Penance and Repentance

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   In 1510, a young Augustinian monk arrived in the city of Rome for the first time after a journey of roughly 800 miles. A lawyer by training, he had hoped that his pilgrimage might somehow bring peace to a mind long troubled by the weight of his own soul. Penance, he had been told, was the way to deal with his guilt, and so he made his way to the "Scala Sancta" or "holy stairs": the steps Jesus supposedly ascended to face His trial before Pontius Pilate. The only way the truly penitent could climb the steps was on their knees. In truly humble fashion, Martin Luther dutifully made his way to the top. Upon arriving at the summit, his soul still did not feel free, and he said to himself, "Who knows whether it is so?"

   Often we as Christians wrestle with the presence of sin in our own lives. Or at least we should from time to time, since we are still not fully sanctified until we finally stand in the presence of the Lord. Yet how do we deal with our own residual sin nature?

   In Psalm 38, David pours out his soul as he struggles with this very issue. On the one hand, he feels the weight of the discipline of the Lord, saying in verse 2, "For Your arrows have sunk deep in me and Your hand has pressed down on me." He goes on to describe the feeling in his body of the judgment of God. He writes of how those closest to him have abandoned him, and his enemies seek to destroy him. However, throughout this Psalm, we see glimpses of hope. Specifically, in verse 15 he expresses his trust that God will respond to those who deal treacherously with him, "For I hope in You, O Lord; You will answer, O Lord my God." 

   So, how do we as Christians deal with our own sin? The Apostle John writes in 1 John 2:1-2, "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." 

   As those who are redeemed, we need to come to God in confession of our sins (1 John 1:9); however, we do not need to engage in acts of penance in order to prove to God the sincerity of our repentance in some way. It is enough that we come to Him, confessing our sins, and trusting in both the provision and intercession of Jesus Christ. After all, He Himself is our atonement, and we need no other advocate.