A pastor wrote to me
recently, asking me to remove his ministry from my website. He was upset about
my teaching that repentance does not mean “forsaking one’s sins.” We’ll, it
doesn’t. Repentance is a "change of mind"; NOT, the action of ceasing from
committing sin. Can anyone stop sinning completely? No! Salvation is turning to
Jesus to be forgiven of one's sins; NOT turning from one's sins in order to
be forgiven by Jesus.
Are there two Gospels? Either salvation is
solely by Christ's righteousness, and there's absolutely nothing we need to
give up to have it; or else there is a degree of self-righteousness involved
and we must make amends, stop living in sin and change our ways as a
prerequisite to saving-faith. The Bible teaches the former (Romans 4:5-6).
You can't show me
one verse in the Bible that tells us to "repent from sin" to be saved. A
criminal in prison can promise to stop breaking the law, and he may; but
that is not genuine repentance that brings salvation. We read in Matthew
27:3 that Judas “repented” from his sin of betraying Jesus; but Judas still
went to Hell. Judas experienced guilt for what he had done; but he failed to
recognize Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God Who taketh away the sins of the
world. Judas also failed to realize his condemnation under God’s Holy Law.
Genuine repentance that leads to salvation must involve a realization of
one’s own guilt (and justly deserved penalty of Hell) for violating God’s Holy Law
(Romans 3:19), which
simultaneously causes that soul to turn towards the Lord Jesus Christ by faith
for forgiveness (Acts 13:30,31). Biblical salvation occurs
when a lost sinner turns (i.e. repents) towards Jesus Christ to be forgiven of
his or her sins. Forsaking one’s sins is not a part of saving faith; but rather,
is the fruit of genuine repentance to those believer’s who yield their lives to
God.
Ray Comfort, John MacArthur, Paul Washer, and many other false prophets today
are teaching people that forsaking one’s sins is a part of saving faith. They
are wrong! Salvation is a free gift, paid for by Jesus’ precious blood. If a
person must give up his or her sins to be saved, then it is an act of
self-righteousness. Isaiah 64:6 proclaims that all of our self-righteousness is
filth in the eyes of God. I am not saying that believers have a license to sin.
We do not (2nd Corinthians 5:10). I am saying that a changed life is the
RESULT of genuine repentance, and not a part of saving faith itself.
People ask me... "You mean I can be saved and
live anyway I want? Yes! Yes, you can, but you must give account
at the Judgment Seat of Christ for the life you live (2nd Corinthians
5:10; Romans 14:12). The Bible is filled with believers who lived in
sin. I am not condoning sinful living; I am condemning works
salvation. Man has no part in salvation except to "believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ" (Acts 16:31). Salvation is of God.
Just Say "Thank You"
If you go into a restaurant to eat, and then find out while checking out that
someone paid for your meal... what do you say? You say, THANK YOU! Salvation is
just as simple... you receive Jesus' free gift of eternal life and then you
simply say, "Thank You!" You don't argue that a free meal must
include a desire to eat better, do the dishes, make a commitment to come
back more often, et cetera. No, you just shut up and say, "Thank You."
Why make salvation hard? Jesus paid for our sins with His own precious
blood. Just receive His gift of eternal life and say, "Thank You."
Belief is Enough to Be Saved
The upset pastor I mentioned earlier cited James 2:19 to me in support of his claim that
believing on Jesus Christ is insufficient by itself to save anyone...
“Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe,
and tremble.” It is important to interpret this Scripture in the context of
the surrounding passage.
In James chapter 2,
James was speaking about the FRUIT of the believer’s faith; NOT the ROOT.
Genesis 15:6 says that “And he [Abram] believed in the LORD; and he
counted it to him for righteousness.” This is the “root” of a believer’s faith (Romans 4:3-5).
However, James tells us that Abraham’s faith was validated in the eyes of men
when he offered up Isaac in Genesis 22:8 (several chapters later). Paul speaks of the ROOT of Abraham’s
faith in Romans 4:3: "For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and
it was counted unto him for righteousness." BUT, James speaks of the FRUIT of Abraham’s faith in James 2:21:
"Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac
his son upon the altar? " Clearly, these are two separate events
in time and meaning.
It is tragic, and false doctrine, to pervert James 2:19 into meaning that simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is insufficient to save anyone. Genesis 15:6 clearly states that Abram (i.e., Abraham) was saved by simple BELIEF in the Lord. Romans 4:3-5 confirms this truth. I am saddened at the ignorance of a professed Gospel pastor, who runs a boy's home, that he would be so naive concerning the simplicity of salvation.
James was simply
saying that a believer's faith should be confirmed by his FRUITS. We do
see a lot of phonies today in religious circles. However, we must not
pervert the simplicity of the gift of salvation in an attempt to force
people to live right. Holy living is a result of growing in grace (1st
Peter 2:2); and NOT a part of saving faith.
