There is ONLY one meaning of “repentance” for
salvation, which is “a change of mind” (Greek: metanoia). This is the
noun form of the word. The verbal form is metanoeo, which means “to think differently”!
Mark 1:15b, “Repent ye, and believe the Gospel.” Exegeted, Mark 1:15
literally says, “Think differently and believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for
your sins, was buried, and bodily resurrected the third day.”
In contrast, the dictionary
defines the word “reform” as, “self-improvement in behavior or morals by
abandoning some vice.” Repentance in the Bible doesn't mean reform.
Repentance is just as brother Hyles said—turning toward the Gospel (belief) from
whatever was keeping you lost (unbelief)! We are saved by believing the
Gospel (Good News) of the Lord Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen.
Repentance and belief are so inseparably related that the Bible often simply
tells us to “believe.” It is impossible for a person to turn to the Gospel
by faith, without at the same time turning away from that which had hindered
them previously from coming to Jesus Christ (John 3:20). Thank God for the
beauty of His simple plan of salvation!
My Own Salvation Testimony
The best illustration that I can give you of
repentance is from my own personal salvation testimony. As a lad, I was a
bit troublesome. I remember before I got saved, sassing my mother and having
no awareness of God in my life. I attended several different Sunday Schools
at various churches as a youth with my mother. I was enrolled in multiple
religious schools as a child. Yet, I was not saved. I had heard lots of
stories from the Bible, but I had never comprehended the Gospel (and I don't
ever remember hearing it taught). If my Christian parents shared the Gospel
with me, I don't remember it. That all changed when I was 13-years-old. For
the first time in my life I was enrolled in an Independent Fundamental
Baptist Church and school on Chicago's Northside (our church later moved to
the Southside). I thank God for my home church and friends of youth. I miss
them all dearly.
One particular Sunday morning, I heard the
church pastor preach something like, “If you don't have the Holy Spirit
indwelling you, convicting you about sin, you are not saved!” I knew I
wasn't saved, because I didn't have the Holy Spirit or His conviction. So at
invitation time, from my pew, I received the Gospel and was saved. I don't
remember the date or even year. But I do remember the moment. I began
reading my King James Bible, having a new desire to learn God's Word. I
didn't decide to change my ways or change my direction; but I did hear that
still small convicting voice (not audible) of the Holy Spirit in my soul,
saying, “I don't want you to talk that way (sassing) your mother anymore.” I
remember my mother saying to me, “You've changed” (in a positive way). You
see, I didn't commit to changing my ways when I got saved; but rather, it
was the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit that began working on my
life. That's how salvation works! All these corrupt preachers today don't
understand what it means to “repent,” nor do they understand the doctrine of
the Holy Spirit. Despite the Bible's plain definition of repentance
as “a change of mind,” many preachers today cannot grasp how this relates to
a Christlike testimony that every believer ought to exemplify. They are
confused between
salvation
verses discipleship.
Here is one of the best quotes that I've found on
repentance, by Dr. Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951):
“Which comes first, repentance or
faith? In Scripture we read, 'Repent ye, and believe the gospel.' Yet we
find true believers exhorted to 'repent, and do the first works.' So
intimately are the two related that you cannot have one without the other.
The man who believes God repents; the repentant soul puts his trust in the
Lord when the Gospel is revealed to him. Theologians may wrangle over this,
but the fact is, no man repents until the Holy Spirit produces repentance in
his soul through the truth. No man believes the Gospel and rests in it for
his own salvation until he has judged himself as a needy sinner before God.
And this is repentance.” (Except Ye Repent,
p. 16)
We learn from Matthew 7:21-23 and Luke 13:23-34
that many religious people (who do “MANY WONDERFUL WORKS”) are not saved and
consequently, they are going straight to Hell when they die! There are far
more religious people who DO GOOD, THAN BAD, who are unsaved and going to
Hell. The point being, neither good works nor bad works are conclusive
evidence that a person is either saved or unsaved. The evidence of the new
birth is the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit (and that is something
that only God can see). If it weren't for 2nd Peter 2:6-7, we'd never know
that Lot was saved, whose own family laughed in his face when he tried to
warn them of the coming destruction of Sodom (Genesis 19:14). Proverbs
25:19, “Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken
tooth, and a foot out of joint.”
