What About Repentance - Journey Bible Church

What About Repentance?

By Dr. Jerry Lloyd

Since we are saved by grace through faith and that not of yourselves… (Ephesians 2:8)

…What About Repentance?

Since “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)” Where does repentance come in?

Some have taught that repentance means “sorrow for sin.” That would go along with what Webster’s Dictionary says is the primary meaning of the word “repentance.” Others have said that “repent means to turn from your sin.” That would correspond well with a more remote meaning found in Webster’s dictionary. Still others combine the two meanings saying that repentance means to change your mind and turn from your sin. Still others give a more remote meaning of “change of mind.” Then there are still others that apparently do not like any of those meanings, so they have come up with their own meaning of “WILLINGNESS to turn from your sin.”

All of those meanings that have anything to do with sin (the wrong things we do) are work that a person must do. They are actions or commitments that the sinner does. So the questions continue: Of how many sins must we repent, and for how long must we repent of them? And just where in the whole plan of salvation does repentance come in?

Psychological Study

I read a study while in one of my psychiatry classes in college in which a class of students was instructed to agree that a curved line on the chalkboard was straight. Then one student was introduced into the class that was not aware of the instructions. Of course, the test student would at first insist that the line in question was curved, but, eventually, he would agree with the rest of the class that the line was straight even though it was contrary to the evidence.

However, if there was one person in the class that would agree that the line was curved, the test student could not be persuaded.

In general, people are going to believe what they want to believe in spite of the facts and in spite of the evidences. However, a few people are honest and receptive to the truth, but if they can find one other person that teaches what they want to believe or that agrees with their preconceived ideas, most people will not be convinced. That is why it is so important to be careful of the doctrine of the writings and authors you study. People are going to believe what they want to believe in spite of the facts and in spite of the evidences. God says in Isaiah 48:4-5:

“Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass; I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.”

Spiritual Babies

In Hebrews 5:11-13 God tells us that if we are not knowledgeable in the basics of God’s Word we are spiritual babies.

“For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”

The Importance of Scripture

Babes in Christ are not knowledgeable in the basic doctrines. Why is this? It could be that they are not being taught the basic doctrines. There have been occasions in some meetings in which I have been when a man would preach a whole message and never use but one or two verses of Scripture. I have been criticized for using too many verses and maybe in some cases I do, but I feel like, “What have I got to say that is important to you? Nothing. But if I can teach something from the Word of God, that is important, because that is eternal.” My opinions are not worth much. Opinions are like armpits. Everybody has got a couple, and they all stink, but the Word of God is truth whether you believe it or not.

Be especially careful what commentaries you study. Remember, commentators are simply “common ‘taters.” They do not have a corner on the market of the truth of the Word of God. When they explain the Word of God accurately, that is of eternal value, but when they get away from the Bible and get into opinion, they are teaching armpits. They just might stink. They are being unskillful in the Word.

I have heard TV preachers and read many good books by authors who have many good points on social issues, politics, counseling, finances, worry, breaking habits, child rearing, marital counseling, or overcoming depression, but, if they seldom refer to Scripture, be careful. If you get the impression that they are simply making Scripture fit their philosophy, and they are not explaining the Word of God, they are unskillful in the Word.

Reason for Confusion

Those who do not use the Word of God become confused as to what is truth and what is philosophy and preconceived ideas. How do we know how to discern good and evil? Stay where you can discern sound doctrine. Sound doctrine comes from one place-The Word of God. Study that. “Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the Word of truth,” II Timothy 2:15. We rightly divide the Word of truth by study: not simply meditation, not simply listening. So, study the Word of God so that you can rightly divide the Word of truth.

Basic Doctrines

Let us find out what the basics are.

What are the basics? God tells us in the next verses what the basic doctrines are. In Hebrews 6:1-2 God gives a list of basic foundational truths. There are five doctrines mentioned in these two verses that form the foundational truths.

The First Foundational Doctrine

The first doctrine is brought out in verse one. That is the doctrine of Christ which consists of the teachings on the person and work of Christ. Verse two gives us the other four cardinal doctrines.

Two Parts of the Doctrine of Christ

Hebrews 6:1 states the first foundational doctrine. That is the doctrine of Christ. There are two parts to the doctrine of Christ. We will look at the second part first. That is the part that says, “And faith toward God.” The doctrine of Christ refers the two basic things, which are the basis for salvation.

