In these last days the fundamental foundation of what it means to be Saved in Jesus Christ is under the greatest attack.  And rightfully so, for whatever issue is pressing upon society and seems to be significant, is of no significance in comparison to the issue of the Salvation of your soul … do you have eternal life in Jesus Christ?  I have written many articles on Salvation by Grace through Faith in Jesus Christ, pointing out that Salvation, Repentance and Faith are a “gift” of God that can’t be earned by our works or kept by our works (Ephesians 2:8-9).  In this article I mainly deal with the question is “Repentance a work you must do after Salvation in order to stay Saved? … No“

For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. – 2 Corinthians 7:10

Repentance is a product of Godly sorrow that recognizes that you have acted independently from God and have fallen short of what you intended to achieve … so who do you blame … yourself or God?  Godly sorry is a realization that you can’t and don’t control things because you are not God.  Godly sorrow is actually liberating because you realize you need to have Christ reign over your life, granting you forgiveness for sin (acting independently from God) and giving you the Holy Spirit (comforter, helper, teacher – John 14:26) to guide you in the Truth for your decisions.  My friend says, “The Truth will set you free but it will piss you off first!“.  Hallelujah, this is repentance that leads to Salvation!  Note, it is the will of God that all people experience godly sorrow that produces (worketh) a repentance that leads to Salvation (2 Peter 3:9) but some people are not willing (Matthew 23:37).  

Note, it is God who is doing to the work that produces repentance … this is the convicting work of the Holy Spirit.  This is not a nod to Calvinism, as though to say the Holy Spirit only convicts some people and not others but the sorrow that causes a person to examine himself in light of what He knows to be true about the perfect nature of God (Romans 1:20) will open the door of a person’s heart for the convicting Grace of God to enter into that person’s life so he can be saved.  It is man’s free will that examines the Truth about the nature of God and his own nature in conjunction with God’s Amazing Grace (repentance and faith) that produces Salvation.  Examining things and thinking critically about things is not a work of man but thinking is the very definition of man … thinking is what it means to be a human being “I think, therefore I am – René Descartes “.

The Amazing Grace of the Holy Spirit is always knocking on the door of each person’s heart but people can’t hear it because of the noise of their self indulgent nature (SIN) that is living an examined rebellious life toward God.  A person may even be living a “good” life according to human reasoning but it is not how much good you think you have done that will justify you before God but how you have examined yourself in light of the TRUTH … the person of Jesus Christ (John 14:6) that will justify you before God.  Any honest and critical examination of yourself in comparison to Jesus will lead to only one conclusion and result … repentance (a turning from self) and faith (a turning toward Jesus).  What I am pointing out is that repentance and faith are both gifts from God … they are a revelation from the Holy Spirit that leads to Salvation.  Salvation is NOT a manufactured mindset of man that “professes” a knowledge of God but Salvation is a “revelation” into the mind of man from God that leads to a “possession” of God … a new Spiritual birth of Jesus Christ in the person!

Salvation is by “birth” not by behavior or by brainpower.

But, worldly sorry is an attitude of regret …  “I’m sorry I got caught, it won’t happen again because I’ll be more clever next time”.  It’s regret that fuels pride to not let it happen again.  This is a kind of sorry that doesn’t lead to Salvation because you continue to rely on yourself to do good works in order to prove to the world that you can overcome your mistake and get what you want.  Worldly sorry leads to worldly wisdom or street smarts, pride of accomplishment that says “I have overcome the world” … “I did it my way!”.  

From my own personal testimony, my struggle of worldly sorry was trying to please men so I would find favor among men and be taken care of by men.  I didn’t realize that most people don’t know what they want or the want something foolishly unattainable so it’s impossible to please them.  But more importantly, I discovered through Repentance that leads to Salvation that I was to please God and it is God who makes all things work together for good. 

Godly sorry leads to Repentance and Repentance leads to a “decision” of the will to receive the Forgiveness of God that is offered through Salvation in Jesus Chris … this is Faith.  Repentance also leads to a desire for a new born again Holy Spirit life in Christ so you will be able to walk with Jesus in a pleasing and fulfilling relationship.  Repentance means “I surrender all to Christ” … let Him have His good way in me.  Repentance means I have a “change of mind” about who I am … “a person lost in sin” and I have a change of mind about who I want to be … “a person born again in Christ”.  I desire to be changed by God into the person God created me to be … by Grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  This is the “born again” repentance that accompanies true Salvation in Jesus Christ. 

Repentance and Faith are two sides of the same coin of Salvation.  Repentance is knowing I need Christ to forgive my sin and Faith is knowing I have receiving Christ as the forgiveness for my sin.    

Repentance that leads to Salvation is not a work but it’s a Revelation of who you really are.  Repentance acting in Salvation is “an awakening within your soul” that you are a “a sinner separated from God” that wants to be a to be “a born again child in a relationship with God”.   After you are awakened by Repentance and born again by Grace through Faith in Jesus Christ, then Repentance is no longer “an awakening” or “a changing your mind” so you can be saved but it’s a realization that you “have been saved” from sin … it’s a a remembrance that you are nothing without Christ!  Repentance after you have been saved is a reckoning that you are dead in sin but alive in Christ (Romans 6:11).  Repentance before Salvation is a Revelation that you are guilty of sin … Repentance after Salvation is a Remembering that you are dead to sin.

This is also a difference between “remorse and repentance”.  Remorse is human sorrow which means “I’m sorry I got caught or I’m sorry things didn’t work out the way I wanted”, I will try harder next time or be more clever next time not to get caught.  Remorse is the cousin of pride.  Remorse is self pity that is combined with the pride of self determination to overcome the circumstances of failure so you can one day “gloat” over others with your future success.  Remorse can lead to revenge against the world, which leads to the attitude of pride … “I did it t my way” … look at me now.  Pride is a hardness of the heart that leads to eternal death and separation from God.  This is the opposite of Repentance that brings a humble heart willing to allow God to work His Grace amid the trials and failures of this world, so God gets the glory.  