The truth is that getting saved does not change
a person's personal character one iota. Not one bit! The only difference is
that the Holy Spirit has come to live inside the body of every believer (1st
Corinthians 3:16-17; 1st John 3:34; Romans 8:9). You don't have to “decide
to change” nor have a “change of direction” to be saved. Respectfully, I
hear errant preachers attempting to use the Epistle of 1st John to teach
that a person is not saved if they're still living a deathstyle of sin.
1st John 3:8, “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth
from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he
might destroy the works of the devil.” This means that a person
committing wickedness is of the Devil, but the Bible doesn't say they are
not saved. Even the apostle Peter was called “Satan” by the Lord, for
thinking contrary to the Scriptures (Matthew 16:23).
Dr. Jack Hyles
personally witnessed to Elvis Presley in Texas, and was fully convinced of
his salvation; yet Elvis was clearly of the Devil, living a shameful life of
adultery, covetousness, worldly music, selfishness and sinful pride. You
see, Elvis' salvation was based upon God's faithfulness, and not Elvis'
faithfulness. Eternal life is a gift (Romans 6:23). The Epistle of 1st John
was written to help professed believers “KNOW that ye have eternal life” (1st
John 5:13), but the emphasis is upon the presence of the indwelling Holy
Spirit (1st John 3:24), and not upon living an upright life. If a person is
living in habitual sin, then they need to, “Examine yourselves, whether
ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how
that Jesus Christ is in you” (2nd Corinthians
13:5). Again, the focus is upon whether or not you have the Holy Spirit
of Jesus Christ in you (Romans 8:9). Receiving the gift of eternal life does not require a change of direction,
nor a decision to change; but rather, an admitted sinner need only receive
the Gospel to be saved (Galatians 3:2).
'Pacific Garden Mission' Teaches a False
Repentance
Pacific Garden Mission's (PGM) “UNSHACKLED”
radio has it wrong. I still promote the show because it contains much good,
and not all the shows teach Lordship Salvation. In a recent UNSHACKLED
(episode #3390, from January 3, 2016, the story of John Stewardt), they
teach: “Repent and ask God to change you ... How do you get changed? ...
I made my decision to live for Christ.” This is the typical type of
religious nonsense that is not the Gospel taught in the holy
Scriptures (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). Satan's greatest weapon is to con
people into living the Christian life without ever being born again! Dr.
Hank Lindstrom correctly terms Lordship Salvation as “frontloading the
Gospel” (i.e., everything is required up front). This is not the Gospel.
PGM needs to stop corrupting the Gospel. At the
end of episode #3390, PGM leads the listener to
pray a
prayer, mentioning Christ's death on the cross and His resurrection,
which is correct, but then they add the unbiblical requirement to ask Christ
to “Come into my life and change me.” That last part is not necessary
for salvation, because if a person genuinely gets born-again, the indwelling
Holy Spirit will convict them concerning any changes which God desires. You
don't have to invite Christ into your life to be saved. Nor do you have to
ask God to change you, nor be willing to change, to be saved. To become
God's child
you simply acknowledge that you are a guilty sinner in God's eyes and you
receive (believe) the Gospel as payment for your sins.
2nd Timothy 2:25, “In meekness instructing those
that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to
the acknowledging of the truth.” Carefully
notice that “repentance” compels a man to acknowledge the truth.
What truth? The truth of the Gospel, of course. The truth that he is a
sinner who needs a Savior.
Romans 3:19, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith
to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped,
and all the world may become guilty before God.”
