“When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said ‘Repent,’ he meant that the entire life of believers should be one of repentance.” — Martin Luther, 1517

Is that how we think about repentance? Or do we instead think of it as something we are glad to have behind us, never to be repeated? In today’s churches, you may find it assumed that such repentance is unnecessary for sanctification or that we can even become Christians without first repenting.

By contrast, our forefathers were convinced that repentance is so central to the gospel that without it there can be no salvation, much less a spiritual life marked by transformation. Sinclair Ferguson helps us to see how repentance can regain rightful prominence in our own lives and that of our churches, leading us ultimately to the grace found in confession.