God and it has the power of God
behind it. Text centered
(exposition of the text) preaching/teaching will prick the conscience of the
elect and lead them to God and convict the believer in sin of that sin and bring
him to repentance. The power is
ever with the Word and only by grace through the ministry of man as appointed by
God so that man can see and understand the message of God.
Though God could speak directly, even as He did with Adam, Abraham, and
Moses, God has except for rare instances chosen to speak to the multitude by his
ministers; the prophets of the Old Testament, and the ministers of His Word in
the New Testament. >
Ministers Remit Sins. Thus
they remit sins. Thus they open the Kingdom of Heaven, and bring believers into
it: very different from those of whom the Lord said in the Gospel, Woe to you
lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter
yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.
<By the faithful teaching
of God’s Word and the proper administration of the keys (discipline), the
minister remits sin. Again not
directly as if any but God can remit sin, but meaning when in confession and
repentance a person can rest assured of his forgiveness from the word of the
minister who is but the spokesman of God, showing God’s forgiveness by the
promise of Scripture. >
How Ministers Absolve.
Ministers, therefore, rightly and effectually absolve when they preach the
Gospel of Christ and thereby the remission of sins, which is promised to each
one who believes, just as each one is baptized, and when they testify that it
pertains to each one peculiarly. Neither do we think that this absolution
becomes more effectual by being murmured in the ear of someone or by being
murmured singly over someone's head. We are nevertheless of the opinion that the
remission of sins in the blood of Christ is to be diligently proclaimed, and
that each one is to be admonished that the forgiveness of sins pertains to him.
<The efficacy of confession is not in the hearer among
men, none even being required in Scripture, but of the action of the Holy Spirit
in the heart of the sincere seeker of God in a broken spirit and heart because
of his foulness before a holy God. Ministers
can be said to absolve sin, only in that they faithfully preach the Gospel of
Christ and call man to obedience of God. Thus
it is said teach them to observe all things I have commanded.
It could be said then that all but expository preaching is strange fire
on the altar of God and the corruption of the call of God to the minister.
Compare this to the so-called contemporary worship service in modern “seeker
friendly” churches where the Gospel is so watered down no true believer would
recognize it. Evangelical is the goal, not tampering with the explicit call to
repentance of the Gospel. The Gospel is evangelical in that it is through the
preaching of the Gospel as the ordinary means God calls sinners to Himself in
repentance. >
Diligence in the Renewal of
Life. But the examples in the Gospel teach us how vigilant and diligent the
penitent ought to be in striving for newness of life and in mortifying the old
man and quickening the new. For the Lord said to the man he healed of palsy:
See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse befall you (John 5:14).
Likewise to the adulteress whom he set free he said: Go, and sin no more (ch.
8:11). To be sure, by these words he did not mean that any man, as long as he
lived in the flesh, could not sin; he simply recommends diligence and a careful
devotion, so that we should strive by all means, and beseech God in prayers lest
we fall back into sins from which, as it were, we have been resurrected, and
lest we be overcome by the flesh, the world and the devil. Zacchaeus the
publican, whom the Lord had received back into favor, exclaims in the Gospel:
Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded
any one of anything, I restore it fourfold (Luke 19:8). Therefore, in the same
way we preach that restitution and compassion, and even almsgiving, are
necessary for those who truly repent, and we exhort all men everywhere in the
words of the apostle: Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make
you obey their passions. Do not yield your members to sin as instruments of
wickedness, but yield yourselves to God as men who have been brought from death
to life, and your members to God as instruments of righteousness (Rom. 6:12 f.).
<Because of the total depravity of man in the fall, even
the very elect will slip into sin if careful attention to all thought and deeds
is not properly maintained. Thus
God commanded that man was to mediate upon His Word day and night.
Add the evil suggestions of Satan waiting at every turn of life to tempt
even the very elect and the necessity of diligence in faith is all too obvious.
The pitiful condition of even the elect is revealed in the nature of the
fallen man. Faith is a way of life,
thus we find the exact words Athe
just shall live by faith@
three times in the Bible. True
faith will lead to actions and influence every thought and deed of man, less
that at any time his guard may be lowered and the tempter lead him into sin.
Thus even the Lord taught us to pray Adeliver
us from the evil one.@>
Errors. Wherefore we
condemn all impious utterances of some who wrongly use the preaching of the
Gospel and say that it is easy to return to God. Christ has atoned for all sins.
Forgiveness of sins is easy. Therefore, what harm is there in sinning? Nor need
we be greatly concerned about repentance, etc. Notwithstanding we always teach
that an access to God is open to all sinners, and that he forgives all sinners
of all sins except the one sin against the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:29).
<The truth being that the truly repentant and child of
God will feel the absence of God’s blessing in the experience of life as well
as the objective Word of the Bible. Knowing
that all sin comes with a price and that it is a foul odor in the nostrils of
God will cause the believer distress until they know they have forgiveness.
Such is not then to be taken lightly.
Forgiveness not being the center of thought here, but of exercising the
faith given by God that a person might be pleasing to God, for it is written
that without faith it is impossible to please God. >
The Sects. Wherefore we
condemn both old and new Novatians and Catharists.
Papal Indulgences. We
especially condemn the lucrative doctrine of the Pope concerning penance, and
against his simony and his simoniacal indulgences we avail ourselves of Peter's
judgment concerning Simon: Your silver perish with you, because you thought you
could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this
matter, for your heart is not right before God (Acts 8:20 f.).
<Notice the clearest example of man taking to himself
for the purpose of worldly gains the prerogatives of God. Such is a lie and the most bothersome of sins for this
encroachment into this veil of God, but also in teaching others to do also.
None can forgive sin but God and any teaching otherwise is another Gospel
and to be condemned as such. This
practice was the root of the whole of the so-called 95 theses of Martin Luther,
and the beginning of the reformation. The Novatians and Catharists held that a
person who claimed to be of Christ and then sinned could not ever be restored to
fellowship. While there is some Scriptural support of the idea, it is not the
clear teaching of the Bible but a harsh and wrong application of the Scripture. >
Satisfactions. We also
disapprove of those who think that by their own satisfactions they make amends
for sins committed. For we teach that Christ alone by his death or passion is
the satisfaction, propitiation or expiation of all sins (Isa., ch. 53; I Cor.
1:30). Yet as we have already said, we do not cease to urge the mortification of
the flesh. We add, however, that this mortification is not to be proudly
obtruded upon God as a satisfaction for sins, but is to be performed humbly, in
keeping with the nature of the children of God, as a new obedience out of
gratitude for the deliverance and full satisfaction obtained by the death and
satisfaction of the Son of God.
<All the hail Mary’s ever
uttered did not bring satisfaction for the tiniest of sins.
Christ alone is the atonement (satisfaction) of all sin and to teach
otherwise the most abominable of sins in practice, and more particularly when
taught to others as being of the Word of God.
It is an awesome thing to consider the wrath of God toward those who
would harm the least of His children. This
being so clear from the Bible one but can wonder if there be one true elect in
all of the Roman church clergy. For
surely this is a horrible lie fostered upon many in the teaching of Rome that
has not ceased to this very day. God
will not hold guiltless he who in the name of Christ causes others to so
grievously sin against God. >