The preaching of the law of God (i.e., preaching against sin) leads men
to repent of their unbelief and come to Christ, believing the Gospel, for
salvation (Galatians 3:24-26). Repentance is “REPENTANCE TOWARD GOD” (Acts
20:31). The unsaved man refuses to believe the truth of the Gospel. When he
repents, that is, changes his mind, he believes the Gospel.
Certainly, to repent toward God involves
turning from something. You cannot face north without turning your back to
the south. For some people it means turning to God from intellectualism that
had blinded them from the truth of the Gospel. For others it means turning
to God from their sinful ways that had hindered them from coming to the
light to be saved. For some it may be turning from wealth, or bitterness
against God, or false religion, that had hindered them from seeing the
glorious light of the Gospel (2nd Corinthians 4:4). But the meaning of
repentance is to change one's mind, and not the act of forsaking anything.
Repentance is thinking differently toward God from whatever it was that
hindered you from being saved in the first place. The emphasis is upon
believing the Gospel, not upon forsaking anything. Please read,
The Great Meaning Of Metanoia.
You don't have to “be
willing to turn from sin (repent)” as Cartoon Evangelist Jack Chick
errantly teaches. To be saved, you simply need to “change your mind” toward
God, believing the Gospel.
Ray Comfort has it wrong! Also,
Chip Ingram
has it wrong! Please read, 3,000 Souls Saved In
One Day! In sharp contrast to the Scriptures, PGM regularly teaches that
God will not save sinners unless they commit to reform from their sinful
ways. They misunderstand this to be repentance. Any plan of salvation which
requires the least amount of effort to cease from sinful behavior is
“another Gospel” (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4; Galatians 1:6-9).
A person changes their mind (i.e., “repentance
toward God”) and puts their faith in Jesus Christ to be saved (Acts 20:31).
Christians change their mind thousands-upon-thousands of times during their
life. We repent (change our mind) all the time about different things. Even
God repented in the Old Testament. That is, God changed His mind.
Exodus 32:14, “And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto
his people.” The Lord didn't repented of His sins. When
Peter thought wrongly, Jesus called him “Satan.” Peter needed to repent
(think differently). When Demas forsook Paul, having loved this present
world (he needed to repent, i.e., think differently). Simon, the former
sorcerer, offered to purchase God's power, and Peter rebuked him. Simon
needed to repent (think differently). I couldn't find any different word for
“repent” in the Bible for Christians, verses the unsaved person. Repentance
for the person getting saved, or the mature Christian, still always means “a
change of mind.”
The
Bible is filled with carnal believers, like the messed up Church at Corinth
(1st Corinthians 3:1). Demas, who once worked side-by-side in the ministry
with the apostle Paul (Philemon 1:24), forsook Paul and fled into the world
because he loved the world. 2nd Timothy 4:10, “For
Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed
unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.).”
The large city of Thessalonica was the Sodom of their time. Demas was
saved, but not serving Christ!
Let's keep the meaning of repentance to what
the Bible says, “a change of mind.” It's not a change of mind that
leads to a change of mind!!! There are no expectations, obligations nor
requirements necessary to seal one's salvation once a person receives the
Gospel by faith. Discipleship has nothing to do with salvation. Salvation
doesn't always lead to discipleship!!! So, Biblically, a person repents from
unbelief to believe the Gospel to be saved, which brings the indwelling of
the Holy Spirit, Who convicts believers of the sins in their life. How a
believer responds to that conviction is a matter of discipleship, not
salvation.
Dr. Bob Gray is Correct On Repentance
I love Dr. Bob Gray Sr.! You gotta love a guy
who's responsible for hundreds of thousands of souls coming to Christ. As
longtime pastor of the Longview Temple Baptist Church in Longview, Texas,
millions of people's lives were changed through their bus ministry.
