The Art of Repentance
The Art of Repentance
The Art of Repentance Has 2 elements which is the fruit of a dying self.
1. (Burial) Lowliness
2. (New Life) Redirection
Not just “sorry”… change
Case in Point:
The demoniac “ran and worshipped Him” (Mark 5:6) that was burial, the posture of lowliness where self met surrender.
But Christ did not leave him at the grave of his shame. He “sat at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind” (Mark 5:15), and was “sent away” to declare what God had done for him (Mark 5:19) that was new life, the redirection of identity.
Repentance, therefore, is not merely remorse; it is relocation.
Not just a cry at His feet, but a change in your feet’s direction.
Case in Point: The Prodigal Son
Scripture: Luke 15:17–20
“And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father…”
This is burial the moment of lowliness where pride collapses under the weight of truth. “He came to himself” is the funeral of false identity.
Then comes new life “he arose and came to his father.” His direction changed before his situation did. The turning of his feet became the testimony of his repentance.
True repentance doesn’t begin at the altar; it begins in awareness. The altar only confirms what the heart has already turned toward.
Repentance is not returning home with excuses it’s arising with intention.
Case in Point: Peter’s Denial and Restoration
Scripture: Luke 22:61–62; John 21:17
“And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord… And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.”
“He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? … Peter was grieved… Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.”
This is burial the moment of lowliness where confidence in flesh is crucified by the weight of conviction. The rooster’s crow became the sound of his old self dying.
Then comes new life Jesus revisits Peter not to remind him of failure, but to restore his focus. The same mouth that denied Him is now commissioned to declare Him.
True repentance does not end in tears but in transformation. It is not proven by emotion but by re-entrustment.
Repentance is not weeping over what was lost it’s walking again in what’s been reassigned.
A Culture That Doesn’t Repent, But Rather Conceal to Repeat
There is a dangerous culture festering in the Church today one that trades confession for concealment, and repentance for reputation. We have become a generation more skilled in hiding sin than healing from it. The spiritual tragedy is not that men fall, but that they fall fashionably with a curated collapse, crafted to maintain appearance while forfeiting authenticity.
“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13)
Repentance is the burial of ego and the resurrection of truth. Concealment, on the other hand, embalms the old man and pretends he’s still alive. It dresses decay in dignity. When the Church replaces repentance with image management, we produce believers who know how to perform conviction without ever practicing conversion.
?The Anatomy of Concealment
In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve hid among the trees after disobedience. The trees that once symbolized fellowship now became covering. The same creation designed to reflect God’s beauty was misused to hide their brokenness. And God’s question was simple, piercing, and prophetic: “Where art thou?”
That question still echoes today. Where are the leaders who will admit when they’ve missed it? Where are the saints who will tear garments of pride before tailoring new ones for pretense? We have become proficient at PR repentance public regret without private redirection.
Concealment breeds repetition. What is not confessed is soon caressed; what is hidden will harden. Concealed sin calcifies the conscience until conviction feels like condemnation, and deliverance feels unnecessary.
?The Cost of Concealment
David learned this truth the hard way. After his fall with Bathsheba, he writes,
“When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long… For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me.” (Psalm 32:3–4)
His silence aged his soul. Concealment corrodes the inner man. It is not God’s wrath that weakens us it is unconfessed rebellion that rots us from within. Repentance restores alignment; concealment compounds affliction.
When Nathan finally confronted David, truth triumphed over pretense. The prophet’s “Thou art the man” was not accusation it was invitation. Repentance is God’s invitation to resurrection.
?Christ: The Pattern of Exposure Leading to Redemption?
Even Christ, who knew no sin, modeled the openness of obedience. In Gethsemane, He fell on His face and prayed (Matthew 26:39) not concealing His agony, but surrendering His will. If the sinless Savior could be transparent before the Father, how much more must the sinner be?
The Cross itself was public. Naked, exposed, suspended between heaven and earth He made no effort to conceal. That’s the paradox of redemption: salvation was secured through exposure. He bore our shame openly so we could bear His righteousness boldly.
Therefore, when a culture conceals, it rejects the very pattern of its redemption. A Church that hides sin is a Church that hides the Cross.
?Allow me then, to contest?
To repent is to righteously contest the culture of concealment. It is to stand before the throne of grace and declare, “I refuse to repeat what I refuse to reveal.” Repentance is the revolt of the righteous it is how heaven wins territory in the human heart.
Paul wrote, “But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness…” (2 Corinthians 4:2).
The word renounced in Greek (apeipomai) means “to disown, to verbally refuse alliance.” To repent is to disown agreement with the sin that seduced you. Concealment keeps covenant with what repentance is called to divorce.
?So I Conclude ?
A culture that conceals cannot be cleansed.
A people that repeat cannot be renewed.
And a Church that refuses repentance forfeits revival.
The Kingdom is not built by perfect men, but by penitent ones. The secret place is not for hiding sin it is for healing from it. The same Christ who asked Adam (Triune figure of speech) “Where are you?” still asks us today not because He cannot find us, but because He wants to realign us.
Repentance remains the door of deliverance, and the culture that refuses it will forever repeat what it refuses to release.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
Not concealment, but confession.
Not image, but intimacy.
Not performance, but purification.
Not repetition, but redemption.
