(Used by permission)
by Pastor Charles R. Curtman
Cornerstone Baptist Church, 17613 Manchester Rd., Wildwood, MO 63038
(314) 271-7706 (church), E-mail (dr_curtman@juno.com)
It is a tragic thing today, and nothing less than a phenomenon, that among professed Bible believing preachers, the doctrine of repentance is not being preached, but is actually being dismissed as having no significance or place in the message of the Gospel. As preposterous as this is scripturally, and as out of sync as it is with the Bible, and with the whole history of fundamentalism (in particular where Baptists are concerned), this is a position to which a small number of men have committed themselves, and one which is being embraced by numbers of other men who have come under their influence.
I want to refute this notion, and suggest some reasons why men have taken this position. Certainly, let me state from the onset, it is not because repentance is not biblical, an essential part of the Gospel message and altogether necessary to the experience of anyone who would be saved, that men are rejecting this doctrine. Repentance always has been a vital part of Gospel preaching, and it always will be.
Mark 1:4 tells us of the forerunner of Christ, that "John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." Mark 1:15 says, "Now after that John was put in prison, , Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel."
The Bible makes it clear that repentance is inseparably, inextricably linked with forgiveness of sins and with believing unto salvation. Remember, that God not only gave the very words that are in the Bible, He also directed as to the order in which these words were to be placed. It is not without significance that John connected repentance as a precedent to the remission of sins in Mark 1:4, and how Jesus associated repentance as a precedent to belief in the gospel in Mark 1:15 above.
When the twelve were sent out by Jesus on their first preaching mission, Mark 6:12 says, "And they went out, and preached that men should repent." So, here we have John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, and the twelve apostles clearly preaching repentance. Certainly these present worthy models for any preacher to follow regarding what should be preached.
Obviously, John the Baptist, our Lord, and the apostles understood repentance to be an important, indispensable part of the Gospel. Luke 24:46-47 says, "Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day; And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." Notice that in the same context that talks about how intended and how important it was that Christ suffer and rise from the dead, the Bible goes on to say "And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached..." (Do you see how these two great doctrines--Christ's suffering and resurrection, and the preaching of repentance--are linked together?).
Jesus said that when John preached the gospel to certain ones, they were incapable of believing it because of their refusal to repent: "For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and you believed him not: but the publicans and harlots believed him: and ye, when you had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe" (Matt. 21:32). Please see the connection. Because these people would not repent, they were unable to believe. Where there is no repentance, it is impossible to exercise saving faith!
Peter preached a powerful sermon on the day of Pentecost after which many of his hearers were "pricked in their hearts, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37). Peter's answer to these convicted sinners (recognizing that conviction was not repentance) was, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.. ." (Acts 2:38).
Next, the Bible says, "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls . . . And they continued steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. . .And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart. Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." (Acts 41,42,46,47).
Notice, the Bible says of these converts that "they continued," and they were "continuing daily." When people hear and submit themselves to a complete salvation message, not only will they both repent and believe, but they will also continue to walk in truth. As repentance is a missing element in some preaching today, so is a continuance of those "converted" under such preaching. The two go together: no repentance - no continuance.
Peter soon preached another powerfully pointed sermon in which he said, "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out..." (Acts 3:19). What comes before conversion and the blotting out of sins here? According to the Apostle Peter, repentance does.
The Book of Acts is called the Acts of the Apostles. But, really, it is the divine record of the acts of the Holy Spirit through the early church when thousands were being saved and added to the church. I think all would agree that the apostles and others in the early church understood what was involved in preaching the gospel message and winning the lost to Christ. They obviously believed repentance was an integral, indispensable part of the gospel.
When the apostles were forbidden to preach by the Sanhedrin Court, they simply gave testimony to Jesus, and made clear what they were preaching and what they intended to keep on preaching: "Him hath God highly exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him." (Acts 5:31, 32). The idea of preaching is to bring people to repentance and faith so they can receive forgiveness of sins..
Two things in the above passage of Scripture bear a little closer scrutiny in connection with our subject. First notice, "Him hath God highly exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour." Will you notice that the title, "Prince" comes before that of "Saviour" in verse 31? This is not coincidental or unusual. The significance? Simply that there must be an attitude of humility of heart that recognizes and accepts Jesus, not just as "Saviour," but also as "Prince," "Master," "Lord," and "King." Check your concordance, and you will find that almost without exception the order of appellations, when more than one name is ascribed to Him, will bear this out.
