Over the past 30+ years that I have been doing Christian
writing, a large part apologetic, one thing has always struct me
as ironic: Atheists spend a large part of their
anti-Christian rhetoric working to prove that God does not
exist. If, as they argue, God does not exist - then why bother
trying to prove He does not exist? Just declare that God does
not exist and move on.
Why do they continually go to bat against God - since, in their minds, He does not exist? Could it be that, down deep they know that God is real - but if they admit that God does exist, then even if they are not believers - they will be held accountable to Him. So they put up that "God Does Not Exist" barrier in an attempt to anesthetize themselves into a stupor of denial.
In reading works by Dr. Bob Wilkin, Executive Director of Grace Evangelical Society (advocates of the Free Grace Theology) I often get the same feeling when he continues to spend so much of his efforts in proving that "salvation without repentance" is the only true Biblical message of salvation.
FYI: The Free Grace Movement is a Christian soteriological view, i.e., the doctrine of salvation, teaching that everyone can receive eternal life by grace through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). That happens the moment they believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31). On that point all Christians should agree with them. However they go on to teach that Repentance is NOT a part of becoming a Born-Again believer.
Why does their theology remove Repentance from the moment of Justification? The Free Grace Movement teaches that "works" do not play a part in our salvation, i.e., Justification. And here again, most believers agree with that. The FGM error comes in making Repentance at the moment of Justification a Work.
I agree with them that Baptism is a physical work which we do after we have been Born-Again. Jesus Christ gave all believers two Ordinances we should follow until He comes again: Baptism and Communion. Both are physical acts we do "In Remembrance Of Him" (Luke 22:19, 1 Corinthians 11:24-25) until He returns - as witness to the world that we are Christ Followers, Christian believers.
However, unlike Baptism and Communion, Repentance is NOT a physical act or work we perform. It is an internal "spiritual" change which is an integral part of becoming a Born-Again believer. If we do not own our past sins, that would imply that we do not consider them sins, not bad nor wrong in God's eyes. Do you know anyone who has not sinned? No? Neither do I. And neither does God.
Therefore, if we do not see them as sins - that would imply that we plan on continuing in the same worldly lifestyle which is the antithesis of the Christian faith. You can see that being Born-Again is a one-time event and owning our past sins, i.e., Repentance, is an integral part of that event.
Have you ever dove into a body of water - and not get wet? No? Neither have I. For diving into water and getting wet are integral parts of the same action. Just as Justification and Repentance are integral parts of being Born-Again.
I received the following e-mail blog from Grace Evangelical Society today and would like to share Dr. Bob Wilkin's blog and my comments with all my Friends:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
What’s the Difference Between Repentance as a Change of Mind And Repentance as Turning from Sins?
By Bob Wilkin, ThM, PhD, Dallas Theological Seminary, Executive Director of Grace Evangelical Society
Grace Evangelical Society, February 18, 2022
https://faithalone.org/blog/whats-the-difference-between-repentance-as-a-change-of-mind-and-repentance-as-turning-from-sins/
Repentance comes up a lot in my email box. J.L. asks a great question about different understandings of repentance:
"Can you explain to me in layman’s terms the difference between the change of mind view of repentance and the turning from sins view? I’m not a theologian so I want an easy explanation. Thank you!"
There are actually three views:
1. Repentance is a condition of everlasting life, and it means turning from sins.
2. Repentance is a condition for everlasting life, and it means changing one’s mind about sin, self, and Christ.
3. Repentance is not a condition of everlasting life, and it means turning from sins.
I wrote my doctoral dissertation at Dallas Theological Seminary in 1985. I defended the second view. Later, however, I changed my mind about repentance and adopted the third view! See this journal article (Does Your Mind Need Changing? Repentance Reconsidered) that explains why and how I changed my mind about repentance and salvation.
View one: The first view teaches that faith in Christ is not the only condition to be Born-Again. One must both believe in Christ and turn away from his sinful ways. The confusing part is what that means.
