With the growing sense of God’s heart for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit, across our nation, there’s a growing desire for holiness. This is very much in line with what, retrospectively, can be seen as ‘deep repentance’ across a much wider number of people when the roots of revival are examined more closely.
A hunger for holiness and deep repentance was a defining mark of the eighteenth-century revival of Christianity in the UK, especially within the movements led by figures like John Wesley, George Whitefield, and the broader Evangelical Awakening. This revival was not merely emotional or social—it was deeply spiritual, marked by an intense desire for personal and communal transformation through a return to God.
A hallmark of the preaching of both John Wesley and George Whitfield, the two most prominent British leaders during the eighteenth-century Evangelical Awakening, was the call to personal repentance. The revival stressed that true Christianity involved not just outward observance, but an inward change of heart.
John Wesley’s conversion account became the template for his subsequent preaching ministry: “In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”
George Whitfield preached without constraint, or needing to consider whether it would be regarded as acceptable across much of PC Britain today:
- “People want to recommend themselves to God by their sincerity; they think, ‘If we do all we can, if we are but sincere, Jesus Christ will have mercy on us.’ But pray what is there in our sincerity to recommend us to God? … therefore, if you depend on your sincerity for your salvation, your sincerity will damn you.”
- “If one evil thought, if one evil word, if one evil action, deserves eternal damnation, how many hells, my friends, do every one of us deserve, whose whole lives have been one continued rebellion against God!”
A key theme of Evan Roberts, the most prominent leader during the Welsh Revival of 1904, was total surrender to the Holy Spirit and the call for individuals to live lives marked by purity, obedience, and a close relationship with God. In fact, merely scratch the surface of any historical account, of any Christian revival and deep personal repentance and a hunger for holiness is apparent.
Let’s now fast forward to today. In Asbury 2023 it has been widely observed participants expressed a desire to love Jesus with pure and repentant hearts, emphasising a personal relationship with God rather than external appearances or performances, in direct contrast with the performance and celebrity culture surrounding what are predominantly young adults.
The good news is it’s happening here across the UK. The ‘Quiet Revival’, the recently released Bible Society report, presents a quadrupling of monthly church attendance among 18–24-year-olds. In attempting an answer ‘why’, one factor appears to be the heightened awareness of inauthenticity among high profile leaders and the subsequent search for personal authenticity. A different day and very different language, but I suspect the long-lasting fruit of present trends will relate to the extent individuals resolve the reality of being sinners, encountering a holy God.
I am now regularly hearing church leaders report, not solely an increase in the number of young adults attending and asking for baptism, but also they’re increasingly prioritising authenticity. For some encountering Jesus Christ in a personal way is the end of a search, which has taken them up various cul-de-sacs. For others it’s the result of a heart-cry for meaning and purpose, which aligns with their reality.
So where am I? Repentance must be a way of life. The dictionary definition of Metanoia, this powerful Greek word, is the easiest place to start: change of mind, repentance, conversion. As with many other words contained in the Bible to convey important truths, it’s not the reading and conceptual understanding, but the reach I struggle with. There’s a double assumption to both turn to the good and to turn from evil, as the meaning carries the two primary elements of a ‘change of mind’ and ‘regret/remorse’. During much of my experience as a Christian church leader, I’ve noticed an inherent avoidance of talking about our need of repentance. People are quick to jump to the unconditional love of God and his willingness to accept all ‘as we are’, both of which are wonderfully true. However, many have also discovered the need for personal repentance cannot be by-passed, if we have any desire to ‘be holy as I am holy’, as 1 Peter puts it.
The process of metanoia applies to both my need to align my life with Jesus’ and unhitch my life from the effects of sin. The roots of meaning serve as a continual reminder repentance involves both a turning towards, as well as a turning from. This double implication contained in the meaning is intrinsic to the nature of the Christian life. From the deepest place in my heart and in my best moments, I want to follow Jesus, but from somewhere else in my heart and in my worst moments I want to cling on the life of sin.
In practice this means: if I am to live an authentic Christian life I need to be fully engaged in life-time process of transformation into the life of God. Repentance is not solely a concept, but also a process. I may understand God’s call over my life is to ‘be holy as I am holy’, to look Jesus’ life if he were in my shoes, but practicing the habits of Jesus, in a consistent manner is a whole new ball game. The good news is God recognises this and has provided us with the means to keep growing towards Jesus.
All the above raises the question of our responsibility, those of us who already consider ourselves saved! The personal challenge to be a person who is intentionally on a journey of spiritual transformation and becoming more like Jesus is greater today than ever. All the evidence is telling us there are many more people wandering around lost, searching for direction, meaning, purpose, etc. and ultimately God. From a solely human perspective people need a visual aid and may well be you, at least for those around you.
Will the history books point back towards the seeds of revival being sown in 2025? My sense is it will relate more to the extent of this one element more than any other.
