Repentance Versus Penance

In this episode, Dr. Harrison Perkins speaks about his new book A Penitent People: The Doctrine of Repentance (Christian Focus). Perkins brings the warmth of pastoral ministry together with the clarity of confessional Reformed theology. He explains that repentance is often misunderstood—as if it were a dreary duty or an entrance requirement for grace. Instead, Scripture presents repentance as a saving grace, a divine gift through which Christ frees his people from sin's enslaving power and draws them into renewed joy. Repentance is not the price we pay to come to Christ; it is the fruit of having already been brought to Him by the Spirit through faith.

Together they explore key biblical passages (Psalm 51, Psalm 38, 2 Corinthians 7, Luke 3), the Reformed confessions, unhealthy distortions of penance, and the pastoral challenge of helping people see repentance not as a terror but as a mercy. Repentance doesn't merely involve feeling guilty—it involves embracing Christ, turning from sin, and tasting the joy that accompanies renewal. They also discuss what a repentant church culture looks like: a community marked by humility, honesty, grace, and a shared approach to the Lord's Table as those who come on equal footing—sinners saved by a gracious Redeemer.

Harrison Perkins (PhD, Queen's University Belfast; MDiv, Westminster Seminary California) is the pastor of Oakland Hills Community Church in Farmington Hills, Michigan. He is the author of Reformed Covenant Theology: A Systematic Introduction (Lexham Press 2024), Catholicity and the Covenant of Works (Oxford University Press, 2020), Righteous by Design: Covenantal Merit and Adam's Original Integrity (2024), Created for Communion with God: The Promise of Genesis 1–2 (Lexham Press, 2025), and a number of popular and academic articles. He regularly writes articles for Heidelblog and Modern Reformation.

Watch on YouTube

• 0:00:07 Introduction
• 0:10:03 Background to the Book
• 0:16:22 Reframing Our Understanding of Repentance
• 0:20:39 The Joy of Repentance
• 0:24:35 The Reformed Confessions on Repentance
• 0:37:17 Psalms 38 and 143
• 0:43:26 Bearing Fruit in Keeping with Repentance
• 0:48:15 Distinguishing Fruits of Repentance from Acts of Penance
• 0:53:28 Illustrations of Repentance
• 1:00:41 Exodus 24, Covenant, and the Repentant Community
• 1:06:45 Hope for Readers of This Book
• 1:12:06 Conclusion

Participants: Camden Bucey, Harrison Perkins

This is Christ the Center episode 936 (https://www.reformedforum.org/ctc936)