Plowed to Repentance

Do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4, NKJV). 

I don’t agree with all of the Puritan writers’ doctrine but I love their emphasis on holiness. These godly preachers called their sermons “deep ploughing.” They believed they could not sow true seeds of faith until the soil of their listeners’ hearts had been deeply plowed.

The Puritans made sure their preaching went deep, cracking all the fallow ground of their listeners’ souls. Their sermons produced genuine repentance in their congregations. In turn, this produced strong, mature, faithful Christians.

Today, however, most preaching is all sowing with no plowing. There are very few sermons that dig deeper than the topsoil. Deep plowing does not just address the disease of sin; it digs down to the very cause of the disease. Much of the preaching we hear today focuses on the remedy while ignoring the disease. It offers a prescription without providing surgery. 

Sadly, this causes people to think they have been healed of sin when they never knew they were sin-sick. We put robes of righteousness on them when they never knew they were naked. We urge them to trust in Christ even when they don’t realize their need to do so. Such people end up thinking, “It can’t hurt to add Jesus to my life.”

The powerful English preacher, C.H. Spurgeon, spoke about the need for repentance. He preached:

"I trust that sorrowful penitence does still exist, though I have not heard much about it lately. People seem to jump into faith very quickly nowadays… I hope my old friend that repentance is not dead. I am desperately in love with repentance; it seems to be the twin sister of faith…. I do not myself understand much about dry-eyed faith; I know that I came to Christ by the way of a weeping-cross…. When I came to Calvary by faith, it was with great weeping and supplication, confessing my transgressions, and desiring to find salvation in Jesus, and in Jesus only."

Beloved, don’t despise God’s deep plowing that leads you to repentance, for it is the wellspring of life in Christ.