It is interesting, but not surprising, that people who have a problem with repentance also have a problem with recognizing the lordship of Christ. This is, of course, the evidence of a stubborn self will and an egotistical pride, which is characteristic of the nature of Satan whose main problem was, and ever will be, an unwillingness to render total submission to the Lord. It is a mark of the fallen nature to want to maintain some degree of self-elevation rather than to humble oneself entirely before God. The no-repentance-necessary message caters to this aspect of the fallen nature.
Secondly, and in keeping with what has just been said, notice verse 32 which speaks of the "Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to all them that obey him." To whom is the Holy Ghost given? The answer is, those to whom "repentance. . . And forgiveness of sins" has been given.
The repentance that precedes the forgiveness of sins also prepares the heart for obedience, and obedience is a mark of all genuine Christianity. Repentance plus faith equals obedience. Where anything is left out of this equation, there is no real salvation.
When Peter reported the salvation of Cornelius and the members of Cornelius' household to the church in Jerusalem, the church was convinced that the Gentiles had experienced the same work of grace in salvation as themselves. What convinced them? Acts 11:18 says, "When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life?" What had God granted the Gentiles before He granted them eternal life? Repentance! This is what convinced these Jewish believers in the church at Jerusalem that the salvation of the Gentiles was real. These words and their order were not placed in the New Testament by the Holy Spirit as a matter of happenstance - "repentance unto life."
When the Apostle Paul was giving his testimony before Felix, he made it clear that the objective of his preaching to the lost was, "To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they might receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me" (Acts 26:18). What did Paul recognize as having to happen before people can receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance with them who are sanctified by faith? Why, he said they have to "turn." That's repentance!
In verses nineteen and twenty Paul told King Agrippa about the ministry God had called him to: "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 Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance." Paul said he was busy being obedient to God's calling on his life, and he was telling people "that they should repent and turn to God." Nobody is going to turn to God until they repent.
When Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica, he expressed a holy gratification that they had: "turned to God from idols to serve the living God" (1 Thess. 1:9). Notice, they had to first turn from their idols before they could turn to God. The idea that a person can turn to God without turning from sin is as nonsensical as it is heretical.
How can you turn to something without turning from something? Today's followers of Jehudi (Jer. 36:20-23), who want to cut the doctrine of repentance, if not out of the Bible, then out of preaching and teaching, are busy redefining the doctrine of repentance to suit themselves.
The new teaching is based on what is written in John 3:18: ". . . He that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God." The reasoning is, that the Bible teaches here that a person is condemned because they don't believe. So, not believing is what makes a person lost , and what people need to repent of is what makes them lost. So not believing is what needs to be repented of--nothing more, nothing less.
The line of reasoning above is nothing but jabberwocky and doublespeak. It represents the argument of verbal contortionists and is an insult to anyone who can honestly read the Bible or anything else for that matter. It is the kind of stuff that births and nurtures cults.
It is wicked to wrest Scripture like this, and totally insulting to offer up such a disconnected, lame and inane attempt at logic. This new definition of repentance is nothing less than pure foolishness. This kind of repentance is not what the Bible teaches in connection with salvation. It is not the kind of repentance Jesus demanded. It is not what John the Baptist or the early church understood repentance to mean.
It is not what the Protestant reformers, the Wesleys or Whitfield understood it to mean. It is not what the great evangelists of the past or of modern times have believed. You cannot find any mention of this repentance-free gospel in the history of revival. It is not what Baptists through the ages have ever believed, and it has had no place at any time in the history or heritage of Baptist people. It is a farcical fabrication of "doctrine" that deserves universal denouncement by all who have any fear of God before their eyes, any love for the Bible, or any love for lost souls.
Repentance is a turning from sin with all the heart and all of the soul as the Holy Spirit convicts the sinner of his need and convinces him of the ability and the willingness of God to save him. It is an attitude of the heart and mind that is ready and willing to turn from sin in all of its shapes and forms. It is a necessary part of the gospel. Why then do men not preach this repentance today? First, I think some men do not preach repentanceout of ignorance. Secondly, I think some men do not preach repentance because they are intimidated. Thirdly, I think some men refuse to preach repentance, and do not want to have it preached because it would be incriminating.
SOME DO NOT PREACH REPENTANCE OUT OF IGNORANCE
One explanation for why men do not preach repentance is, in a word, ignorance; and my intention is to use this word "ignorance" in the least offensive way that it can be used. The last thing I want is to be perceived as ill-mannered or mean-spirited. Webster defines "ignorant" as "not having knowledge . . . The word may imply a general condition or it may apply to a lack of knowledge or awareness of a particular thing." It is in the latter sense, not the first, that I am suggesting that some preachers do not preach repentance because of ignorance. I mean to use the word ignorance in the nicest way that it can be used. I am simply saying that many men are not as thorough and faithful in preaching repentance as they should be, and some do not preach it at all because of lack of study, wrong influences on their ministries or simply because of a failure on their part to think. Any of these reasons or any combination of them can be the explanation for why some men are not preaching one of the most important truths in the Bible.