- James Mouzon II
The Art of Repentance Has 2 elements which is the fruit of a dying self.
1. (Burial) Lowliness
2. (New Life) Redirection
Not just “sorry”… change
Case in Point:
The demoniac “ran and worshipped Him” (Mark 5:6) that was burial, the posture of lowliness where self met surrender.
But Christ did not leave him at the grave of his shame. He “sat at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind” (Mark 5:15), and was “sent away” to declare what God had done for him (Mark 5:19) that was new life, the redirection of identity.
Repentance, therefore, is not merely remorse; it is relocation.
Not just a cry at His feet, but a change in your feet’s direction.
Case in Point: The Prodigal Son
Scripture: Luke 15:17–20
“And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father…”
This is burial the moment of lowliness where pride collapses under the weight of truth. “He came to himself” is the funeral of false identity.
Then comes new life “he arose and came to his father.” His direction changed before his situation did. The turning of his feet became the testimony of his repentance.
True repentance doesn’t begin at the altar; it begins in awareness. The altar only confirms what the heart has already turned toward.
Repentance is not returning home with excuses it’s arising with intention.
Case in Point: Peter’s Denial and Restoration
Scripture: Luke 22:61–62; John 21:17
“And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord… And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.”
“He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? … Peter was grieved… Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.”
This is burial the moment of lowliness where confidence in flesh is crucified by the weight of conviction. The rooster’s crow became the sound of his old self dying.
Then comes new life Jesus revisits Peter not to remind him of failure, but to restore his focus. The same mouth that denied Him is now commissioned to declare Him.
True repentance does not end in tears but in transformation. It is not proven by emotion but by re-entrustment.
Repentance is not weeping over what was lost it’s walking again in what’s been reassigned.
A Culture That Doesn’t Repent, But Rather Conceal to Repeat
There is a dangerous culture festering in the Church today one that trades confession for concealment, and repentance for reputation. We have become a generation more skilled in hiding sin than healing from it. The spiritual tragedy is not that men fall, but that they fall fashionably with a curated collapse, crafted to maintain appearance while forfeiting authenticity.
“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13)
Repentance is the burial of ego and the resurrection of truth. Concealment, on the other hand, embalms the old man and pretends he’s still alive. It dresses decay in dignity. When the Church replaces repentance with image management, we produce believers who know how to perform conviction without ever practicing conversion.
?The Anatomy of Concealment
In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve hid among the trees after disobedience. The trees that once symbolized fellowship now became covering. The same creation designed to reflect God’s beauty was misused to hide their brokenness. And God’s question was simple, piercing, and prophetic: “Where art thou?”
That question still echoes today. Where are the leaders who will admit when they’ve missed it? Where are the saints who will tear garments of pride before tailoring new ones for pretense? We have become proficient at PR repentance public regret without private redirection.
Concealment breeds repetition. What is not confessed is soon caressed; what is hidden will harden. Concealed sin calcifies the conscience until conviction feels like condemnation, and deliverance feels unnecessary.
?The Cost of Concealment
David learned this truth the hard way. After his fall with Bathsheba, he writes,
“When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long… For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me.” (Psalm 32:3–4)
His silence aged his soul. Concealment corrodes the inner man. It is not God’s wrath that weakens us it is unconfessed rebellion that rots us from within. Repentance restores alignment; concealment compounds affliction.
When Nathan finally confronted David, truth triumphed over pretense. The prophet’s “Thou art the man” was not accusation it was invitation. Repentance is God’s invitation to resurrection.
?Christ: The Pattern of Exposure Leading to Redemption?
Even Christ, who knew no sin, modeled the openness of obedience. In Gethsemane, He fell on His face and prayed (Matthew 26:39) not concealing His agony, but surrendering His will. If the sinless Savior could be transparent before the Father, how much more must the sinner be?
The Cross itself was public. Naked, exposed, suspended between heaven and earth He made no effort to conceal. That’s the paradox of redemption: salvation was secured through exposure. He bore our shame openly so we could bear His righteousness boldly.
Therefore, when a culture conceals, it rejects the very pattern of its redemption. A Church that hides sin is a Church that hides the Cross.
?Allow me then, to contest?
To repent is to righteously contest the culture of concealment. It is to stand before the throne of grace and declare, “I refuse to repeat what I refuse to reveal.” Repentance is the revolt of the righteous it is how heaven wins territory in the human heart.
Paul wrote, “But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness…” (2 Corinthians 4:2).
The word renounced in Greek (apeipomai) means “to disown, to verbally refuse alliance.” To repent is to disown agreement with the sin that seduced you. Concealment keeps covenant with what repentance is called to divorce.
?So I Conclude ?
A culture that conceals cannot be cleansed.
A people that repeat cannot be renewed.
And a Church that refuses repentance forfeits revival.
The Kingdom is not built by perfect men, but by penitent ones. The secret place is not for hiding sin it is for healing from it. The same Christ who asked Adam (Triune figure of speech) “Where are you?” still asks us today not because He cannot find us, but because He wants to realign us.
Repentance remains the door of deliverance, and the culture that refuses it will forever repeat what it refuses to release.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
Not concealment, but confession.
Not image, but intimacy.
Not performance, but purification.
Not repetition, but redemption.
- James Mouzon II
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