No one who holds the "turn-from-sins" view says this means that the person must stop sinning entirely. What they mean is that the person must turn away from all major sins - like drunkenness, drug use, and sexual immorality - as best he can. The identity of those major sins is rarely mentioned. Essentially in this view a person must be determined to turn from sins as God reveals them to him. He must also promise to serve God for the rest of his life.
Bill Gray Note: Dr. Bob writes: "No one who holds the 'turn-from-sins' view says this means that the person must stop sinning entirely. What they mean is that the person must turn away from all major sins. . ."
Romans 5:12,"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned"
Romans 7:17-20, "But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me."
Please notice that in these Romans passages, the apostle Paul does not distinguish between "major sins" and "other sins." In Romans 5:12, Paul wrote, "through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin." Not major nor minor sin - but SIN.
In Romans 7:17, Paul wrote, "but sin that dwells in me." Once again, not major nor minor sin - but SIN.
Man cannot be sinless, believer or non-believer, for our sin nature is inherited from Adam who first sinned by disobeying God. And in our human bodies, we all also tend to disobey God because of our inherited Adamic sin nature. The act of receiving Christ as Lord and Savior - is the same act by which we admit and own our sin nature - and our sincere desire to live a Christian life. If a man could becomes sinless, he would be divine, i.e., equal to God. And no mortal man can be divine.
As I have often written, to believe and receive Christ as Lord and Savior without repenting of our past sins, and praying for strength to resist future sins - is analogous to diving into a body of water without getting wet. It cannot be done.
View two: The second view is simpler, but it too is complicated, only in different ways. In this view, repentance in evangelistic contexts refers to changing one’s mind about three things: sin, self, and Christ. Changing one’s mind about sin and self is understood to mean that I come to believe that I am a sinner in need of salvation. That is not the same as believing in Christ. Changing one’s mind about Christ is understood to be a synonym for believing in Him.
According to view two, repentance includes faith in Christ, but it also has two elements that are not the same as faith in Christ.
Rarely do change-of-mind proponents explain that. How is it that faith in Christ is the only condition for eternal salvation, yet it is not enough? They probably think that changing one’s mind about his sins and himself is a necessary precursor to faith. Those things are not enough to save. But they must be combined with believing in Jesus. That is confusing.
The change-of-mind view is further complicated by the fact that it recognizes that repentance is most often used in contexts that are not evangelistic. In such contexts, the change-of-mind view understands repentance to mean a change of mind about one’s sinful ways. Essentially in those passages the change-of-mind understanding is that repentance is turning from one’s sins.
In my dissertation, I argued that 44 of the 55 New Testament uses of repent (metanoeo) and repentance (metanoia) referred to turning from sins. How is someone going to determine which repentance contexts are evangelistic and which are not?
Bill Gray Note: Dr. Bob tells us in View two: "Changing one’s mind about sin and self is understood to mean that I come to believe that I am a sinner in need of salvation. That is not the same as believing in Christ."
True, that is not the same as believing in Christ as Lord and Savior - but it is the first step toward believing in Christ, recognizing that He, Christ, is knocking on the door of that lost sinner's heart (Revelation 3:20). If a person has not come to understand that he is a sinner in need of salvation - why would he bother to open the door to know Christ? If that person is blissfully happy in his worldly sin lifestyle, with no guilt - why would he seek Christ?
On the other hand, no matter how happy a person may be in his worldly sin lifestyle, God has the key to the door of his heart - the Holy Spirit - sent to convict the world of its sin and of the rightfully deserved judgment awaiting that person if he continues to reject Christ as Lord and Savior.
John 16:8-9, "And when He (Holy Spirit) has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me."
If one does not realize that he IS a sinner and in need of salvation - how can he come to know that Christ is the Savior he needs? Once again, the actions of believing in Him and acknowledging a need to turn from the world - are integral steps toward one goal: eternal life in Christ. And once again, have you dove into a body of water without getting wet?
