Don't Make The Mistake of Repenting of The Wrong Thing
Countless preachers and teachers today are working hard to convince potential converts to repent of their various personal sins while totally missing the bigger picture, that a much larger and far more important, comprehensive and overall repentance is required for salvation. This error is pushed so hard that it is not surprising that most people have become conditioned to believe that whenever they hear the word “repent” or “repentance” associated with salvation, they think it refers to a list of their petty personal sins as if giving up their cigarettes for example is required before they can get saved. But this is simply not true. Never once do we see this idea taught in the Bible. A much bigger and more important repentance is actually required: the repentance of idolatry or idols of trust.
For those of you who can't fathom this or doubt that this is true, then the following passage should put any misgivings to rest:
(29) Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. (30) And the times of this ignorance God winked at [overlooked]; but now commands all men every where to repent [change their mind]: (31) Because He has appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He has ordained; whereof He has given assurance unto all men, in that He has raised Him from the dead. Acts 17: 29-31
You see the problem back in Bible times was that people were trusting in their idols of wood, stone, silver and gold to save them, to watch over and protect them, even to prosper them. This is the very nature or essence of false-god idolatry. Of course the same thing goes on even today but typically in a more round about or indirect way.
But regardless of whether we are talking about ancient or modern variations of the problem, this is still a total violation of the first and most important of the Ten Commandments:
“You shall have no other gods before Me.” Exodus 20:3, Deuteronomy 5:7
The word repentance is the Bible translates as a “change of mind” and in context means “a change of mind towards God”. But a change of mind regarding what? Now you have your answer! Here in just the two passages above we have PROOF POSITIVE of EXACTLY what it is that God is looking for as far as our repentance: repenting of having any idols of trust!
The Bible Does NOT Teach That Lesser Sins-Repentance Is Required For Salvation
Repenting of assorted personal sins, while right, good and very important to one's safety, health and daily life overall, is still not going to save anyone eternally and never will. All kinds of unbelievers from all walks of life outside of Christ and outside of any thought of Him often “turn over a new leaf”, meaning that they repent of some personal sin and change their lifestyle, but even so that cannot gain them eternal life.
For example, the unbelieving man who gives up a bar-hopping party nightlife in order to settle down and become a good father and family man has truly repented of that thing. But that will not save Him eternally, but it will surely help “save” his temporal earthly life. Applying even a good moral code or code of ethics upon oneself or anyone else will not save you or them. What saves a person is faith in Christ, faith meaning trust. That's it, nothing more.
Never once in the Bible, in the context of salvation, do we ever see the words repent or repentance referring to personal sins in general. Check it out for yourself. Do a Greek word study. I did. You won't find a mention of the word sin (or even the concept of sin) within the definitions of those Greek words or even in the foundational root words underneath those Greek words! It's simply not there. Now add this to the even more important fact that the context in which these words are used never once refers to or even remotely mentions sins-repentance as necessary for salvation.
If this were not the case, then the Bible would say so and then would also need to provide a list of sins, that if not eliminated, would prevent salvation. But such a list is simply not there. Nowhere in the Bible do we see any list of this kind or any support for such a notion.
Nevertheless Christians Cannot Sin With Impunity and Immunity From Potential Consequences
Of course I am not saying that it is okay for Christians to go on sinning. God forbid, and for the habitually unrepentant Christian in these matters, they will have God to deal with. But they will not lose their eternal life or their salvation in general. Yet I have been accused even recently of teaching that it is acceptable for Christians to sin. It is not. I have said no such thing. I stand falsely accused on this subject as usual. The truth is Christians who go on sinning unrepentantly not only shoot themselves in the foot as far as the problems that they cause themselves in their earthly life by engaging in sin, they also risk a loss of additional rewards at the judgment seat of Christ. But this is another subject for another time.