Some simply do not see the importance of the role that repentance plays in bringing a person to a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. They fail to fully appreciate the stakes that are involved where the preaching of repentance is concerned.
Preachers need to delve diligently into the Bible and get this matter settled in their hearts that a person cannot turn to God without repentance. They cannot receive forgiveness of their sin, and they are incapable of exercising saving faith without repenting. Furthermore, it would be well if preachers would make a serious effort to investigate the positions of the great fundamental preachers, theologians, etc. of the past relative to the doctrine of repentance. (See my book, Repentance: The Truth vs. Modern Day Heresy for documentation of the historic position of fundamentalists on repentance).
What you will find, the more you research this matter, is that all the great pastors, evangelists and missionaries, etc. of days-gone-by were strong teachers and preachers on the subject of repentance. Also, I am convinced that you will, in the process of your research, conclude that these stalwarts for, and heroes of, the faith would be appalled and militantly rise up in protest against the non-repentance teaching that has crept into the ranks of fundamentalism today.
Some men who used to give repentance a stronger place in their preaching and teaching have unconsciously gotten away from doing so and perhaps don't even realize it. But men can change. They can realize where they have fallen short, and humbly get their priorities correctly adjusted. They can take another look at Acts 17:30 which tells us that God "now commandeth all men everywhere to repent," and figure out what that means. They can figure out what it means without the help of concordance, commentary, or word study. They can rededicate themselves to preaching the whole counsel of God. Men can start giving repentance the place it deserves and demands in their preaching.
Ignorance may be an explanation for why some men do not preach repentance today, and I believe that it is one explanation, but it is not an excuse. It is not an excuse that any preacher will want to offer to the Lord at the Judgment Seat of Christ for why he didn't preach repentance.
Some men do not preach repentance because it would not be popular with some in their congregation. The sad fact is that many Baptist churches are glutted with worldly, contentious members who are easily offended themselves and who are always ready to take up an offense for someone else. These people know how to cause trouble, and they are not afraid to do it. They are carnal, combative, and confrontational; and the pastor knows it and would prefer not to "set them off" by preaching or teaching the necessity of repentance to a valid conversion experience.
Pastors don't want to see disturbances in their churches. They don't want a new convert or any of their sheep to have to experience church trouble. There are also financial considerations to think about. There are, in the minds of some pastors, situations where families are concerned that make a less confrontational approach to preaching the better part of wisdom. My friends, more often than not, this is nothing other than "the fear of man." Proverbs 29:25 says, "The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe."
Some men do not preach repentance because they feel it is in the best overall interest of their church not to do so. I want to help any preacher who has this mindset. May I address you very plainly, my preacher brother, and say to you that you are not in your church primarily to serve that church. Your being a servant to the church you pastor is not the main thing. Primarily and ultimately you are the servant of God, and unless you are thinking straight and walking straight where this is concerned you will never be worth much to your church or anybody else, including yourself. Paul said, "For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I could not be the servant of God" (Gal. 1:10).
Don't be a "menpleaser" (Col. 3:22). You can't be a true pastor that way. The Bible makes it clear that if your focus is on pleasing men, then, unequivocally, you cannot be the servant of God, and if you are not the servant of God you have no business preaching or pastoring or being involved in leadership in any kind of ministry.
Some men don't preach repentance because of their colleagues or the circle of preachers they run in. It wouldn't set well with "the brethren." It wouldn't coincide with the position that the pastor's home church or his alma mater has taken on repentance. Don't be intimidated by people in any shape, form, or fashion! It will ruin your usefulness to God and to man, and you will be ashamed when it is time for you to give an account to the Lord for your ministry. In the meantime, you will be disgusted with yourself and simply degenerate spiritually.
When folks were casting their disapproving looks at Jeremiah's ministry, God said, "Thou therefore, gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them" (Jer. 1:17). Forget about their faces, and forget about their favors, and preach the mighty doctrine of repentance in your church and in the preachers' meetings! If your church puts you out over it, or your crowd cuts you off, thank God for the grace that is keeping you from being the servant of men rather than the servant of God. Thank God that you are not willing to be a soft-pedaling, rung-climbing, wind-testing, man-pleasing politician in a pulpit.
