A Penitent People

This is a pastoral and theological treatment of the doctrine of repentance written by Harrison Perkins, an OPC pastor at Oakland Hills Community Church in Michigan. Perkins writes from a deeply Reformed confessional perspective, drawing heavily on Calvin’s Institutes, the Westminster Standards, and the Heidelberg Catechism, as well as John Colquhoun’s classic work on repentance.

Perkins’ central argument challenged my typical assumptions about repentance. I have long associated repentance as a weekly or daily act to be done in prayer, but do recognize for many it was primarily associated with the initial crisis of conversion, that gut-wrenching moment of turning from sin many people draw from in their testimony of their personal experience. Perkins argues convincingly that repentance is not merely a one-time event at the beginning of the Christian life but an ongoing, joyful, and ordinary rhythm of the believer’s walk with Christ. His insistence that repentance belongs to sanctification, not as a condition of justification, was very clarifying. In many ways I think I knew this, but had never pressed it to the fore as Perkins has done here in this work. Strikingly, Perkins frames repentance not as a bleak obligation but as a blessing: Christ pulling the lid off and helping us leap free from the confines of our sin. That reframing was genuinely helpful to me.

The book works through individual repentance to corporate repentance, arguing that our church communities should be collectively characterized by the posture and practice of repentance. The writing style is expositional, with each chapter grounding its arguments in specific biblical texts (2 Corinthians 7, Psalms 38 and 143, Exodus 24, Luke 3).

Key Lessons

1. Repentance is a Joyful Blessing, Not a Bleak Necessity

The foundational argument of the book is that we have a wrong view of repentance when we see it as a grim duty. Perkins reframes it as freedom. Sin makes us miserable, so turning from it is turning toward joy.

2. Christ's Twofold Benefit Must Be Kept in Balance

Perkins builds on the classic Reformed distinction between justification and sanctification as the "double grace" of Christ. God provides both a new standing (justification — freedom from sin's penalty) and true renewal of life (sanctification — freedom from sin's power). The key insight: repentance belongs to sanctification. It flows from justification, not toward it. God is presently freeing us from sin's power because He has already freed us from its penalty.

3. Godly Grief is Fundamentally Different from Worldly Grief

Drawing on 2 Corinthians 7:8–11, Perkins distinguishes two kinds of sorrow over sin. Worldly grief hates the consequences. Godly grief hates the sin itself — grieving that our thoughts, words, and deeds have been displeasing to God. Referencing Ezekiel 36:26–31, when God works repentance in His people they loathe themselves for their iniquities — not a shallow regret for consequences, but a deep hatred of sin itself.

4. We Must Stop Externalizing and Excusing Our Sin

Perkins identifies two habitual patterns that prevent repentance: externalizing sin (blaming culture, systems, or others) and excusing sin (softening it with language like "brokenness"). The point is blunt: we are more than broken — we are treasonous rebels. Sin does not just happen to us; we commit it. He cites Jesus' teaching about the log and the speck (Matthew 7:1–5) and Peter's reminder that judgment begins with God's own house (1 Peter 4:17).

5. The Lord's Supper is a Meal for a Repentant Community

Perkins examines Exodus 24 — the covenant meal at Sinai — to argue that corporate worship, especially the Lord's Supper, should foster a culture of repentance. Everyone at that covenant meal had to be covered with blood. When we gather at the Table, we too come as people in need of grace. A church that lives this way is not a museum of saints, but a hospital for sinners. Galatians 6:1–2 places "bear one another's burdens" specifically in the context of helping those caught in transgression — coming alongside one another in repentance, not pouncing on imperfections.

6. Sanctification is Good in Itself — Not a Demand to Be Endured

The book closes with the argument that growth in holiness needs no external payoff. Being like Christ is inherently good. We do not turn from sin to find Jesus — rather, we flee to Jesus to be rid of our sin. Repentance is simply the race toward our Savior.

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The Shift in Perspective

Common View of Repentance	Perkins' View
A one-time crisis at conversion.	An ongoing ordinary rhythm of the Christian life.
A condition to earn God's acceptance.	A gift flowing from God's prior acceptance.
Primarily feeling bad about sin.	Godly grief plus turning to God in new obedience.
Sanctification is a demand after free salvation.	Sanctification is itself a gift offered in the gospel.
The church generally acknowledges sin.	The church should practice explicit, specific repentance.
Repentance means giving up good things.	Repentance means pursuing freedom from what makes us miserable.

Key Quotes

“The gospel, rightly understood, is God’s promise of life in every respect. It should fill us with joy! Too often, Christians assume that the gospel offers forgiveness of sin but then demands new obedience. The better understanding, as we reflect with Calvin, is that the gospel offers forgiveness of sin and also offers new life of repentance and increasing obedience to God. Although new obedience is truly a responsibility for every Christian, it is a blessing offered to us in the gospel as a benefit from Christ.”

“Every time that we want to avoid feeling the weight of how bad our transgressions are, we should remember that Jesus died only for terrible people. Jesus did not die for those who are well, but for those who are dead, to bring them to life. Repentance sets us free because it casts us back into the arms of Christ who receives and renews contrite sinners.”

“God’s fatherly care is such that He will not leave us entrenched in our sin. As we have emphasized, sin makes us miserable. Sometimes, God will let us have the full measure of that misery to show us how ruinous sin is. He disciplines us in that manner to turn us away from our misery-causing sin.”

“We do not turn away from sin by turning simply to morality; we turn to Jesus Christ. The first motion in the repentant life must be turning to Jesus. We do not turn away from sin to find Jesus, but we flee to Jesus to be rid of our sin. … The beautiful thing about repentance as a staple feature of the Christian walk is that it highlights how Christ remains with us all our life long. Even though we are never fully rid of sin, even though we need to keep pursuing new repentance to obtain new sanctification, our deficiency means that we are also never rid of Christ. He walks continually with us through it all.”