The Way of Repentance

Embracing God's Gift for a Transformed Life

How Grieving Your Sin Brings Abiding Joy—A Practical Guide to Biblical Repentance

People don't usually associate the word "repentance" with happiness, but Scripture says it's cause for celebration. Angels rejoice over sinners who repent. A once heartbroken father threw a party for his prodigal son. True repentance is "coming home" to find joy in God. Why do so many people today view it as a burden?

Pastor Chris Brauns explains that deep, abiding gladness comes when we grieve sin and turn toward Jesus. This thorough study of repentance examines the Old and New Testaments as well as the Westminster Shorter Catechism. It is made practical with reflection questions, prayers, and advice for daily sanctification. As listeners apply biblical principles, they will experience life-giving joy in their spiritual lives and restoration in their relationships.

• Practical Theology: Personal stories, reflection questions, short prayers, and advice help listeners live out the doctrine of repentance
• Fosters Ongoing Growth and Sanctification: Urges listeners to turn their hearts, minds, and wills away from sin and toward Jesus for faith that bears fruit
• Biblical Encouragement: Great for listeners who want to experience personal spiritual growth as well as restoration in their relationships
• Biblical and Pastoral Counseling: An accessible resource for pastors and counselors to use in motivating and equipping counselees
• Features a Foreword by Rosaria Butterfield

©2026 Chris Brauns (P)2026 Crossway

The Way of Repentance

This is a great book that explains biblical repentance from Scripture while showing that the chief motivation is joy. Similar to his book Unpacking Forgiveness, Chris Brauns opens with a quiz that challenges what many have been taught about repentance, then spends the rest of the book making a compelling biblical case that repentance is a joy-motivated, God-given, saving grace we are called to embrace, evaluate rightly, and think biblically about.

I especially enjoyed the chapters going deeper into the responses of Judah and Reuben, examined in light of 2 Corinthians 7, as well as the impactful case made for the church community to actively aid in the process of repentance for the benefit of all parties involved. The clarity with which repentance is unpacked throughout this book is a testament to Chris Brauns' diligent study of Scripture, as every claim is grounded in biblical examples and references rather than mere opinion or tradition.

This is a book I highly recommend to anyone who wants to see how the Bible defines, calls for, and shapes genuine repentance. Read it alongside Unpacking Forgiveness and you will have a rich, Scripture-saturated foundation for two of the most important and often misunderstood graces in the Christian life.