悔改：放胆呼吁真正的降服

by C. John Miller

虽然我们都听过、也知道一些如何离弃罪的方法，但很少有人深入地思考过。或许我们真如作者所说，仅仅把认罪当作庄严的礼拜仪式，并没有在这过程中经历根本的转变。

这不是一本关於救恩次序的书，讨论悔改与重生孰先孰後。本书并不旨在提供象牙塔式的训练，而是试图在当代的软弱无能中重新找回合乎圣经的基督教。如今的教会对悔改轻描淡写，忽略了悔改是通往救恩之门的必经之路，然而大使命中明明地说到，门徒要奉主的名传悔改、赦罪的道（路24:47 ）。

Genres: Christian, Theology, Spirituality, Christian Living, Evangelism, Counselling

73 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[Kaitlyn Cotnoir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely phenomenal. It wrecked me and put me back together. This book will be a dear friend for years to come.

[Will Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

What’s missing most from the church today is true biblical repentance. As Jack Miller writes, “In these days much of the church resembles a desert” (41). This desert exists because we have lost sight of our sin, Christ’s cross work, and the hope of the Gospel that comes through repentance. Miller reminds us, “What we all desperately need to see is that the love of a holy God is manifested covenantally at the cross. In the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, the Father promises to receive contrite sinners on a daily – no, hourly – basis” (11). This is the good news we need!

What is repentance? “The essence of repentance is to become ‘undone’” (22). Encountering God brings about a knowledge of our own deep sinfulness (Isa 6). In response to God’s Majesty and our sinfulness repentance is total surrender to a sovereign Lord (36). Repentance “is our coming undone in respect to all human righteousness, followed by going outside ourselves in faith to Christ alone for salvation” (53-54). By placing repentance in the category of Christ’s Lordship Miller true, biblical repentance is clearly set apart from all counterfeits (such as penance - false repentance, ch. 2 and “carnal” Christians, ch. 5).

True biblical repentance helps us live a spirit-filled, missionary minded, discipleship focused life. How do we live a Spirit-filled life? “The first is sincere love to the Lord Jesus Christ as the gift of the Father’s love, and second is a genuine repentance which causes to be broken down before God” (43). A loving awareness of who God is and what he has done for us leaves us undone. We surrender to his Lordship.

Such submission to Christ’s Lordship always has an outward focus. How does repentance fit with our missionary mandate to make disciples? Or, approaching this question from a different angle, why is the church so weak in disciple making? Miller argues that our disciple making, and missionary effort is weak because we lack a proper understanding of our own sinfulness and Christ’s mercy. Missions begins with repentance (23, 83-91). Mission requires compassion, integrity, and boldness. They only come by repentance and prayer. “Confess your sins freely before God, and you will have freedom to confess Christ before others” (90).

When we breathe in the gospel and exhale in repentance and faith our lives will outwardly display the glory of God and the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

[Christopher Goins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick helpful read!

It reads as a book that was written yesterday. So much still applies today. I’d use it to conduct a Bible study.

That men bury their consciouses in their own self-righteousness instead of confessing and casting their guilt upon the the Lord Jesus Christ is still relevant—and that’s really the basis of this book. Divorce and the state of marriage is worse than when he wrote this in 1975. And he calls men to be the head of households God called them to be—predating modern calls to a return to Christian Patriarchy by decades (not that he spends much time on it). Also briefly spends time on scientific rationalism aiding in the decline of belief in Christian supernaturalism.

Miller ends with a helpful exhortation to share the faith. He urges Christians to know what true repentance is before calling others to repentance.

He briefly discusses the secularizing and de-emphasizing of sin in modern psychology. The point here is proper counseling can never been done if it is conducted in a way that denies the religious nature of man.

The reality is that Jesus is King and is Risen! And any anthropology—study of man—must take that into account!

Miller recalls various counseling sessions with depressed, suicidal, and sexually sinful people. Their stories are helpful. But the counseling stories are only in one chapter.

I’m glad I read this immediately after reading “Biblical Theology: How the Church Faithfully Teaches the Gospel.” He aids in our understanding of redemption history and Jesus as King risen with authority (Matthew 28).

“Repentance” helps explain the Gospel of John, Isaiah 53, the love of the Father, the work of Jesus on the cross and the conviction of the Holy Spirit on men’s hearts in illuminating their sin and repentance. Lots of reliance on the fruits of the Spirit and Galatians too.

He reminds us to not discount the gospel before we even share it. Have faith in the gospel. It is the power of God to salvation to all that believes (Romans 1:16).

The reader will also have a better grasp of several individual conversions in the Bible and the prophet Isaiah’s own repentance in the early chapters of his boom.

Definitely recommend.

I thought about giving it four stars but there really is no reason to not give it five.

[Sven · Rating 5 out of 5]

The subtitle of the book "a daring call to surrender" really catches the spirit of this book. Unarmed, naked, frail and utterly dependent - this is how our hearts should long for God. This book wonderfully ministered to my soul in these things.