I said above that many Baptist churches are glutted with worldly members. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that many Baptist churches are glutted with unsaved members. Preachers have filled their churches, and allowed their churches to be filled with unsaved members by preaching a repentance-free gospel. These members are carnal, self-willed, spiritually blind, unhearing, unheeding, and often mean. And many times the only way the pastor thinks he can survive in a church like this is to be as blind, unhearing, and unheeding as his members are, and, in some cases, meaner than they are. (Actually, for this kind of preacher and this kind of church, this conclusion is probably correct).
A man who preaches a no-repentance "gospel" eventually will come to a place where he will be called on to explain why so many of his converts have never darkened the door of a church. He has to be able to explain why so many others who have been baptized and have joined the church manifest no noticeable change in their lifestyles. The only difference between them before their profession and after their profession, the only difference between them and people who have never even bothered to make a profession of faith, is a geographical difference. There is no spiritual difference, only a geographical one. That is, their bodies are simply located somewhere different (the church building) after their "profession of faith" two or three times a week-- maybe.
How is a man to explain the fruit of a ministry like this? He can't explain it with any integrity based on what the Bible says about genuine salvation and its evidences. This leaves the preacher to his own devices to explain his converts who continue in sin. You find preachers like this spending a lot of time referring to the sins committed by David or the Apostle Peter, etc. all the while seeking to build a case for people being saved but never being changed. Preachers do this by shamelessly wrestling the scriptures and employing all kinds of far flung speculations and conjectures that are not upheld by the overall context of the Scriptures.
Repentance means turning around and turning away from sin and sins. This is what it has always meant. Somehow the no-repentance-needed preacher must explain this away. He must have an explanation for the sake of his "great" ministry and his reputation why so many of his converts consistently continue to live like the devil.
The Bible says "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold all things become new" (2 Cor. 5:17). This is an outcome of a work of repentance.
In the Bible, Christians are called "holy brethren" and a "holy priesthood" and a "holy nation" (1 Thess. 5:27; 1 Pet. 2:5; 1 Pet. 2:9). We are told that before the foundation of the world, God had ordained believers to be "holy and without blame before him in love." We are born of the "Holy Spirit," have the "Holy Scriptures," and are called with a "holy calling." "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation" (Eph. 1:4; John 3:5,6; Rom. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:9;1 Pet. 1:15). We are also bound for a "holy city" (Rev. 21:2).
Where is the holiness or even the desire for holiness in so many of these no-repentance, easy believism "converts" today? If these "converts" show no desire for holiness in their lifestyle after they are "saved," if they are not following after holiness now (Heb. 12:14), isn't it somewhat absurd to think that they would have it in them to want to live in a holy heaven for eternity? It's the last thing they would want to do. This situation concerning unchanged "converts" however has to be explained. So out comes Jehudi's penknife to do away with the doctrine of repentance in connection with salvation.
It has been decided in some circles of professed Baptists that the biblical and historical teaching regarding repentance is to be denied and rejected. This is because the essentiality and the effects of repentance in the salvation experience tends to condemn those ministries which promote and practice a repentance-free gospel and what has been called "easy-believism."
I have read articles and books by preachers who ridicule those who object to a gospel that involves neither repentance or a desire and willingness of the heart at conversion to make Jesus Lord of one's life. These preachers' articles, books and sermons scorn those who object to an "easy believism" that does not result in salvation. They sarcastically say, "What is easy believism?" Well, easy believism is what the devils have. The Bible says, "the devils believe also and tremble" (James 2:19). The devils (like unconverted church members) have an intellectual knowledge, and give their mental assent to some things in the Bible, but they are not going to stop rebelling against God, and they are not interested in holiness; they are not going to change. They just believe. That's not too hard to do. It's easy, until the easy believer gets to hell!
We have now had at least twenty-five years of repentance-free, easy-believism converts, many of them herded into baptistries, pews, church positions and offices. Some have wound up in pulpits.
I have heard the testimonies of hundreds of people as they have related the circumstances involved in a false profession of faith they made as a child during a five minute encounter with a "soul winner" on a playground or during an invitation following a Children's Church program or a Vacation Bible School, etc. They confess that at the time of their profession of faith in such instances, the only thing they understood was that they definitely didn't want to go to hell, and this and this alone motivated them to walk the aisle, raise their hand (to signal their acceptance of Christ), or repeat a profession of faith as they were coached to do so. Often, they will recall that their response to a public or private invitation to receive the Lord as Savior was motivated only by a strong desire to please an adult. Sometimes it is admitted that professions of faith have been made merely in an effort to be part of the crowd "going forward."
Adults often make professions of faith for any or all of the same reasons mentioned above and confess this later. Many have made false professions of faith during a time of physical, financial, or family crisis when they were desperate for help and were told that by "accepting Jesus" things would get better, life would be happier, etc.