Doctrine of Salvation

In Hebrews 6, are forms of works that we should do after we are saved, but the doctrine of Christ in verse one is basically the doctrine of salvation. The doctrine of Christ starts with faith toward God.

Faith Is Not a Doctrine

When God talks about faith toward God He is talking about the person of Jesus Christ. God is referring to the deity of Jesus Christ. We must believe that Jesus is God in the flesh, and that He did everything necessary to get you to heaven when He died, was buried, and came back from the dead. That’s it. If you start adding to that, then you start talking about the doctrine of faith, and you have messed up. Faith is not a doctrine. It is a word, and words have meanings and synonyms. A synonym is another word that has the same meaning. Dictionaries often use synonyms to help you understand the simple meaning of a word.

What Is Faith?

What would be a good synonym for faith? Trust or believe are the words used in the Bible. A meaning could be “rely upon.” When you start saying faith is a commitment, and the meaning goes on for a paragraph, you have probably created a doctrine. Be careful of turning a word into a doctrine. Sometimes people who desire to add works to salvation will expand the definition of faith into a doctrinal paragraph. Faith has nothing to do with perseverance, changing, obeying, confessing, following, or committing.

True of False?

When you were in school, you took true or false tests. The longer the statement was that you were to determine was true or false, the less chance it had of being true. The more elements that were added, the more chances it had of it being false; because all of the statement has to be true for the question to be considered true. Otherwise, the statement is false.

When I would take a true or false test when I was in school, if I found anything true, I would mark “true.” So I did not do well on true or false tests. Tests are designed so that, if a statement has four elements, then three of the four are going to be true, but if one of the elements is false, the whole statement is false. That is the way the tests are designed, intentionally.

Satan’s Work

Incidentally, that is also the way Satan works. In his definitions of Biblical terms, there will be a bulk of the statement that is true, but there will be just enough error to make it false. That is what makes a counterfeit acceptable.

This is also true when a person is talking about words in the Bible. However, some start changing words into doctrines. When the meaning of a word goes on for a paragraph, chances are it is not correct. If you read a definition that goes on for a page it is almost sure to be a counterfeit. If it goes on for pages, you can mark it down. This person has got an ax to grind. They are trying to add something somewhere along the line that does not belong there.

Repentance from Dead Works

There is another phrase in Hebrews 6:1 that has a word that has caused a great deal of confusion. That is the basic understanding that before one trusts Christ there is usually “repentance from dead works.” The confusion comes from the misunderstanding of the word “repent,” and the subsequent doctrine that has been developed from that word.

Doctrines and Definitions

There is a huge difference between doctrine and definitions of words. “Repentance,” for example, is not a doctrine. It is a word with a definition.

The word from which “repent is translated here is the Greek word “μετανοία” (metavoia), which simply translated means “a change of mind” according to A Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature by Bauer, Arndt, and Gingrich. A good synonym would simply be “reconsider.”

An important question that comes up when considering repentance would be: “What are we supposed to reconsider?” the answer is emphatic in the context. We are to reconsider (repent about) dead works. It is important to note that sins or wrong doings are not in view, when it comes to the Scriptural use of the word “repent.” We are to rethink the roll of works in salvation.

Whose works are we to rethink?

The verse refers to the work of Jesus Christ, because that is what the doctrine of Christ includes: the person and work of Jesus Christ, but no one would ever consider the work of Jesus Christ as “dead works.”

The only other works to which this could refer would be our works.

The works that should accompany salvation in verse nine are not named in verse two. So the dead works of which we are to repent must be works that occur prior to the “faith in Christ,” which is referred to in the last part of the verse. Works done to try to merit eternal life are indeed “dead works,” because it is impossible to yield the intended fruit of eternal life in heaven.

So when we come to faith in Christ, it is presupposed that we have repented or reconsidered the roll of works in salvation, because being saved is not of works. “By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works,” Ephesians 2:8-9. There is a very real possibility that a person who believes may never do any works here on earth, yet his faith in Christ will still acquire the righteousness required to get him to heaven according to Romans 4:5:

“To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”

Moreover, as long as a person is in any way depending on his own works to get him to heaven by either depending on works to either save or keep him, he cannot receive the righteousness required to get to heaven according to Romans 10:3:

“They being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”

The reason for that is Jesus did all of the work to get us to heaven. All we have to do is have faith in His finished work as all that is required to get us to heaven. This was accomplished 2,000 years ago when God the Father took on flesh, came to earth, took our sin upon Himself, then paid for it by death.

