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Repentance and Salvation As we have established in other articles, the New Testament associates a number of things with salvation, but there are some popular clichés that are put forward to express how certain groups/individuals understand salvation. The evangelical community is addicted to “saved by faith alone,” in spite of the fact that the phrase “faith alone” only occurs once in the entire Bible and then it is to declare that we are not “justified by faith alone.” Another popular summary is that we are “saved by grace, through faith, at baptism, for good works (Ephesians 2:8-10; 1Peter 3:21).” However, I am unaware of any popular cliché summary of salvation that gives any place to “repentance” as being an essential element. Why should this be a problem?
My understanding is that salvation is offered to us on God’s terms and these terms are revealed to us through Jesus and His Apostles, as recorded in the New Testament writings. To understand what is involved in salvation, we must collect everything the New Testament tells us is involved in salvation (or escaping judgment/punishment) and one of these items appears to be “repentance.”
Definition - “repentance” in the New Testament is based on the Greek word metenao, which simply means “to turn.” Thus, as Paul specifies in his second letter to the Corinthian believers, repentance is more than “feeling sorry about sin” and refers to a sorrow over sin that brings us to the point of doing something about it, For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it-- for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while--I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, in order that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death. For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter. (2Corinthians 7:8-11) True Biblical “repentance” has to do with “turning” one’s behavior/lifestyle from sin towards righteousness. Because “repentance” refers primarily to a changed lifestyle, we find it spoken of in terms changed behavior, demonstrated by deeds to validate it – “bearing fruit in keeping with repentance” - as we see in the following verses, But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? "Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; (Matthew 3:7-8) "Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father,' for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. "Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." And the crowds were questioning him, saying, "Then what shall we do?" And he would answer and say to them, "The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise." And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, "Teacher, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Collect no more than what you have been ordered to." Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, "And what about us, what shall we do?" And he said to them, "Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages." (Luke 3:8-14) "So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance. (Acts 26:19-20) Repentance and salvation – The logic of the necessity of repentance for salvation is rather easy to grasp. First of all, it was sinful/rebellious human deeds that led to the original separation between God and humanity (Genesis 3; Isaiah 59:2). Second, God’s judgment is coming upon those who continue to practice the things God declares to be “sin,” Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is on account of these things that the wrath of God will come, (Colossians 3:5-6) Because God’s judgment will fall on those who continue to do sinful deeds (i.e. fail to repent), Paul passed this same warning on to believers in Galatia (Galatians 5:19-21), Ephesus (Ephesians 3:3-6), Corinth (1Corinthians 6:9-10), and the same warning occurs in the letter to the Hebrew believers (Hebrews 10:26-29) and appears in John first letter (1John 3:1-10). Third, repentance was specifically identified as a conditional element of forgiveness in Luke’s recounting of the Great Commission (Luke 24:46-47) and this conditional requirement is noted in the Apostles’ preaching in the book of Acts (2:37-38; 3:19). Since human sinful deeds (1) created our spiritual separation from God, (2) are the reason judgment is coming, (3) and are what Jesus died to save us from, does it not seem reasonable that forgiveness and restored relationship with God would require that we stop doing those things – i.e. repent? Human relationships damaged because of wrong actions cannot be salvaged without a change in behavior – cheating mates cannot be forgiven if they continue to cheat? Employees disciplined by wrong actions will not be retained for long if they do not change their deeds. Thus, simple logic dictates that one of the essential elements for restored relationship with God would be the ceasing of those things that ruined the relationship in the first place.
The need for human repentance – changed human behavior – for a renewed or continued relationship with God is a consistent teaching throughout the Bible. Whereas God is not a “man,” both lying and repentance are things appropriately associated with humans (Numbers 23:19). When Solomon’s Temple was dedicated, Solomon noted in his dedication speech that a future wayward Israel, exiled to other nations, would need to repent in order to return to God’s favor (1Kings 8:47; 2Chronicles 6:37). Encountering God, Job “repented” of some his words (Job 42:6). In Psalm 7:12 it is noted that God’s judgment threatens those who do not repent. Isaiah told Israel that repentance was the avenue to salvation (Isaiah 30:15). The Prophet Jeremiah noted that Judah’s problem was that they refused to repent (Jeremiah 5:3; 8:1-6; 15:7). Ezekiel called upon the exiles of Judah, already in Babylon, to repent (Ezekiel 14:6; 18:30,32). “Turning” Israelites back to their ancestral promises was the prophesied ministry of John the baptizer (Malachi 4:5-6). It should be expected that this same requirement would apply to those seeking forgiveness and salvation in the current age of Messianic blessing. Both the Messiah’s forerunner (Matthew 3:2; Acts 13:24; 19:4) and the Messiah Himself (Matthew 4:17) began their preaching with an emphasis on repentance as of primary importance in connection with people’s entrance into the Messianic/Divine kingdom! Jesus denounced cities that witnessed His miracles, but refused to repent (Matthew 11:20). He told the people of Jerusalem that they could only escape punishment by repenting of their sin (Luke 13:1-5). Jesus sent the Apostles out, during His ministry, to proclaim repentance as a necessity (Mark 6:12). Jesus taught that even human forgiveness of others required repentance (Luke 7:14). Repentance was identified as closely associated with the forgiveness of sins in Luke’s account of the Great commission (Luke 24:46-47) and then we see it holding a prominent place in the Apostles’ preaching in the book of Acts (2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 8:22; 11:18; 17:30; 20:21; 26:20).
In the New Testament letters, we find the Apostles teaching that God’s patience, kindness, and grace are supposed to lead us to repentance (Romans 2:4). Paul’s earlier harsh words to the Corinthian believers had made them sorrowful to the point of repentance (changing their behavior) without regret (2Corinthians 7:9-10), whereas some are moved only to worldly sorrow (sorry they got caught) and “repentance with regret” (reluctantly changed, still desiring sinful things) that still results in death. Writing to Timothy, Paul advised an approach to ministry aimed at helping people in the hopes that a God-given “opportunity for repentance” would occur (2Timothy 2:24-26). This “that God may grant them repentance” concept is, perhaps, best understood in the light of Hebrews 12:16-17 reflecting on Esau’s situation (Genesis 25:33f & 27:30) where foolish choices and external factors put him in a situation in which he lost both his birthright and the patriarchal blessing and could not get them back. We should also think of 2Peter 3:9,15, wherein the apparent “delay” in God’s termination of the universe provides extended opportunity for people to repent and find salvation, for when Christ returns the opportunity to embrace God’s gracious pardon will end (2Thessalonians 1:7-8). In the book of Revelation, John notes the continuing need for carrying through with changed deeds (meaningful repentance) in maintaining an already established relationship with God (2:5,16; 3:3,19) and also the serious need for repentance in those off-track (2:21-22). Later on, in the historical flow of the vision, we read of those who were punished because they refused to repent (9:20-21; 16:9,11).
Conclusion - In their zeal to produce a least common denominator “faith-only” evangelical theology, those who have excluded “repentance” (in addition to baptism) as an essential and conditional element for those who seek to find forgiveness of sin through Christ and the Gospel have truly departed from the faith that was once for all delivered (Jude 3). From the Scriptures we have examined above and the simply logic required, I believe that it is rather obvious that repentance is an essential to salvation in Christian theology. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Charles E. McCoy 3/20/2006 A Ministry of Severn Christian Church (Severn, Maryland) Unless otherwise noted, all material produced by Charles E. McCoy All Scripture citations/quotations from New American Standard Bible To send a question to Chuck: chuck@severnchristian.org
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