Dr. Bob Gray Sr. has repentance correct. At first I was
concerned about his mention of repentance as being “a deciding to change,”
but he doesn't mean a change of lifestyle (or “deathstyle” as he rightly
calls it). I would have chosen my words
differently, but I believe Dr. Gray simply means that repentance is deciding
to believe the Gospel rather than continue in unbelief. This is clear from
the following quote by Dr. Gray taken from the article below: “You undo to be saved what you did to be lost. You are lost because you do
not come to Christ and you are saved because you do come to Christ for
payment of the penalty of sin. What you are repenting of is not coming to
Christ and not believing on the Son of God.” Thus, the person who
believes has also repented. Thank God for Pastor Gray
and the tremendous impact the Lord has made through his soul-winning
ministry over the decades...
DR. BOB GRAY SR.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 3, 2014
REPENTANCE FROM UNBELIEF TO
BELIEF IN JESUS CHRIST SAVES
REPENTANCE FROM UNBELIEF LEADS THE SAVED TO REPENTANCE OF SINS
Acts 2:38,
“The Peter said unto them,
Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
The word “repent" can be defined as changing
ones mind, reasoning, or opinion. In essence the word “repentance” means,
“to change ones mind.” It could be defined as “a deciding to change” or “a
deciding to go another direction,” but basically it means to change one’s
mind or direction. II Timothy 2:25,
“In meekness instructing those
that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to
the acknowledging of the truth;”
All we have to do is find out what makes a
person lost spiritually. Then if we can change what makes that person lost
then he or she can be saved from an eternal hell. Thus, one must repent
from whatever it is that makes that one lost without salvation. John 3:18,
“But he that believeth not is
condemned already.”
Why is a person condemned? Simple, because
“he believeth not.”
If he is lost because he believes not then
what must he do in order to be saved from going to hell? He must repent!
Repent from what? Repent from believing not! If it is believing not that
makes you lost then it is changing to believing that makes you saved.
John 3:18, look at the last part of that verse,
“because he hath not believed
in the name of the only begotten son of God.”
What is it that makes a person lost and on their way to hell? Not
believing in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Which means if you do not believe on Jesus to
pay for your sins and to take you to Heaven you are lost! John 3:18,
“He that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed.”
Thus, a man is lost because he does not
believe on the Son of God for payment of his sins.
Man then must repent of that which makes him lost in order to be saved
from a devil’s hell. John 3:36,
“He that believeth not the son
shall not see life.” What is it you do not do
to see life? Believe not the Son of God. The verse goes on to say,
“But the wrath of God abideth
on you.”
What do you have to do in order to have the wrath of
God abiding on you? Believe not the Son of God.
Believing not is what makes one lost and on their way to hell. You must
repent or change your mind about something you are doing to trust in to
keep out of hell to what God says is THE way to heaven, which is to
believe on the Son of God for payment of your sin penalty of hell.
You believe in your mind and your will. So, you
must change your mind. You must change from “I will not receive Christ” to
“I will receive Christ.” Consequently you must undo to be saved what you
do that makes you lost. What do you have to do to go to hell? Believe not
on the Son of God! What do you have to do to go to heaven? Believe on the
Son of God for payment of the price of your sin!
John 5:40,
“And ye will not come to me, that ye
might have life.”
What kept these people from having life? Not coming
to Jesus! If you do not come to Jesus for payment of your sins you will
die and go to hell! What you have to do in order to go to heaven is to
change your mind and come to Jesus for payment of sin.
You undo to be saved what you did to be lost. You are lost because you do
not come to Christ and you are saved because you do come to Christ for
payment of the penalty of sin. What you are repenting of is not coming to
Christ and not believing on the Son of God.
IN THE BIBLE YOU CAN
REPENT FROM SOMETHING OTHER THAN SIN
Repent
means to change one’s mind. If a person decides to go to town and then
decided not to go to town he has repented. If a person decides to be
married and then decides not to be married he has repented.
Matthew 27:3,
“Then Judas, which had betrayed him,
when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the
thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders.”
Was Judas saved? No! Judas was not repenting of his
sin! Judas realized he had made a bad deal. He changed his mind about what
he should have done, but he never repented of being a sinner. You can
repent of something other than sin.
