Chapter V: The Persons Who Must Repent
Extraordinary repentance is essentially the same in nature as ordinary repentance, but it differs in terms of the intensity and measure of grace involved.
This form of repentance is to be exercised when individuals commit severe, major, or grievous offenses that deeply wound their own consciences and cause great offense to the Church. Examples of such repentance can be seen in Peter's repentance when he went out and wept bitterly, as well as in David's repentance after he committed adultery and had Uriah killed.
CHAPTER V:
THE PERSONS WHO MUST REPENT
There are two kinds of people: the natural man and the regenerate.
Repentance is necessary for both. For the natural man, it is needed to bring him from his sins and to renew the image of God within him.
Some may argue that many natural men live morally, refraining from outwardly sinful behavior, and therefore do not need repentance. I acknowledge that they may live in such a manner, but repentance is still necessary. In the sight of God, a civil life without grace in Christ is nothing but a beautiful abomination. The Pharisees were outwardly moral, yet Jesus said of them, "Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." Repentance is also required for the regenerate because they still have many known and hidden corruptions within them that need to be mortified. At times, they also fall into grievous sins, and therefore, in order to rise again, they must continually engage in the spiritual practice of repentance.