Defining impenitence.

The Bible describes impenitence as a most heinous sin.  Look at what Jesus said to the cities that would not repent:

“Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.” (Matthew 11:20-24)

We can see in this and other passages in the Bible.  Impenitence is not an emotion or part of the physical nature, but it is a phenomena of the will.  It is something that one does by choice.  When a person values self-indulgence more than the resurrection life in Christ Jesus as we have shown,  they are making a conscious choice, not to love sin as an end, but to love self so strongly that nothing can dissuade them from their course of doom.  The impenitent have seen, through preaching, the testimony of a Christian, or by some other means the light of the Gospel and the claims of Christ but they choose rather to cling to their selfish ways rather than surrender the will to God.  When the claims of God are revealed to the soul of a sinner, he has a choice to make.  Either he will yield and become a believer or become stronger in his desire for self-gratification.  When this happens, the self-life is strengthened exponentially.   This strengthening of self-life is called impenitence.  Every sinner is guilty of impenitence because they all have some light.  It is those with the most light that are far more guilty than others.

The implications of impenitence.

Since impenitence is the act of cleaving to self-indulgence when under the light of the truth, we can come to certain conclusions regarding this state of the will of a sinner.  The first conclusion that is obvious about this state of mind is that the sinner obstinately prefers a petty life of self-gratification over the higher interests of serving a living God and experiencing the power of the resurrection.   These impenitent sinners deliberately consider the interests of God to be of no value and the rights of other human beings as contemptible.  Sinners completely reject the authority of God and they spurn the law of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  They defy God so strongly that they almost  challenge God to do His worst.  A sinner cares not what is just and equal, especially when such knowledge comes to them through divine light.  They turn completely against it on purpose.

The impenitent will justify their past sins and they will hold on to self-indulgence in the very presence of the light of God which proves more than anything else that they justify their own rebellion.  When a person can remain impenitent  while under the light of the Glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ, they are taking sides against God and his salvation and endorsing all the sins of both earth and hell.

“Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.” (Matthew 23:34-36)

When a sinner takes this position he is showing the guilt of his past sins.  The longer he holds on to his self-gratification memories, the more he is justifying his own actions in his mind.  He is almost re-committing  things that his heart says were wrong in the past and yet the sinner remains fast.  This is self-justification, it is charging God with sin in direct controversy with God.  It is denying God’s right to govern.  The sinner thus shirks his own duty to obey.

Impenitence is deliberate rejecting of the mercy of God, almost making God a tyrant with no right to govern but who ought to be resisted.  No sinner can manifest confidence in God while he is impenitent.  He shows no confidence in God’s character or government, rejects His works and ways.  Impenitence practically charges God with usurping authority that is not His.  This is moral enmity against God, the same type that was manifest against Jesus as He shined the light of truth upon the sinners of his day and it resulted in them having no conscience while they murdered the Prince of Life.  It is guilt of mortal enmity against God.

Characteristics and evidences of impenitence.

There is a definite indifference to the sins of men where impenitence is evident.  It is a sin-justifying state of mind.  The sinner is complacent toward sin and sinners.  He is the friend of sinners and the enemy of God.  Anyone who is impenitent will manifest it by a lack of zeal in opposing sin or in the promoting of reformation.  He has no real interest in expelling sin out of the world or in establishing righteousness in the earth.  Impenitence has no visible sympathy with God, his providential and moral government, and has no desire to justify God’s ways.  It complains at the strictness of God’s commandments and even blames God for the circumstances that are present in life.  This shows a rebellious state of mind, a lack of confidence in God’s character, faithfulness and promises, a real distrust of God at heart.

There is no peace of mind in impenitence.  The very lack of such peace shows that the heart is in a state of impenitence and rebellion.  Selfishness controls the life of the impenitent with a spirit of self-indulgence, a desire to satisfy the appetites and passions.  This can be seen in the use of tobacco, alcohol, drugs, or of any other appetite that is against the law of reason since it will destroy the life of the impenitent.  It is self-justification in the face of obvious harm to the body or soul.  It makes excuses for neglecting duty, for not being what God requires a person to be.  The impenitent mind is at war with God.

Impenitence has more fear than confidence in God.  It has no desire to know or embrace truth.  It is prejudiced and not candid in its view of truth.  Impenitence has no desire to be searched, to have the words and ways brought to light by the truth or to be reproved.

