Repentance - Biblical Viewpoint

[KJV1611]

Hi,

I'm an independent fundamental Baptist, and I'm new to this site. I was reading through some topics and it seems there is a lot of confusion on the term "repent."

Sometimes, after hearing a phrase over and over, we tend to just "believe" that it must be true because we've heard it so often. Such is the case with the term "repent of your sins" or "turn from your sins" when it references salvation.
No where in the Bible does it say to "repent of your sins" for salvation.
The word repent means "to turn" or "to change one's mind" and always means in the opposite direction / choice.

For example, Exod 32:14 "And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people."
Repent cannot mean to "turn from sin" because God does NOT sin. It simply means "to turn" or "to changes ones mind". God was going to do evil unto them, and now He isn't.
The context of the verse determines what the person is turning from and to. In the above case it is from evil to good.
Another example is the story of the two sons who were asked to go and do something...Matt 21:29 "He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went." The son changed his mind and went. He turned from not going to going.


Let's look at some verses in reference to salvation.

Mark 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
Acts 19:4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
Acts 20:21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks,repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 26:20 But shewed 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.
Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God

In Mark 1:15 - it says what to turn TO which is "believe the gospel". Therefore you were turning FROM unbelief. It is always a 180 degree turn from one thing to the opposite.
In Acts 3:19 - again it references what to turn TO which is "be converted", therefore you were turning FROM unconversion.
In Acts 19:4 - Paul explains what the John meant by the baptism of repentance which is "that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." So they were turning from unbelief in Christ to belief in Christ.
In Acts 20:21 - the repentance is toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. In order to turn in faith or in "believing" in the Lord Jesus Christ you must turn FROM unbelief.
In Acts 26:20 - it clearly says "turn to God". So they were turning from unbelief in God to belief in God. Notice that after they believe they are commanded to do good works. NOT before they believe.
Heb 6:1 - again the FROM is from believing in dead works to get you to heaven to faith toward God.

In Luke 13:3 - Jesus says, "I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Repent in this context would mean turning from unbelief in Christ to belief in Christ. If it meant "turn from sin", then the opposite of that would be to "turn to NOT sinning". Is Jesus telling these people that if they quit sinning they won't perish? Is He teaching a good cleaned up life will get you to heaven? NO. NO. NO.
The only way to heaven is through FAITH in Jesus Christ. If they will not repent of their wicked unbelief and turn in faith to Christ Jesus, they WILL perish.

Repentance is not turning FROM sin TO God. This is not a "180 degree turn". Turning from sinning would mean turning to NOT sinning. Yet how many times do you hear "repent of your sins" in order to be saved?

God's Word says "BELIEF" is the KEY to SALVATION. Over and over again the Bible tells us to BELIEVE. In order to BELIEVE, one must have been in UNBELIEF before. We are all born unbelievers, but in order to be saved one must REPENT and turn from unbelief to belief.

Acts 8:35-37 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

Notice he did NOT say, "have you turned from your sins"? He did not need to know if the man had "cleaned up" before he came to Christ. He only needed to know if the man had TURNED FROM UNBELIEF TO BELIEF IN CHRIST. If turning from sins was requried why wouldnt Philip have told him so? Was Philip ignorant on the issue? I think not.

Here is Paul and Silas with the jailer in the book of Acts when he asks them what he must to do be saved.
Acts 16:30 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.
But wait! Why didn't they say turn from your sins and tell God your going to be good from now on and then you can get saved? After all, repentance is necessary for salvation, so if it means to turn from sins why didnt they tell this jailer? Well, that's because in reference to salvation, repentance means to turn from unbelief to belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. And thats EXACTLY what they told him to do.


It's important to understand there are many other verses in the Bible that use the term "repent, repented, repentance". Not all of them are referring to salvation. God repented of the evil He was going to do. God doesnt need saved. The word repent here is not in reference to salvation. Many times God would tell the Israelites to repent of their wicked ways or God would destroy them. This again, is not for salvation, but for cursing and blessing. If they obey God he would do good to them, and if they did not, he would do evil to them. Many times God will tell the saved Christian to "repent" from a specific sin he is struggling with, but again, it is not for salvation. The context of the verse determines the TO and FROM of the word repent.

I think there are a lot of well-meaning people, pastors, and evangelists out there that are using the phrase "repent of your sins" in reference to salvation. It is a confusing term that has been misused so much that people today just dont understand its meaning many times. I hope this is a help to those who were struggling with the term and its meaning. I also hope that this thread will find open hearts and open minds that "....love thy law, and nothing shall offend them."

- KJV1611

[HappyChristian]

KJV- thanks for your input, but this is the introduction forum. If you'd like to introduce yourself to us, we'd be glad to meet you. Other topics have their own forums in which to be posted. Thanks!

[KJV1611]

KJV- thanks for your input, but this is the introduction forum. If you'd like to introduce yourself to us, we'd be glad to meet you. Other topics have their own forums in which to be posted. Thanks!

I would have posted this in a different forum, but since I was new it said I could not enter those forums yet and that I had to send BroMatt a personal message first. I tried sending him a message, and it said 10 posts were required before I could sent a personal message. SO, I then posted it where it would let me. Perhaps a moderator could be kind enough to move the topic into a different section of the forum and allow me access to post there.

And Hello! My name is Mike and I'm from West Virginia.

[HappyChristian]

H, Mike from West Virginia. Welcome. As to forum access, there's a reason for the protocal.