If you are trusting your own good works to get you to heaven, then you need to change your mind, because you cannot add to what Jesus has already done. In fact it would be an insult to His work to try.

The doctrine of Christ is very simply the person and work of Jesus Christ. God says that is a doctrine here in Hebrews 6:1. Therefore, you can go for pages explaining it, but it is basically the person and work of Jesus Christ. If you take the work of Jesus Christ and you add the work of man to it, you have taken away from the doctrine of Christ. That would be as if you were saying “God did some good, but man must add something to it.” That would be taking away from the sufficiency of the work of Christ by adding the work of man, whether it would be works such as confession, going forward, water baptism, or laying on of hands, that would be taking away from the finished work of Christ.

What Is repentance from Dead Works?

So what is repentance from dead works? If the works are dead, and they are not Christ’s works that are dead, then they are your works that are dead. If you add your works for salvation, you are adding dead works, because your works cannot save you. Salvation is by the person and work of Jesus Christ and has nothing to do with your person or your work. You are undeserving. You cannot and never will be able to do enough to help get you to heaven, and you will always have too much sin to allow you get to heaven by your goodness. So, all of our works are dead works as far as helping us get to heaven. What we need to do is change our mind about trusting our dead works as having anything to do with getting us to heaven. That is what repentance for salvation means. Repentance is not a doctrine. It is a word that simply means to change your mind.

Multiple Meanings

Words sometimes have more than one meaning. Consider for an example the word “Palm.” That is part of your hand, right? If I said I want you to go outside and sit under the palm and wait for me. What would you do? Would you go out and sit under your hand? No, you would go sit under the palm tree. So the word “palm” means a part of your hand or a tree. However, it does not mean the Palm of your hand and the tree at the same time. It is one or the other. When you play basketball, the word “palm” can also mean to turn the ball over or carry the ball while you are dribbling. That is called palming. So “palm” has another meaning which is completely different from the other two meanings. It does not mean go wait out there under the tree with your hand over your head while palming the basketball. Words only use one meaning at a time.

Multiple Meanings of Repent

It is the same thing with the word “repent.” However, I have met some people who try to add “change your mind,” turn “from your sin,” and “sorrow for sin” all at the same time.

The Greek word for repent does have a secondary meaning. The word can have the secondary meaning of “sorrow.” However, it never means sorrow for your sin. Nowhere in the Greek does it mean anything about sin at all. It can mean sorrow and it can mean turning, but it does not mean “sorrow for sin” or “turn from sin.” Those are what you call secondary or remote meanings. The second remote meaning is sorrow, and the third remote meaning of the Greek word is turning, but repent does not mean all three meanings at the same time, just as palm does not me all three of its meanings at the same time.

Change Your Mind

So which is it? Every time μετανοία is used in the Bible and the New Testament in particular it means “change of mind.”

However, the most important way we know what the Bible means by “repent” is by its use in the context. When a word has more than one meaning, as most words do, if the main meaning fits, use it. That is why it is listed as the first or primary meaning. Do not go to a secondary meaning.

Honesty with the Word of God

I have read some commentators that would use a remote meaning for a word in a sentence and later in the same sentence they use the primary meaning, because it fits their doctrine. They were, actually, doctrinally sound, but they were not biblically honest in that verse. We must be honest with the Word of God. Trust the Word of God.

It’s Greek to Me

In the New Testament, the word that is almost always translated “repent” is the Greek word μετανοία (metanoia).

We see that μετανοία usually means a “change of mind,” and in the New Testament Bible it always does.

If God meant “sorrow” He would have used the word μετεμελόμην (Metamelomai), which has the primary meaning of sorrow and a secondary meaning of “change of mind.” If God meant “turning,” He would have used μεταβαλόμενοι (metaballo), which has the primary meaning of “turning” although it can also have the remote meaning of “change of mind. Since μεταβαλόμενοι has the primary meaning of turning and the secondary meaning of change of mind, God would surely have used μεταβαλόμενοι, if He meant turning. Clearly God is talking about a change of mind, because He uses the word μετανοία, which means change your mind; and that is what you have to do for salvation. In salvation we need to change our mind from whatever we were trusting to get us heaven to trusting Christ alone for salvation.

