The R-Word (Part II)

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the Lord... --Acts 3:19

A man once told me that my emphasis on repentance was "theological hair-splitting," because some Scripture passages that deal with salvation stress faith, but don't mention repentance. For example, the famous Ephesians 2:8-9 says we are saved "by grace... through faith," with no explicit reference to repentance. For crying out loud, even John 3:16 says "whoever believes in Him... will have everlasting life." Thus, according to his logic, repentance is not always a necessary part of the Gospel presentation. Judging by my limited experience in the evangelical church, it seems a depressing amount of "believers" (if not "repenters") not only agree with his opinion, but assume it uncritically. So nobody bats an eye when hell-bound enemies of God are told to simply "believe that Jesus died for your sins" and "accept God's free gift of salvation." Sound familiar?

Yeah, I thought it might.

So why am I whining about this? What's the big deal? Apparantly biblical faith doesn't have to include repentance, right? So says today's popular easy-believism, but not Scripture. "But what about John 3:16 and Ephesians 2:8-9, etc., etc?" Great question. This is what I'm getting at: Biblical faith presupposes Biblical repentance. Faith is, in a sense, built upon the foundation of repentance. You cannot look to Christ in saving faith without first looking away from yourself in repentance. That's why, again, John the Baptist and Jesus both began their ministries by preaching repentance. When Scripture refers to the entire package of conversion as "faith," it does so to those who understand that repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin. (In John 3:16, Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus, a man familiar with His ministry to that point--see verse 2-- and a Pharisee, presumably an expert in the Old Testament. In Ephesians 2, Paul was writing to born-again believers. He didn't have to tell them that they repented of their sins; they already knew that. His point was that salvation is God's gift. It is not earned, even by repentance.)

But most of us, as evangelists, haven't had a John the Baptist to be our forerunner and prepare people's hearts for the message. Our listeners aren't in the same place as Nicodemus or the Ephesian church. In our culture, most people, including way too many church-goers, think religion just determines what you (might) do on Sundays, and in what kind of building you (might) get married. Telling a 21st-century American to "believe in Jesus" without thoroughly explaining the meaning and necessity of repentance is like telling a kid to write a story without teaching him the alphabet. When we say "believe" or "have faith," they're usually hearing "accept as factually true." Now hordes of religious people have intellectually accepted a (quasi-)gospel presentation as fact, and have even decided to identify themselves with those facts. Hooray for them.

Sadly, that's not salvation. We've led them to walk an aisle, shake a hand, say a prayer, sign a card, take a swim, warm a pew, and start writing checks-- but few have really grasped the reality of such commands as, "Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord." (2 Cor. 6:17) If they hear no call for repentance, they will shed no tear, admit no helplessness, seek no Messiah, abandon no sin, surrender no control, desire no holiness, and thus experience no sanctification.

Think I'm exaggerating? Compare the spiritual vitality of the average life-long church member (if you can get to know one deeply enough) to the standard set forth in Scripture, and consider whether maybe we've dropped the ball on this whole repentance concept.

"Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God... And this we will do if God permits." --Hebrews 6:1, 3