Remorse is also closely linked to “works based Repentance” because an attitude of remorse that masquerades as repentance wants to show the world how they can overcome failure by claiming to be under the banner of God.  Repentance is “God do your work in me so I can know what is good” but Remorse is “I will do the work to prove to others and to God that I am good“.  To a Works based person “Repentance” means I will keep myself from sinning in order to prove that I have faith in God but to a Grace based person “Repentance” means Lord, I deny my Self Indulgent Nature (SIN), come do Your work in me to cleanse me and change me.   

Works based Salvation – I will do good work to prove I’m in Christ. 

 

Grace based Salvation – Christ do Your good work in me. 

We have been discussing how Repentance and Faith work together to accomplish Salvation but how does Repentance and Faith work “after” a person is Saved?  Repentance is not an effort to keep from sinning or pledge to stop sinning … it’s a “knowing” you are a sinner in need of a Savior.  This “knowing” that you are sinner remains after Salvation but more importantly you know that you have Jesus living in you to overcome the sin in your life and lead you to righteousness. Repentance after Salvation means I don’t trust myself anymore but I wholly trust Jesus for everything (Proverbs 3:5-6).  Repentance after Salvation means I daily “confess my sin” in order to receive God’s forgiveness (1 John 1:9) … which keeps me cleansed with a good conscience toward God … in good fellowship with Him.  If I am stubborn to want to focus on myself or forgetful about God, then God will remind me by “grieving” the Holy Spirit.  God does not abandon me if I abandon Him but He disciplines me in love to restore my love relationship with Him!

I daily “repent” of my sin in the sense that I daily remember I have a “change of mind” about my sin and my sin nature that happened when I was born again!

This is where so many Christians misrepresent what Repentance after Salvation means.  They think repentance means … I am determined NOT to sin every again and when I mess up I must come back to Jesus like when I was first saved because His Salvation didn’t work.  This kind of relationship with Jesus is not describing a “born again” life in Jesus but this is more like a Catholic confession of repentance … where you confess your sins to a priest and walk away absolved of them … then you go away and do whatever you want … only to wait until it’s time to return to confess your sin over and over again.  This kind of Salvation does not describe a born again life in Jesus but only a ceremony of a cleansing of a guilty conscience without receiving Christ into the person’s life to have assurance of forgiveness and eternal life. 

People who say you must do works of repentance every day seem to rely on their efforts to keep themselves saved by NOT doing what is wrong instead of relying on the good work of Grace that Christ began in them which leads them to do what is right and pleasing in God’s sight.  It is questionable if a person has received God’s Grace of Salvation – His born again Holy Spirit – (which is the good work of what Christ has promised to do in them) if that person is constantly focused on their work to stop sinning instead of focusing on Christ’s work in them to help them overcome sin. 

This is the key problem with a Repentance based approach to Salvation … those who teach that Repentance is the key to Salvation, focus more on denying their sinful self than they are in focusing on the Grace of Christ in them.  They are overly concerned with emptying themselves of sin and they “fail” to fill this void of self with the God’s love.  This results in a critical spirit toward others with a heightened awareness of sin in the world and their ability to overcome it, which also results in a bitterness toward God’s Grace and the love of God in Jesus Christ that has overcome the world.

Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. – Romans 6:11

This issue and definition of repentance in the life of a believer is a hotly disputed area of disagreement between Grace teachers and Works teachers.  Works teachers think Grace teachers are not concerned about sin in the life of a believer (so they remain in sin and do no good works).  Grace teachers thinks Works teachers are not concerned about what Jesus wants to do in the life of the believer (so they live in fear and do works in vain).  Works teachers think if you’re not concerned about sin in your life then you will fall into a life of sin and lose your Salvation. 

Grace teachers think if you are not aware that it is “Jesus” who has forgiven you and it is His Grace that is doing the good work in you then you will (1) live in fear of God thinking you must constantly repent to show God how sorry you are for you sin or (2) labor in vain for God thinking you can pay for your sin through good works.  Works teachers live with a conscience of fear and condemnation before God, thinking they can lose their salvation … instead of living with a conscience of peace and assurance toward God which is good news of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:1).  

Works says “I will do”

 

Grace says “It is done!”

Repentance is not a work as though I will stop myself from doing a sinful behavior but it is a surrendering to Jesus who works in me to stop my sinful behavior.  Sin is a Self Indulgent Nature.  It’s not just being concerned with immoral behavior but being concerned with all my thinking that is not focused on Christ.  This is what I call the Die2Live life!  The born again Christian should walk as dead to self and alive to Jesus (Romans 6:11).  As I walk in fellowship with Jesus, He changes me into the person He created me to be … free from sin.  As I continually surrender to Him (die to self), He overcomes my sin (I live in Him).  If I don’t surrender to Jesus, then He reminds me of who I am … “a child of God” … to return me back to fellowship with Him, even with discipline unto death if necessary (1 Corinthians 5:5).  Christ has promised to complete the process of transforming me into the image of Christ (Philippians 1:6).  If I cooperate with Jesus I will have rewards in Heaven and joy on earth.  If I don’t cooperate I will no rewards in Heaven and be hounded by Heaven while on earth.  

Jesus is “for” us and “gives” us eternal life … Forgive is what He does. 

People need to hear about the “feast of peace” that God is preparing for those who love Him … the fountain of living water, the bead of life and the meat of God’s word that comes by preaching the gospel of Grace by faith in Jesus Christ … not a “but” roast of man’s works. 

Here are several good videos on the topic of true Repentance.

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