Sometimes people really do begin to be convicted of their sin and of their need of Jesus Christ. But at the very first expression of spiritual concern by them, they are instantly guided into a profession of faith. But conviction is not the same thing as conversion. The Holy Spirit must be allowed to do His thorough work in bringing a soul to repentance and faith.
I have been busy in pastoral and evangelistic work for over 25 years and have heard all kinds of scenarios involving false professions of faith. Oftentimes, after such a "convert" is baptized and put to work in the church he begins to struggle with his profession, and the reality of his salvation. Later, under the preaching of the Word he begins to be convicted by the Holy Spirit that he is not saved. When however, he shares this with the preacher or another personal worker, he is falsely comforted and even chided for his concern, and is told again and again that he most certainly is saved. After all, didn't he say "yes" to Jesus? Didn't he sign a decision card? Hasn't God blessed his work as a Sunday School teacher or bus worker since his profession of faith? Hasn't God used him to lead others to Christ? How could he not be saved?
What is the problem then? Why, he is told, what is probably happening is that God is convicting him about his need to work harder or win more souls. Or maybe, and most likely, God is calling him into full time service. That must be it! After all, he did sign the card, shake the hand, mumble a profession, and he does work in church. So, God must be calling him into the ministry. Bingo! Another "preacher boy" is created to clone into the image of whoever is the ranking preacher hero at the time. The next thing this "preacher boy" knows is that he has been in and out of Bible school, is pastoring a church and doing what he has been taught to do: creating more and more converts just like himself, and training his own "preacher boys."
Through the years men like this may still be bothered about their own relationship with God, but they learn how to anesthetize themselves with more activity, more "soul winning," and harder preaching. Men like this are miserable and they make the people who are around them miserable because deep down these preachers feel guilty, condemned and trapped.
Naturally these men are inclined to find some comfort for themselves and their converts; some way of justifying, rationalizing, explaining the inconsistency between their experience and the Bible teaching that repentance will result in a changed life. And so they preach that repentance does not necessarily have anything to do with salvation. They will fight anything or anyone who threatens their position and their false assurance regarding themselves or their ministry. Of course, the last thing they are ever going to do themselves is preach or teach repentance!
It is such a tragic thing when a man or a woman makes a false profession of faith and is talked into an acceptance of it by those who cry "peace and safety" for their soul when in reality there is neither peace nor safety for their still unsaved souls. Particularly tragic is this when those deceived and being deceived in this way become preachers.
It is a tragic situation, but a true one, that many churches are filled with unsaved members, and have preachers who have never been saved because they have leap-frogged over repentance and went straight to "accepting," "trusting," "making a decision for" Christ. There was never any broken heartedness over their condition; no hungering after God. It is no wonder that these members and ministers can have lifestyles which are terribly inconsistent with the Bible, while they have no shame, much less any remorse about it, and even defend their carnality. The problem is that they have never experienced repentance in salvation, so they are incapable of feeling genuine repentance over inconsistencies in their lifestyle. The "root of the matter" (Job 19:28) is not in them.
When a man doesn't preach repentance out of ignorance or carelessness that is one thing. When he doesn't preach it because of intimidation, that's another. These situations can be corrected, and the likelihood that they will be in many cases is strong. But when a man not only refuses to preach repentance, but refutes it because the doctrine of repentance is incriminating to himself and his ministry, that is another thing altogether. It is reminiscent of the Roman Catholic Church and cults which have had their own agenda, and developed their own belief systems which require not only a rejection of, but replacements for, certain Bible doctrines. Obviously, Romanism and the cults have attracted plenty of adherents and rabid defenders. In fact, every denomination, sect, and movement in so called "Christendom" today can trace its beginnings to a deviation from the truth and a departure from "the church of God which is the pillar and the ground of the truth" (1Tim. 3:16).
Many Baptists are irate today, and they should be, over the obvious reinterpreting and rewriting of American history by those committed to a self-serving social agenda. But where is the concern over those who are reinterpreting and in some cases trying to rewrite the very doctrine of salvation? This is nothing less than heresy--a modern day heresy that is unprecedented relative to its proclamations and relative to its promotion by preachers who claim to be fundamentalists and Baptists.
A new gospel has arisen today, another gospel, which denies the need for sinners to be called, or to come, to repentance in order to be saved. It is a false message. It is wicked and deadly.
Baptists in the pulpits and in the pews who love truth and long to see the lost come to know Christ in truth, must denounce this heresy, recognize and re-embrace Baptist doctrinal distinctives as never before, and "earnestly contend for the faith which was delivered unto the saints" (Jude 3).
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