Understanding True Repentance in Christian Faith

And so again I say that in the New Testament understanding of redemption, repentance is at the very core and center of the message. But that's not the way it is today. In fact the concept of repentance has all but disappeared from contemporary forms of evangelism. And I think partly it's because we're so desirous and so zealous to win people to Christ, that we stand before them, and we tell them all the benefits of becoming a Christian, and we tell them to make a decision to follow Jesus, or to ask Jesus to enter into their lives or come into their hearts. [00:01:17]

Now, in theology we make a distinction between faith and repentance. They’re two different words, two different concepts. And because they’re two different words and two different concepts, obviously we have to make a distinction between them. But when we distinguish these two words, we are engaged in something very dangerous. We are in danger of in our distinguishing them, ending up by divorcing them by making such a wide separation between them. [00:02:12]

Where in biblical categories even though these two ideas are distinguished, they remained so closely connected that they exist in an inseparable relationship to such a degree that true faith always involves repentance, and true repentance always involves faith. Now, I chose my word there very, very carefully when I use the word involve, for this reason, that in theology sometimes we see repentance as being a necessary consequence or fruit of true faith. [00:02:49]

And this whole idea of the carnal Christian, as being somebody who is truly converted but has never really brought forth the fruit of repentance, is as foreign to the teaching of the New Testament as it is new on the horizon of Christian thinking and Christian doctrine. And when you hear it, I would hope that you would run for your lives. Because what is involved here is an attempt to make sure that our evangelistic fruit counts. [00:06:17]

All you have to do to become Christian, all you have to do to be saved is to raise your hand, or all you have to do is come forward to the altar and make a profession of faith. All you have to do in order to be saved is to say the sinner’s prayer. Or all you have to do in order to be saved is to ask Jesus into your heart. Those statements are simply not true. [00:06:58]

And what is so dangerous about that is that people will respond to our request. They will do the technique and answer the method that has been prescribed for them, and walk away believing that therefore they are Christians, which can be to their everlasting peril -- where they walk away thinking that they are in Christ because they raised their hand, or walked the aisle, when in fact they've never experienced authentic faith, and they've never repented of their sins. [00:07:45]

And Edwards says that that person is in serious, serious trouble, because added to his paganism is his practice of blasphemy in which he enters into the holy things of God pretending to be a believer, when in fact he is not. And so he adds to his guilt before God. Now, we could look at that as just part of the Puritan mentality of preoccupation with God's judgment and wrath and all of that sort of thing, and dismiss Edwards at that level. [00:10:40]

But I've always said that in my judgment that the most frightening thing that’s ever taught in the New Testament is found in Jesus’ most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, -- where when he comes to the conclusion of that sermon, he gives a warning to professors, where he says that many will come to me in the last day saying, “Lord, Lord, did we not do this in your name? And did we not do that in your name, Lord, Lord?” [00:11:34]

And the original meaning of the Greek term that is translated, to repent, simply means, to change your mind. Because of that, I have read theologians who have said that all that repentance means is that you change your mind about Jesus. I mean, prior to your conversion you thought maybe Jesus was some kind of primitive lunatic with religious inclinations or maybe you thought he was a great moral teacher or even a prophet in ancient world. [00:13:40]

And you say, aha, all repentance means is a change of mind. You miss the fullness of what is communicated when Jesus places this concept at the core of his message, because here this is not just a mere changing of your mind where opinion shifts from moment to moment. You change your minds all the time about many, many, many things. But when we’re talking about repentance in the biblical sense, we're talking about something that doesn't happen at the edge of our experience, but something that happens in the very core of your personality. [00:18:47]

But there can be no real conversion without a real turning from your former ways of life and fleeing now to the arms of Christ, whereby at the very core of your being you have resolved to leave that sinful lifestyle behind you and seek the forgiveness of sin. But we live in a day today where the Christian community is overwhelmed by a sense of guilt, a guilt that is like a burden, like Christian in Pilgrim’s Progress, that’s weighing him down and he can't get past it. [00:21:29]

And so forgiveness is essential to cure guilt. But before you can have forgiveness there must be repentance. And just as forgiveness is essential to get rid of guilt, so repentance is essential to gain that forgiveness. And so if there's any concept is New Testament we need to master, it is this concept of repentance because so much hangs upon it. [00:22:27]