A listener recently asked the theologian John Piper on his ‘Ask Pastor John‘ podcast, “How can I say that I have repented if I commit the same types of sin over and over?” The listener, “Doug,” said he often is “seized by depression” when he thinks of having to ask for repentance over and over again for the same sin.
Piper responded by first telling all his listeners, “Doug’s question is one of the most common questions that an honest and serious Christian has to ask.” This question is an “urgent” and “common” one within the lives of honest Christians.
Piper Says, ‘Don’t Call It Repentance’
Piper said its incorrect to use the word repentance for habitual sins we commit. He pointed to language in the New Testament, specifically in 1 John 1:8-9, where the word confession is used instead of repentance.
The 75-year-old theologian said, “Any thought, any attitude, any word, any facial expression, any gesture, any action that does not flow from a treasuring of Jesus is sin….Sin is a condition of the heart that is bent away from God in preference for other things, and sin is any expression of that preference in our mind or attitude or behavior.”
When the Bible uses the word repentance in the New Testament, it is referring to the experience Christians have when they surrender their life to Christ, Piper continued. Repentance happens if a Christian’s life “takes a terrible turn into a path of destruction from which we need to be called back,” he said, and referenced the beginning chapters from the book of Revelation.
Confession and Repetitive Sin
Piper defined two different types of confession. One type of confession is an expression of guilt and sorrow for a sin that one really has no faith they can’t control themselves in giving into it again. He gave five different examples, one of those was this: “I’m going to respond in a belittling way to my wife when she looks that way at me again, probably two days from now.” Meaning the confession is “superficial” and is a “cloak for fatalism” regarding those type of sins. He called this an “I feel bad about them, but I can’t help myself” type of mentality.