View three: The simplest and easiest to understand view (and the one that best fits the hundred-plus faith-alone verses in the Bible) is that faith in Christ is the sole condition of eternal salvation; repentance is turning from sins (e.g., Matt 12:41, referring to Jonah 3:10), and repentance is NOT a condition for the new birth.
There isn’t a single verse in the Bible that teaches that one must repent to have everlasting life or to be justified. In John 3:16 the Lord said that “whoever believes in Him…has everlasting life.” He said nothing about repentance there, or in John 4:10-26; 5:34, 39-40; 6:35, 47; 11:25-27.
In fact, the words repent and repentance are not found even once in John’s Gospel, the only evangelistic book in the Bible (John 20:31). If the only evangelistic book in the Bible doesn’t mention repentance, then how can repentance be a condition of everlasting life?
The sole condition for everlasting life is faith in Christ. See my article cited above on why I changed my mind about repentance, or see my book "Turn and Live: The Power of Repentance" for a detailed defense of view three.
Bill Gray Note: Once again, Dr. Bob, I ask: "Have you ever dove into a body of water without getting wet?" If one has Saving Faith in Jesus Christ - that alone will bring a strong desire to avoid sinning (can't be done, but the desire is there), i.e., REPENTANCE!
And we must keep in mind that Repentance is not a physical work, but an inner "spiritual" working of the Holy Spirit - as is His indwelling of the new believer at the moment of believing. Justification and Repentance are the integral spiritual workings of the Holy Spirit when "by grace you have been saved through faith" (Ephesians 2:8) - and a new believer has been brought into the Family of God.
Dr. Bob Wilkin's overt efforts to deny Repentance as an integral part of being Born-Again always makes me think of the quote from Hamlet by William Shakespeare, "Methinks he doth protest too much" - or as actually written by Shakespeare, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks"
In closing, let me say that, even though I disagree with Dr. Bob's view of Saving Faith without Repentance - I highly recommend their "Grace In Focus" magazine published bi-monthly by Grace Evangelical Society and I eagerly await each issue. For even though we disagree on this one issue, I learn a lot from reading the articles in each issue and happily pass on each issue to my wife for her edification.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
Why do they continually go to bat against God - since, in their minds, He does not exist? Could it be that, down deep they know that God is real - but if they admit that God does exist, then even if they are not believers - they will be held accountable to Him. So they put up that "God Does Not Exist" barrier in an attempt to anesthetize themselves into a stupor of denial.
In reading works by Dr. Bob Wilkin, Executive Director of Grace Evangelical Society (advocates of the Free Grace Theology) I often get the same feeling when he continues to spend so much of his efforts in proving that "salvation without repentance" is the only true Biblical message of salvation.
FYI: The Free Grace Movement is a Christian soteriological view, i.e., the doctrine of salvation, teaching that everyone can receive eternal life by grace through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). That happens the moment they believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31). On that point all Christians should agree with them. However they go on to teach that Repentance is NOT a part of becoming a Born-Again believer.
Why does their theology remove Repentance from the moment of Justification? The Free Grace Movement teaches that "works" do not play a part in our salvation, i.e., Justification. And here again, most believers agree with that. The FGM error comes in making Repentance at the moment of Justification a Work.
I agree with them that Baptism is a physical work which we do after we have been Born-Again. Jesus Christ gave all believers two Ordinances we should follow until He comes again: Baptism and Communion. Both are physical acts we do "In Remembrance Of Him" (Luke 22:19, 1 Corinthians 11:24-25) until He returns - as witness to the world that we are Christ Followers, Christian believers.
However, unlike Baptism and Communion, Repentance is NOT a physical act or work we perform. It is an internal "spiritual" change which is an integral part of becoming a Born-Again believer. If we do not own our past sins, that would imply that we do not consider them sins, not bad nor wrong in God's eyes. Do you know anyone who has not sinned? No? Neither do I. And neither does God.
