THE MEANING OF THE WORD REPENTANCE

Over the years I've learned the way many heresies within Christianity arise is by the lack of the definition of words. One man uses a term and defines it one way while another man defines it another. Because they each use the same word differently they each call the other a heretic, and lamblast one another. However, if they would just define the word BIBLICALLY, they would often see they are both wrong, defining a word based upon their own opinion, instead of defining the word the way God does.

Today, I want to look at the word REPENTANCE as case in point. This is an important Biblical word. But it is also a word that we don't use often in the English language. In other words, it's usually only in Theological discussion that the word "repent" is used. In Spanish, this is not so. For example, "de repente" is a spanish word used quite frequently, and it means "suddenly" in English. If we literally break the two words up, we see it literally is "of turning." Even Hispanics know what to repent means.

Why is this an important issue? Because in my case, and I believe in many others, the lack of understanding about the word REPENT almost sent me to HELL! That is, because I didn't understand the word, I almost didn't get saved.

And I see in the world today much confusion among sinners on what this term means. So-called Christians add to the confusion (and God is not the author of Confusion), by refusing to use the term in a Biblical sense, and oftentimes help DAMN sinners to Hell by not defining this word.

Let me illustrate. Many a preacher has preached something like the following:

"You've got to repent of your sins to get saved!"

But no where in the Bible do we find this command. It's simply not there! Sure the Bible speaks of repentance, and quite often. But no where in the Bible do we find salvation dependent upon repenting of one's own sins." Instead, salvation is conditioned upon BELEIVING upon the Lord Jesus Christ's finished work on Calvary (i.e. His shed blood).

Before I was saved, I read this command at the back of a Chick tract, and I heard it preached time and again by preachers. I then remember thinking, "How can I repent of my sins? I'm a sinner? But I must do so to get saved, so I'll try to do so!"

This led to me thinking i had to quit sinning in order to get saved, and this i tried earnestly to do. But I was guilty of trying to DO something to get saved, instead of simply taking by Faith what Jesus had already DONE for me on Calvary.

Do you see how a sinner can get confused? If he's been instructed to "repent OF HIS SINS" and he does so, then so what! Where is the TRUSTING IN JESUS CHRIST FOR SALVATION? For a person can repent of their sins and still not trust the blood alone. Or, they can repent, but rely upon their repenting instead of upon Jesus's atonement only. See how this can leave a sinner lost and on his way to Hell?

Now, to avoid any confusion, we must define the word "REPENT" in order for people to understand Biblical repentance. Repent has two meanings:

1. To feel sorry for something.

2. To turn from one thing to another.

In the Bible, we find both of these definitions. In Genesis 6:6, we find God "repenting" that he made man. Did God get saved right then? No, God didn't need to be saved. He's sinless! God felt sorry (our first definition of the word) that he made man, because they had become so sinful. For this reason, he destroyed them with a flood.

Our second definition of the word "repent" can be found in many places in the Bible. One of the best, and clearest is in Acts 17:29-30 (look it up!), in which we find God telling men to repent of worshiping idols. That is he instructs them to TURN FROM idols to Him.

Do you now see the difference between the two definitions of the word? Now let's again look at what's preached so often among many Fundamentalists of today when they say:

"You must repent of your sins in order to be saved!"

Are they saying you must FEEL SORRY for your sins in order to get saved? Or, are they saying you must TURN from your sins, in order to be saved.

If they mean the first, then maybe we can swallow that. But even then we have a problem with the word "must." For, what if a man believes upon Christ Jesus for salvation without feeling sorry for his sins? Is he saved? Biblically, he is, for salvation is only dependent upon BELEIVING (i.e. Faith). (See Eph. 2:8,9, Gal. 2:16, etc.)

But what if they mean a man must turn from his sins in order to be saved. Is that right? That smacks of works to me! I mean, that sounds a whole lot like a works plan of salvation! It is telling a man he has to quit sinning to get saved. This is Phariseeism!

No, a man neither has to feel sorry of his sins to be saved, nor does he have to quit sinning to get saved. He is saved, as the Bible teaches by FAITH ALONE IN JESUS CHRIST'S BLOOD ATONEMENT. It is good for him to feel sorry for his sins, and it is good for him to want Jesus more than he wants his sins. But his simple act of feeling sorry or wanting to quit sin DOES NOT SAVE HIM! He is saved at the moment he Believes!

I know that might be a shocker for many of you, but that's BIBLE. If you believe differently, YOU ARE A HERETIC who believes WORKS ARE ESSENTIAL FOR SALVATION, and NOT FAITH ALONE! You are guilty of making salvation dependent upon REPENTANCE AND BELIEF. In other words, you've made salvation a faith plus works set up.

So what do we do? Do we stop preaching Repentance? Of course not! We preach it in context and we preach it biblically without confusing people.

To be saved, a person must repent. But they must repent correctly. How does one repent without making repentance a work? The only way is to TURN from trusting in your own works to trusting in the work of Jesus on the cross for your sins. It is to TURN from trusting your righteousness, to trusting Christ's righteousness. It is, as the Apostle Paul so amply puts it in 1 Thessalonians 1:9, turning "from idols to ... the living and true God."

In that aspect, Repentance IS Salvation! For salvation is turning from unbelief to believing. It is turning from hell to heaven. It is turning from death to life. And it all happens the moment one believes!

With this so amply stated, I'm sure there will be pastors and missionaries who'll write me and angrily say I'm wrong. It is because they are following men's teachings instead of God's. For no where in the Bible do we find the words: "Repent of your sins to be saved."

The closest we find is in Acts 2, in which Peter is preaching to JEWS, not Gentiles, and he's telling them to repent and be baptized as a nation for their sin of crucifying their Messiah.

No, the "repent of your sins" Gospel is not biblical. Instead, it is just "Repent!" (i.e. TRUST THE BLOOD OF JESUS AS SUFFICIENT TO SAVE YOU). That is TURN from trusting in anything you DO to take you to heaven, and trust solely and completely by Faith in the blood Jesus Shed for you on Calvary. For it is not anything you DO that saves you. It's by faith alone in what he's already DONE for you!

Are you saved? If not, why don't you REPENT! By that, I don't mean quit sinning. Nor do I tell you that you must feel bad for your sins (although it's always a good thing to do so). Instead, I tell you that ye MUST be born again by faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ!