The Doctrine of Repentance

Repentance is a HUGE topic!!! My friend Lou is running a series about repentance right now that's written by another friend Phillip Evans. It's entitled "Clearing Up Repentance." I haven't read all of it, but I trust Brother Evans, and what I have read is good.

There is much argument about Repentance in the various circles I run in. Did you know that repentance is only mentioned (by name) by the Apostle Paul once in the greatest theological work ever recorded - the Book of Romans.

Romans 2:4

Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

Now we know Paul (by inspiration of God) recorded the most complete teaching of the Gospel and Christianity in the book of Romans. The one time he uses the word "repentance" in this work it is about what exactly? It is about people judging others for their behavior when they are themselves guilty of the same thing.

It is exactly the same teaching as Jesus Christ;

Luke 13:1-5

¹ There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. ² And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? ³ I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. ⁴ Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? ⁵ I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

I think the main problem that men have with understanding the doctrine of Repentance is that we try to harmonize the context of every usage of the word by translators. See in the original languages there are several words and phrases that translators use the words "repent" and "repentance" in place of, yet the original meanings are VERY different from each other.

We run into a similar problem with the doctrine of Love. There are many words for love in Hebrew and Greek, and each has it's own specific meaning. We talk much about God's Agape Love, and how we humans can't really have that same kind of love because it is completely selfless.

The Lordship Salvation (LS) proponents harmonize all the English usage of "repentance" and apply that harmonized meaning to every usage in order to drive the context. Then they will use that assumed context to argue against the biblical concept of Salvation being by grace through faith - apart from works, in accordance with Romans 4.

However, can you imagine if we harmonized all the meanings of Love and said that a person didn't really have "love" unless they fulfilled all the various meanings that Love covers in the Bible? You guessed.. .no human would ever actually "love" because no human could ever "agape love."

Likewise the harmonized meaning of Repentance can't ever be fulfilled by a human, saved or otherwise. In the end the "turn or burn" message that says you must make/confess as/receive as/ "Lord of your life" Jesus in order to be saved ends up really meaning "give lip service to the Lordship of Christ" because no one can actually live up to the standard demanded the LS proponent must allow disobedience in the one who has Jesus as Lord. Thus He is "Lord" of one's life in name only, not in power.

That is offensive to me, and it ought to be offensive to anyone who truly knows that Jesus the Christ IS LORD.

Now if you want to study what I'm talking about here, and see for yourself how wrong it is to harmonize all the English renderings of "repentance" into one meaning then I HIGHLY suggest you take the free course "The Doctrine of Repentance" at the Bible Broadcasting Network Bible Institute. It's free and has about 5 hours of audio teaching.

If you don't, you only have yourself to blame.