In my
observation of religious practice, when someone mentions the word “repent,”
they are most often making reference to a confession of sin and an expression
of sorrow for that sin in hopes that God will be merciful towards them, forgive
their sin, and rescue them from judgment.
I believe that the reason for such an inadequate understanding of repentance is directly due to the fact that such a concept has been taught from the pulpit generation after generation. Preachers and evangelists are constantly calling people to “repent of your sin” before it is too late.
The implication is that, if the preacher can convince someone of how lost they are, then they will feel enough guilt and remorse that they will repent of all their evil deeds, and God, because He is gracious, will accept that repentance as sufficient cause to respond to their repentance with salvation.
Yet, as I pray this series of articles has thus far demonstrated, there is no scriptural support for calling people to repent of their sins in the sense of confession and sorrow as a step on the road to salvation. That does not mean that confession and sorrow for sin are not an integral part of the salvation experience.
In fact, for repentance to happen there must first be a sorrow concerning our sin. Paul explained this concept in his letter to the church at Corinth: “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation…” (1 Cor. 7:10)
(I will deal with the sorrow that leads to repentance in a later blog.)
Yet sorrow and confession alone are insufficient to bring one to a saving knowledge of Christ. The reason is that the focus of repentance, as well as the focus of redemption, is not our sin, but Christ.
The process of salvation does not end with repentance. Repentance is only part of a process that ultimately ends in worship of Christ as Lord, as Creator, as God, and obedience to His commands. Repentance, to be effective in the salvation process, must be followed by or accompanied by belief and obedience.
Here are several examples from Scripture where a form of the words repent and faith are used together.
Repent & Believe
Matt. 21:32 John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
Acts 19:4 Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.”
Mark 1:14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
Repent & Faith
Acts 20:21 I (Paul) have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
Heb. 6:1 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God…
First, notice that there is no mention of sin in any of these verses. Go back and read them again and try to read “repent” and “repentance” without subconsciously adding the words “of sin.” It is very difficult to do because the idea is so ingrained in our minds that repentance is tied only to our sin.
Here is a paraphrase of the reference from Mark 1 to help understand how one can read the word repentance without automatically linking it to the confession of sin:
Mark 1:15 The plan of redemption that the Father set into place before the foundation of the world has come to fruition. In fact, His kingdom is right here, right now, in me, the Son of God. I call on you now to change your mind about the way you understand righteousness and reconciliation and to embrace the Father’s plan of redemption revealed by His Son, Jesus.
Second, notice that in these five references, repentance always precedes believing or having faith. This does not mean that repentance is required for belief to take place or that repentance causes belief.
The fact is that both repentance and believing are essential elements in the process of salvation. In the plan of redemption, they are, in essence, simultaneous events. There cannot be a turning to unless there is first or simultaneously a turning from – a turning away from our path of unrighteousness (repentance) and a turning toward Christ (believing).
A person may be penitent without ever believing in Christ as Savior. An example from an earlier lesson is Judas Iscariot.
A person may say they believe in Christ without ever experiencing a change of mind concerning their lives in light of the righteousness of Christ. Listen to what James had to say about faith without obedience (and without repentance):
James 2:19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. (NLT)
In neither case does the person ever experience the grace of God that leads to salvation.
Third, notice the tense of the verbs in these references.
When Jesus preached His first sermon after His baptism in the Jordan River, He said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15)
When Peter preached his first sermon after his baptism in the Holy Spirit, he said, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)
In response to the Philippian jailer’s question concerning salvation, Paul and Silas answered, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” (Acts 16:31)
All of these verses are salvation-related verses, and all are calls to repentance and belief, not as an invitation, but as an imperative – as a command – obedience to which is a requirement of salvation.
Note that I did not say “requirement for salvation.” Repentance and belief are not actions required of a non-believer before he can know the grace of God in salvation. Instead, both repentance and belief are integral elements in the process of salvation that can never happen apart from the grace of God and without which the grace of God would be ineffective, which it never is.
Charles Spurgeon
"Repent
ye" is as much a command of God as "Thou shalt not steal."
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" has as fully a divine authority as
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul,
with all thy strength." Think not, O men, that the gospel is a thing left
to your option to choose it or not!...
God
commands you to repent. The same God before whom Sinai was moved and was
altogether on a smoke – that same God who proclaimed the law with sound of
trumpet, with lightnings and with thunders, speaketh to us more gently, but
still as divinely, through his only begotten Son, when he saith to us,
"Repent ye, and believe the gospel."[1]
So we
see that repentance is a command of God. We see that the goal of repentance is
not simply about confessing and expressing sorrow for our sin, but about
worshiping Christ. Finally, we see that repentance that leads to salvation is
always followed by or accompanied by believing.
Next, we will see that both repentance and believing are gifts from God and that repentance that leads to salvation is always accompanied by obedience.
