Does repentance happen by degrees?

[just1-4all]

The uploaded image is the focus of the question posed in my thread's title.

 

For me, one way to interpret this graphic is that we have sin's we may be doing that we aren't even consciously aware of. So our obedience, in time, is perfected as a function of increasing light and truth revealed from Jehovah by means of his holy spirit, all thanks to the value of Jesus' life for our sins.

Edited June 24 by just1-4all
Clarity

[Ludwika]

I think repentance can be a painful journey, as in the case of Manasseh, brought home to him, sitting in the dungeon, just how seriously he'd sinned, and many have identified with that, coming to the truth from a prison cell;

or it can be an immediate recognition of wrong, as in Saul's case on the road to Damascus.

In both cases though, the repentance was genuine and involved a complete turn around and repudiation of all they'd done before. Because of that, Manasseh was restored to his throne, and Saul became Paul, the apostle to the nations. 

[Friend of Peace]

The physical consequences of Sin are like what the graph portrays. A quick dive into immediate negative consequences such as a bad conscience and then a longer upward process in coping with the circumstances created from the sin. But the repentance aspect in God’s eyes cannot be measured accurately by us. Since he knows the hearts and actions, our perception of God forgiving a person does not equate to the perfect timing of when God has actually forgiven a person. (Acts 3:19; 1 John 3:20)

 

We naturally lag in seeing Jehovah’s forgiveness because we’re humans and aren’t fly on the walls in that person’s life every single day. So really, that graph according to Jehovah’s view could be seeing a quick dive by committing sin but then not longer after seeing a quick spike back to the line of obedience to his commands because Jehovah sees that person as repentant.
 

As my dad used to say: “A person disfellowshipped does not mean they’re disfellowshipped from God. He could be viewed as back in the truth by Jehovah now, but the elders have a hard time seeing that and delay in reinstatement due to natural limitations.” 
 

God’s forgiveness of a person may be a lot quicker than what we perceive. 

Edited June 24 by Friend of Peace

[jwhess]

Time can be a consideration.  The Insight book describes all kinds of sins (very large and quite small).  It may take a different amount of time to address and solve the various problems we are faced with.  A small sin might be an individual act that is quickly recognized and immediately dealt with. Other sins might involve multiple parties and require months or even years to unravel and fix.

 

In the case of the jailer and his family at Philippi, the entire repentance, conversion and acceptance of Truth took one night.  Manasseh took years.

 

The 2013 Watchtower quoted below mentions it is an "on-going process".  Sinful humans continue to sin.

 

*** w13 3/15 p. 16 par. 14 Having “Come to Know God”—What Now? ***

¹⁴ Our initially becoming a Christian depended on repentance and on turning around, or turning away from our sins. Repentance, however, is an ongoing process. As imperfect humans, we still have sin lurking within us like a coiled snake ready to strike. (Rom. 3:9, 10; 6:12-14)

 

*** it-2 “Repentance” par. 10 ***

 What true repentance requires. Repentance involves both mind and heart. The wrongness of the course or act must be recognized, and this requires an acknowledgment that God’s standards and will are righteous.

 The person must see that he has sinned against God. (Ps 51:3, 4; Jer 3:25)  Even wrongs committed in ignorance or by mistake are to be recognized as making one guilty before the Sovereign Ruler, Jehovah God.—Compare Le 5:17-19; Ps 51:5, 6; 119:67; 1Ti 1:13-16.

 Regret, remorse, and tears, then, are not a certain measure of genuine repentance; the heart motive is determinative.

 

[just1-4all]

On 6/24/2025 at 6:12 PM, Friend of Peace said:

But the repentance aspect in God’s eyes cannot be measured accurately by us. Since he knows the hearts and actions, our perception of God forgiving a person does not equate to the perfect timing of when God has actually forgiven a person. (Acts 3:19; 1 John 3:20)

Amen,💗

 

Great application of the cited scriptures.

