Repentance has been debated at great length by many people in the ranks of fundamentalism over the past two or three years. The debate centers on the necessity of repentance for one’s salvation. I am astounded that repentance would ever become an issue to debate among fundamentalists. The Bible clearly explains the necessity of repentance for salvation. The people Who question this doctrine tend to be proponents of a man-centered theology that views man as the "captain of his own soul," and God no longer sovereign in salvation. They intimate that to declare repentance necessary for salvation is preaching salvation by works instead of faith. What does the Bible say in regard to repentance being necessary for salvation? What does the Bible teach regarding repentance? What actions are a sign that Biblical repentance has taken place? What does it mean to repent?

Repentance is Necessary for Salvation

Jesus said in Luke 13:3, "I tell you, Nay: except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." Acts 3:19 says, "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." The words of 2 Chronicles 7:14 strike a very dogmatic note regarding repentance. Notice the statement, "and turn from their wicked ways." These statements of scripture don’t have any "loop holes" regarding the necessity of repentance for salvation.

This is clearly stated in Acts 17:30, "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent." Repentance is not an option in regard to man’s salvation. Why then are many people coming forward at public invitations and walking away unchanged and unconverted? Could it be that their preacher did not explain the scriptural teaching of repentance? Can a person say that he loves lost souls and evangelism and continue to overlook the teaching of repentance unto salvation? Men who leave repentance out of their gospel presentation are giving an uncertain sound. We should be reminded at this time of a quote from John Wycliffe which says, "He that leaveth off preaching for fear of being excommunicated by men, has already been excommunicated by God." The preaching of repentance unto salvation is no trivial matter, but takes primary place in the presentation of the gospel to lost sinners in God’s economy.

Another gross mistake made by some preachers concerns how a sinner repents. Most fundamentalists believe that the sinner has the ability to repent. However, God alone sovereignly controls the granting or withholding of repentance to the sinner. The scriptures sate, "Him (Jesus) hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5:31). "When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, ‘Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life’" (Acts 11:18). John 9:39 states, "And Jesus said, ‘For Judgment I (Jesus] am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.’" One easily understands that only the Lord gives or grants repentance to the sinner (John 9:39). What comfort this truth is to those of us who have been born again from above. Praise the Lord that He controls our entire salvation from beginning to end.

2 Corinthians 7:10 says, "For godly sorrow worketh repentance not to be repented of but the sorrow of the world worketh death." In the verse just mentioned, Paul explains the difference between Biblical repentance and false repentance. I fear that many of our church members live in the horrible spiritual condition mentioned in the latter portion of that verse. Yet the Bible still confirms, "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: But whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy" (Prov 28:13). How did the children of Israel react when they truly repented? Judges 10:15 states, "And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day." Notice that they were willing for God to do whatever He saw fit to do with them. This reaction seems very different from the reaction of supposed "converts" which walk the aisles of America’s fundamental churches.

God’s preachers throughout the ages preached repentance. In fact, every prophet of the most High God mentioned in scripture preached repentance. Jesus, the greatest preacher of all, preached repentance to the Pharisees in Lk. 13:3,5. Peter preaches repentance in Acts 2:38. John the Baptist preached repentance in Matthew 3:1,2. Paul preached repentance in Acts 20:21. Because Jonah preached repentance to the city of Nineveh, the entire city was converted (Jonah 3:10). Why did these men preach repentance? These prophets preached repentance because it was necessary to fulfill the Great Commission.

Repentance by a general definition means simply to turn or to change one’s mind. However, biblical repentance is more than a person giving mental assent to certain truths and deciding to change. Biblical repentance changes one’s affections. The sinner who truly repents completely changes his desires. Psalm 26:5 gives us an example of the attitude of a truly repentant man when it says, "I have hated the congregation of evildoers; and will not sit with the wicked." Righteousness and God’s Word no longer seems burdensome but rather something to be desired.

Many preachers avoid the doctrine of repentance because it does not draw people to their churches. Many preachers in this nation would do well to repent themselves for the absence of repentance in their public preaching and private gospel presentations. May God bless us and give us grace to stand for the truth.

by William R. Tolp

Text: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23

It is amazing how a person’s theological persuasion often determines how he views scripture instead of a person basing his theology on what the scripture says. Many times the obvious is missed due to its simplicity. One of the reasons that mission work is so good among people who have never heard the gospel, is that they have not yet been taught what not to believe.

