by David J. Stewart | May 2001 | Updated June 2016
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENTANCE” (2nd Peter 3:9).
There is much debate and confusion in churches today over what it means to
“repent.” If you say that believing is all that is required to be saved, then
you'll be accused of preaching “easy believism.” If you teach that repentance
is required for salvation, then you'll be accused of “adding works” to faith
for salvation. Neither of these teachings is correct. The truth is that you
are not saved by repenting, you are saved by your faith in Jesus Christ!
Satan blinds people from seeing
the Gospel. 2nd Corinthians 4:4,
“In whom the god of this world hath
blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious
gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
The Gospel is the light, the truth, by which men are saved if they BELIEVE.
Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the
power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first,
and also to the Greek.”
Repentance is Toward God from Unbelief
Our text passage of Scripture teaches that God wants everyone to “repent.” The word “repent” concerning salvation in the Holy Bible comes from the Greek word, metanoia, which is a noun meaning “a change of mind.” The verb form of the word is metanoeo, which means, “to think differently.” It is important to know that the modern English dictionary provides a completely different meaning of the word “repent.” The English dictionary defines repent as “turning away from sin; sorrow for sin and a desire to reform.” But this is not the Biblical Greek meaning of the word. Repentance is a change of mind. Since the Greek meaning of the word “repent” does not tell us what to change our mind about, supplemental information is required. That is, additional information is needed. The Bible tells us the answer in Acts 20:21b, “repentance toward God.” Repentance is toward God.
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.
Although repentance is definitely necessary for salvation, it doesn't mean what most people think it means. Repentance and faith are like two sides of one coin—You cannot flip a coin over without turning both sides at the same time. Likewise, a man who believes has also repented. A man who turns to God by faith from his idols has repented from his unbelief. We are saved by believing the Gospel. You cannot believe on the Lord Jesus Christ without repenting from whatever was hindering you from coming to the light. But we are saved by believing, not by forsaking anything. If a person didn't repent (i.e., change their mind), they would never come to God at all.
We are all guilty sinners, under the condemnation of God's Law, justly deserving of being punished in Hellfire forever. 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.” I thank God the Father for sending His only begotten Son into the world to pay my debt of sin. Jesus paid for our sins with His own literal blood (Hebrews 9:12, 24; 12:24; 1st Peter 1:18-19, Revelation 1:5).
In Dr. Jack Hyle's excellent book titled, “Enemies of Soulwinning,” he correctly states:
So, from what must a person repent in order to be saved? He must repent of that which makes him lost. Since "believing not" makes him lost, "believing" makes him saved. In repentance there is a turning from the thing that keeps him from being saved to the thing that saves him. 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.
SOURCE: Dr. Jack Hyles, a quote from chapter 4, titled “Misunderstood Repentance—An Enemy Of Soul Winning,” from the classic book titled, ENEMIES OF SOUL WINNING!
Pastor Danny Castle correctly says:
“You are not saved by repenting, you are saved by your faith in Jesus Christ.”
SOURCE: Pastor Danny Castle, a quote from the 2016 sermon titled, “Acting Responsibly.”
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!
Amen and amen!
God's law is a measuring stick, which shows us that WE CANNOT SAVE OURSELVES because of our ungodly condition, and then the law BRINGS US to Christ. Galatians 3:24-26, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” The whole notion that a person has to experience a profound regret for sin, and a consuming desire to depart from sin, and intent to reform, have NOTHING to do with Biblical repentance unto salvation. Repentance is turning to Jesus by faith because you realize that you are a guilty sinner incapable of saving yourself and you rest totally in the death of Christ upon the cross, His burial and His resurrection from the dead three days later. That's the Gospel!
My friend, you are
lost because you are a sinner! Jesus Christ came into the world to pay your
sin debt and mine. No religion can save you! Unless you by faith accept
Christ's payment for your sins, you will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire.