Now how am I able to use the word repentance as referring to sin here in this context? The answer is simple - because I am referring to the Christian walk. I am referring to a believer who needs to repent of their sins. The words repent and repentance in context of a Christian's walk usually does refer to ceasing from sin. Salvation is not in view in these cases. Again, when salvation is in view, repentance of sin (other than repenting of false idols of trust) is never required for eternal life. And to clarify, the reason repentance of false idols of trust is required for salvation is because it is impossible to trust (and therefore rely on) Christ for salvation while still trusting in yourself, or anyone else (or anything else) to save you. So this kind of misplaced trust must first be ceased in order for that trust to be transferred to Christ.
This Is a Controversial Subject That Brings Attacks
Actually I wish I didn't have to teach on this subject because of the heat that I end up having to take and all the false accusations that I have to deal with from those who refuse to repent of their idolatry, those who refuse to place their total trust in Christ for their salvation, and instead they think that giving up their cussing, beer, cigarettes, R-rated movies, etc. will save them. But this is such an important subject that I have no choice.
Clever men can gain tremendous power and control over people through manipulation and fear by adding requirements to salvation by subtly altering the Gospel, requirements that are simply not there, especially requirements concerning certain struggles with the flesh that can be hard for some people to overcome. This is a breeding ground of enormous opportunity for the false teacher, and a lot of people have fallen under their “spell”. Not surprisingly, they and their minions do not like me or others who teach the truth in these type of matters.
I say this in my defense: I have nothing to gain here. I make no money teaching this. I work for a living. These teachings are free on my website and I do not solicit donations. I am therefore not a huckster or hireling. So how have I wronged or taken advantage of my readers? I have not. Can those teachers say the same thing? In most cases I think not.
[As as side note, think of the Apostle Paul and how he often made similar defenses. His is a very good example to follow. He was a tent-making minister who took advantage of no one. Let us all strive to operate the same way.]
The Danger of Adding Additional Requirements to the Gospel
As soon as you add any additional requirement whatsoever to salvation, regardless of how sleight it may seem, it becomes impossible for those who believe such a requirement to place their total trust in Christ and place their total reliance upon Him for salvation. This is because the compliant hearer instantly becomes dependent or reliant upon fulfilling that addition, hence their trust will be redirected away from Christ towards that requirement, not towards Christ. In fact, a person can greatly endanger themselves by pairing or connecting any addition to the Gospel with the Gospel because in doing so they undermine the very trust in Christ that is necessary to actually become saved. And adding the idea of sins-repentance with salvation is no less problematic.
Of course there is no shortage of professing Christians who go to the Bible and take very scary unrelated lists of sin verses out-of-context and apply those verses to salvation, thereby instilling fear and doubt not only in those wishing to be saved, but also in Christians and in those who believe themselves to already be Christians. The effects can be devastating and there is no shortage of Christians who clearly see their failures and are in despair over not being able to make the grade, qualify and merit their salvation.
Salvation Once Gained Cannot Be Lost Otherwise It Would Not Be Salvation
We hear things like, “Oh that person is still drinking and going to the bars so they must never have been saved to begin with” (and this would be true if they are referring to an unbeliever, but this would never be true when referring to an actual Christian), or worse, “That person must have lost their salvation because they are still drinking and partying.” Nether of these views are correct when applied to a genuine Christian because salvation once gained cannot be lost, and even if a Christian remains in a particular sin (as bad as that is) and although that is certainly not good or healthy for them, that doesn't mean that they were never saved to begin with. (Now of course I am not saying that it is a good thing for a Christian to be living a party lifestyle. It is not! God forbid. I am just using this as an example here.)
While endless people are running around soul searching regarding their personal sins, they almost invariably never repent of the very thing that they need to repent of: idols of trust. They fail to recognize the much bigger and more important thing that they need to repent of: trusting in anything or anyone except Jesus Christ to save them. In other words the main issue is again a form of false god idolatry, and any misplaced or misdirected trust needs to be corrected.
The true Gospel of grace and genuine repentance towards God means a total removal and ceasing of all trust in such idols (including the idol of self / self-trust) and instead placing that trust solely in and squarely upon Jesus Christ and no other.