By the way, Judas went to hell and yet repented. Everybody who lives in
sin sooner or later repents of it. There is a difference between that and
repenting of not believing on the Son of God. You can repent of a sin or
sins without repenting of the sin of unbelief. It is the sin of unbelief
that sends one to hell. Thus, it is the repenting of the sin of not
believing that sends one to hell. Judas repented but was not saved.
Genesis 6:5-6, “And God saw
that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it
repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at
his heart.” Does that mean that God sinned?
No! You can repent of something other than sin.
God who cannot sin, lie, or do wrong repented in Genesis 6:6. God repents,
but does not commit sin. Repentance does not always have to do with sin,
but it does always have to do with the changing of one’s mind.
I Samuel 15:35, “And Samuel
came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel
mourned for Saul: and the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over
Israel.”
God chose Saul to be the king of Israel, but he
changed His mind! God repented that he had made Saul king. You can repent
of something other than sin.
Exodus 32:14,
“And the Lord repented of the evil
which he thought to do unto his people.” God
and Moses are having a disagreement and the Lord repented. Hold it, God is
not speaking of sin here. He is talking about punishment here! God
repented! Did God get saved here? No! God simply changed his mind here!
The same is true in Jonah 3:9-10 and Amos 7:3, 6! Repentance does not
always have to do with sin. It is not always sin you are repenting of and
it is not always salvation as the issue in repentance! The wife says, “I
think we’ll have roast beef Sunday. No, no I think we’ll have fried
chicken.” Hold it, she repented, but it was not sin she repented of.
REPENTANCE FROM SINS IS
ALWAYS DIRECTED TOWARDS GOD’S PEOPLE - EXCEPT FOR THE SIN OF NOT BELIEVING
WHICH IS DIRECTED TOWARDS THE UNSAVED
You do not clean up and then get saved! You
get saved and then clean up! Not believing is what condemns a person to
hell. Believing is what un-condemns a person! Revelation 2:5, 16, 21, 22;
3:19 repentance from sins is directed toward God’s children in Ephesus,
Pergamos, Thyatira, etc.
Not one person in the Bible was saved by repenting of his or her sins!
Acts 16:30-31,
“And brought them out, and said,
Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
They did not say repent! They did say, “Believe.” This is the only verse
in the Bible that goes directly to the issue of being saved and it does
not say, “Repent.”
Jesus does not forgive sin! Jesus paid for the price of sin with his
death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus does not forgive sin for he paid
for sin himself. He forgives sinners by paying for their sins. END
SOURCE:
Solve Church Problems - Repentance From Unbelief
Satan is
the author of confusion (Acts 19:32). I think Dr. Bob Gray Sr.
hit-the-nail-on-the-head in the preceding article, and I agree with 100%
of his article.
Beware of Greek Study Aids
You have to be
careful looking at the Greek study aids and concordances, as many of them
have been corrupted. The Roman Catholic Church wrongly defines
repentance as:
Catholic
Dictionary
Term:
REPENTANCE
Definition:
Voluntary sorrow because it offends God, for having done something wrong,
together with the resolve to amend one's conduct by taking the necessary
means to avoid the occasions of sin. To repent is to be sorry for sin with
self-condemnation. (Etym. Latin repoenitere, to be very sorry, regret
intensely.)
SOURCE:
https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/dictionary/index.cfm?id=36048
Judas is a perfect example of why the Roman
Catholic definition of “repentance” is unbiblical. The Bible says that
Judas “repented” (Greek: metamellomaiin, meaning, “to regret”) in Matthew
27:3. Yet, Jesus said Judas had a devil (John 6:70). Judas didn't repent
toward God in faith to be saved; but rather, he felt regret that he got
caught for betraying the Lord. Judas brought the 30 pieces of silver back
to the Pharisees, but they refused it. Judas cast down the coins on the
floor and went and hanged himself (Matthew 27:5). Turning from the act of
sin is not salvation.
