What does 'Repent' mean ?

[Scribe]

'Mental agreement salvation ' and Lordship salvation are false and do not make sense . Because in order to be saved you need to recieve Jesus John 1.12 and recieve the atonement Rom 5.11 and recieve the Holy Spirit who seals you until the day of redemption Eph 1.13-14 amoungst other things .

OK, so maybe this "receiving Jesus" is the part that should be defined. When one "receives Jesus" in this context what does that look like?
9The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11He came to his own,b and his own peoplec did not receive him. 12But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Receiving Him meant believing that he was the one they were looking for, the one the prophets spoke of, the one that would bring salvation. This is the Son of God. He is the KING of KINGS and LORD of LORDS, He is the one promised that every knee shall bow down too and every tongue confess Jesus is Lord. If you can say that you are born again, but of course you have also made him LORD. So therefore Lordship Salvation is an accurate description for sure.

 

[Scribe]

So God gives the gift of salvation if we promise to stop sinning?

Is it a bilateral transaction then?

How would you interpret the following?

11For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

The Grace of God that brings Salvation teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. This is a very important part of preaching the TRUE Grace of God rather than false grace teachings that abound today.

Why do you think that we have people in our churches who argue with you if you tell them they must stop committing fornication and claim they are just as saved as you are. How do you explain this concept they have that they can live in all manner of wickedness and come to church and talk about how wonderful it is to know Jesus and be saved? They have believed a lie that their lusts and vices do not have to be turned from to be saved.

This of course was prophesied and they will have a rude awakening when Jesus comes, but in their hearts they already know they will be ashamed, they are just pretending it is not so.

And even though we know this will be the condition of many when the Lord returns there is nevertheless a call upon his holy New Testament prophets and preachers to preach repentance and faith even if they will not hear, and even if they reject our message. It should not be a surprise to us if we preach the necessity of holiness and no one receives our message as this was the case with Jeremiah and others and yet they were faithful to the call even if they saw no fruit.

We are called to preach repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ until he comes again.

 

[Grandpa]

I've always been taught that "repent" means to "turn away".

To turn from your way and to turn to Gods Way.

To change your focus from your works and put them onto Gods Work.

 

[Scribe]

My understanding is that repentance simply means ' change of mind ' .
It could also be breaking frame from a current set of propositions.

Jesus gives an example of repentance being a change of mind in Mathew 21 .
28¶But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
29He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he REPENTED AND WENT.
30And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
31Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
32For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
So we see two things . He repented ( changed his mind and went . So repenting isn't the action its the changing of mind .

Thoughts?
Agree ?
Disagree ?

As in all scriptures we should look at the context of the scripture that uses the word to determine what was intended by the author. Or what the Holy Spirit intended in it's original context.

 

[throughfaith]

He shall save his people from their sins. We can be saved from the chains of addiction. We can be saved from the corruption of the lusts of the flesh. We can be freed from the prison house of yielding our members as members of unrighteousness in this life and also from the consequences of sin in the next life. That is the Good News. It would not be Good News to tell people they are saved but cannot expect deliverance from their vices in this life. That is bad news.

I did not say they have to remain in specific sins , addictions ect . I m talking about if you teach unbeliever s they have to turn / stop sinning to be saved ?

 

[throughfaith]

I have already made it clear that you dont have to clean yourself up first. But deciding to turn from your known sins is not cleaning oneself up. It is included in the Faith decision.

So they don't have to turn from their sins to be saved ,they have to decide to turn from known sins to be saved ? like a promise? " Do you have a verse for this ?

 

[throughfaith]

OK, so maybe this "receiving Jesus" is the part that should be defined. When one "receives Jesus" in this context what does that look like?
9The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11He came to his own,b and his own peoplec did not receive him. 12But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Receiving Him meant believing that he was the one they were looking for, the one the prophets spoke of, the one that would bring salvation. This is the Son of God. He is the KING of KINGS and LORD of LORDS, He is the one promised that every knee shall bow down too and every tongue confess Jesus is Lord. If you can say that you are born again, but of course you have also made him LORD. So therefore Lordship Salvation is an accurate description for sure.

No one is saying that we don't mention Jesus is God ?

 

[Nehemiah6]

I m talking about if you teach unbeliever s they have to turn / stop sinning to be saved ?

How many times do you have to be told that without repentance there is no remission of sins?

And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Lk 24:47)

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:38)

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; (Acts 3:19)

And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: (Acts 17:30)

Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:21)

Now that you have these Scriptures, you need to repent of your false gospel, and get back to the true Gospel of Christ.

 

[Lanolin]

I guess feeling doesnt come into it if you just change your mind.

You can change your mind about stuff and STILL sin. Murderers know what they do is wrong and they still kill. Adulterers also know this and may change their mind and start seeing it as wrong but they still commit adultery. And I know smokers who KNOW that what they are smoking is going to kill them, but they continue to smoke anyway.

so. um, what does changing your mind accomplish actually? Not much!

 

[throughfaith]

How many times do you have to be told that without repentance there is no remission of sins?

And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. (Lk 24:47)

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. (Acts 2:38)

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; (Acts 3:19)

And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: (Acts 17:30)

Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:21)

Now that you have these Scriptures, you need to repent of your false gospel, and get back to the true Gospel of Christ.

So your adding Repent ( turn from sins ,) Be water baptised FOR the remission of sins BEFORE you can recieve the Holy Spirit and be saved ? You believe this is what we should tell people today as to how to be saved ?

 

[throughfaith]

There is no such thing as Having faith in Jesus Christ that does not include a willingness to turn away from your known sinful living.
That might be just one or two things that a poor ignorant sinner is currently aware of, but the Holy Spirit always brings people to a point of contrition and a knowledge that they must make a decision to turn from that life and toward a new life that will be involved in serving God.