Christ died upon the cross for our sins, He was buried, and He bodily raised
up from the dead three days later (this is called “the Gospel”). We are saved
by acknowledging that we are an unholy sinner in the eyes of a holy God, and
we receive the Gospel by faith as full payment for our sins. When you turn to
Jesus as the Christ to be saved, you have turned your back against sin,
otherwise you never would have come to Christ to be saved. John 3:20, “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light,
neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”
You need God's righteousness to enter Heaven, which is solely through faith in
Jesus as the risen Christ. The Lord took our sins upon Himself on Calvary's
cross, and by faith God places His righteousness upon us (2nd Corinthians 5.21;
Romans 4.5-6). This beautiful Bible doctrine is called
IMPUTATION. What an awesome Savior!
Dr. M.R. DeHaan gives the following excellent explanation between salvation verses service . . .
"There is a vast difference between coming to Jesus for salvation and coming after Jesus for service. Coming to Christ makes one a believer, while coming after Christ makes one a disciple. All believers are not disciples. To become a believer one accepts the invitation of the Gospel, to be a disciple one obeys the challenge to a life of dedicated service and separation. Salvation comes through the sacrifice of Christ; discipleship comes only by sacrifice of self and surrender to His call for devoted service. Salvation is free, but discipleship involves paying the price of a separated walk. Salvation can't be lost because it depends upon God's faithfulness, but discipleship can be lost because it depends upon our faithfulness." DeHaan, M. R. Hebrews. Zondervan Publishing House, 1959 (p. 117).
Pastor Hal Lindsey provides the following helpful words:
"There are those who, in their zeal to get people to turn from their sinful ways and receive the Lord, almost put repentance on a par with believing... Repentance, as it relates to Christ, means to change our minds about Him, who He is and what He's done to provide forgiveness and deliverance from our sins. When we place faith in Jesus as having taken our place personally on the cross and borne the penalty due our sins, then we're automatically repenting, because we couldn't accept Him in this way without having had to change our minds in some way concerning Him." Lindsey, Hal. The Liberation of Planet Earth. Zondervan Publishing House, 1974 (p. 136, 137).
Here are two more excellent quotes by Charles Ryrie and Zane Hodges, differentiating between salvation verses discipleship:
"It is an inexcusable error to confront sinners with problems that concern the Christian life and call upon them to make promises regarding them. An unsaved person is never called upon to surrender himself to God. The saving act is in no instance represented as our 'giving ourselves to God'; it is, on the contrary, taking His Son as our Savior." Ryrie, Charles. Balancing the Christian Life. Moody Press, Inc., 1969 (p. 170).
"Eternal life is free. Discipleship is immeasurably hard. The former is attained by faith alone, the latter by a faith that works... the former brings with it the righteousness of God so that a man is 'justified freely by his grace' (Romans 3:24). The latter develops a personal righteousness, based on good deeds, so that a man was also 'justified by works' (James 2:24). The former constituted the believer God's workmanship, the latter fulfilled the wonderful purpose for which he had been created. The former cost man nothing, the latter could cost him everything, including life itself." Hodges, Zane C. The Hungry Inherit. Moody Press, Inc., 1972 (p. 114, 115).
Those are some excellent quotes, doing a good job of showing why Lordship Salvation is a heresy. Any one who teaches that salvation is not easy; but also that say—you must forsake all, cease from sinful bad habits, commit your life to follow Jesus and confess Him before men—They have corrupted the simplicity that is in Christ Jesus (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4). They are teaching a false plan of salvation, which does not produce the new birth. We are saved by faith alone in Christ's death on the cross for our sins, His burial and bodily resurrection (1st Corinthians 15:1-4).
I am not saved by any human effort or self-righteousness of my own; but rather, I am saved by completely resting in Christ because of what He did to pay for my sins on the cross. Jesus promises to save anyone who comes to Him for forgiveness (John 6.37). Believe and the work is done! Acts 20:21 speaks of “repentance TOWARD GOD.” The Word of God NEVER teaches repentance FROM sin to be saved; BUT, rather, repentance TOWARD GOD. Repentance is a change of mind, a change of mind from what you want to do to get to Heaven to what God says you must do to get to Heaven—concerning sin and the Savior. Childlike faith is all that is required for salvation. If a person knows they are a guilty sinner, bound for Hellfire, and turns in faith to Jesus Christ to forgive their sins and save them--that person has repented.