[just1-4all]

On 6/24/2025 at 6:20 PM, jwhess said:

Repentance, however, is an ongoing process

I think that is what struck me about the graph. As someone who was removed / disfellowshipped only a few years ago, I constantly question my heart and what I really want out of life and what kind of relationship I have with God. I struggle in prayer like never before. Or rather, might be better to say, I long for more freedom of speech in approaching Jehovah. I often feel so much tension in my face when I pray. I think if I were more calm and relaxed in approaching Him, they would likely be tears instead of tension. 

 

I am so very grateful to the organization for spiritual help ... but the struggle is real. I'm working earnestly on how wicked Satan has been, not just towards me, but towards all. I don't often focus on that because I'm not a hateful person.

On 6/24/2025 at 6:20 PM, jwhess said:

Other sins might involve multiple parties and require months or even years to unravel and fix.

This applies to me I feel. And good choice of words: "unravel", and "fix".  I am find myself longing for something along similar lines, an ultimate resolution to the nagging doubt over being acceptable to Jehovah still.

 

I think what underlies my tension in my relationship with Jehovah at this time in my life is a longing for some sense of restored favor from Him himself—real faith in that. A sense of dignity and self-worth fully restored seems beyond my own reach.

[minister159]

 

I think you would benefit from reading this QFR and what it says about 1John 4:18:

 

 

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts* fear out, because fear restrains us. Indeed, the one who is fearful has not been made perfect in love."

*or "drives"

 

https://www.jw.org/finder?wtlocale=E&docid=2004726&srctype=wol&srcid=share

 

 

Edited June 26 by minister159

[jwhess]

1 hour ago, just1-4all said:

I think that is what struck me about the graph. As someone who was removed / disfellowshipped only a few years ago, I constantly question my heart and what I really want out of life and what kind of relationship I have with God. I struggle in prayer like never before. Or rather, might be better to say, I long for more freedom of speech in approaching Jehovah. 

And good choice of words: "unravel", and "fix".  I am find myself longing for something along similar lines, an ultimate resolution to the nagging doubt over being acceptable to Jehovah still.

I think what underlies my tension in my relationship with Jehovah at this time in my life is a longing for some sense of restored favor from Him himself—real faith in that. A sense of dignity and self-worth fully restored seems beyond my own reach.

Remember 1 John 3:20..."regarding whatever our hearts may condemn us in, because God is greater than our hearts and knows all things."

[Amygdala]

One of our favourite CO‘s once gave a very vivid talk about Jehovah‘s view of sin. When I looked up the material in the Return to Jehovah brochure, it was exactly a talk based on paragraphs 9 & 10 in the link below. For paragraph 10, he said to imagine a white shirt with a big red stain or spot on it. Then imagine Jehovah completely removing that stain so that you can‘t even see faint traces of it. That illustration showed the power of Jehovah completely erasing sin from his memory.

 

https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1102002051

 

This WT article “Let Jehovah Soothe You“ is also very encouraging. It is taken from the February 2020 WT. It refers to David’s guilty conscience as one of the examples. Para.21 states:

*

Quote

 

** w20 February p. 25 par. 21 Let Jehovah Soothe You ***

21 As these last days come to a close, the causes of anxiety are likely to increase. When you have anxious thoughts, do not delay in seeking Jehovah’s help. Study the Bible diligently. Learn from the examples set by Hannah, Paul, and David. Ask your heavenly Father to help you identify the cause of your anxiety. (Ps. 139:23) Let him carry your burdens, especially those over which you have little or no control. If you do, you can be like the psalmist who sang to Jehovah: “When anxieties overwhelmed me, you comforted and soothed me.”—Ps. 94:19.

https://www.jw.org/finder?wtlocale=E&docid=2020286&srctype=wol&srcid=share&par=29

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 26 by Amygdala

[Beggar for the Spirit]

13 hours ago, just1-4all said:

I think what underlies my tension in my relationship with Jehovah at this time in my life is a longing for some sense of restored favor from Him himself—real faith in that. A sense of dignity and self-worth fully restored seems beyond my own reach.