This is a Problem of Gargantuan Anathema (Cursed With a Curse) Proportions
Keep in mind that this extremely important truth has been and is being inadvertently and seriously avoided, circumvented, compromised and even totally eliminated today by all kinds of well-meaning professing Christians. This is an enormous problem that has swept through many Christian circles and needs to be brought to light. In fact I think that in addition to the wide spread problem of false works-salvation teachings in general, the substitution of repentance of general sins for repentance of idols of trust may be an even biggest and more important theological salvation-related problem that the Christian Church faces today. This error may be the number one obstacle to the Gospel and the number one "preventor" of salvation.
Remember that Martin Luther championed justification by faith alone in Christ alone sparking the massive reformation away from justification by works. Repentance of idols of trust is not a work. It's an intrinsic inseparable part of placing faith in Christ. Repetitive of sins however is a work and when added as a requirement of salvation, is just another clever form of justification by works.
The bottom line is this error represents a change in the Gospel itself and so this is clearly and without question a matter of heresy. And if we are talking about something heretical then we are talking anathema-level “cursed with a cursed” issue. That means that this is a very serious subject that cannot just be overlooked or swept under the carpet in some kind of ecumenical pursuit of false-unity. Anathema issues far overshadow any other type of sin, even grievous sexual sins, as bad as those types of sins are. In the New Testament, you will not see any active sin other than the preaching of a false gospel that carries an anathema curse. This alone should tell us something about how incredibly important it is to get the Gospel right.
In Conclusion
So, the next time you see the word “repent” or “repentance” in connection with salvation verses in the Bible, you will know exactly what it means. And yes of course everyone everywhere should repent of their assorted personal sins. But never think of that as required for salvation. Otherwise you will place some or all of your trust in how well you think you have repented, looking to yourself as a gauge of whether or not you have repented sufficiently in order to warrant or merit salvation. Eyes and focus are not on Christ in this kind of warped theology, but rather eyes are on self. Words cannot express how dangerous and debilitating this false belief is and how it actually PREVENTS someone from placing their trust in Christ.
ChristiansFree.com
Countless preachers and teachers today are working hard to convince potential converts to repent of their various personal sins while totally missing the bigger picture, that a much larger and far more important, comprehensive and overall repentance is required for salvation. This error is pushed so hard that it is not surprising that most people have become conditioned to believe that whenever they hear the word “repent” or “repentance” associated with salvation, they think it refers to a list of their petty personal sins as if giving up their cigarettes for example is required before they can get saved. But this is simply not true. Never once do we see this idea taught in the Bible. A much bigger and more important repentance is actually required: the repentance of idolatry or idols of trust.
For those of you who can't fathom this or doubt that this is true, then the following passage should put any misgivings to rest:
(29) Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. (30) And the times of this ignorance God winked at [overlooked]; but now commands all men every where to repent [change their mind]: (31) Because He has appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He has ordained; whereof He has given assurance unto all men, in that He has raised Him from the dead. Acts 17: 29-31
You see the problem back in Bible times was that people were trusting in their idols of wood, stone, silver and gold to save them, to watch over and protect them, even to prosper them. This is the very nature or essence of false-god idolatry. Of course the same thing goes on even today but typically in a more round about or indirect way.
But regardless of whether we are talking about ancient or modern variations of the problem, this is still a total violation of the first and most important of the Ten Commandments:
“You shall have no other gods before Me.” Exodus 20:3, Deuteronomy 5:7
The word repentance is the Bible translates as a “change of mind” and in context means “a change of mind towards God”. But a change of mind regarding what? Now you have your answer! Here in just the two passages above we have PROOF POSITIVE of EXACTLY what it is that God is looking for as far as our repentance: repenting of having any idols of trust!
The Bible Does NOT Teach That Lesser Sins-Repentance Is Required For Salvation
Repenting of assorted personal sins, while right, good and very important to one's safety, health and daily life overall, is still not going to save anyone eternally and never will. All kinds of unbelievers from all walks of life outside of Christ and outside of any thought of Him often “turn over a new leaf”, meaning that they repent of some personal sin and change their lifestyle, but even so that cannot gain them eternal life.
