2nd Timothy 3:15, “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”
There is a false doctrine, called “Lordship Salvation,” which Satan has
crept into many churches today, which errantly teaches that a person must
repent first, and then have faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Advocates
of the Lordship Salvation heresy errantly teach that “repentance” means to
“turn away from sins,” to intent to reform, amend one's ways, and to cease from
lifelong sinful
bad habits. And then second, the person is led to place their faith in Jesus
as their Savior. Such a false plan of salvation cannot produce the new
birth.
Look at our text Bible verse above. Isn't it beautiful? In 2nd Timothy 3:16 we see the“ SIMPLICITY THAT IS IN CHRIST” (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4), which is “THE GOSPEL”! The Gospel is simply the “GOOD NEWS” of the Lord Jesus Christ Who DIED on the cross to pay our debt of sin, and then He was BURIED, and miraculously RESURRECTED bodily three days later for our justification (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). Simply believe the 'GOOD NEWS' dear reader and you are eternal saved!!! 2nd Timothy 3:15b, “...salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” I marvel that thousands of preachers today ignore such plain, blatant and inspired Scriptures, adding instead a bunch of requirements that God does not, perverting the plan of salvation. If turning away from sins were required to be saved, then the Bible would have mentioned it here in 2nd Timothy 3:15, but it does not! We are simply taught to HAVE FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST!
So does a person need to REPENT to be saved? Yes, of course, absolutely! But repentance does not mean “to turn from sins,” it means “to think differently” (the Greek verb metanoeo). We see this verb form used in Mark 1:15, “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” A literal interpretation of the latter part of the verse would be—“THINK DIFFERENTLY AND BELIEVE THE 'GOOD NEWS' THAT CHRIST DIED ON THE CROSS FOR YOUR SINS, WAS BURIED, AND BODILY RESURRECTED THREE DAYS LATER!” Repentance is unto the Gospel itself. We don't repent AND believe as false teachers claim, we repent TO believe. We are not saved by repenting from anything, we are saved by BELIEVING THE GOSPEL!!! What saith the Scripture?
1st Corinthians 15:1-4, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”
We are saved by BELIEVING “the Gospel,” which is the power of God unto salvation. Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” John 6:28-29, “Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” It is that simple to be saved. If you admit that you are a guilty sinner in God's sight, and you receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full payment for your sins, believing that He was buried, and bodily resurrected three days later, and that is your only hope for eternal life, then YOU ARE IMMEDIATELY, SECURELY AND FOREVER SAVED!!!
The Bible teaches that repentance and faith are inseparable and happen at the SAME time. Repentance is an automatic thing, so that it need not even be mentioned when presenting THE GOSPEL to a lost sinner. If someone desires to be saved because they understand that they are a sinner, they are saved the very second they trust (rely) upon the crucified, buried and risen Savior!!! Being born-again is that simple. God only saves ungodly sinners!
“You know the greatest difficulty and hindrance today, is not that people are not good enough. The great hindrance is they're not bad enough, to be saved!” —Pastor J. Vernon McGee, a truthful quote the MP3 sermon, “Why The Gospel Is Not Preached Today”
You don't repent of your sins and then secondarily place your faith in Christ. Salvation doesn't work that way. Biblically, the man who has repented has believed, and the man who believes has repented. This truth is evidenced by the fact that the Gospel of John mentions the words “believe,” “believest” and “believed” 87 times, but the word “repent” is never mentioned even once. The only requirement to believing the Gospel is to realize that you are a guilty sinner in the sight of a holy God. You've got to know what you are being saved from! ...
“The purpose of the law was never to save; the law has to make us speechless before God, before grace can even begin with us! ...My friend, God is only saving GUILTY SINNERS, those whose mouths are stopped, those who say 'I have nothing to offer God!' I come, just as I AM!” —Pastor J. Vernon McGee, a truthful quote the MP3 sermon, “Why The Gospel Is Not Preached Today”
I absolutely love the following passage of Scripture. Oh, notice my dear friend that “THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IS BY FAITH OF JESUS CHRIST”!!! And don't miss who gets saved... “ALL THEM THAT BELIEVE”!!! What further saith the Scripture? ...“BEING JUSTIFIED FREELY BY HIS GRACE THROUGH THE REDEMPTION THAT IS IN CHRIST!!! Wow, it doesn't get any plainer than that!!! Amen, hallelujah!!! ...
Romans 3:19-24, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
Now I ask you dear reader, where in the preceding passage of Holy Scripture are we taught to turn away from sinful ways? Where are we instructed to be willing to turn from our sins to be saved? Where are we told to surrender to Christ's Lordship as Master of our life, willing to follow and obey Him? Where are we instructed to forsake the world or have a negative attitude toward the pet sins in our life? You cannot show me any of that! Do you see friend what the Devil is doing nowadays? Satan has corrupted the Gospel, getting people to listen to Tv and internet preachers instead of “SEARCHING THE SCRIPTURES” as Jesus commanded in John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” I hear people who are utterly confused about their salvation, citing quotes which they've heard from John MacArthur, Paul Washer, John Goetsch, Chip Ingram, Jon Piper, Stephen Davies, and Ray Comfort, instead of quoting Bible verses. That tells me right away that they are listening to flawed men instead of God's inspired Word.