The word “believe” appears 85 times in the Gospel of John; but the word “repent”
isn’t mentioned even once. Clearly, repentance unto life means turning
towards God to be saved from the penalty, guilt, and condemnation of sin. As a
new believer grows in the grace of the Lord, the Holy Spirit will bring forth a
changed life (2nd Corinthians 5:17). To require a changed life as a prerequisite
to be saved is damnable heresy.
Godly Sorrow Worketh Repentance
I’ve heard some proponents of the Lordship Salvation heresy
pervert 2nd
Corinthians 7:8-10, which states:
“For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”
Such proponents of Lordship Salvation claim that a lost sinner must experience "godly sorrow" in order to be saved. Thus, they allege that mere belief in the Lord is insufficient to be saved, and that a sinner MUST have remorse and a sincere willingness to depart from sin to be saved.
The believer's in the church at Corinth prove
this theory wrong. Those believers were carnal (1st Corinthians 3:1), so the Apostle Paul
wrote 1st Corinthians to rebuke the Church congregation and plead with them to
do right. They didn't have any "godly sorrow" until Paul rebuked them in the
Lord. The believers at Corinth afterwards repented, and now Paul writes them again a
second time, explaining his “tough love” approach. Paul says “godly sorrow
worketh repentance.” Many false prophets pervert 2nd Corinthians 7:10 in an
attempt to support their heresy that a sinner MUST be sorry for their sins in
order to be saved; BUT, this is not Biblical at all. You don’t need to be sorry
for your sins to get saved; you simply need to realize that you are a guilty
sinner deserving of Hellfire. The believers at Corinth WEREN’T sorry for their
sins until Paul rebuked them as carnal believers.
It is important to realize that the believer’s at Corinth had not yet repented
from their sins. They were a “sorry bunch” alright, and I don’t mean in the
remorseful way. Repentance always leads to "SALVATION" first in the Scriptures;
not a change of action as Ray Comfort, Aiden Z. Tozer, John MacArthur and others claim. This is
the consistent Biblical pattern — The Holy Spirit changes your mind and you get saved,
then the life and actions change! (1st Peter 2:2; 2nd Corinthians 5:17).
The BELIEVER'S at Corinth in 1st Corinthians were not sorrowful over
their sins! They were suing each other (1st Corinthians 6:6),
eating meats offered to idols (1st Corinthians 8:12), allowing fornication
within the church (1st Corinthians 5:1), showing up drunk at the Lord's Supper
(1st Corinthians 11:21), et cetera.
The idea of "turning from sins" (or of being sorry for one's sins) prior to salvation is not taught anywhere in the Word of God, and is nigh unto the heresy of works salvation, if not altogether so. If forsaking one’s sins were necessary for salvation, then the believer’s at Corinth certainly never got saved. If being sorry for one’s sins were necessary for salvation, then the believer’s at Corinth certainly never got saved. Yet, the Apostle Paul refers to them as “babes in Christ” (1st Corinthians 3:1). Clearly, from studying God’s Word, we can see that forsaking one’s sins (or being sorry for one's sins) is NOT part of saving faith.
When Paul spoke about the "godly sorrow" that
leads to repentance, he was addressing believers; not the unsaved.
Clearly, the immature believers in 1st Corinthians had issues, and were
living in horrible sin; yet, Paul called them "babes in Christ." Ray
Comfort, Paul Washer, and John MacArthur would call them "unsaved."
Believer's at Rome NOT Surrendered
Yet
In Romans 12:1, Paul begged the believers at Rome to surrender their lives to
God. They were saved, but they hadn't presented their bodies to God "a living
sacrifice" yet. It is absurd for any minister today to require sinners to “make
Jesus Lord” to be saved. Folks, Jesus is Lord, you don’t make Him Lord!!!
Salvation is receiving; NOT giving. If John MacArthur is correct that a person
must surrender their life to God to be saved, then the believer’s at Rome
weren’t really saved — because Paul is beseeching them to present their bodies
to God as a living sacrifice.
Biblical repentance simply means “a change of mind.” In order to “repent” (i.e.,
turn) a person must have something to turn TO as well as FROM. In salvation a
lost sinner turns TO Jesus Christ to be saved FROM their sins. Turning from sin
is not enough. Making a commitment to Christ is not enough. Genuine repentance
must involve a realization of one’s own guilt (and justly deserved penalty in
Hell) for violating God’s Holy Law (Romans 3:19), which causes that soul to turn
towards the Lord Jesus Christ by faith for forgiveness and salvation (Acts
13:30,31). Biblical salvation occurs when a lost sinner turns (i.e. repents)
towards Jesus Christ to be forgiven of his or her sins.
Jesus paid for our sins with His own precious blood (1st Peter 1:18,19). Just receive His gift of eternal life and say... "Thank You Jesus."