For example, the unbelieving man who gives up a bar-hopping party nightlife in order to settle down and become a good father and family man has truly repented of that thing. But that will not save Him eternally, but it will surely help “save” his temporal earthly life. Applying even a good moral code or code of ethics upon oneself or anyone else will not save you or them. What saves a person is faith in Christ, faith meaning trust. That's it, nothing more.
Never once in the Bible, in the context of salvation, do we ever see the words repent or repentance referring to personal sins in general. Check it out for yourself. Do a Greek word study. I did. You won't find a mention of the word sin (or even the concept of sin) within the definitions of those Greek words or even in the foundational root words underneath those Greek words! It's simply not there. Now add this to the even more important fact that the context in which these words are used never once refers to or even remotely mentions sins-repentance as necessary for salvation.
If this were not the case, then the Bible would say so and then would also need to provide a list of sins, that if not eliminated, would prevent salvation. But such a list is simply not there. Nowhere in the Bible do we see any list of this kind or any support for such a notion.
Nevertheless Christians Cannot Sin With Impunity and Immunity From Potential Consequences
Of course I am not saying that it is okay for Christians to go on sinning. God forbid, and for the habitually unrepentant Christian in these matters, they will have God to deal with. But they will not lose their eternal life or their salvation in general. Yet I have been accused even recently of teaching that it is acceptable for Christians to sin. It is not. I have said no such thing. I stand falsely accused on this subject as usual. The truth is Christians who go on sinning unrepentantly not only shoot themselves in the foot as far as the problems that they cause themselves in their earthly life by engaging in sin, they also risk a loss of additional rewards at the judgment seat of Christ. But this is another subject for another time.
Now how am I able to use the word repentance as referring to sin here in this context? The answer is simple - because I am referring to the Christian walk. I am referring to a believer who needs to repent of their sins. The words repent and repentance in context of a Christian's walk usually does refer to ceasing from sin. Salvation is not in view in these cases. Again, when salvation is in view, repentance of sin (other than repenting of false idols of trust) is never required for eternal life. And to clarify, the reason repentance of false idols of trust is required for salvation is because it is impossible to trust (and therefore rely on) Christ for salvation while still trusting in yourself, or anyone else (or anything else) to save you. So this kind of misplaced trust must first be ceased in order for that trust to be transferred to Christ.
This Is a Controversial Subject That Brings Attacks
Actually I wish I didn't have to teach on this subject because of the heat that I end up having to take and all the false accusations that I have to deal with from those who refuse to repent of their idolatry, those who refuse to place their total trust in Christ for their salvation, and instead they think that giving up their cussing, beer, cigarettes, R-rated movies, etc. will save them. But this is such an important subject that I have no choice.
Clever men can gain tremendous power and control over people through manipulation and fear by adding requirements to salvation by subtly altering the Gospel, requirements that are simply not there, especially requirements concerning certain struggles with the flesh that can be hard for some people to overcome. This is a breeding ground of enormous opportunity for the false teacher, and a lot of people have fallen under their “spell”. Not surprisingly, they and their minions do not like me or others who teach the truth in these type of matters.
I say this in my defense: I have nothing to gain here. I make no money teaching this. I work for a living. These teachings are free on my website and I do not solicit donations. I am therefore not a huckster or hireling. So how have I wronged or taken advantage of my readers? I have not. Can those teachers say the same thing? In most cases I think not.
[As as side note, think of the Apostle Paul and how he often made similar defenses. His is a very good example to follow. He was a tent-making minister who took advantage of no one. Let us all strive to operate the same way.]
The Danger of Adding Additional Requirements to the Gospel
As soon as you add any additional requirement whatsoever to salvation, regardless of how sleight it may seem, it becomes impossible for those who believe such a requirement to place their total trust in Christ and place their total reliance upon Him for salvation. This is because the compliant hearer instantly becomes dependent or reliant upon fulfilling that addition, hence their trust will be redirected away from Christ towards that requirement, not towards Christ. In fact, a person can greatly endanger themselves by pairing or connecting any addition to the Gospel with the Gospel because in doing so they undermine the very trust in Christ that is necessary to actually become saved. And adding the idea of sins-repentance with salvation is no less problematic.
