The Paradox of Repentance

Rejecting the heresies of the modern age

“For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.’” (Isaiah 57:15)

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It’s hard to describe the degree to which the worship of self has become a foundational assumption of our age. It is, to borrow the old cliché, simply the “air we breathe.” And it’s a noxious fume at that.

But the kind of self-obsession I am thinking of goes deeper than any one example. It’s more than simply the general priority of self that has been endemic to every sinner throughout the ages. Rather, the kind of self-obsession I am referring to has more to do with our outlook on the world, with how we view the whole hierarchy of existence and our place within it.

Older breeds of self-interest, for instance, certainly preferred the interests of the individual over the interests of others, just as modern self-interest does. The difference, however, lay in the fact that those seeking to advance themselves in former times did so within an objectively established order. Their self-interest, in other words, was subordinated to the constraints of reality, like two ants fighting over the same leaf or two birds with a worm.

Modern self-interest, however, is different from this. It seeks to do away with hierarchy altogether and believes that the scope and priority of the self is unbounded. Thus, whereas previous generations recognized a world outside themselves to which their desires — even their selfish ones — were necessarily subjected, we recognize no such limitations. For us, there are no constraints upon a person’s will, lusts, or ambitions. If it’s conceivable, it’s fair game. So the thinking goes.

There are, of course, innumerable problems posed by such an audacious and foolhardy outlook on reality, not the least of which is that it’s simply insane. But apart from that there is the added difficulty that this view of the self makes repentance impossible. After all, it’s awfully hard to mourn over sin when you don’t believe you have any sins to mourn.

Thus, of the many reasons that the modern view of the self should be rejected, one of the foremost is that it presents a significant obstacle to sinners finding life in the saving message of the crucified and risen Lord. It keeps them ensnared in their lusts, all the while promising deliverance. And any philosophy that would do such a thing, however much it might object to the contrary, deserves to be named for what it is: a demonic and damnable heresy.

What Christians need to remember, then, and what needs to be proclaimed publicly and defiantly in these evil days, is the message of the prophet: that the God who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy, dwells both in the high and exalted regions of heaven AND “with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite” (Isa. 57:15).

This flies in the face of what our culture regards as wisdom. It grates against our therapeutic sensibilities like sandpaper on cheekbones. But it also points to the fountain of living waters and is therefore a testimony we would do well to pay attention to, like a lamp shining in a dark place (2 Pet.1:19).

Life, Isaiah says, is not found in vain self-exaltation. It isn’t found through subjecting the world to our arbitrary whims. It isn’t found by blotting out every remembrance of our fallenness or seeking to indulge every craven lust. Rather, life is found through acknowledging the crushing weight of our rebellion against God and turning to Him in humble faith.

These — the contrite and lowly — are the ones God revives; the ones He restores to life and raises from the ash heap to sit with princes (Ps. 113:7–8).

Until we remember this we will be cut off from ever finding life in the Saviour, like a leper living in denial of his condition. But the moment we turn, we can expect the glorious response Christ gave to one such leper who implored Him for healing many years ago: “I will; be clean.”

May God make it so, for His glory and our good.