What is the relationship of our Salvation with Repentance?

by Mike Ratliff

38 Πέτρος δὲ πρὸς αὐτούς· μετανοήσατε, [φησίν,] καὶ βαπτισθήτω ἕκαστος ὑμῶν ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν καὶ λήμψεσθε τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος. Acts 2:38 (NA28)

38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38 (NASB) 

The word repent in v38 (above) translates μετανοήσατε (metanoēsate) the second plural, aorist active imperative case of μετανοέω (metanoeō) which means, “to change one’s mind.” This word is rarely found in Classical Greek because Greek society never thought of a radical change in a man’s life as a whole, of conversion or turning around. In fact, the whole concept of conversion is not found in Greek thought, but is derived from the New Testament. The idea μετανοέω, then, is to turn around, change one’s mind, relent , and in the theological sense involves “regret or sorrow, accompanied by a true change of heart toward God.

As we have been looking at the tragic attacks on our faith by our enemy and his seed which have never stopped since our Lord’s Ascension, the best way to combat another round of fake Christians attempting to dilute the Gospel and create a new form of Christianity such as Woke Christianity as did the Liberals in J. Gresham Machen’s day, is to stand firm on Biblical Truth and proclaim it no matter the cost. If the fake Christians take over our churches and/or denominations and seminaries that does not mean the end of Christianity. No, our Lord’s promise to always be building His Church is still in force until He says He is done. These phony Christian leaders in their big churches, Seminaries and Denominational leadership positions are nothing more than talking heads for Satan’s fake gospel. We do not have to listen to them nor obey them. Our Lord is the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who belong to Him have done what Peter commanded in that verse I placed at the top of this post. These fake Christian leaders who are attempting to reform Christianity into “Woke Christianity” have not done so. If they had, they wouldn’t be doing what they are doing.

These fake Christian leaders disguise what they are doing a Progressivism. This Progressivism is most certainly a progressive diluting  of the Gospel as I said above. They are continually attempting to redefine the Gospel in whatever nebulous terms each person desires, whatever terms make him feel comfortable. Read that carefully. Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality both have components within them that make existing systems and positions that DO NOT make people comfortable a threat that must be destroyed or done away with. Think of the Gospel that we proclaim that says that all men are sinners who must μετανοέω in order to be saved. That very thing is seen by those in the Woke Christian movement as something to attack, water down, and be done away with. They reshape their religion, while still calling themselves Christians, to be more alluring. It used to be “Easy Believeism,” No-Lordship Salvation,” “God is Love” philosophy, and other perversions in attempts to make Christianity into just another feel-good religion that meets your social, emotional, and even economic needs. But now it’s this monster called the Social Justice Gospel, which is not the the Gospel at all.

None of these perversions require μετανοέω in order to “come to God.” After all, since sin is really not an issue, there is nothing to repent from. However, for those who know the truth, like me, the un-Woke, we know that sin is the issue, and repentance is therefore right at the core of salvation.

At the birth of the church, for example, Peter preached, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Acts 2:38  He likewise preached in the temple, “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;” Acts 3:19 Even more basic, our Lord clearly declared that the reason he came was to “call..sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:13). We also read how he commanded five of the seven churches in Asia Minor to repent of their sin (Revelation 2:5; 2:16; 21-22; 3:3,19).

My brethren, any so-called Gospel that does not preach repentance is not the true Gospel, because God, “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent” Acts 17:30.

Soli Deo Gloria!