Repentance is NOT
Forsaking One's Sins!
By David J. Stewart
"Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." —Acts 20:21
Repentance
is not turning from (i.e., forsaking) one's sins, nor even being willing to
turn from one's sins; Repentance is turning to the Lord Jesus Christ to
be saved from one's sins (Romans 4:5). Salvation is receiving; NOT
giving. Eternal life is the free gift of God (Romans 5:15;6:23), paid
for by Jesus' precious literal blood (1st Peter 1:18,19). To be
saved we simply need to come as a guilty sinner to Jesus Christ to have
our sins washed away by His redeeming blood (1st John 1:7).
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.
I have written quite a few articles lately exposing numerous contemporary
false prophets, who teach that a person MUST forsake their sins to be saved.
There is NO such teaching found in the Bible. I triple-dog dare you to show
me anywhere in the Word of God were a sinner is required to turn from their
sins to be saved. You cannot. The desire to turn from one's sins is
the FRUIT of genuine repentance; and is not a part of saving faith.
John MacArthur plainly states: "Submission to the will of God, to
Christ’s lordship, and to the guiding of the Spirit is an essential, not an
optional, part of saving faith" (EPHESIANS, p. 249). MacArthur is a false
prophet. He further states: "There's no room for passive spectators: words
without actions are empty and futile ... The life we live, not the words
we speak, determines our eternal destiny" [emphasis added] (Hard to
Believe, p. 93). What blasphemy! MacArthur sinfully teaches that the life we
live determines our eternal destiny. This is works salvation!
Some false prophets, such as
David
Cloud, teach that a person who is not willing to forsake their sins
cannot get saved. Mr. Cloud deceitfully states that he does not believe in
Lordship Salvation; while simultaneously teaching that a person who is "not
ready" for the drastic changes which salvation brings cannot be saved.
Cloud's teaching on repentance is that you cannot come to Christ for
salvation unless you first intend not to walk in sin after you receive Him.
This is "qualification by works" as a prerequisite for receiving Christ as
Savior.
Other false prophets, such as Jack
Chick, teach that a person must "be willing to turn from sin" in order
to be saved. This is Lordship Salvation! Jack Chick makes the deadly mistake
of misinterpreting the Biblical meaning of the word "repent." Repentance is
not a willingness to turn from sin. Biblical repentance means turning to
Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Repentance and faith are not
two separate steps to salvation; but rather two parts of one step. Being
born-again is not a process. The person who has turned to the Lord in faith
to be forgiven of sins has repented. The person who has genuinely repented
of their sins has turned to the Lord to be forgiven.
Aiden W. Tozer was a false prophet! Mr. Tozer unquestionably taught Lordship Salvation: "In the Bible the offer of pardon on the part of God is conditioned upon intention to reform on the part of man. There can be no spiritual regeneration till there has been a moral reformation" (The Best of A.W. Tozer, Book 2, pg. 115-117; Compiled by Warren W. Wiersbe). Wrong! Salvation is receiving; NOT giving. Mr. Tozer requires sinners to "reform" themselves before they can be saved. How ridiculous! This goes contrary to the plainest teachings in the Bible. Again, Romans 4:5 states: "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Mr. Tozer is teaching works salvation!!!
The Salvation Army teaches damnable heresy. I was greatly saddened recently as I read the official doctrinal statement of the Salvation Army. If you look at the Salvation Army's list of doctrines, you'll come down to doctrine # 9, which reads as follows: "We believe that continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ" [emphasis added]. Doctrine # 9 is a lie of the Devil, which is certainly NOT based upon the Word of God. Lordship Salvation necessitates the doctrine of losing one's salvation. The Salvation Army is teaching the damnable heresy of works salvation. They clearly believe that one's salvation is conditional upon works.
Ray
Comfort is another false prophet who states: "We are dead in our
trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1) and until we forsake them through
repentance, we cannot be made alive in Christ" [emphasis added] (THE
EVIDENCE BIBLE; Is Repentance Necessary for Salvation?). Mr.
Comfort clearly denies that believing on Jesus Christ is
sufficient for salvation... he states: "If
belief is all that is necessary for salvation, then the logical
conclusion is that one need never repent." Clearly, Ray Comfort
believes that repentance means to forsake one's sins as a prerequisite to
placing one's faith in Jesus. In sharp contrast, Romans 4:5 says...
"But to him that WORKETH NOT, but believeth
on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is COUNTED for
righteousness." The only type of person that Jesus
justifies is the UNGODLY, i.e., those ungodly sinners who believe on Jesus
Christ to be forgiven of their sins. Shame on those ministers who
corrupt the simplicity of the Gospel, by placing the heavy burden of
departing from one's sins as a prerequisite to be saved.
It is false doctrine to make repenting of one's sins an event in itself to
be saved. Again, repentance is not turning from one's sins; Repentance is
turning to the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved from one's sins (Romans 4:5).
Jack Chick, David Cloud, Ray Comfort, Aiden Tozer, John MacArthur and the
Salvation Army all make repentance an isolated act by itself. The Bible
stands against them for perverting the simplicity of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. The word "believe" is mentioned 85 times in the Gospel of
John; YET the word "repent" is not mentioned even ONCE!!! Clearly,
the sinner who believes on Jesus as the Christ to forgive their sins has
repented.
False prophets today define repentance as merely turning from one's sins.
This misunderstanding of repentance has spawned multiple false gospels.
Repentance is turning TO THE LORD from the guilt and condemnation of sin, to
have those sins washed away by the precious literal blood of Jesus Christ
(1st Peter 1:18,19). To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness of
one's sins is repentance. To merely turn from sin is nothing more than
"turning over a new leaf," which is the false gospel of
Perry Stone.
True Biblical repentance means turning to Jesus Christ by faith to be
forgiven of one's sins. The "turning" is not from the act of sin itself; but
rather, TURNING TO THE LORD to be forgiven from the condemnation which sin
has brought upon all mankind (Romans 3:19-23; 5:12). Lordship Salvationists
have perverted the Gospel. They teach that repentance and faith are two
separate steps to salvation, and that faith alone in Christ is insufficient
to save anyone unless they've turned from their sinful lifestyle.
In sharp contrast, Genesis 15:6 tells us that Abram was justified by faith
in the Lord. The Gospel of John mentions the word "believe" 85 times without
ever mentioning the word "repent" even once. This is because the person who
has believed on the Lord to be forgiven of their sins has repented of their
sins. 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.