How has Romans 6:2,3 been taken out of God’s hands and placed into the hands of sinful man! Is it really a blessing to tell sinners, "God has given the free gift; all you have to do is receive it-- simple as that"?

Does the sinner imply from your statement that if he does not receive what is purposely given to him, that it was given in vain? Does God ever give anything that is not received? Will there be wealth and crowns and mansions in heaven laid up for sinners who never received them? Do not people misinterpret Romans 6:23 because they do not want to acknowledge that it is God who giveth gifts to whomsoever He wills?

It is the very nature of a gift to be received. For a person to state that he was given a gift and that he also received it is to be redundant. The very words "free gift;" denote something good that people gladly receive.

No one doubts that Jesus received the gifts by the wise men, even though the passage does not say that He received them. The passage says that the wise men gave ("presented unto him" Matt. 2:11) gifts, and we naturally assume that the gifts were received.

Is "every good gift and every perfect gift" (James 1:17) that the Father gives conditioned by mans’ receiving it? If so, where do the gifts go when God gives them, but man rejects them? Perhaps to a Limbus Charisma?

When Peter speaks of the "inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven" (I Peter 1:4), does he intimate that there will be any in heaven unclaimed -- not received? Or does the fact that they are given imply that they are received?

Does any person really doubt that when God "gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers" (Ephesians 4:11), that these gifts were susceptible to not being received? Are not people inconsistent when they maintain that all the gifts God has given throughout scripture are received except for the greatest gift: of all -- the gift of eternal life? Is that "Good News," really?

It is ironic that sometimes the very people that claim to be for "proper Biblical exegesis" do not see the clear wording of a passage. The gift of which Paul speaks is not mysterious or difficult to figure out; in fact, one does not have to know any other language than English. The gift is LIFE. If, as Paul states in Ephesians 2:1, man is "dead in trespasses and sins," how does man receive life of himself?

Would it not take life to exert the effort of receiving it? If man had life to receive, would not any extra life be unnecessary? Perhaps many unconverted sinners have been given more hope by "soul-winners" to remain as they are --after all, they have an immutable, sovereign, glorious "free-will" which will be bound after conversion!

Did Lazarus come out of the tomb because he made the decision to receive the gift of life? Could he have rejected it? Is he an exception to the norm of how dead people receive life? Had Jesus stood by the side of the corpse of Lazarus and told him that He would give life to him on the condition that he would receive it, could Lazarus have ever come out of the tomb? However, did not Lazarus freely receive the gift of life the moment Jesus gave it to him? Was Lazarus angry that the Lord Jesus "imposed" HIS will upon him and "forced" life upon him, or was he grateful that Jesus gave him what he could have never obtained of himself?

While my dad was in Surgical Intensive Care, he could not move or speak or even breathe on his own – he required a respirator to live. Had the doctor walked to his side with a respirator and presented it as a free gift upon the condition that my dad receive it, would that doctor have been acclaimed as a benevolent, gracious man?

The doctor said that the more strength my dad received, the respirator would gradually become unnecessary. If my dad had the strength to receive the respirator, he would not have needed it. The very fact that he could not receive the respirator (actively, of his own strength), indicated that he needed it and would die without it. Had he been able to push it away from himself, he definitely would not have needed it. Does anyone really believe that my dad received the respirator grudgingly from the doctor? Did he refuse to breathe when the tube was held up to his mouth, since salvation was coming apart from himself? Or did he gladly receive the free gift that was graciously given to him? Was your salvation "available" to take, or given to receive? Which one emphasizes a greater "personal" relationship?

Is the condition of sinful, fallen man any better than was the condition of my dad in the Intensive Care Unit, or Lazarus in the tomb? Did Christ die for people with strength or without strength?

Will you claim that God has given His "Pearl of Great Price" to be accepted or refused by swine, and then turn right around and tell your wealthy church members, "cast not your pearls before swine"? Would you not have God to be a fool?

It is the wonderful truth that "Salvation is of the Lord which brings comfort to the recipients thereof. It is the wonderful truth that Christ died for us "when we were without strength," that is "good news" from a far country. Believest thou this?

"He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John 1:11-13

by Timothy Fellows, Jr.

We do not answer the world’s questions according to their multiple-choice selections.

Rev. Fellows is progressively getting better from day to day. Please continue to pray for his speech and communication ability. Thank you.

"May God smile on you" --Bach