Bible Doctrine Iii

BIBLE DOCTRINE III LECTURE 14 SOTERIOLOGY - REPENTANCE

Repentance is a Bible doctrine and was preached as being part of the gospel message for salvation!

Repentance was preached by John the Baptist "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. . . . But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance" (Matt. 3:1,2,7,8).

Repentance was preached by Jesus Christ "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17).

Repentance was preached by the Lord’s Disciples "And they went out, and preached that men should repent" (Mark 6:12).

Repentance was preached by Peter "Then 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" (Acts 2:38).

Repentance was preached by Paul "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent" (Acts 17:30). "Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: But showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance" (Acts 26:19,20). Acts 17:30 "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent." Acts 20:21 "Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."

The Waldensians preached repentance "We believe that in the ordinance of baptism the water is the visible and external sign, which represents to us that which, by virtue of God’s invisible operation, is within us -- namely, the renovation of our minds, and the mortification of our members through [the faith of] Jesus Christ. And by this ordinance we are received into the holy congregation of God’s people, previously professing and declaring our faith and change of life.” (Waldensian Confession of Faith, 1544)

Without repentance one will go to Hell "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3-5)

Repentance is just as important as faith in regards to salvation "Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21).

It brings about conversion "Repent ye therefore, and be converted" (Acts 3:19)

Repentance was suppose to be preached to all nations "And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (Luke 24:47)

Jesus Christ’s mission in coming to earth was to call sinners to repentance "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Luke 5:32)

1 WHAT BIBLICAL REPENTANCE IS NOT It is not mere human reformation: It is not just turning over a new leaf; or trying real hard to be better. It’s not following a new philosophy in life, or getting more serious about ‘church’ and ‘God’.

It is not penance: It is not a series of good actions that help “pay for” sins done.

It is not mere remorse for wrong actions : Thiefs are “sorry” that they got caught but not sorry that they stole. It is more than just a bad feeling about sin. “I’m sooooo sorry dear Lord!.... Pleeeeze don’t throw me into Hell !!!!” They just don’t want to go to Hell…they aren’t sorry that they sinned against the Holy God of the Universe.

It is not mere confession of or acknowledgement of sin: It is not just realizing that something is sin. It is not just saying that something is bad. It is more than just mental assent. This is not repentance: “Dear Lord, I have sinned; I commited adultery today.” This is ‘confession’. What happens if this adulterer has no intent of ending his ‘affair’?!!!

It is not ‘repenting of sin’: What I mean here is that true Biblical repentance is not a general repenting of general, unspecified sin in one’s life; it is, however, repenting of actual named sin. I have heard many say “I repented of my sins and trusted in Jesus for salvation”; but, what does ‘I repented of my sins’ actually mean? Does it mean that the person repented of the general truth that they have commited sin? Does it mean that they have repented of a multitude of un-named sins over their whole life? Does it mean that they have repented of ever sinning again? It needs to be clarified…

It is not ‘repenting’ from ‘most’ of one’s known sins: Repentance is not a ‘smorgazborg’ type of issue; you don’t get to pick and choose what you are going to repent of and what you won’t repent of. Do you think God will be impressed with one who repents of her smoking and cussing, but won’t repent of her sexual immorality?! Repentance is an all or nothing issue; though, it does indeed involve individual sins. It needs to be both a heart change to all sins in general, and to individual sins…all of them. A ‘Burger King’ (Have it your way) repentance is not Biblical repentance.

It is not mere changing of one’s mind or a change from unbelief to belief: You can change your “mind” about things but still have a “longing” in your heart for them. It isn’t just adopting a new ‘view’ on a certain issue. One could agree that viewing pornography is a gross sin, but still desire and pursue doing so.

Is the only sin to be repented of in order to be saved that of ‘unbelief’? So, a pediophile doesn’t need to repent of his pediophilia, but just needs to ‘believe’, and he will get wonderfully saved??!!!! And, a practicing Transgendered Tri- sexual doesn’t need to worry about his bizarre perverse sinful life, but just repent of his ‘unbelief’ and he will be gloriously saved from Hell???!!!!

Errors taught about this amongst Fundamental Baptist Preachers -

"The problem and confusion is not preaching repentance but attaching the wrong definition to the word. For instance, to say that repentance means to turn from sin, or to say that repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change of action, is to give a wrong definition to the word" (Curtis Hutson, Repentance: What Does the Bible Teach? Sword of the Lord, 1986, p. 16).

So, yes, there is a repentance from unbelief in order to believe. It is simply a change of direction. It means a turning around. You are going away from believing, and you decide to turn around and believe. You change your direction; you change your mind. With your will you believe and rely upon Christ to save you. In order to believe, you have to repent of unbelief. That which makes a man lost must be corrected" (Dr. Jack Hyles, Enemies of Soulwinning, 1993).

