Is repentance necessary for salvation
and what is it biblically?
It could mean the difference whether
you go TO heaven or hell.
Rev. Billy Graham on REPENTANCE
Is repentance necassary for salvation. pdf
What, then, is the connection between repentance and salvation?
The book of Acts especially focuses on repentance in regard to salvation (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 11:18; 17:30; 20:21; 26:20).
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 3:19 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 11:18 18 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 20:21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
Acts 26:20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
To repent, concerning salvation, is to change your mind regarding sin and Jesus Christ.
In Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts chapter 2), he concludes with a call for the people to repent (Acts 2:38). Repent from what?
Peter calls the people who rejected Jesus (Acts 2:36) to change their minds about that sin and to change their minds about Christ Himself, recognizing that He is indeed
“Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).
Peter calls the people to change their minds, to abhor their past rejection of Christ, and to embrace faith in Him as their Messiah and Savior.
Repentance involves recognizing that you have thought wrongly in the past and determining to think rightly in the future.
The repentant person has “second thoughts” about the mindset he formerly embraced.
There is a change of disposition and a new way of thinking about God, about sin, about holiness, and about doing God’s will.
True repentance is prompted by “godly sorrow,” and it “leads us trusting only in Jesus Christ to salvation”
(2 Corinthians 7:10).
Repentance and faith can be understood as two sides of the same coin.
It is impossible to place your faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior without first changing your mind about your sin and about who Jesus is and what He has done.
Whether it is repentance from willful rejection or repentance from ignorance or disinterest, it is a change of mind.
Biblical repentance, in relation to salvation, is changing your mind from rejection of Christ to faith in Christ.
Repentance is not a work we do to earn salvation.
No one can repent and come to God unless God pulls that person to Himself (John 6:44).
John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Repentance is something God gives—
it is only possible because of His grace.
Acts 5:31 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 11:18 When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
No one can repent unless God grants repentance.
That is why people in Hell can not repent.
It is too late for them to repent toward God and accept Jesus Christ as their savior.
Luke 16:19-31.
All of salvation, including repentance and faith, is a result of God drawing us, opening our eyes, and changing our hearts.
God’s longsuffering leads us to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9 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.
as does His kindness
Romans 2:4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
While repentance is not a work that earns salvation, repentance unto salvation does result in works.
It is impossible to truly change your mind without changing your actions in some way.
In the Bible, repentance results in a change in behavior.
That is why John the Baptist called people to
“produce fruit in keeping with repentance”
Matthew 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Matthew 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
(Fruits that show your attitude has changed toward God, toward Jesus and as you grow in the Lord ways your attitude toward the things that do NOT honor God is evident because of the changed you are willing to make in your life in order to HONOR God.
A person who has truly repented of sin and exercised faith in Christ will give evidence of a changed life.
(2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 5:19–23; James 2:14–26).
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Galatians 5:19-23 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
To see what repentance looks like in real life, turn to the story of Zacchaeus.
Here was a man who cheated and stole and lived lavishly on his ill-gotten gains—until he met Jesus.
At that point he had a radical change of mind: “Look, Lord!” said Zacchaeus. “Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount”
(Luke 19:8).
Jesus happily proclaimed that salvation had come to Zacchaeus’s house, and that even the tax collector was now “a son of Abraham” (verse 9)—a reference to Zacchaeus’s faith.
The cheat became a philanthropist; the thief made restitution. That’s repentance in action after repentance to God and Christ. coupled in faith in Christ.
Repentance, properly defined, is necessary for salvation.
Biblical repentance is changing your mind about your sin—no longer is sin something to toy with; it is something to be forsaken as you “flee from the coming wrath” (Matthew 3:7).
It is also changing your mind about Jesus Christ—no longer is He to be mocked, discounted, or ignored; He is the Savior to be clung to; He is the Lord to be worshiped and adored.
———————————
What is repentance & it isn’t necessary for salvation
Agian, many understand the term repentance from the Greek word Metanoia to mean turning from sin and this is not the biblical definition of repentance in the Bible
The word repent means to change one’s mind
the Bible also tells us that true repentance will also result in a change of actions.
Acts 26:20 declares I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.
James 2:18 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
The full biblical definition of repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of action.
What then is the connection between repentance and salvation?
The book of Acts seems to especially focus on repentance in regards to salvation to repent in relation to salvation is to change your mind in regard to Jesus Christ.
in Peters sermon on the day of Pentecost Acts chapter 2 he concludes with a call for the people to repent.
Peter is calling the people who rejected Jesus to change their minds about to recognize that he is indeed Lord in Christ
Peter is calling the people to change their minds from ejection of Christ as the Messiah to faith in him as both Messiah and Savior
Repentance and faith can be understood as two sides of the same coin.
It is impossible to place your faith in Jesus Christ as the Savior without first changing your mind about who he is and what he has done.
whether it is repentance from willful rejection or repentance from ignorance or disinterest it is a change of mind and heart toward God, toward Christ, Toward SIN:
Toward ourselves as sinners.
Biblical repentance in relation to salvation is changing your mind from rejection of Christ to faith in Christ.
It is crucially important that we understand repentance is not a work we do to earn salvation.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
No one can repent and come to God unless God pulls that person to himself acts 5:31 and 11:18 indicate that repentance is something that God gives to us.
It is only possible because of his grace.
No one can repent unless God grants repentance.
Luke 16:19-31 people in hell are not allowed to repent.
The angels who rebelled and Satan are not allowed to repent.
All of salvation including repentance and faith is a result of God’s drawing us to Him, opening our eyes and changing our hearts toward Him.
God’s long-suffering leads us to repentance as does his kindness while repentance is not a work that earns salvation repentance unto salvation does result in works.
A life that is now lived for Christ.
It is impossible to change your mind truly and fully without that causing a change in action.
In the Bible repentance results in a change in behavior that is why John the Baptist called people to produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
A person who has truly repented from rejection of Christ to faith in Christ will give evidence of a change life.
Repentance properly defined is necessary for salvation – YES!
Biblical repentance is changing your mind about Jesus Christ and turning to God in faith for salvation.
Turning from sin is not the definition of repentance but it is one of the results of genuine faith-based repentance towards the Lord Jesus Christ.
As we close:
John:14:6, John 3:16 – See Romans road on our website at
https://lyitl.org
James 2:14-26
14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
REAL REPENTACE! REAL SALVATION!
Is there enough evidence in you and your life to show that you have truly been saved.
1 John 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
Next week’s sermon:
Few there be that find it.
INV.