“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 KJV
The act of repentance, meaning turning one’s heart to God and away from sin at the moment of salvation, is not a “work.” However, it is a integral part of a saving, heart-faith per Romans 10:9-10. Merely assenting to a set of historical facts about Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, saved no one, including me. I believed those facts (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) for most of my life. However, until I believed, with my heart, that I was a wretched sinner deserving of hell, who desperately needed to receive the mercy of Jesus Christ and the pardon for sin He freely offers the world, I could not be saved.
It continues to shock me that many professing Christians and even pastors, teach that simply agreeing with the facts of the gospel is enough to save a soul. Even demons believe the facts about salvation. James made that point for a reason(James 2:19). He knew that false teachers would infiltrate the church, minimizing sin and neutering the gospel, while maximizing the temporary material blessings of this dying world.
Just like every other verse in scripture, the verses that say something to the affect of: believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved, must be measured against the whole counsel of God, which includes all the other verses that tie repentance to salvation.
“Repentance unto salvation” is NOT the same thing as sanctification. Sanctification is a completely different concept, one that involves growing in Christ over time, as we read his word, pray and fellowship with others. That process will never be complete until we are safe in heaven with the Lord. We will not be free from the stain of sin as long as we wear this cloak of flesh.
Unfortunately, some people who are truly saved might not change their behavior. However, that should be VERY rare since Jesus made it crystal clear that his children will be known by their fruits(Mathew 7:20; 12:33). Paul teaches us that those saved people who simply bury their gift and don’t seek to honor Christ with their lives, will be saved…but as by fire, with no rewards to enjoy for eternity (1 Corinthians 3:15).
Below is a list of some of the clearest verses describing what scripture says is required for salvation. I’m not dealing with the verses that state that we are saved solely by grace through faith, not of works. That is, of course, a critical concept, but here I’m simply focusing on what is required from the heart of a prospective believer in order to be saved.
“and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
Mark 1:15 KJV
”I came not to call the righteous, but sinners… to repentance.“
Luke 5:32 KJV (see also, Matt. 9:13, and Mark 2:17)
Jesus says this – twice!
“I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”
Luke 13:3, 5 KJV
”I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.“
Luke 15:7, and 10 KJV
“The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him 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 5:30-31 KJV
The words of Jesus as he instructed the apostles what to preach when he’s gone:
”and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.“
Luke 24:47 KJV
”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 KJV
”And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:“
Acts 17:30 KJV
”testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.“
Acts 20:21 KJV
”For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.“
2 Corinthians 7:10 KJV
”but shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judæa, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, AND do works meet for repentance.“
Acts 26:20 KJV
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance.”
2 Peter 3:9 KJV
“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 KJV
“and (Jesus) said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 18:3 KJV
In the above verse, being “converted” and becoming like a little child is neither a dispensational matter nor a shallow belief in the gospel. Jesus is speaking of a change of heart…a turning away from the love of sin to seeking forgiveness from God at the very moment of salvation. As previously noted, sanctification is a completely different, life-long process of spiritual growth that has nothing to do with salvation. We will wrestle with sin until the day we die.
However, all salvation requires is a humble heart, joyfully receiving the free gift of grace by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on that cold, bloody cross. It is not a shallow intellectual belief in a set of ancient facts. It is a sincere belief deep in the heart of a new believer(see, Romans 10:9-10 below):
“that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Romans 10:9-10 KJV
EPILOGUE
When I read the Old Testament, especially the first 10 or so books, God makes it clear that what he really desires from his children when we fail, is a broken and contrite heart. Although David was long saved, he understood, even in Old Testament times, the kind of brokenness and humility God wants from the hearts of his children. While this passage(below) has nothing to do with salvation it is a powerful illustration of a broken heart, full of contrition, grieving over the selfishness and foolishness of sin. As we grow in the knowledge and wisdom of God, the depth of our understanding and remorse over sin should continue to deepen just as it did in David’s life:
“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: And my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: And in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: Thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”
Psalm 51:1-7, 10, 16-17 KJV
Additional articles by this author
You will do greater works than these: What did Jesus Mean?
My Evangelism Journey through the Florida Keys
God Chose the Weak and Foolish Things of This World, So that no one Might Boast Before Him
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A Brief video Explanation of my Daily Evangelism
Politics, Nationalism and the Heart of a Believer
One Man’s Torment in the hands of the New Version Bibles
Romans 9, Rightly Divided(meaning not as Calvinists interpret it
Video (long) of my Testimony at a Wednesday Night Service
Forgiveness: to the merciful, God shows himself merciful
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Adam, God and the Garden: Love and Tragedy …in Paradise
Thy Word Alone is Truth: Examining All Things in the Refining Furnace of Scripture 