Therefore, if we do not see them as sins - that would imply that we plan on continuing in the same worldly lifestyle which is the antithesis of the Christian faith. You can see that being Born-Again is a one-time event and owning our past sins, i.e., Repentance, is an integral part of that event.
Have you ever dove into a body of water - and not get wet? No? Neither have I. For diving into water and getting wet are integral parts of the same action. Just as Justification and Repentance are integral parts of being Born-Again.
I received the following e-mail blog from Grace Evangelical Society today and would like to share Dr. Bob Wilkin's blog and my comments with all my Friends:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
What’s the Difference Between Repentance as a Change of Mind And Repentance as Turning from Sins?
By Bob Wilkin, ThM, PhD, Dallas Theological Seminary, Executive Director of Grace Evangelical Society
Grace Evangelical Society, February 18, 2022
https://faithalone.org/blog/whats-the-difference-between-repentance-as-a-change-of-mind-and-repentance-as-turning-from-sins/
Repentance comes up a lot in my email box. J.L. asks a great question about different understandings of repentance:
"Can you explain to me in layman’s terms the difference between the change of mind view of repentance and the turning from sins view? I’m not a theologian so I want an easy explanation. Thank you!"
There are actually three views:
1. Repentance is a condition of everlasting life, and it means turning from sins.
2. Repentance is a condition for everlasting life, and it means changing one’s mind about sin, self, and Christ.
3. Repentance is not a condition of everlasting life, and it means turning from sins.
I wrote my doctoral dissertation at Dallas Theological Seminary in 1985. I defended the second view. Later, however, I changed my mind about repentance and adopted the third view! See this journal article (Does Your Mind Need Changing? Repentance Reconsidered) that explains why and how I changed my mind about repentance and salvation.
View one: The first view teaches that faith in Christ is not the only condition to be Born-Again. One must both believe in Christ and turn away from his sinful ways. The confusing part is what that means.
No one who holds the "turn-from-sins" view says this means that the person must stop sinning entirely. What they mean is that the person must turn away from all major sins - like drunkenness, drug use, and sexual immorality - as best he can. The identity of those major sins is rarely mentioned. Essentially in this view a person must be determined to turn from sins as God reveals them to him. He must also promise to serve God for the rest of his life.
Bill Gray Note: Dr. Bob writes: "No one who holds the 'turn-from-sins' view says this means that the person must stop sinning entirely. What they mean is that the person must turn away from all major sins. . ."
Romans 5:12,"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned"
Romans 7:17-20, "But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me."
Please notice that in these Romans passages, the apostle Paul does not distinguish between "major sins" and "other sins." In Romans 5:12, Paul wrote, "through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin." Not major nor minor sin - but SIN.
In Romans 7:17, Paul wrote, "but sin that dwells in me." Once again, not major nor minor sin - but SIN.
Man cannot be sinless, believer or non-believer, for our sin nature is inherited from Adam who first sinned by disobeying God. And in our human bodies, we all also tend to disobey God because of our inherited Adamic sin nature. The act of receiving Christ as Lord and Savior - is the same act by which we admit and own our sin nature - and our sincere desire to live a Christian life. If a man could becomes sinless, he would be divine, i.e., equal to God. And no mortal man can be divine.
As I have often written, to believe and receive Christ as Lord and Savior without repenting of our past sins, and praying for strength to resist future sins - is analogous to diving into a body of water without getting wet. It cannot be done.
View two: The second view is simpler, but it too is complicated, only in different ways. In this view, repentance in evangelistic contexts refers to changing one’s mind about three things: sin, self, and Christ. Changing one’s mind about sin and self is understood to mean that I come to believe that I am a sinner in need of salvation. That is not the same as believing in Christ. Changing one’s mind about Christ is understood to be a synonym for believing in Him.
According to view two, repentance includes faith in Christ, but it also has two elements that are not the same as faith in Christ.
Rarely do change-of-mind proponents explain that. How is it that faith in Christ is the only condition for eternal salvation, yet it is not enough? They probably think that changing one’s mind about his sins and himself is a necessary precursor to faith. Those things are not enough to save. But they must be combined with believing in Jesus. That is confusing.
