Lord's Day 33

88. Q. What is involved in genuine repentance of conversion?
A. Two things: the dying-away of the old self, and the coming-to-life of the new.

89.Q. What is the dying-away of the old self?
A. It is to be genuinely sorry for sin, to hate it more and more, and to run away from it.

90. Q. What is the coming-to-life of the new self?
A. It is a wholehearted joy in God through Christ and a delight to do every kind of good as God wants us to.

91. Q. What do we do that is good?
A. Only that which arises out of true faith, conforms to God's law, and is alone for his glory; and not that which is based on what we think is right or on established human tradition.

"In short, conversion brings newness. New life. New direction. New inclination. New affections. The old has gone and the new has come. In conversion, the Spirit of God gives us a new awareness of sin, a new interest in the word of God, a new passion for holiness, a new desire for prayer, and a new sense of the majesty of God.

This means we obey not because we are slaves bound to our master's will but because we have been set free and are now at liberty to do what we ought. At times, people may be able to be sacred into temporary law keeping. But true conversion goes deeper and affects the heart, making us happy to walk in God's ways and do what is good."

The Good News We Almost Forgot, Kevin DeYoung, Moody Publishers, 2010, pp. 158, 160-161.