Repentance toward God and Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is a connected and constitutes saving faith.

"Have mercy on me a sinner" is enough, but it includes an expectation to stop doing it after receiving forgiveness.
We do not preach that one must clean themselves up first. But we do always include that repentance is part of having Faith in Jesus Christ.

Repentance is never missing from the message. Repentance is not a message for another day After believing in Jesus. Repentance and Faith are always connected and included in our Gospel preaching. Why am I needing to state the obvious? What is the confusion about telling people to turn from their sins by having Faith in Jesus Christ.
And then we should immediately be teaching them to be baptized in water declaring their identification with the death and resurrection of Christ but also as a declaration that they will walk in Newness of Life, not living the way they were before.

Repent and Believe the Gospel, because you CANNOT believe the Gospel without Repentance.

Do a search for the word Repent, Repentance, Forgiveness of sins, sins etc in the book of Acts and you quickly see how often it was repeated in the message of every example of someone that preached the Gospel. It is obvious that Luke wrote with the theological intention to drive home the necessity of preaching repentance and turning from sin as part of the Faith in Jesus message of the Gospel. The two are included so many times that it becomes obvious that Luke knew what he was doing (the Holy Spirit told Luke) to emphasize this.

I realized this after reading the book of Acts several times in the 80s and I have always included repentance (turning away from sins) as part of the decision one must make when they Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and receive the Grace of God to not only forgive them of their sins but to also give them the power to resist those sins when they get up tomorrow morning and start this New Life of being born again. The majority of the message is about the power to resists sin through the indwelling Holy Spirit that has made them a new creature. At no time should you teach that people can worry about stopping their sinful living later when they feel up to it. That would be crazy talk. We are washed by the blood of the Lamb and He has made us as though we had never sinned. Shall we go wallow in the mud now that we are clean? God Forbid.

Using the Acts of the Apostles for church doctrine and how to be saved today, is probably why your confused .
Many faulty denomination s have been established upon the wrong understanding of Acts . With its 29 conversion accounts , clearly demonstrates its a historical( transitional)account of what happened not a prescription of what to do and follow today . And what you are preaching is a false message of Lordship sadly .

 

[Blik]

To the title. Repenting is turning from everything creation to everything Creator.

I think the Lord is in His creation. The Gnostics preached that only the spiritual was of God but scripture tells us they were wrong. In Colossians 2 it tells us: 21 Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings.

 

[mailmandan]

So your adding Repent ( turn from sins ,) Be water baptised FOR the remission of sins BEFORE you can recieve the Holy Spirit and be saved ? You believe this is what we should tell people today as to how to be saved ?

The only logical conclusion when properly harmonizing scripture with scripture is that believing in/faith in Jesus Christ "implied in genuine repentance" (rather than water baptism) brings the remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 10:43-47; 11:17,18; 13:39; 15:7-9; 16:31; 26:18). *Perfect Harmony*

 

[throughfaith]

I guess feeling doesnt come into it if you just change your mind.

You can change your mind about stuff and STILL sin. Murderers know what they do is wrong and they still kill. Adulterers also know this and may change their mind and start seeing it as wrong but they still commit adultery. And I know smokers who KNOW that what they are smoking is going to kill them, but they continue to smoke anyway.

so. um, what does changing your mind accomplish actually? Not much!

If a person changes his mind about Jesus and believes the Gospel this changes everything for him .
1cor 1.21
21For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

 

[throughfaith]

The only logical conclusion when properly harmonizing scripture with scripture is that believing in/faith in Jesus Christ "implied in genuine repentance" (rather than water baptism) brings the remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 10:43-47; 11:17,18; 13:39; 15:7-9; 16:31; 26:18). *Perfect Harmony*

29 conversion accounts tells us we don't harmonise. We learn what God is doing in the Book of Acts . Its the ACTS of the apostles , not a pattern for church today . thats clear.

 

[mailmandan]

29 conversion accounts tells us we don't harmonise. We learn what God is doing in the Book of Acts . Its the ACTS of the apostles , not a pattern for church today . thats clear.

If you don't properly harmonize scripture with scripture before reaching your conclusion on doctrine, then you can easily end up with contradictions, as demonstrated by those who teach that you must be water baptized in order to be saved.

 

[JaumeJ]

I think the Lord is in His creation. The Gnostics preached that only the spiritual was of God but scripture tells us they were wrong. In Colossians 2 it tells us: 21 Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings.

I believe "to everything Creator" more than covers all.

 

[Guojing]

29 conversion accounts tells us we don't harmonise. We learn what God is doing in the Book of Acts . Its the ACTS of the apostles , not a pattern for church today . thats clear.

I think covenant theologians start with their axiom of the covenant of grace as the absolute truth for all ages, and then “harmonize” every scripture passage towards that axiom.

 

[throughfaith]

If you don't properly harmonize scripture with scripture before reaching your conclusion on doctrine, then you can easily end up with contradictions, as demonstrated by those who teach that you must be water baptized in order to be saved.

But they may have an advantage over you because the verse clearly says Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. So then we check the who ,when ,why and what questions for context. This is not aimed at gentiles in 2020 .

 

[mailmandan]

But they may have an advantage over you because the verse clearly says Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. So then we check the who ,when ,why and what questions for context. This is not aimed at gentiles in 2020 .

So Acts 2:38 (according to you) teaches that "Jews only" were to be baptized in water "in order to obtain" the remission of sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit? So why not the same for these Gentiles Acts 10:43-47? Why is it so important for dispensationalists to believe there are multiple plans of salvation (in which the former plan involves salvation by works) spread out throughout different dispensations?