10,446 professions of faith in 1995. … Repentance is not a doctrine. The word ‘repent’ is not even found in the book of John. It is obviously assumed by God that ‘repentance’ is a part of ‘believing.’ … Repentance is not turning from your sins. … Repentance is to change one’s mind from unbelief to belief in Christ" (Bob Gray, "A Message from the Pastor," The Soulwinner, January 1996, Longview Baptist Temple, Longview, Texas).

The emphasis upon repentance has created confusion among preachers young and old. It has been a source of discouragement to soulwinners. … I have two choices. I can follow those who wear their soulwinning pins and carry New Testaments, or I can follow those who are critical of leading people to Christ. May the critics repent and may the soulwinners realize that we are on the same team" (Brent Neal, "Is Repentance an Attack on Soulwinning?" The Baptist Contender, June 1996).

2 "The many false conditions of salvation [include] water baptism and repentance" (Dr. Fred Afman, "The Way of Salvation," Sunday School class, Highland Park Baptist Church, Chattanooga, Tennessee, May 1996; quoted from Chris McNeilly, The Great Omission, pp. 25,26; Dr. Afman is a teacher at Tennessee Temple).

"… repentance in the true sense of the word really means to turn from being an unbeliever and to become a believer" (Tolbert Moore, "Repentance and Lordship Salvation," The Gospel Preacher, September 1996).

It is not repenting of every sin that we have ever commited: The other side of the coin is ‘Lordship Salvation’ which basically states that every sin has to be officially repented of prior to salvation. We will never know ‘all our sins’ until we are with Jesus; there are so many sins of ommission that we are totally unaware of. As we mature as Christians, we learn more and more what is sin. It is ridiculous to say that in order to be saved you have to name every sin you’ve ever commited and then officialy repent of it, then you can call on Jesus…. you’d be there for 20 or 30 years if you were going to actual do such a feet… and, the truth of it is that you couldn’t remember every sin…for we sin many times every single day…and multiply 365 x how many years you have been alive, and then start naming each sin each and every day…wow! Lordship salvation is an extreme view of repentance that will cause a person to never feel that they can be saved for they will never truly repent of every sin. Some might even say that you have to actually bring forth fruit meet for repentance before you can be saved. This might mean that in order to be saved, one would need to not lie or cheat or cuss or smoke or drink, etc., for a period of time (hour, day, week….?) to prove that they have indeed repented, and then they can call on Jesus for salvation!

The other end of the spectrum (other side of the coin) is repenting from sin ‘in general’, or repenting of ‘unbelief’.

Just to help clarify, the main thing on this issue is that a person is to repent of the sins that they are aware of, that the Holy Spirit has indeed convicted their souls of! After all, God is the One in charge of repentance; He will most assuredly inform the sinner of the sins that are to be specifically repented of. If one will repent of the worst sin in their life, it is probable that the others will then go away too (See next section on Lk 18’s parable).

SO WHAT DOES BIBLICAL ‘REPENTANCE’ MEAN? It is “sorrow for wrongdoing, with desire to undo the wrong; turning from sin and seeking release from it; an inward turning from sin and a disposition to seek pardon and cleansing.” It is a supernatural work of God whereby a responsive sinner, being convicted by the Holy Spirit of his rebellion, turns to God from his sinful ways and sets forth to forever live to please Him. It is the relinquishment of any practice from conviction that has offended God. A turning away from sin, disobedience, or rebellion and a turning back to God. (Nelson's) Metanoeo, meaning to change one's mind and purpose, as the result of after knowledge. (Easton's)

2 Corinthians 7:9 "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” Acts 26:20 "But showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance."

Repentance involves a hatred for sin in general, and for specific sins. It involves a change of one’s heart towards sin in general, and for specific sins. It involves a total, 180 degree, change of direction concerning sin in general, and for specific sins. Repentance initially comes from God, and then man responds to it. It is a godly sorrow for sins in general, and for specific sins. Repentance always will produce a visible, verifiable, real change… just like real faith will always produce real good works. True Biblical repentance always causes a “bringing forth” and “doing” of good works that are “fit, suitable, and proper” (meet) for showing the inward, invisible heart repentance. If you say you have repented but nothing changes in that regards, then you have not repented.

Lk 18:18-23 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich . 3 I firmly believe that this certain ruler had many other sins beside this ‘yet lackest thou one thing’. This ‘one thing’ was the one sin that ‘controlled’ his heart, his life. If it would be repented of , then, all the others could easily be repented of also. There usually is that ‘one thing’ in a person’s life that truly, truly must be repented of before they can possibly be saved. It might be sins such as: adultery, pornography, drugs, alcohol, love of money, anger, rebellion….

Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent. Repentance is commanded by God; there are no options on it; no repentance = no salvation. Lk 24:46-48 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. We need to preach it! Don’t leave it out. Make sure to deal with it when ‘leading one to the Lord’.

Luke 13:3-5. I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Nay, I tell these folks, except they repent, they will all perish!

It produces verifiable change in action Matthew 3:1,8. "And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. ... Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance." Acts 26:20. "But showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance." Just how ‘verifiable’ does the ‘fruit’/’works’ need to be? Do others need to verify it? An example might be: one repents of pornography and gets rid of their internet connection and doesn’t have the password to their computer anymore. Or, one repents of the sin of anger by always walking around happy…no matter what. These are not required ‘for’ salvation, just ‘after’ salvation. Though, some might say: “What happens if they really did mean it in their heart and then the next day messed up again and went right back to their old ways?!” Well, I would say that they didn’t truly repent; they don’t have to be perfect for the rest of their life, but there needs to be a verifiable change in the thing!

We are not to repent of being a sinner, but are to be a sinner that repents of his own sins. Only sinners need to repent. Luke 15:7-10. "I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. Matthew 9:13. "But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." We can’t repent of being a sinner…we can only repent of sins…actual real sins. One that really understands how much of a sinner he is, will understand how important it is to repent of these sins he keeps commiting in order that he can be saved from a sure Hell that awaits him! Too many think themselves to be a ‘generally good person’… there isn’t much then, I guess, to repent of… I guess it would just be ‘incorrect belief’, or ‘stubbornness’, or ‘procrastination’ (scarcasm).

It is associated with an abhoring of oneself. Job 42:6. "Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." One cannot begin to officially repent until their heart is in the right position…one needs to ‘abhor’ oneself. Repentance doesn’t come from one who thinks of themself as ‘not that bad’. God will bring about this abhoration, and then God will bring about ‘godly sorrow’ and the repentant heart, and then God will bring about ‘faith’. But, the individual can repent of what God is bringing about…and initially that might be the ‘abhoring of oneself’!....

It is associated with confession of sin, a return to God and His ways with all one’s heart. 1 Kings 8:47-48. "Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying we have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul…” Repentance is intense…it is with all one’s being…it is not ‘half-hearted’… there is blatant confession of the wickedness in one’s life. When you are ‘leading someone to the Lord’, shouldn’t you be able to see such a ‘repenant heart’? It should be really, really obvious. But oh how many supposed souls we’ve led to the Lord that didn’t display anything close to this!... God help us!

It’s much more than just a change of mind. Matthew 21:28-29. "But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went." It would be foolish to say that this man repented if it stated it this way: “but afterward he repented in his heart, but still did not go to the vineyard.” 4 2 Corinthians 7:9-11. "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter."

This verse plainly defines repentance as a change of mind that results in a change of life. The Corinthians’ repentance produced a great change in their manner of living: ‘carefulness ... clearing of yourselves ... indignation ... fear ... vehement desire ... zeal ... revenge.’ Note that repentance is not the same as reformation or other forms of "the sorrow of the world." Repentance has to do with God and sin, whereas reformation has to do with other people and with conditions and things in this world. Many people, when they get into trouble, are sorry for the trouble and they determine to change certain things in their lives that produced that trouble. This is not repentance, because it does not deal with one’s wickedness against Almighty God and does not result in a change of attitude and action in relation to God. God must bring the sorrow here; it can’t be contrived by a mere mortal. And, be sure of this, that God is oh so trying to bring about this godly sorrow in sinners via the Holy Ghost. And, when the sinner responds correctly to this God- brought sorrow, then true biblical repentance arrives; a repentance that causes real change in one’s life; just like the real faith that always causes real change. The sorrow that is termed ‘godly sorrow’ will be way, way different than ‘the sorrow of the world’. Sadly, I fear that many of the supposed ‘conversions’ we see are only having ‘the sorrow of the world’. For, how many of them darken the church building’s doorway the next Lord’s Day?!... how many of them can’t wait until they can get baptized and become a member of this terrific church?!... how many continue going along the same path they’ve been travelling on for the past 10 years?!.... Godly sorrow will bring about a miraculous change in one’s direction…for sure!!!

True biblical repentance is a radical, total, with all one’s heart, 180 degree, change in direction in life, and change in what you think and believe about something. It is brought about by God brought sorrow working in one’s heart that brings about an abhorence of sin, specific sins, and without a doubt brings about a dramatic, noticable change in action in one’s life! Amen! Have you ever ‘repented’ like this?......