I have a copy of Dr. William Vine's “Complete
Expository Dictionary Of Old And New Testament Words.” The book is
co-authored by Dr. Merrill F. Unger and Dr. William White Jr. On page 525
under the topic “Repent, Repentance,” it says:
1. metanoeo... “to
perceive afterwards” (meta “, after,” implying change, noeo,
“to perceive”; nous, “the mind, the seat of moral reflection”), ...
always in the NT, involving a change for the better, an amendment, and
always... of “repentance” from sin.
Dr. Vine and his co-writers completely fail
to expound the magnificent meaning of the verb metanoeo, which
means “to think differently” (verb). The noun form of the word is
metanoia and means, “a change of mind.” Since we don't know what the
change of mind is toward, we need supplemental information. Acts 20:21
speaks of “REPENTANCE TOWARD GOD.” Thus, repentance is unto a holy God,
from whatever hinders a person from coming to the light of the Gospel to
be saved (2nd Corinthians 4:4).
I dislike Dr. Vine's teaching that repentance
means “an amendment” (which means to improve or better in quality). This
is the English meaning of the word “repent,” and not the Biblical Greek
meaning of the term. Amending one's ways is not part of Biblical
repentance for salvation. We are saved by believing the Gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ, not by repenting. But no man has ever believed who didn't
repent. It's like flipping a coin—You cannot turn one side without also
turning the other side. This is why the apostle John mentions the words
“believe” and “believed” 85 times, but never mentions the word “repent”
even once in the Gospel of John. The man who believes has also repented
(i.e., changed his mind toward God from whatever it was that had
hindered him from coming to Christ previously). For some men like Dr.
Stephen Hawking, intellectualism and bitterness hinder them from getting
saved. For others, like the Hollywood crowd, their love for sin and wealth
hinder them from coming to Jesus Christ. For billions of people, false
religion blinds them from the truth of the Gospel, hindering them from
being saved. Simply receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full
payment for your sins, believing that He raised up from the dead three
days later, and you are forever saved.
Dr. Jack Hyles 100% correctly and Biblically
states concerning repentance...
“Repentance
is not some little silly, 'I'm sorry.' Repentance is not simply a fear of
God. Repentance is not a monk fasting and afflicting his body in a
monastery. Repentance is not remorse because of sin's consequences.
Repentance is not penance performed before the pope as you kiss his toe...
Repentance is not being sorry for what I've done wrong. It is not
confessing one's sins to a priest. It is not just conviction of sin. It is
not the signing of a pledge of abstinence. Repentance is that thing when
you come before God and see yourself as you are, and see Him as he is, and
say with Isaiah 'Woe is me, for I am unclean!'”
—Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001), a quote from the timeless MP3 sermon,
THE GOODNESS OF GOD LEADETH TO REPENTANCE!
Pastor Bob Gray Sr. at the Longview Baptist
Temple church in Texas correctly preaches . . .
“Repentance means to change your mind—change your mind—change your mind
about how you want to get to Heaven to what God says you've got to do to
get to Heaven. If you've got to repent of all your sins, you're still
headed for Hell tonight.”
—Pastor Bob Gray Sr., a quote from the awesome MP3 sermon,
Why You Should Be A Part Of A Growing Church
In his excellent book, I NEVER KNEW YOU,
Michael Patrick Bowen states . . .
You can live for
Christ, you can love Christ, you can serve Him with all your might, time,
talent and wealth. You can pray to Him, read your Bible, get
water-baptized, join a church, witness to people, and do every wonderful
work contained within the realm of Christianity, but if you fail to trust
Jesus Christ alone for your salvation, He will “dump” you.
SOURCE:
I
NEVER KNEW YOU
(.pdf), by Michael P. Bowen; by Barbour Books,
© 2009; page 77.
In Dr. Jack Hyle's excellent book, Enemies of Soulwinning in his chapter
titled,
Misunderstood Repentance, he correctly states:
