REPENTANCE & FAITH“Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of:1.repentance from dead works and of 2.faith toward God, and of 3.instruction about washings, 4.the laying on of hands, 5.the resurrection of the dead, and 6.eternal judgment.

(Hebrews 6:1-2)

PART I: THE DOCTRINE OF REPENTANCE

Prepared by: Jean-Louis Kaliningondo – jlouiskali@dev-net.rw - 0738302925

June 1st, 2013

• Repentance, a foundational doctrine of the Gospel• The Meaning of Repentance (Lexical approach)

– In the Old Testament– In the New Testament

• The Doctrine of Repentance in Church History• References & Resources for further study

Outline

Repentance, a foundational doctrine of the Gospel

It was preached by:1.John the Baptist • Mat.3:1-2 “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh”• Mar. 1:4 “There came John baptising in the wilderness, and preaching

the baptism of repentance for remission of sins.”• Mat. 3:8, Luke 3:8 “Produce therefore fruit worthy of repentance.”• Mat. 3:11 “I indeed baptise you with water to repentance…”• Acts 19:4 “And Paul said, John indeed baptised with the baptism of

repentance…”

2.The Lord Jesus-Christ• Mat. 4:17 “From that time began Jesus to preach and to say, Repent,

for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh.”• Mat. 11:20 “Then began he [the Lord] to reproach the cities in which

most of his works of power had taken place, because they had not repented.”

Repentance, a foundational doctrine of the Gospel

• Luke 5:32 – “I am not come to call righteous persons , but sinful ones to repentance”

• Luke 13:3,5 – “…if ye repent not, ye shall all perish in the same manner.”

• Luke 15:10 – “Thus, I say unto you, there is joy before the angels of God for one repenting sinner.”

3. The Apostles• Acts 2:38 – “ And Peter said to them, Repent, and be baptised, each one

of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for remission of sins, and ye will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

• Acts 3:19 “Repent therefore and be converted, for the blotting out of your sins…”

• Acts 5:31 “Him [the Lord] has God exalted by his right hand as leader and saviour, to give repentance to Israel and remission of sins.”

• Acts 17:30 – “God therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, now enjoins men that they shall all everywhere repent,…”

Repentance, a foundational doctrine of the Gospel

• Acts 20:18-21 – “You know how I was with you all the time from the first day that I arrived in Asia, … how I held back nothing of what is profitable, so as not to announce it to you, …, testifying to both Jews and Greeks repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ.”

• Act 26:19 – “Whereupon, king Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision; but have, first to those both in Damascus and Jerusalem, and to all the region of Judaea, and to the nations, announced that they should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance.”

• Rom. 2:4 – “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness, and forbearance, and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads thee to repentance?”

The Church• Luke 24:45-47 – “Then he [The Lord] opened their understanding to

understand the scriptures, and said to them, … that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations …”

The Meaning of Repentance

1. In the Old Testament (Hebrew)SC – Strong’s Concordance H5162

nacham (נחם)•A primitive root; properly to sigh, that is, breathe strongly; by implication to be sorry, that is, (in a favorable sense) to pity, console or (reflexively) rue; or (unfavorably) to avenge (oneself): - comfort (self), ease [one’s self], repent (-er, -ing, self).

VED-Vine’s Expository Dictionary•Nacham apparently means "to repent“ (change of mind/purpose) about 40 times and "to comfort" (bring consolation/solace) about 65 times in the Old Testament. •Most uses of the term in the Old Testament are connected with God's repentance

– "...It repented the Lord that he had made man..." (Gen 6:6); (Change of Mind)– "And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people" (Exo

32:14, KJV). (Change of purpose)

– "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" (Jer 18:8); (Change of purpose)

– "If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good..." (Jer 18:10); (change of purpose)

– "And rend your hearts, and not your garments and turn to the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, patient and rich in mercy, and ready to repent of the evil. " (DRB, Joel 2:13).

• […] obviously, He (God) changed when man changed to make the right choices, but He could not change His attitude toward evil when man continued on the wrong course.

• In some situations, God was wearied of “repenting” (Jer 15:6), suggesting that there might be a point beyond which He had no choice but to implement His discipline.– You have forsaken Me, says Jehovah; you have gone backward; therefore I will stretch

out My hand against you, and destroy you; I am weary with repenting. (MKJV, Jer. 15:6)

• As God changed His actions, He always remained faithful to His own righteousness. (Immutability of God)

The Meaning of Repentance

• Nacham may also mean "to comfort." – And they shall comfort you when you see their way and their doings. And you shall

know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, says the Lord Jehovah. (Eze. 14:23)

– And David comforted his wife Bathsheba. (2Sam. 12:24)

ISBE – International Standard Bible Encyclopedia• The Hebrew word נחם, naham, is an onomatopoetic term which implies

difficulty in breathing, hence, “to pant,” “to sigh,” “to groan.” Naturally it came to signify “to lament” or “to grieve,” and when the emotion was produced by the desire of good for others, it merged into compassion and sympathy, and when incited by a consideration of one's own character and deeds it means “to rue,” “to repent.”

• The term שוב, shubh, is most generally employed to express the Scriptural idea of genuine repentance. It is used extensively by the prophets, and makes prominent the idea of a radical change in one's attitude toward sin and God. It implies a conscious, moral separation, and a personal decision to forsake sin and to enter into fellowship with God.

The Meaning of Repentance

• The term שוב, shubh, is employed extensively with reference to man's turning away from sin to righteousness (Deut. 4:30; Neh. 1:9; Psa. 7:12; Jer. 3:14). – In thy tribulation, and when all these things shall come upon thee, at the end of days,

thou shalt return to Jehovah thy God, and shalt hearken to his voice (Deut 4:30)– “but if you turn to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though you were

cast out to the outermost part of the heavens, yet I will gather you from there and will bring you to the place that I have chosen to set My name there.” (MKJV, Neh 1:9)

– God is a righteous judge, and a *God who is indignant all the day. If one turn not, he will sharpen his sword; he hath bent his bow and made it ready, (Psa.7:11-12)

– Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against Jehovah thy God, […] Return, backsliding children, saith Jehovah […] and I will take you, […]. (Jer. 3:13-14)

• It quite often refers to God in His relation to man (Jos. 7:26).– “And they raised over him a great heap of stones, which is there to this day. And

Jehovah turned from the fierceness of his anger.” (Josh 7:26)

• It is employed to indicate the thorough spiritual change which God alone can effect (Psa. 85:4). – “Bring us back, O God of our salvation, and cause thine indignation toward us to

cease.” (Psa. 85:4)

The Meaning of Repentance

The Meaning of Repentance

1. In the New Testament (Greek)SC – Strong’s Concordance G3340G3340 - Metanoeo (μετανοεω)•to think differently or afterwards, that is, reconsider (morally to feel compunction): - repent.G3341 - Metanoia (μετανοια)•From G3340; (subjectively) compunction (for guilt, including reformation); by implication reversal (of [another’s] decision): - repentance.VED-Vine’s Expository DictionaryA. Verbs.•1. metanoeo (G3340), lit., "to perceive afterwards" (meta, "after," implying "change," noeo, "to perceive"; nous, "the mind, the seat of moral reflection"), in contrast to pronoeo, "to perceive beforehand," hence signifies "to change one's mind or purpose," always, in the NT, involving a change for the better, an amendment, and always, except in Luke 17:3-4, of "repentance" from sin.

The Meaning of RepentanceA. Verbs.•1. metanoeo (G3340), lit., "to perceive afterwards" (meta, "after," implying "change," noeo, "to perceive"; nous, "the mind, the seat of moral reflection"), in contrast to pronoeo, "to perceive beforehand," hence signifies "to change one's mind or purpose," always, in the NT, involving a change for the better, an amendment, and always, except in Luke 17:3-4, of "repentance" from sin. •2. metamelomai (G3338), meta, as in No. 1, and melo, "to care for," is used in the passive voice with middle voice sense, signifying "to regret, to repent oneself," Mat 21:29B. Adjective.•ametameletos (G278), "not repented of, unregretted" (a, negative, and a verbal adjective of A, No. 2), signifies "without change of purpose"; it is said :

– (a) of God in regard to his "gifts and calling," Rom 11:29; – (b) of man, 2Co 7:10, RV, "[repentance (metanoia, see C)]...which bringeth no regret"

(KJV, "not to be repented of"); the difference between metanoia and metamelomai, illustrated here, is briefly expressed in the contrast between "repentance" and "regret."

The Meaning of RepentanceC. Noun.•metanoia (G3341), "afterthought, change of mind, repentance," corresponds in meaning to A, No. 1, and is used of "repentance" from sin or evil.

ISBE – International Standard Bible Encyclopedia•The word επιστρεφω, epistrepho (G1994), is used to bring out more clearly the distinct change wrought in repentance. It is employed quite frequently in Acts to express the positive side of a change involved in New Testament repentance, or to indicate the return to God of which the turning from sin is the negative aspect. The two conceptions are inseparable and complementary. The word is used to express the spiritual transition from sin to God (Acts 9:35; 1Th. 1:9); to strengthen the idea of faith (Acts 11:21); and to complete and emphasize the change required by New Testament repentance (Acts 26:20).•(Strong’s Concordance) epistrepho: to revert (literally, figuratively or morally): - come (go) again, convert, (re-) turn (about, again).

The Doctrine of Repentance in Church History

1. Pre-Reformation View• Very early, repentance was distorted to become a meritorial ground for

Salvation. (Divine pardon but on the ground of self-amendment before God)

• Salvation brought the forgiveness of pre-baptismal sins only. People began putting-of baptism until they were near death.

• Church fathers proposed repentance (penance) as a cure for post-baptismal sins. Debate ensued on the number of times a person might repent and be forgiven

• Finally, in the 5th century, the Church uniformly specified that a person might repent and be forgiven an unlimited number of times

• Repentance was defined as: Contrition, Confession and Penance. To suit this interpretation “metanoeo” and “metanoia” were translated as “poenitentiam agite” and “poenitentia”, “to do acts of penance” and “penance”

• Of course, there was always a remnant of people who knew and apprehended the Grace of God in Christ.

The Doctrine of Repentance in Church History

2. Reformation View• The reformers challenged the three pillars of the Church’s view on

salvific repentance• Jean Calvin (1509-1564), and to a lesser extent Luther (1483 –1546)

taught that all sins (pre and post-baptismal) were forgiven at conversion.

• Penance was rejected by reformers as the means for the forgiveness of post-baptismal sins• Calvin completely rejected the idea that penance was necessary to maintain

salvation. He taught that the Sacrifice of Christ was complete and sufficient to atone for all of one’s sins.

• Luther, while rejecting penance, held that one who abandoned his faith in Christ and fell into sin would perish unless he returned to Christ again through renewed faith.

• Repentance (Metanoia) was defined as a “Change of Mind”• Both Calvin and Luther agreed on the fact that Salvific repentance was a change of

mind whereby one recognized his own sinfulness and need of forgiveness and then turned in faith to God to provide that forgiveness in Christ.

• The monolithic power of the Roman Church was broken.

The Doctrine of Repentance in Church History

3. Post-Reformation View• Continuance of pre-reformation and reformation views + Emergence of

new views.• Today, there are basically 3 Protestant views of salvific repentance:1. Turning away from Sin– Salvific Repentance = Actual turning away from sin, not the will nor the

intention2. Willingness/Resolution to stop Sinning– Salvific Repentance = It is enough to “Will” to leave sin, even if

unsuccessful to leave sin3. A Change of thinking– Salvific Repentance = A change of mind whereby a person recognizes his

sinfulness and need of salvation and sees Jesus-Christ as the sinless Substitute who died on the cross for his sins. It’s not about man, it’s about Christ. Strict adherence to the meaning of “metanoia” in its classical sense.

The Doctrine of Repentance in Church History

3. Post-Reformation View• Protestants embracing the 3 views described above can further be

divided in two categories: those who believe Salvation can be lost due to unfaithfulness subsequent to one’s conversion and those who don’t.

• Thus we have 6 views:

Turn away from sin and Keep on doing so to keep a salvation which can be lost

Turn away from sin to obtain an eternally secure salvation

Be willing to turn away from sin and then, after conversion, actually turn from sins as a manner of life to keep a salvation which can be lost

Be willing to turn away from sins to obtain an eternally secure salvation

Change your mind about yourself and Christ to gain initial salvation and then turn away from your sins as a manner of life thereafter to keep that salvation which can be lost.

Change your mind about yourself and Christ to gain an eternally secure salvation.

To be continued

Further Study Resources

• Holy Spirit (circa 99 AD) – Holy Scriptures (NT and OT)• Martin Luther (1517) - Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of

Indulgences• Robert N. Wilkin (1998) – Repentance and Salvation• Thomas Watson (1668) – Repentance• Google (Be careful though, not everything is good here)

Questions

• How do we reconcile verses mentioning God’s repentance like Gen. 6:6 & Exo. 32:14 with others such as Numbers 23:19 and 1 Sam.15:29 ?

• Is Repentance a condition for Salvation?