Some FG teachers say repentance is either a pre-belief or a post-belief activity but that it’s not a requirement for receiving everlasting life.
Alternatively, some FG teachers say that repentance is sometimes used as a synonym for faith or belief, and under that definition it is another way of expressing the requirements for receiving eternal life.
This difference reveals that “repentance” does not have a standardized definition even among Free Grace teachers. So when someone asks me a question about repentance, I want to know what they mean by “repent.”
The most popular definitions seem to fall into three categories:
If someone defines “repent” as a “change of behavior” then we must acknowledge that it has no place in receiving eternal life by faith-alone. (Titus 3:5)
If someone defines “repent” as a “change in belief and behavior” then we must also acknowledge that it is not among the requirements for receiving everlasting life by faith-alone. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
However, if someone defines “repent” as a change of belief (sometimes called a change of mind), then by their definition, “repent” may be a synonym for faith.
Thus we must be careful to find out what a person means by “repent.”
I discovered this phenomenon when a friend asked me, “Can’t a person ‘repent’ of unbelief?” It’s a provocative question that makes a good point. Under a very focused definition of the word, there is a way to present a faith-alone gospel and use the word “repent.”
The fact that there is a popular definition of “repent” that is compatible with the faith-alone presentation does not tell us what the Biblical authors meant when they said “repent.” It only indicates that we must be aware of the varied uses of the word in modern English.
In scripture, there are a number of passages that seem to be evangelistic instructions that include the word “repent.” I do not believe it is a direct synonym for “believe” but it is a concept that includes “believe” as one of its constituent parts. “Repent” in these contexts seems to mean something like “reconsider.” To reconsider has two concepts embedded within: 1) Give up your previous belief; and 2) Come to a new belief. In the cases where “repent” is used in an evangelistic way, I believe this is what is being said. Some examples might include: Acts 3:19, Acts 17:30, 2 Peter 3:9.
In favor of the idea that “repentance” can sometimes be used to describe a change of belief, notice this:
I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds (Acts 26:20)
Clearly the deeds and the repentance are separate. The repentance must be demonstrated by deeds. This makes it sound like it’s a change of belief, apart from a change of behavior.
However, it is not always presented this way. Note this:
I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus. (Acts 20:21)
This makes it sound as if repentance is not a synonym for faith in Christ, but a separate action. Here is yet, another that seems to give a different impression:
Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” (Acts 19:4)
This verse seems to equate repentance with belief in the one coming after. Here’s another with a slightly different flavor.
When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.” (Acts 11:18)
Here, repentance leads to life. We know from John and Paul, that belief in Jesus leads to life. I don’t believe he’s using repentance as a synonym, instead, I think he means that repentance is a broad concept that includes “belief” as one of its constituent parts. Another way of putting it might be that: Repentance is a process that includes, as one of its steps, belief.
My reason for sharing these, which are only a few chapters apart in the same Biblical book, is to point out the fact that the word “repentance” seems to have a fluid meaning.
In the past I have written about how I believed the word “repent” only meant one thing no matter where it appeared in the Bible. I don’t feel comfortable with that conclusion anymore. I’m leaning toward the idea that “repent” has a range of meanings depending on the context.
This should come as no surprise since we have often affirmed that most Biblical words have a range of meanings. We often point this out when the word “saved” appears in the text. If saved can encompass multiple concepts, I don’t see why “repent” can’t.
This opens the door to the possibility of how “repent” could be used in an evangelistic way. If the definition is fluid and context-dependent, then it would be possible for it to be used in an evangelistic way. It’s not my personal preference, but I acknowledge that there is a way to do it, and still be sharing a faith-alone gospel.
It’s my personal opinion that the most dominant definition of the word “repent” in Scripture is “A change of belief and behavior.” Thus I am careful not to use the word “repent” as a salvific requirement, but I acknowledge that there are some who do so, and have a Biblical argument for why they can.
Since I’m aware of the multiplicity of popular definitions of “repent” I’m careful not to condemn all uses of the word “repent” in other teacher’s gospel presentations. They may mean something that is, in fact, compatible with a faith-alone message.
It’s for this reason that I do not automatically divide from Bible teachers who use the word repent in an evangelistic way, provided that it’s being used as a synonym for faith.
I do believe that it is significant that the Gospel of John does not use the word “repent.” However, I want to be careful about the conclusions we draw from this.
I believe that the Gospel of John was written to teach the requirements for receiving eternal life (roughly John 1-12) and the requirements for living an abundant life (roughly John 13-21).
Among Free Grace teachers, much has been made of the fact that John does not use the word “repent” in his discussions about receiving eternal life (John 1-12), but it’s significant that he also does not use the word “repent” in his section about living an abundant life (John 13-21). We must be careful not to make conclusions about the absence of “repent” in his salvific content, that we are not willing to equally apply to his discipleship section where he also doesn’t use “repent.”
John did not use the word “repent” to talk about how to get salvation, but neither did he us it when he taught us how to live as a disciple. He knew the word “repent” because he used it elsewhere (Revelation 3:19). However, he chose to leave it out in his magnum opus, which is about how to have salvation and how to be a disciple. The simple fact is, we don’t really know why he didn’t use it. Maybe he foresaw the confusion it would create, a confusion we’re still wrestling with today.
The fact that John does not use the word “repent” in his section about receiving eternal life, or his section about living an abundant life, seems to indicate that it is ok to leave out the word “repent” as long as the concept is well represented by an adequate synonym. The debate then is, what synonym is adequate, and whether the word should be applied to salvific content.
Now I will return to my opinion about the definition of “repent.” It seems to most often be defined in Scripture’s context as “change,” and the context where it appears defines what needs to change. With that in mind, I lean toward only using it in a discipleship context, but there are a few Biblical uses that, along with their context, seem to stray close to meaning “a change in belief” and so for that I will refrain from saying that it cannot ever be used to share the saving message.
So for me, I prefer not to use the term “repent” when giving the requirements for receiving everlasting life, and feel entirely free to leave it out of the presentation, since John did.
However, I acknowledge that other teachers have a way of defining the word that makes it compatible with the faith-alone message, and so I do not intend to divide from anyone who takes that approach.
A wise and loving analysis, clear and comprehensive, yet concise.