The opposing viewpoints surrounding Biblical repentance seems to be a serious issue in churches today. I would like to briefly summarize this issue in a way that I believe centers at the root of the controversy. This is how two positions that seem to conflict, when taken in their purest form, are sound Biblical reactions to false teachings. The only way a situation like this can happen is that each of the positions, when presented faithfully, add up to a single truth. There is a true doctrine that refutes both of the errors, that each of these positions concurrently seek to correct and protect against. This is the main thesis that I submit for the consideration of every person.
Because of the above situation, there are also very false doctrines and teachers of said doctrines taking part in this same controversy. These masquerade at times as the true doctrine, making the situation more difficult. In attempting to refute one of the errors, some people have either by mistake or intention promoted an erroneous view. I will address that in this post, after getting into the specifics. But only by understanding things well can false prophets be exposed. The thing to remember is that none of them, if they are false, is able to expound the truths of God’s word.1“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” — 1 Corinthians 2:12-14.
Objects of much controversy now are the Biblical terms of repentance, turning, justification, faith, sins, works and dead works. What these all mean in relation to reality and each other is truly at the center of the issue. This also lies at the very foundation of doctrine, because as it is written:
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, — Hebrews 6:1 (A.V.)
According to this word, this is an issue that stands at the foundation of the ‘doctrine of Christ.’ Therefore, it follows that one must attend to it with due diligence, as it is also told us by Paul:
I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. — Galatians 1:6-8
From this it follows that one must be exceptionally decisive and discerning concerning the controversy. In fact no Christian can afford not to give attention to this issue. And how, then, will we separate the true doctrine from the false? except by paying attention to the absolute closest adherence to Biblical doctrine concerning these things. I say this can be the only way.
First, I will give the groundwork which is necessary to carry on this discussion.
It is well known in the church that the justification in the eyes of God can only be attained by the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ who came to accomplish that thing which no man ever could. As it is clearly delineated in the Bible, man cannot attain justification by his own works, only by the works of another, which is the shed blood of Jesus. And this is understood. See for example—
But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. — Galatians 3:22
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. — Ephesians 2:8-10
And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:
— Philippians 3:9
But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. — Titus 3:4-7
For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:
Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb:
He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
— Romans 4:13-25
So the question of relying on personal works for salvation rather than that which our Lord Jesus Christ did for us is the factor here. Whether or not a person is a saved believer who knows that Jesus is able to save them— who knows what God said— or whether they would doubt this, and therefore, choose to keep trusting in their own works.2“Many will say to me in that day, 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?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” — Matthew 7:22-23
Works salvation has always been around. It is a false gospel that teaches that one must perform some set list of works in order to earn their way to justification of their lives before God. It appeals to the immediate desires of man and to his pride to live in such a way, and to think in such a manner. It leads one to hope that God will honor one’s own achievement as something different over others. Yet it is written again outright in Romans:
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. — Romans 4:5
This is entirely not what the prideful expect, it goes against their inclinations in every way to think that someone, who may have sinned in some way or another, should be counted as a child of God. Yet here we have to believe that it isn’t the working but the belief on him that justifies the ungodly. And it is the ungodly who first believes who receives his justification, not the proud man who made a human effort to achieve greatness. For God has one thing that he respects, it is the thing that he said, and the offering that he wants to receive is the belief in his Son.
Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. — Ecclesiastes 5:1
Fairly frequently in this conversation one hears a reference at some point during this talk, to the passage in James chapter 2 verses 14-26 which, seemingly it is said, paints a different picture than Romans 4:5. The contrast presented by this new passage being introduced seems to be that one must be justified by works. And this is indeed what the passage in James states. So how is it that Romans 4:5, being seemingly to many its polar opposite, still stands true? It is. Because the difference is, in whom the saved believer is being justified to. We find that in James 2:14-26, also Matthew 5:163“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” — Matthew 5:16, Matthew 7:204“Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” — Matthew 7:20, 1 John 4:15“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” — 1 John 4:1 and elsewhere we are dealing with justification before men. Indeed, it is “required that a man be found faithful” according to Paul, 1 Corinthians 4:2. But this is not for our justification before God, this is for the salvation of their souls, just as James 2 describes that Abraham is justified to us by his works and thereby, helps us. According to Romans 4, he was already justified to God before all of this,6“For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” — Romans 4:3 and according to James 2:21-227“Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?” he afterward justified himself to us. His faith was made manifest then. Everyone could see it. Yet according to Romans 4:5, he was already justified in faith to God. So there is no contradiction in these passages of scripture. Indeed, this very situation is fully spelled out for us in the epistle 1 Corinthians—
Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.
Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self.
For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. — 1 Corinthians 4:1-4
So then justification in the eye of God and justification in the eye of man are accomplished by two different methods. One is by faith, other is by works. If someone were the last person on earth, they would not need to see their own works to know based on the word of God that they have eternal security. God already knows their faith from the start. In reality, however, there are other people that are not able to see this faith without manifesting as works. This is why Jesus makes it important in his word:
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. — Matthew 5:16
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: — 2 Corinthians 4:3
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled;
notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. — James 2:14-17
Now put into perspective, the justification James tells me about is that which is manifested by continuing in the “good works, which God hath before ordained”8Ephesians 2:10 and this is that which is seen in the eyes of men, and attains to the glory of God.9Matthew 5:16 Why is this glorifying to God and not the worker? Because, as it is written:
For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
— Romans 4:2
Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. — Romans 3:27
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
— Philippians 2:13
But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. — 1 Corinthians 15:10
Let us return to James 2:14 to take a closer look now. Let us see how this passage of scripture fits into the above perfect framework.
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? — James 2:14
So then we see that we have a man who says he has faith to someone, and the question then becomes can faith alone save that person? Let us read on to the next verses.
If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. — James 2:15-17 (A.V.)
So it is very clear from the example that James gives in verses 15-16 that my faith alone can do nothing to save another person. Me saying that I have faith but with no further action can do nothing to help that person out. It is just as if I had turn away a starving man with the words “be filled.” Even if I had food, even if I had clothing, even if I had the capability, I did nothing and gave nothing. Therefore, to that man, my faith is no different than that of the everyday false confessor. And indeed, if God is able to work through me, this kind of event should not be happening, because we see in God’s word:
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: — Philippians 1:6
Therefore, no man should be perceiving that our faith is dead. James continues with the next verse, which continues the theme of one man trying to show his faith to another man:
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. — James 2:18
So this confirms it. The passage of James starting in verse 14 has been about one man who says he has faith to another man. Yet we see that without works, his faith is dead, and also by Philippians 1:6 that justification to man by works is intrinsic to anyone who has received the grace of God – We know that God will perform these things, and according to Ephesians 2:10 we were before ordained to walk in them just as in the same way as all who believe were ordained to eternal life!10“And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.” — Acts 13:48 These are not our works, they are God’s work, and so boasting is excluded by the law of faith.
Therefore we truly are not justified by works, except in that God has worked for us. We received the gift of God and he did all of the work. And he that began a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. Moreover, scripture says, “and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”11Romans 8:30 Therefore we cannot take credit for any of those things.
However, we are entitled to give thanks always, as written:
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. — 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (A.V.)
Having said all of that, we may now turn to face our two misconceptions that have always been around. These are 1) the works gospel, which emphasizes justification before God through works, a false gospel; and 2) antinomianism, which ignores the ordination of God. Both of these are real false doctrines taught by countless false prophets. Yet we need not compromise the above doctrine in order to deal with these. This is actually a false dichotomy. We do need not to say, that Biblical repentance as described by Paul is anything other than what it is.
To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:
But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
— Acts 26:18-20
So it seems to me from these passages of God’s word, that repentance refers to a change, which is a turning away from the power of Satan unto God.
Does that mean that one becomes sinless or that one necessarily fulfills man’s measuring stick of worthiness for salvation? No, it means that God has forgiven that man’s iniquities and that his sins are forgiven. It also means that he which has begun a good work in that man’s life will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ, that this man is predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son, that God will be glorified, that he will endure chastening as a son, and that he delights in the law of God after the inward man. Therefore, because of this, it is possible to try the spirits to see whether they be of God.12“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” — 1 John 4:1
Epilogue: Is it not true that Christ said (Jn. 8:34-36), “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
Does it not say in Romans 6:16 this, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”