Especially when it comes to Gospel assurance and the tendency of some to think, that by suffering, a person may be able to get some extra credits with God.

[Jamaal Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books that I have read on repentance. Jack Miller helps the reader to understand that the richness of spiritual life and intimacy with God comes as we cultivate a lifestyle of repentance and looking to Christ. He outlines what repentance is and isn’t with precision and models the way forward.

[Meggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book to return to again and again. Jack Miller is a giant of the faith who so humbly shares the truths about repentance and faith. It reached my heart. Each chapter reads easily and is chock full of scripture references, it could even be used as a Bible study.

[Joe Palekas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging and convicting - a must-read for every Christian eager to grow their sorrow over sin, love for Jesus, and Spirit-empowered life. I will integrate this book into every discipling relationship in the future.

[Joshua Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A compact but incredibly dense read that shatters the many misconceptions we have about Repentance. A must-read for anyone in need of gospel-centered renewal. Will definitely be recommending this book to my friends and family!

[Brad Sarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Jack Miller and this was a joy to read. Short and sweet with beautiful reminders of the kindness of Jesus that leads us to repentance. His section on “What repentance is not” was very helpful and convicting.

[Shane Goodyear · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book on repentance by Jack Miller. It is a short book that has the heart of a man who knew how deep his Sin was and how much of a gift Jesus was from the father and how much repentance and faith in the Son and the love of the father matters in the Christian life. Repentance is not penance, we don’t repent turn from a sin and then make it up to God. We repent turn from our sin and trust that Jesus by his blood has paid for all our sins on the cross and indulge in the love of the father for us; and then we keep going to Jesus continually do a mini conversions for all our life continually repenting, knowing Jesus, as forgiving us, and enjoying the love with a father and obeying God out of that truth

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This small and very readable book (very re-readable; meditation-worthy even) is a contemporary classic and ought to be much better known. Miller's perspective is thoroughly biblical and acts as a corrective to the sloppy and doctrinally-illiterate state of easy-grace American Christianity. When the Christian daily sees what he or she has been--and is being--saved from, gratitude finally blossoms and the Gift become truly dear.

[J. J.]

A classic. Jack Miller has mentored scores of leaders all over the world, Tim Keller among them. You can hear echoes of this little book in Keller's best writing. His son Paul Miller is admirably carrying on his legacy.

[Geoff Gobbett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am re reading this with great profit. Personally this so helpful. Having heard Jack in London in 1995, and used extensively his evangelistic material “Have you ever wanted a new life”, brother now with the Lord, has had a profound effect on my life. Thank you Lord for Jack Miller!

[Annie Hogue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything I’ve read by C. John Miller has had life-changing impact. He is a humble faithful witness to Jesus Christ—the life-changer, the life-saver.

I have an ongoing struggle with thinking I ought to be able to get things right and then keep things right by keeping to the right way of doing things. How exhausting! Here I see myself:

“We may believe that it is proper to run roughshod over the Spirit’s gentle entreaties while we worry and work, convinced that we are strong enough to make it by ourselves with only an occasional assist from God. The last thing we want to admit is that we are weak, foolish and sinful. But we are tense in our imagined righteousness. What we really need is just to face the truth about ourselves. When we do that, our lives have a special appeal to God and to unbelievers. God loves to hear a person cry out in heartbroken honesty, “Lord, I am nothing but a poor sinner. Send help quickly or I’ll die!””

“Repentance brings us into fellowship with God—and “to be near God and to have God near us is the whole purpose of human life””

Nearness to Christ is the goal, not getting things right. He is the righteous One. What a relief and joy. And this to remind me that He is continually doing the work that would exhaust me apart from Him. He uses my weakness to give His power:

“Unless Christ by His Spirit continually searches you out, you see your life almost immediately clogged with indifference, self-will, envy, pride, lust and unbelief. You know that yesterday’s love to God can be swiftly washed away by today’s fear and worry. But such a knowledge of your heart will not be the cause of a spiritual defeat. On the contrary, the awareness of great weakness paves the way for a thorough-going repentance that results in a filling with the Holy Spirit’s power. Your conviction of sin is used by the Lord to bring you to claim the victory of grace in Him.”

And this is such a comfort as I wonder all the time whether I’ve ever been a Christian because my struggle against sin seems so intense—should it really be this way? Yes, it is daily life and death, and He is daily there with you:

““little conversions” must happen many times to the Christian after the first turning to the Lord. In these life-and-death battles, you begin to understand that you personally must have your dirty feet washed daily by Jesus and that you need daily to get down on your knees and wash the feet of the other disciples.”

And the ability to minister to others coming from Christ’s victory in these battles. Rather than being done in by them, you are brought low where you can partake of grace, making you able to give to others:

“You find witnessing power only by going to the throne of grace and coming to Christ to get yourself clean and under the blessing of God. From there you go forth to share what you have received firsthand from the Father. This is the beating heart of Christian witness. In evangelism everything depends upon a humble, self-forgetting boldness before God and humanity. Pray boldly and you will witness boldly (Eph. 6:18-20, 1 Thess. 1:5, Acts 4:29–31). Confess your sins freely before God, and you will have freedom to confess Christ before others.”

