What is repentance? In the New Testament this word is translated from the Greek word "metanoia". It means to "think afterwards", in other words a change of mind. Metanoia by itself is not a "religious" word. It is used many times in secular Greek literature. One can have a change of mind about anything.
Specifically then, the question is how it is used in Scripture. More specifically, how does Scripture use it in reference to how a lost person gets saved?
The Gospel of John presents the person of Christ (His Deity), and His work (sacrificial death on the cross and resurrection), and the only condition for receiving the gift of eternal life (trust in Christ).
In John's account there is no mention of the word repent or repentance. Yet the concept is there. What does a lost person repent of in order to be saved? Well, for one thing, unbelief. A change of mind from unbelief to belief. Also, a change of mind from trusting those things that cannot save (human works, religious efforts, good deeds, rituals, etc...), to trusting only in the One who can save - Christ Jesus.
So you can see then that repentance is indeed necessary for receiving eternal life, but it is not a separate step we take that is in addition to faith.
Not one place in Scripture is repentance presented as meaning sorrow for sin or turning from sin, when it is speaking of how to be saved or born again.
Now of course a proper attitude toward sin would be had by someone coming to faith in Christ. What is that attitude? Simply it is to recognize that one is a sinner who has sinned against a Holy God, and is therefore guilty and worthy of judgment. It is to recognize that one cannot of their own efforts remove their sin, and it is to humbly ask for God's mercy. One certainly can have sorrow for sin in this process, but sorrow is not to be seen as a commodity that we offer to God as an exchange for the free gift of eternal life. Only the blood of Christ is the sufficient and full payment for our sins, and this is the only thing that is acceptable to God.
An excellent resource on this topic is the following article by Richard A. Seymour:
www.clarityministries.org/media/pdfs/understanding_repentanance.pdf
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6 comments:
Hi Phil:
The doctrine of repentance is one of the most debated doctrines in the Bible. While the Bible is clear some groups come to the teaching with presuppositions in mind and then try to force the biblical definition of repentance into conformity.
Hodges totally eliminates repentance; MacArthur twists it into a change of behavior.
You did not do this.
I believe you have struck a good balance in your comments on repentance.
Thanks for this brief look at repentance.
Lou
Hi Phil,
I'd like to echo Lou's post and add that the best resource I have ever found on Repentance is HA Ironside's "Unless You Repent"
Here is a free version in old English entitled Except Ye Repent
The version I read can be purchased from here Unless You Repent
This work is detailed and complete and offers a clear perspective on what Repentance actually is.
Repentance clearly is not the things that lead to it or the things that ought to result from it. Repentance is to "re-think" or "after thought" it is to change your mind. It is what we are changing our minds about that is important.
Just more proof that the Gospel, and our assurance comes from Christ not us. These can only be measured, evaluated, tested, examined in Christ.
Kev
Phil,
Good to see you posting again! Thanks for this brief but beneficial post on repentance.
JP
I'd like to add that Ironside's mini book "Except Ye Repent" does contain the phrase "Repent of their sins", and I have seen Lordship proponents claim that Ironside supported full surrender. Yet he establishes what repentance is in the first chapter of the book, it is owning the very fact that we are sinners and can do nothing meritous, but simply admit we need Christ.
He also said that any man that preaches full surrender or a committment to Christ is preaching another gospel (in his tract "another gospel").
One thing I have noticed is that LS proponents who try to claim Ironside as "their own" always make reference to the introductory passage of his book, where Ironside says "It can never be out of place to proclaim salvation by free, unmerited favour to all who put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. But it needs ever to be insisted on that the faith that justifies is not a mere intellectual process-not simply crediting certain historical facts or doctrinal statements; but it is a faith that springs from a divinely wrought conviction of sin which produces a repentance that is sincere and genuine."
But they never actually quote his definition of repentance.
I have also noticed that modern repentance adds an extra step.
Ironside says "Repentance is
the sinner's recognition of and acknowledgment of his lost estate and, thus, of his need of
grace."
Ray Comfort says (and this is not a quote, but a recollection of things I have read in his books) "until a sinner sees his lost estate, and his need of grace, he will not repent".
There is a subtil difference. According to Ironside, the process is ADMIT (which is repenting) and BELIEVE
According to ray, the process is (ADMIT, REPENT (do something, forsaking sins etc) and BELIEVE).
Thanks Lou, Kev, Jonathan, and Luke. I really appreciate all your posts.
Luke, thanks for posting the clarification on repentance from Harry A. Ironside. His view on repentance is the same as mine. It is that a lost person, in order to be saved, must recognize their sinful condition before Almighty God, and realize that they cannot save themselves. This humble attitude then is compatible with having saving faith, which is simply trusting the Lord Jesus Christ alone, the crucified and risen Eternal Son of God, the Word become flesh (John 1:1), for the free gift of eternal life.
Phil
I have read the comments posted before mine, and it seems that I am the minority here. However, there is one thing missing from these assessments that cannot be ignored. Complete repentance involved more than just a change of mine, for bearing fruit proving repentance is demanded.
No matter how far one tried to go in order to get away from having to obey God, one cannot, as the following passages demonstrate...
Acts 3:19
Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out,
Acts 26:20
but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.
Matthew 3:8
Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
The word "bear" in this last passage is the word poieo which means "to qualify" and it is written in the aorist Imperative active voice, making it a command that Jesus Himself gave. Why is this a command? Because if we do not qualify ourselves by our actions as having truly "changed our minds" then we truly have not repented...hence what James was talking about.
Faith without works of obedience to God is dead, which means if all we have is dead faith, we have no faith at all. Since we enter grace by living faith, if we do not have faith that is demonstrated through actions of obedience to God, then we are not saved because we can only be saved in grace which we cannot enter because of false faith.
So is it with repentance, if we have no actions demonstrating our proclaimed "change of mind" then we deceive ourselves and we have not repented.
On a side note, there are over 300 passages of scripture on the subject of eternal life, what it is, and how we attain it, and it never ceases to amaze me that people caught up in "unconditional eternal security" purposely avoid almost half of those passages.
Knowing that eternal life is first a relationship with God (and any relationship can be broken either by actions or inaction), and secondly it is a covenant relationship (a covenant is entered into by two parties and must be adhered to by both or the covenant is broken), and that the requirement for the New Covenant is the same as the old (faith and obedience), there is no such thing as unconditional eternal security.
Blessings to you!
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