I heartily amen this post. But I would add this great quote by Paul David Tripp that I have found so helpful:

“Before you can ever make a clean and unamended confession of your sin, you have to first begin by confessing your righteousness. It’s not just your sin that separates you from God; your righteousness does as well. Because, when you are convinced you are righteous, you don’t seek the forgiving, rescuing, and restoring mercy that can be found only in Jesus Christ.”

This is a good post, Bird. It really is.

I think it's easy for us to accept that other people need to repent, but it's hard to see it in ourselves. You are exactly right.

For my own benefit, I wonder if you might expand on this statement.

Repentance isn't just for the unconverted; it's for believers too.

I really like that. I wonder, does that mean that repentance is a daily event for the Christian? I wonder how this plays out in the believer's walk? What do you think?

I'm really interested in hearing you (or anyone) flesh that out.

I don't think of it as "not sinning any more." I think of it as turning away from commitment to a life of sin.

That's an ongoing process, I think, that begins with conviction over sin. I think there's a reason we're told to take up our cross daily. Because repentance is ongoing.

But I think the answer to your question, Bob, is similar to the sorting out of things like "homosexuals and idolaters, et.al. will not enter the kingdom of heaven."
Does that mean anyone who ever commits those sins can't be saved? I sure hope not.

I think it has to do with what our life is committed to, not what we struggle with.

I'm new to this blog. A friend sent me the link for this particular blog. I thought I'd give a two cents on the repentance question. It seems to me that many of us have been mislead to a degree on this topic. I'm guessing many on the blog already are familiar with the Greek word for repentance - it's a word that means "to change your mind, thinking." Somehow we've come to associate repentance with a change, an about-face of behavior and action. But that really isn't repentance in the New Testament, nor is it in contemporary thought. You can find people, for instance, who have "repented" (our usual understanding) of, let's say, their alcoholism. They stop drinking; quit, no more. But if they never really looked at the "thinking" behind the drinking, they'll stop drinking, yes, but probably find another crutch/habit to inappropriately deal with the underlying issue. When Jesus and John the Baptist proclaim "Repent and believe," they do so in the context of announcing the coming and presence of God's Kingdom of grace and mercy. "Repent" meant, I think, that Jesus and John were saying, "Think differently about God's presence, God's sense of kingdom; differently than the kingdoms you see around of Roman and the Pharisees; thinking differently about God's presence than you have been; God loves you, He's here for you - not like you've been told by the religious authorities who tell you that you are a sinner, unclean, and need to stay away from God and His people. Repent means change how you think. A thought change will ultimately lead to action change. But real repentance begins with your thinking.

Does an almost exclusive emphasis on repentance as a change in actions lead logically to works righteousness?

I don't think so. Depends on the characterization of repentance.

Eg. My opinion is that repentance is a change of life: turning from one way and going another. It's more holistic than just "do other things" of course, but it does encompass and necessitate change in behavior.

But I am the opposite of a works righteousness guy, even to the point of being criticized by some for not being practical or applicational enough. And I believe that repentance is granted to us by the work of the Spirit.

To me, it's not the exhortation to works that is the problem; it is the removal of works from gospel context that is.
Paul is always telling us to flee immorality, etc. But he's also always putting those commands between the bookends of the gospel. "Do this" because you are saved. That kind of thing.

Hope that makes sense.

This is a little off topic, but I was wondering if you could tell us a little about the oneness/trinity debate??

As Rev Worm said, repentance is a change of mind. That change happens IN Christ Jesus. Paul said, "Be transformed by the renewal of your mind." So the transformation of behavior comes after He renews our spirit and mind. Therefore, our change in behavior cannot participate in our salvation. Salvation happened first.

It's an attitude. In true repentance I despise my old behavior, which I once loved. I come to see it for it's destructive character. It no longer makes me feel good. It no longer brings the fleeting satisfaction that it once did. The habits themselves may take time to break, but we persist because we are already saved and we know how much we are loved, and we find that love from God irresistible. It draws us into Him and out of ourselves. And because we are secure in him, our occasional stumblings and mistakes are simply part of the skin we are shedding. They do not drive us to despair or self-hatred any more.

If I am repentant I keep my focus on Him and am transformed, step by step (2 Cor 3:18) into His image.