Of course there is no shortage of professing Christians who go to the Bible and take very scary unrelated lists of sin verses out-of-context and apply those verses to salvation, thereby instilling fear and doubt not only in those wishing to be saved, but also in Christians and in those who believe themselves to already be Christians. The effects can be devastating and there is no shortage of Christians who clearly see their failures and are in despair over not being able to make the grade, qualify and merit their salvation.
Salvation Once Gained Cannot Be Lost Otherwise It Would Not Be Salvation
We hear things like, “Oh that person is still drinking and going to the bars so they must never have been saved to begin with” (and this would be true if they are referring to an unbeliever, but this would never be true when referring to an actual Christian), or worse, “That person must have lost their salvation because they are still drinking and partying.” Nether of these views are correct when applied to a genuine Christian because salvation once gained cannot be lost, and even if a Christian remains in a particular sin (as bad as that is) and although that is certainly not good or healthy for them, that doesn't mean that they were never saved to begin with. (Now of course I am not saying that it is a good thing for a Christian to be living a party lifestyle. It is not! God forbid. I am just using this as an example here.)
While endless people are running around soul searching regarding their personal sins, they almost invariably never repent of the very thing that they need to repent of: idols of trust. They fail to recognize the much bigger and more important thing that they need to repent of: trusting in anything or anyone except Jesus Christ to save them. In other words the main issue is again a form of false god idolatry, and any misplaced or misdirected trust needs to be corrected.
The true Gospel of grace and genuine repentance towards God means a total removal and ceasing of all trust in such idols (including the idol of self / self-trust) and instead placing that trust solely in and squarely upon Jesus Christ and no other.
This is a Problem of Gargantuan Anathema (Cursed With a Curse) Proportions
Keep in mind that this extremely important truth has been and is being inadvertently and seriously avoided, circumvented, compromised and even totally eliminated today by all kinds of well-meaning professing Christians. This is an enormous problem that has swept through many Christian circles and needs to be brought to light. In fact I think that in addition to the wide spread problem of false works-salvation teachings in general, the substitution of repentance of general sins for repentance of idols of trust may be an even biggest and more important theological salvation-related problem that the Christian Church faces today. This error may be the number one obstacle to the Gospel and the number one "preventor" of salvation.
Remember that Martin Luther championed justification by faith alone in Christ alone sparking the massive reformation away from justification by works. Repentance of idols of trust is not a work. It's an intrinsic inseparable part of placing faith in Christ. Repetitive of sins however is a work and when added as a requirement of salvation, is just another clever form of justification by works.
The bottom line is this error represents a change in the Gospel itself and so this is clearly and without question a matter of heresy. And if we are talking about something heretical then we are talking anathema-level “cursed with a cursed” issue. That means that this is a very serious subject that cannot just be overlooked or swept under the carpet in some kind of ecumenical pursuit of false-unity. Anathema issues far overshadow any other type of sin, even grievous sexual sins, as bad as those types of sins are. In the New Testament, you will not see any active sin other than the preaching of a false gospel that carries an anathema curse. This alone should tell us something about how incredibly important it is to get the Gospel right.
In Conclusion
So, the next time you see the word “repent” or “repentance” in connection with salvation verses in the Bible, you will know exactly what it means. And yes of course everyone everywhere should repent of their assorted personal sins. But never think of that as required for salvation. Otherwise you will place some or all of your trust in how well you think you have repented, looking to yourself as a gauge of whether or not you have repented sufficiently in order to warrant or merit salvation. Eyes and focus are not on Christ in this kind of warped theology, but rather eyes are on self. Words cannot express how dangerous and debilitating this false belief is and how it actually PREVENTS someone from placing their trust in Christ.
ChristiansFree.com