Repentance
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Jesus did not say do penance and believe the gospel, He said, "repent ye and believe the gospel," Matthew 1:15. God has commanded all men everywhere to repent, Acts 17:30. Penance is an act or effort on the part of the guilty to try to render payment for sin, to atone for the wrong done against God and man, when it cannot be done, for Christ atoned for sin on the cross by shedding His precious blood for the remission of sin. The best penance can do is reform, and reformation is only a change brought about by the efforts of man for self-glory, (see Matthew 12:43-45). A person may give up bad habits and try to overhaul the old nature, turn over a new leaf, or make restitution, but none of these will justify a person in the eyes of God. Salvation is by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. There is absolutely no other way for anyone to be saved. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved," (Acts 4:12). General William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, stated more than 100 years ago; "the chief danger in the 20th century will be, Religion without the Holy Ghost; Christianity without Christ; Forgiveness without Repentance; Salvation without Regeneration." Repentance is a change evidenced in at least three elements; a change of mind, the intellectual element; a change of heart, the emotional element; a change of will, the free-will element. Repentance is a change, the prodigal had a change of mind, and his change of mind effected a change of heart, and his change of heart effected a change of will. No one has ever been saved until he wills to be saved, Revelation 22:17, "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Repentance is a change of mind, of heart, and of the will, turning to God for salvation, deliverance from darkness into the light, from death to life and from sin to righteousness. In Dr. John R. Rice's book, a verse by verse commentary on the Book of Luke commenting of verses 1-5 of chapter 13 wrote, "To all those present, Jesus said that they were sinners like those Galilean rebels Pilate had put to death, that they were sinners like those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell; and they, too, except they repented, should likewise perish. The whole human race, then, is sinful and God "now commandeth all men everywhere to repent" Acts 17:30. That bears out the clear teaching of Romans 3:9-23; I John 1:8-10; Romans 5:12 and many other Scriptures. There are those who foolishly believe that the doctrine of John the Baptist was different from that of Jesus because John came preaching repentance. But a penitent heart was always required for saving faith and so repentance is preached here, as in Acts 16:30-31 and 2 Peter 3:9, etc. Then the preacher ought never preach love without preaching wrath, ought never preach Heaven without preaching hell, ought never preach forgiveness without preaching repentance."
Today we hear less and less about repentance in the pulpit, even in our Fundamental churches. Let's take a close look and see what repentance means and does not mean. It is a doctrine greatly neglected by many. Repentance does not mean a period of weeping and mourning over sin. The right kind of sorrow leads to immediate repentance, but mourning is not repentance. "Godly sorrow worketh repentance," II Corinthians 7:10. Repentance not only means to have a change of mind toward God and sin, but to turn from sin, earnestly, with all your heart and trust Christ to save you. One who truly believes in Christ repents, and one who truly repents, believes in Christ, trusts Him for salvation. Repentance is a gift of God, Acts 5:31, "Him (Christ) hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." And in Acts 11:18 b, "...Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance to life." Romans 2:4 b, "...The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance." No one merits the goodness of God, therefore repentance is a gift, the result of God's goodness. The gift of repentance is an inward change produced by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit as the Word of God is proclaimed by way of preaching, teaching, or witnessing, Acts 2:37-38; John 16:7-11. The results, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ--Acts 20:21. Repentance qualifies a person for salvation, but it takes faith in Christ to acquire it. True repentance, genuine repentance, is always coupled with genuine faith. It is impossible to have saving faith without true repentance. Faith without true repentance is the ultimate of hypocrisy, and repentance without faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ is pure foolishness. No one can earn salvation by way of repentance, but it puts a person in a position in which God, on the ground of the work and merits of the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work on Calvary, is free to pardon his sins and make him His child. Repentance involves a change of mind and implies an alteration of course. This means a change of direction and conduct. It involves the turning of a lost sinner to God. This was the goal of Paul's preaching after his great experience with the Lord Jesus Christ. In Acts 26:18 Jesus said, "To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan unto God that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me." Repentance involves forsaking one's sin, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." (Isaiah 55:7). It involves confession of sin to Almighty God. "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." (Proverbs 28:13). The prodigal son confessed, "I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee." (Luke 15:18). Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, "For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God;" (I Thessalonians 1:9). Repentance is not opposed to grace, it is the recognition of the need of grace. "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish," these word are just as important today as they were when they were first spoken. Grace it the unmerited favor of God to all of us, who deserve the very opposite. In a book of sermons printed in 1922, written by Dr. L. R. Scarborough stated, "There are just two steps to God, Repentance and Faith; Repentance is turning away from your sins, you cannot come into God's Kingdom with one hand open and the other behind your back holding on to something displeasing to God. There is no substitute for repentance. The next step is faith in Christ, a personal acceptance of Jesus Christ." Some people try penance as a substitute for repentance. A person may punish this old body, and make offerings and sacrifices, but nothing will take the place of true repentance and faith in the wonderful and only Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. In the 1828 edition (reprint) of Noah Webster's Dictionary, repentance is defined as; sorrow for anything done or said; In theology, the pain, regret; or affliction which a person feels on account of his past conduct, because it exposes him to punishment; real penitence; sorrow or deep contrition for sin, as an offence and dishonor to God, a violation of His holy law, and benevolence; repentance is a change of mind, or a conversion from sin to God, it is a relinquishment of a practice, from conviction that it has offended God. Dr. J. R. Rice wrote, "To repent literally means to have a change of mind or spirit toward God and toward sin. It means to turn from your sins, earnestly, with all your heart, and trust Jesus Christ to save you...I beg you, turn in shame and sorrow from your sins this minute, and trust in Christ and be saved." To this I will say, Amen!
Evangelist Rutherford E. Layne
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