In II Corinthians 7:9 God says:

“I rejoice not that you were made sorry, but that you sorrowed to repentance.”

The word for sorry here is μετεμελόμην (metamelomai). Then God uses the words “sorrowed to repentance.” If repent meant “sorrow” you could put sorrow in there in the place of repent. Let us see what that would sound like.

“I rejoice not that ye were made sorry but that you sorrowed to sorrow for if you were made sorry after a godly manner that you might receive damage by us in nothing, but godly sorrow worketh sorrow not to be sorrowed of, but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”

You begin to see these are two separate words with two separate meanings: to “repent” (change your mind) and “sorrow.” If you did not have different meanings, then you would have a severe case of redundancy. Redundancy is against the grammatical rules in Greek, just as they are in English.

Sorrow and Repentance Are not the Same

What is the point of all this? Sorrow and repentance are different things. Sorrow can bring about a change of mind, but the sorrow and the change of mind are not the same thing. Is the sorrow necessary to change a person’s mind? No, it is not, but it can be very helpful. Whether there is sorrow for sin, or sorrow for a lost loved one, it can change your mind about salvation. Sorrow often makes us aware of the existence of God, the understanding of the brevity of life, and the certainty of death, and, therefore, may lead us to repentance.

The Sorrow of Esau

Hebrews 12:17 tells about Esau selling his birthright for some lentil soup. He said, “Give me that soup lest I die.”

So Jacob said, “OK, but first you have to give me your birthright.”

Esau replied, “I don’t care anything about the birthright. Yeah, you can have the birthright. Give me some soup.”

I know that sounds crazy, but that is what happened. However, later he kind of matured a little and saw the importance of his birthright. Read what happened.

“Ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing he was rejected: For he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.”

Did he have sorrow? Yes, He did. He had sorrow over something he had done earlier in life, but it was too late to change his mind. The damage was already done, so it was too late to repent.

Repenting Is not Turning

In Acts 26:20 we see the same principle of redundancy.

“Shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God.”

If “repent” meant “turn” how would this verse read?

“That they should turn and turn to God.”

That would be another example of redundancy.

It is true that you can change your mind when you turn around. To turn around, you probably would have to change your mind, but the turning is a result of changing your mind. They are not the same thing. In fact if you were planning to turn around and you changed your mind, you would repent and not turn. Just because two words might be related, it does not mean they are the same thing. You can change your mind without turning around, and you can turn around without changing your mind, so they are not the same thing. You may need to change your mind before you make a turn, but they are not the same thing.

Repentance Has Nothing to Do with Repenting

Something else is evident. “Repent” does not have anything to do with sin. Sin is not part of the definition of “repent.”

Now the subject matter may include the idea of sin because God the one person to “repent of this thy wickedness,” but the Bible never uses the phrase: “repent of sin.” If you add the word “sin” to the meaning of the word “repent,” you are also going to have to change your idea about God.

God Repents

However, when a person says repent means to turn from sin or sorrow for sin, since God repents, he is saying that God has sin from which He must turn or for which He should feel sorry, because God says that He does repent. Consequently, it is blasphemy to teach that repent means turn from sin or sorry for sin, because in the Bible God repents more often than any man.

Forty-five times in the Old Testament the Bible uses the word “repent.” Thirty-nine times it is talking about God that repents, and the majority of those times it says that God does repent. He does change His mind. And the reason He changes His mind is because men change their minds. God changes his mind when men change their ways. God changes his mind, but do not add sin to the definition of repent, because then you add sin to the person of God. God does not sin. That is why this is such an important doctrine. That is the reason I harp on this.

In Exodus 32:14 God says:

“And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto His people.”

God was not talking about sin He was going to do. He was going to judge sin, and He changed his mind. He repented.

In Jeremiah 18:8-10 God says:

“If that nation against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; If it do evil in My sight that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.”

So, if people change, God will change His mind toward them. As you can see in these verses, God repents.

In Jeremiah 26:13 God says:

“Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and if you do that the Lord will repent Him of the evil that He hath pronounced against you.”

God is saying, “If you change your ways I will change My mind.”