I challenge you friend to
listen only to the Word of God
(i.e., the inspired King James Bible) for a few months, and you will see
that salvation is by FAITH ALONE WITHOUT WORKS. The biggest lie that I hear
in pseudo-Christendom today is that salvation is by grace alone through
faith alone, but they say you still have to do works by turning from sin. It
is a contradictory false Gospel, a forked tongue plan of salvation, based
upon a double-standard of hypocrisy. What saith the Scripture? Romans
11:6, “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no
more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work
is no more work.” Could the Bible be any plainer? I think not. Salvation
is either by works or by grace, but it absolutely cannot be both.
Galatians 3:2, “This only would I learn of you, Received
ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”
The apostle Paul didn't ark them if they had turned away from their sins.
Paul wasn't concerned whether or not they had submitted to Jesus as their
Lord and Master. Paul didn't inquire if they had been water baptized. Paul
didn't ask them if they forsook the world. Paul only wanted to know one
thing—How did you get saved?—“BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW” or “BY
THE HEARING OF FAITH.” When the apostle Peter
presented the Gospel to Cornelius and others in Acts chapter 10, Peter
never instructed them to do anything, he simply told them THE STORY OF
JESUS, and when they believed they were immediately and forever saved! Whew
that's good stuff!!!
Repentance and Faith Illustrated
Repentance and faith are properly demonstrated by the illustration of an
evangelist who travels upon an airplane flying from Michigan to Hawaii. The
evangelist doesn't leave Michigan first, and then travel toward Hawaii. No,
rather, the evangelist is leaving his origin as he travels toward his
destination AT THE SAME TIME, simultaneously. Likewise, the person who
repents and believes is turning and moving toward Jesus Christ while at the
same time turning their back against, and moving away from, sin in their
mind and heart. A changed lifestyle is the FRUIT of genuine repentance unto
salvation, and not a part of the ROOT of saving-faith. To demand that a
person have intent to reform as a requirement for salvation is
self-righteousness. The intent to reform is a result, that is, FRUIT, of
repenting (a change of mind) concerning sin and the Savior.
- Repentance without faith is mere reformation, not true repentance, nor is it salvation. Turning over a new leaf is not salvation. To merely admit one's sinnership means nothing if you have not placed your trust in the 'GOOD NEWS' of Christ's death upon the cross for our sins, His burial, and His physical resurrection from the dead after three days. If Jesus hadn't risen from the dead, He couldn't save anybody, so the bodily resurrection is critically important to the Christian faith (1st Corinthians 15:14-17).
- Faith without repentance is religious humanism, not true faith, nor is it salvation. Making a commitment to Christ is not salvation, for it does not include the awareness that a man is a guilty sinner in the sight of a holy God (Romans 3:19-20). A person must acknowledge their sinnership, turning to Christ alone as their Savior.
Pastor Jack Hyles wonderfully explains these important preceding truths in his classic MP3 sermon titled: “THE SIN QUESTION AND THE SON QUESTION.” I hope you will take the time to listen to it for your edification.
Biblical salvation must includes BOTH repentance and faith. You'll never find the term “repentance from sin” in the Bible. Biblical repentance includes faith, which means that repentance is turning toward the Savior to be forgiven of one's sins. The TURNING (change of mind) is not just from sin, nor is it just toward the Savior; but rather, it is BOTH repentance and faith occurring at the SAME time. Repentance CANNOT be adequately defined apart from the inclusion of faith. Repentance and faith are like the two sides of one coin, that is, you cannot turn one without also turning the other. When a sinner turns by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved, they have also turned their back against sin. This doesn't mean that a person must forsake sins to be saved, God forbid, because that is works for salvation. It simply means that to be saved, a person must admit they are a guilty sinner in God's sight (Romans 3:19).
Thus, repentance is the admission that I am as guilty a sinner as a holy God has declared me to be in His holy Word, which accompanies TURNING by faith to the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be forgiven and saved, obtaining eternal life by God's righteousness alone in Christ Jesus, and these two parts of salvation happen at the same time. Repentance and faith are not two steps to salvation; but rather, two parts of ONE STEP (as Dr. John R. Rice termed it). The new birth in Christ is instant, not a process, although sanctification and discipleship are a process which require a lifetime to become Christlike.
That is what true Biblical repentance unto salvation means. To repent without faith is false repentance, the mere admission of sinnership. Judas was sorry that he got caught, having a false form of repentance in Matthew 27:3. Judas felt remorse for betraying the innocent Savior, even attempting to return the 30 pieces of silver, but Judas had no faith in Jesus as the Christ and went to Hell in the sin of unbelief. Repentance without faith is mere reformation and does not produce the new birth (salvation).
In Matthew 7:21-23 we learn about a sincere group of religious people who had faith in Christ but had never repented of their dead works. Hebrews 6:1, “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.” They foolishly said, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?” These were religious people who had “DONE MANY WONDERFUL WORKS,” which was their whole problem. They were trusting in THEIR WORKS, instead of resting in Jesus Christ.
God's will is to REST completely in the finished redemptive work of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:1-11). Repentance includes the admission that I CANNOT SAVE MYSELF! Repentance is realizing my guilt of sin and TURNING to Christ by faith as my Savior. Romans 10:3-4, “For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”