What part of WVA is home? My dad is from there, and I lived there for a few years. We lived in Hepzibah, Gypsy, Lumberport, Kincheloe, and Bridgeport. My Dad was born in Clarksburg and the school I attended was in Clarksburg as well.

[KJV1611]

H, Mike from West Virginia. Welcome. As to forum access, there's a reason for the protocal.

What part of WVA is home? My dad is from there, and I lived there for a few years. We lived in Hepzibah, Gypsy, Lumberport, Kincheloe, and Bridgeport. My Dad was born in Clarksburg and the school I attended was in Clarksburg as well.

Morgantown is currently home. Was born in Clarksburg as well though, and spent my younger years growing up there. I'm very familiar with Bridgeport as well. Where do you live now?

[John81]

Howdy Mike!

[HappyChristian]

Morgantown is currently home. Was born in Clarksburg as well though, and spent my younger years growing up there. I'm very familiar with Bridgeport as well. Where do you live now?

Neat! My dad painted in Morgantown for a while. He was born in Clarksburg as well. My hubby and I live in Indiana (so does our son, but he lives south of us now). My parents live in WA state, but the majority of my dad's family still lives in the Clarksburg area.

[KJV1611]

Neat! My dad painted in Morgantown for a while. He was born in Clarksburg as well. My hubby and I live in Indiana (so does our son, but he lives south of us now). My parents live in WA state, but the majority of my dad's family still lives in the Clarksburg area.

I lived in Bellingham, WA and Vancouver, WA for a short period a couple of years ago. What part of Washington are your parents in?

[Crushmaster]

Howdy! Welcome.
God bless,
Joel ><>.

[KJV1611]

Howdy! Welcome.
God bless,
Joel ><>.

Hello Joel!

[KJV1611]

Howdy Mike!

Howdy to you as well John!

[swathdiver]

Welcome to the forum! Contrast your message with that in today's RSS feed:

[KJV1611]

Welcome to the forum! Contrast your message with that in today's RSS feed:

Hi swathdiver,

I read over the link you posted. The key thing to keep in mind is that the "change" occurs AFTER salvation and not before. Way of Life ministries as well as many others place the change BEFORE salvation...making it the man that does the changing and not God. You do NOT turn from sin in ORDER to BE saved...you turn from sin BECAUSE you ARE saved.

No matter how "nice" an idea sounds, if it doesnt fit with the teachings of scripture it is wrong. Biblical repentance for salvation is turning from unbelief to belief. It's really that simple. The "change" occurs after believing. Not before.

Also, do not confuse "easy believism" with biblical repentance. While it is true that all a person must do is put their faith in Christ to be saved, they must actually BELIEVE it. Admittedly there are a lot of churches / people going around leading people in "prayers" and saying that the person got saved because the person said a prayer. Prayer does not save a person. FAITH saves. They can say the sinners prayer till the cows come home and it wont get them to heaven if they dont put their complete trust in Christ. No turning from sins is necessary. Only turning from unbelief, to belief in Christ. So yes, there are probably many false conversions of people who have been led in a prayer and then told they are saved when they didnt actually put their faith in Christ. It isnt because the Bible is wrong on repentance though....it is because people are not doing a good job sharing the Gospel message with others.

When soul winning, sometimes I like to ask the person after sharing the gospel if they understand that it is Jesus that does the saving ALL by Himself. They might respond "yes". I then follow up with, "What would happen if you killed someone, or did some horrible sin after getting saved?" If they respond that you would lose your salvation, then they dont fully understand that it is Christ that COMPLETELY saves and that they are not involved in keeping themselves saved. I then go over things again with them until they understand that it is ALL Jesus from start to finish. Until they believe that he does all the saving all by himself, then they dont actually believe he is who he says he is.

King David was saved, yet still committed adultery with Uriah's wife (Bathsheba) and then had Uriah killed. Does this mean he was not REALLY saved or that he was a product of 'easy believism'? Of course not. He sinned because he was still in his flesh just like the rest of us, and we all struggle with sin until the day we die and shed this body of sin that we live in.

If a person believes they have to "turn from sin", "clean up", "change their ways", etc before God will save them, then they are doing "WORKS". They are saying "I have to do this, or that" before I can be saved. It is ALL God from start to finish. Even the faith that we have is given to us BY GOD.
Romans 12:3 - "...according as God hath dealt to every manthe measure of faith. Cleaning up and turning from sins is not faith. It's works. God will perform the "work in you" after you've believed on him in FAITH.

[Brother Rick]

I agree that it is faith alone that saves a man.

I also believe that repentance, a song service, a powerful sermon, or other things may play a part in getting the man to where he needs to be to exercise faith, but that it is faith alone that saves. If a man needs to "repent" to be saved, all he must really repent of is who he is and what he's trusting in. There is no way he can have the power to quit sin before salvation. Most Christians don't even do that after they're saved.

People who over-emphasis repentance walk a dangerous line of making a man jump through hoops to be saved; making him earn his salvation through repentance.

Quitting sin is what people do to become disciples, not what they do to trust Christ. They trust Christ by trusting Christ.

Edited November 8, 2011 by Rick Schworer

[John81]

Saving faith requires repentance. They could be viewed as two sides of the same coin. If we don't come into agreement with God, which is an aspect of repentance, we will not be saved.

There is the false notion by many today that repentance means one must repent of all their sins and turn their life around. Repentance means one accepts what God has said about their lost condition, the only means of salvation and what that entails.