Can we receive salvation from God unless we know what it is to repent? Is it possible for a person to be a Christian without true repentance?
For the answers to such thought-provoking questions, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones turns readers to Psalm 51, which is perhaps the classic statement on repentance in all of Scripture. It not only models the process involved in receiving salvation and forgiveness for sins–from the Holy Spirit’s conviction and the sinner’s confession to God’s cleansing and renewal–but draws a profile of the truly repentant heart.
“There are certain things that we must realize, we must grasp, we must believe [before salvation can be ours], and the first of these is repentance…. Without repentance there is no knowledge of salvation, there is no experience of salvation. It is an essential step. It is the first step.”
This moving study gives readers a fuller understanding of the importance of repentance both for the unsaved and for Christians. Enlightening and practical, Out of the Depths is necessary reading for the earnest seeker who wants to take that first step on the road to salvation, and for the troubled Christian desiring to find again the path to a restore relationship with God.
Gracepoint Church Library 
This book clarifies what repentance is and what it isn’t––it isn’t just a mental assent or an emotional response to sinfulness. It clarifies our state and our identity before a Holy God and moves us into true repentance. Great book!
LikeLike
Out of the Depths, Restoring Fellowship w/ God; Martyn Lloyd Jones
The book outlines the process of repentance & the implications of each step by looking at the classic psalm of repentance, Psalm 51. In doing so, it introduces the position of every Christian: 1) Confession that one has sinned before a Holy God, 2) Acknowledgment that there is nothing anyone can do, & that God offers forgiveness out of his lovingkindness alone. We need only accept. 3) Upon receiving forgiveness, acknowledgment that ther is nothing we can do to atone for our own sins, rather we are to turn to the Holy God, asking, “Create in me a clean heart,” 4) Upon our own personal revelation, we receive the joy of salvation of Christ & are moved to go & tell others, who are in like darkness & misery as we once were.
LikeLike
I was challenged by the picture of repentance–starting with just taking an honest look at self, identifying it as a sin, transgression, or iniquity, seeing sin as toward God, seeing the larger problem with self that sin points to, realizing we need forgiveness, realizing we cannot fix ourselves and needing to be made new, and ultimately desiring God. One new thing I learned was the difference between worldly sorrow and godly sorrow ending up in desiring God with him rather than hiding from him. I was also challenged by Jones’ simple statement that without experiencing repentance, one cannot be Christian. It challenged me to really think and consider whether I had been repenting in y own life.
LikeLike
The book really spoke to me through the topic of sin and the absolute need for repentance. Only expressing remorse just isn’t enough. Repentance is necessary for salvation and there’s really no way around it. Going back to David’s confession in Psalm 51, I was struck by the depth of his words and how much it affected him. Though he had done great deeds in the name of God, he was still affected by sin and recognized the need to repent in front of God. The book was also incredibly personal, as Lloyd-Jones really challenges the reader directly.
LikeLike