The change-of-mind view is further complicated by the fact that it recognizes that repentance is most often used in contexts that are not evangelistic. In such contexts, the change-of-mind view understands repentance to mean a change of mind about one’s sinful ways. Essentially in those passages the change-of-mind understanding is that repentance is turning from one’s sins.
In my dissertation, I argued that 44 of the 55 New Testament uses of repent (metanoeo) and repentance (metanoia) referred to turning from sins. How is someone going to determine which repentance contexts are evangelistic and which are not?
Bill Gray Note: Dr. Bob tells us in View two: "Changing one’s mind about sin and self is understood to mean that I come to believe that I am a sinner in need of salvation. That is not the same as believing in Christ."
True, that is not the same as believing in Christ as Lord and Savior - but it is the first step toward believing in Christ, recognizing that He, Christ, is knocking on the door of that lost sinner's heart (Revelation 3:20). If a person has not come to understand that he is a sinner in need of salvation - why would he bother to open the door to know Christ? If that person is blissfully happy in his worldly sin lifestyle, with no guilt - why would he seek Christ?
On the other hand, no matter how happy a person may be in his worldly sin lifestyle, God has the key to the door of his heart - the Holy Spirit - sent to convict the world of its sin and of the rightfully deserved judgment awaiting that person if he continues to reject Christ as Lord and Savior.
John 16:8-9, "And when He (Holy Spirit) has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me."
If one does not realize that he IS a sinner and in need of salvation - how can he come to know that Christ is the Savior he needs? Once again, the actions of believing in Him and acknowledging a need to turn from the world - are integral steps toward one goal: eternal life in Christ. And once again, have you dove into a body of water without getting wet?
View three: The simplest and easiest to understand view (and the one that best fits the hundred-plus faith-alone verses in the Bible) is that faith in Christ is the sole condition of eternal salvation; repentance is turning from sins (e.g., Matt 12:41, referring to Jonah 3:10), and repentance is NOT a condition for the new birth.
There isn’t a single verse in the Bible that teaches that one must repent to have everlasting life or to be justified. In John 3:16 the Lord said that “whoever believes in Him…has everlasting life.” He said nothing about repentance there, or in John 4:10-26; 5:34, 39-40; 6:35, 47; 11:25-27.
In fact, the words repent and repentance are not found even once in John’s Gospel, the only evangelistic book in the Bible (John 20:31). If the only evangelistic book in the Bible doesn’t mention repentance, then how can repentance be a condition of everlasting life?
The sole condition for everlasting life is faith in Christ. See my article cited above on why I changed my mind about repentance, or see my book "Turn and Live: The Power of Repentance" for a detailed defense of view three.
Bill Gray Note: Once again, Dr. Bob, I ask: "Have you ever dove into a body of water without getting wet?" If one has Saving Faith in Jesus Christ - that alone will bring a strong desire to avoid sinning (can't be done, but the desire is there), i.e., REPENTANCE!
And we must keep in mind that Repentance is not a physical work, but an inner "spiritual" working of the Holy Spirit - as is His indwelling of the new believer at the moment of believing. Justification and Repentance are the integral spiritual workings of the Holy Spirit when "by grace you have been saved through faith" (Ephesians 2:8) - and a new believer has been brought into the Family of God.
Dr. Bob Wilkin's overt efforts to deny Repentance as an integral part of being Born-Again always makes me think of the quote from Hamlet by William Shakespeare, "Methinks he doth protest too much" - or as actually written by Shakespeare, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks"
In closing, let me say that, even though I disagree with Dr. Bob's view of Saving Faith without Repentance - I highly recommend their "Grace In Focus" magazine published bi-monthly by Grace Evangelical Society and I eagerly await each issue. For even though we disagree on this one issue, I learn a lot from reading the articles in each issue and happily pass on each issue to my wife for her edification.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
Click on the image to enlarge