 

HI Dan, 

 

Thanks for sharing with us your experience and your feelings, it was touching to read.

I hope I can share with you an important point that may help you to feel what you have been longing for,  “…some sense of restored favor from Him himself—real faith in that.”

 

I think we all agree on what Tom mentioned, it is Jehovah that is the One who can truly measure accurately repentance. Yet what is very, very interesting to me is that Jehovah has an arrangement that 3 imperfect men, with the help of Holy Spirit, and who have been trained spiritually to shepherd and judge, can make a “judgment” on the repentance of an individual.  So Jehovah not only accepts the imperfect measurement of repentance by an imperfect committee of elders, but He supports and blesses this act of  justice! 😮 

 

So if Jehovah was pleased in accepting the imperfect measurement of your repentance by your committee of elders years ago because it was in agreement with His perfect measurement of your repentance, then doesn’t this make you feel much, much better in that Jehovah restored you to favor at that time! ⭐️  

 

So for these past years while you have been yearning for a “sense of dignity” and for “self-worth fully restored”, as well “longing for some sense of restored favor from Him, you can have all this now, why?

Because you already received HIs favor years ago when you showed genuine repentance!  💗 

 

And here are some touching thoughts that I hope can help further reach your heart 😊 

Spoiler

*** w24 March pp. 29-30 par. 14 Find Comfort in Jehovah’s Approval ***
Jehovah is a good Father, and he disciplines his children “in whom he delights.” (Prov. 3:11, 12) So if we receive Bible-based counsel, we can see it as evidence that we have God’s approval, not that we have lost it. (Heb. 12:6)
 

 Jehovah applies the value of the ransom to those whom he approves of. (1 Tim. 2:5, 6) But what if our heart resists the idea that Jehovah approves of us, even though we have faith in the ransom and are baptized? Remember, we cannot always trust our own feelings but we can trust Jehovah. He considers those who have faith in the ransom to be righteous in his eyes and promises to bless them. (Read Psalm 5:12; Rom. 3:26) 

 

Edited June 27 by Beggar for the Spirit

[Eejay]

On 6/24/2025 at 8:57 PM, just1-4all said:

So our obedience, in time, is perfected

Quite true. As we are not just guilty of sin on occasion, we are sinful by nature, sometimes we are not even aware of a sinful course until it is brought to our attention. That only magnifies the value of the ransom sacrifice and also our need for it. Once we have dedicated ourselves on the basis of the ransom, Jehovah can apply its benefit to the sins we are not aware of yet because it covers our sinful condition. It is important to pray for forgiveness even if we are not conscious of specific sins because Jehovah knows we would be repentant once we become aware of them. (Heb.9:7)

 

When we discussed Romans 2:4 in Study 34 last year, we saw that the kindly quality of God is trying to lead individuals to repentance. The illustration of a shepherd who locates a lost sheep, perhaps injured and entangled in a dangerous position, is fitting here. He tries to reassure the sheep that safety is near, that the possibly frightened injured animal can trust the shepherd. He gently coaxes the sheep along, freeing it from entanglement, may have to carry it to safety, then apply whatever remedy to soothe its injuries, start the healing process, and then care for it until fully recovered. So we can glean from this that, while repentance begins as a process, it can reach a completed condition.

 

If a repentant sinner still feels that they are unworthy of Jehovahs restored affection even though though they have turned away from a sinful course, this is understandable, but could be a good thing, a sign of a humility rather than a lack of faith. But Jehovah cares deeply that he should be restored fully in a spritual way, so he should meditate on David's words in Ps.51, particularly v10, and request Jehovah to create in him "a pure heart". That would include a proper estimation of his restored relationship with our kindly God, Jehovah, who is leading him to full and complete repentance. Jehovah will answer that prayer. 😊