Now, my point is this in all that. When we change our mind God changes His mind. The best example of this is found in salvation. We are under the condemnation of God because of our sin, but when we trust Christ as our Savior, He changes His mind. We are no longer under the wrath of God. Now, we are under the blessing of God. We are a child of God, and He will give you heaven as a free gift. God promises, “You change your mind, and I will change my mind.” Does God change His mind? Yes, He does. To be true to His immutable promise and His immutable character He will change his mind.

There have been commentators and authors that have tried to change the meaning of the word “repent” and they have done a pretty thorough job. Therefore, a look into the Biblical meaning of the word is necessary.

Ardnt and Gingrich’s Greek English Lexicon, Zondervan’s Analytical Lexicon, and Strong’s Concordance agree that the primary meaning of the Greek words translated “repent” means “change of mind,” as does the Scofield reference Bible’s footnotes. However, some more recent authors have begun to try to refute those meanings. So, a glimpse into the study of the Greek translation of the word “repent” in the Septuagint, which was translated by 70 Greek/Hebrew scholars about 250 years before Christ was born and was probably the translation that Jesus used, gives us an idea of what the word “repent” meant to the writers of the Scriptures. What the word has come to mean is irrelevant as far as understanding the Bible. The issue is “What did the New Testament writers mean.”

The word that is most often used for repentance in the Old Testament is the Greek word μετανοία, but what is intriguing is the meaning of the other words that are translated “repent.” They carry the meanings of “merciful, comforter, be comforted, comfort, think about, and compassion.”

These words are often used in conjunction with coming judgment, but the repentance, usually, had the idea of sparing judgment rather than bringing judgment against sin. The idea seems to be that, because of sin, judgment is coming; but God in His compassion and mercy withholds judgment for a time to give the offenders a chance to change their ways so God could change His mind about judgment. Repent seldom had anything to do with the sin of the person who repented, but, if sin was involved at all in its meaning, repentance was more the concern over the calamity that was coming to someone else because of their sin. The fact is the word seemed to warrant the synonym “grace” rather than “contrition.”

Maybe the best example and explanation of repentance is found in Matthew 21:28-32 where Jesus said:

“What think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.

29: He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.

30: And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.

31: Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.

32: For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.”

The illustration begins with what seems like a clear enough example of a son simply changing his mind about what his father told him to do, but in the application of the parable we see an example of repentance as it could relate to salvation. We see no turning nor sorrow anywhere in the illustration or the application, albeit there certainly could have been. The publicans and harlots went into the Kingdom based solely upon their belief, while those to whom He was speaking did not change their mind and believe.

Repentance in Salvation

Repentance for salvation means to change your mind about whose work saves you. We repent of our dead works. Sorrow may precede repentance and turning away from sin may follow repentance. Repentance may be the precursor to faith. It makes sense to change your mind before you believe in Jesus Christ. You must change your mind about whose work saves you, but the change of mind is not faith, just as faith is not the change of mind. You may have to change your mind to place your faith in what Jesus did on the cross as sufficient to save and keep you, but changing your mind is not faith.

Let me say it again. Sorrow may precede repentance. Turning may follow faith, and repentance may in many cases be the precursor to faith, but none of these are the same thing. None is the synonym of the other.

Salvation Is not of Your Works

Salvation is not by our works. It is by the work of Jesus Christ alone and completely. If you have never trusted Jesus Christ to get you to heaven, you must understand that your works cannot save you. Salvation is “not of works lest any man should boast” according to Ephesians 2:9.

Salvation Is Solely by the Work of Christ

However, the work of Christ can save you, because He already finished doing the work for salvation. You do not even have to wait for Him to do anything. All you have to do is trust what he has already done.

We have all sinned. We have done things wrong. To get to heaven you cannot have any sin, because then there would be death and sickness in heaven. God cannot allow that. Therefore, we have to be perfectly righteous to get to heaven, and nobody is perfectly righteous. So, there is nothing we can do to get ourselves to heaven.

We Can Know We Have Eternal Life

However, when we understand that Jesus died and paid for our sins, and we trust his death payment, then we can know that we have eternal life.

Pastor Jerry

Questions

1-What is the basic meaning of the word “repent” in the Bible?

2-What are two synonyms for “faith?”

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3-What is a good synonym for the word “repent” in the Bible?

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4-What one thing does God require of us to be saved from hell?

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5-Have you trusted Jesus to get you to heaven?