“For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” (John 3:20-21)

Impenitence does not result in reformation of life and if there is any reformation it is only partial and not complete.  There is no dying to self or to the OLD MAN  .  Impenitence says, “Why should the Devil have all the good music.”  It still loves the things of the world and seeks only to put a little show of religion on that which the heart loves.  It is totally unwilling to be sold out to God.  Impenitence feels that such a state would be cruel and it thus charges God with being overbearing and legalistic.  “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” (James 2:10)  The impenitent by showing that they disobey God in one point show that they obey Him in nothing.  They have no respect for God’s authority and think that they can obey in one or two areas and then disobey God in some other area.  They have never died and their self-indulgence will come out to show that they are, “in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.”

When a person takes a look at the repentance confession list above and takes a position that this is going too far, then it is obvious that they do not have a penitent state of mind.  A heart that is filled with the Love of God and a desire to crucify the OLD MAN will stop at nothing to make a clean sweep of his confession and restitution.  The impenitent think that doing such is going too far.  He is grasping after the world with “covetousness which is idolatry.”  Any man that is in love with the world has not the love of God dwelling in them.

An impenitent person cares not for sinners, to make them free.  Had he become free from sin in his own life, he would want the same for others.  As long as there is a sympathy for the sinner in his sin there is evidence of impenitence in the life of the sinner merely from a lack of zeal for rescuing other sinners from damnation.  There are many who claim to be Christians who will fall into this class of individuals.  They care not for their dying souls, they are hypocrites.  Instead, they make apologies for sin and take part with sinners in their own sins.  They see no need for separation from the world or the things of the world.

A person who is impenitent gives strong evidence of impenitence by the very spiritual blindness that keeps them from seeing the justice of God and the awfulness of sin.  When issues that require moral integrity present themselves to the impenitent, they take a weak position at best and show a distinct lack of conscience as if their conscience was seared.  Their heart is hard and impenitent.  They have a certain spiritual sloth and indolence.  This is not the case in one who has died to the OLD MAN.  They are not spiritually idle like the impenitent who lounge in indolence and have no interest in pursuing spiritual purity and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord.  One may find many who will make a show of turning to God but they stop short of repentance, confession, and crucifying the OLD MAN in their lives.  Their heart is showing by the evidence of their life that they are not really Christians after all but impenitent sinners.

Remarks.

We live in a day and time where salvation is preached without much mention of repentance.  We have people who have intellectual belief in the facts concerning the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ but they have never experienced the life of the cross in their practical experience.  They don’t have any idea of what we have discussed here mostly because such truth is not preached or taught in most pulpits in our time.  We should, however, realize that repentance and faith are almost like the uniting of a husband and wife.  “What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”  We have a lack of repentance because so many think that the state of the mind and the evidence of the life are not connected for some reason.

Yet, the Bible teaches that there is no salvation without repentance, a condition of salvation.  This is one of those self-evident truths that cannot be avoided.  A sinner cannot be saved unless he repents for without repentance God cannot forgive and even if he could forgive the sinner, such forgiveness would not be unto salvation.  The only faith which saves is as the Bible describes so well:

“Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward (into) God, and faith toward (into) our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 20:21)

The only way to repent into God is to accept the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ as being all inclusive and believing that we were there when Christ died, was buried and rose again.  It is a practical death of the OLD MAN and being risen to walk in newness of life.  Baptism has no meaning at all unless the OLD MAN has actually died and needs a burial service.  Most baptisms have no meaning at all in the life of a professing Christian.

Until this happens, the sinner cannot be at peace with God and he is at war with himself and with God at the same time.  His conscience cannot be satisfied, he has mutiny in his heart and controversy against every command of God.  He tries to control his will but cannot and until he repents he will continue to carry elements of Hell with him throughout life.  Sooner or later these elements of hell will burst aflame and consume the soul with unquenchable fire.  Oh, sinner, don’t miss this all important truth.  Repent before it is too late.  Take the list, confess your sins to God and man, and then accept the complete death of the OLD MAN.  Live in the power of the resurrection and you will see miracles happening in your life.  You will have the gifts of the spirit.  It is one or the other, life or death.  Choose life and you will never be the same.