Beautiful, powerful proclaiming of our beautiful powerful Savior’s work and way. I am filled with relief and thankfulness to God and affection for Jack Miller!

[James Denard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was gifted to me by an associate pastor at my church, with a strong recommendation. Miller puts forth a bold but loving call for repentance in the Christian life. Repentance is central, for as we see in the New Testament the apostles’ Gospel proclamation of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was always accompanied by a call to repentance. Miller makes it clear that this is a “repentance unto life” and not manmade works of penance. It is those with a humble and contrite spirit that intimately know the love of God in Christ and His grace. Miller argues that this is not just an experience that happens at conversion, the Christian carries on in a life of repentance and remaining humble in spirit. He is also strongly affirms that Christ is both Lord and Savior to us, and to make His lordship optional is to divide who He is. Though our Lord demands obedience, He also promises to love us and come with the Father and dwell with us.

The only shortcoming I find is there is little discussion of what it looks like to apply this approach of repentance to particular persistent sins. Of course, that’s a matter that can’t be solved by reading a book and tends to require care from a pastor or counselor.

[Phil Cotnoir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack Miller is one of the people whose writing has had the most impact on me. This little book is a fine example of the kind of heart-searching honesty and crystal-clarity that is typical of Miller's writing. The first two chapters alone are worth reading over and over. If I had to describe the book in a sentence, I would say it is a core-depth application of the gospel (especially justification) with the potential to profoundly refresh or even revolutionize the daily spiritual experience of believers.

I simply cannot recommend it highly enough.

[Ryne Brewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, humbling read. My second time through it was just as good as the first time. Recommend it to anyone wanting to deepen their understanding of repentance. Reaffirms the Martin Luther quote "All of life is repentance"

[Joshua Reitano · Rating 4 out of 5]

The language is a little outdated (it was written in the 1970's), but the concepts are powerful and beautiful. Jack Miller's life really seemed to embody the principles in the book. And the epilogue by his widow, Rose Marie Miller, is worth the price of the whole book.

[Ashley Bacon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first few chapters of this book were gold. The chapter on counseling was horrible so it can’t be 4 stars and it’s not a 5 star book. I’m encouraged especially by the difference between repentance and penance and will carry that with me for a long time!

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply fantastic. I think this may be my third time through this little book but I can't remember. Either way, every time I come to refresh on the nature of biblical repentance I'm blessed. Take up and read it! you won't regret it.

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A refreshing reminder of true repentance, a whole hearted return to God as center of life is a refreshing, simple of the essence of conversion. A thin book written clearly and succintly, this is one i will return to again for my Lenten readings.

[Allen Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack Miller embodied this book. From this perspective, the book is great. It is not, however, the best on theological definitions. It reads like his sermons and is very heartwarming and convicting. The modern day gospel-centered movement can trace its roots to this book.

[Ben Sinnard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Short and concise, but rich with calls to deepen our repentance. Definitely a good read for individuals, staff teams, or small groups. We can all grow in our repentance.

[Joy Grotenhuis · Rating 5 out of 5]

So. To. The. Point. Ouch. But praise God!

[Arnd Foede · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read. Lifechanger.

[Shan · Rating 5 out of 5]

a GREAT book. I highly recommend. everyone should read it but this was especially helpful for me coming from a reformed background. worth a second read!

[Abram Danielson · Rating 4 out of 5]

One that I can tell is going to get sweeter with time. Just short of 5 stars. Remember the difference between repentance and penance.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though provoking and good.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

So refreshing. Repentance is the heart of the Christian faith. Miller emphasizes its place in our ongoing relationship with God. Thoughtful insights on counseling and sharing Christ with nominal Christians.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty good treatment of repentance. Its main theme is that of distinguishing Gospel-centered repentance from self-centered penance. That's a pretty valuable distinction to make and Miller does a good job exploring it.

I also appreciated his approach of setting the doctrine of repentance in relation to notable epochs of redemptive-history. So, he discusses repentance in relationship to Christ's ascension and lordship over history. He also discusses it in relationship to Pentecost, and also in relationship to eschatology.

Personally, I would've liked a chapter that simply outlined a confessionally Reformed understanding of repentance. The book spends a lot of time talking about repentance and assuming (just a tad) that everyone knows what this is.

Many know Miller from his leading role in the New Life movement and Sonship theology, and there are moments when the book drifts into the subjectivism of those things. As a result, those with an agenda to hunt for possible doctrinal deviation, and those who live to declare others to be insufficiently Reformed will find a few hills on which they would probably gladly die in this text.

But for those (charitable) readers, who are looking for a word to help them understand the need for daily repentance and how daily repentance draws Christians closer to Christ, these ones will find a blessing in this short book.