Repentance to Salvation: How To Understand Faith

Repentance unto Salvation

2^nd Corinthians 7:10 (Context is verses 8-11)

¹⁰ For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

Introduction to the Concept of Repentance:

Last week we addressed all of 2^nd Corinthians 7:2-16. We read it as a complete message regarding the positive results of church discipline. In the middle of that passage, verse ten says, “Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation.” You may recall that I said we would be coming back to that verse, and treating it separately.

I treat it separately because people often use this verse (and others like it) wrongly. They use it to claim that “repentance saves us from from sin .” And they use this particular verse as stating that “Godly Sorrow” is the definition of repentance. Neither is true.

They seem to conclude that “if we are simply sorry enough, God will forgive us.”

But, then, God’s Justice no longer matters: We have set aside God’s Righteousness.

Psalm 85:10, 11 says “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other: Truth shall spring out of the Earth, and Righteousness shall look down from Heaven.”

Salvation is by the Cross: Death, and Burial and Resurrection of Christ.

The Cross is the only place in History where God’s Mercy and the Truth (our sin) can meet in peace. God’s Righteousness and THE Truth of all things could embrace at the Cross . God only makes His Mercy available through the Cross. That is where Jesus, (“the way, the Truth and the Life”) died to pay the penalty of our sins . Through Him alone, God has offered Peace to us, on the basis of His full, finished payment at the Cross. According to Romans 1:4, and Hebrews 1:3 we find our confidence that His work was complete in the Resurrection. It required a change of mind (repentance) for us to place our faith in Him.

Romans 1:4 says God declared Jesus to be the Son of God with power, through the resurrection from the Dead. Ephesians 1:19, 20 agrees: “God, through His almighty power, raised Jesus from the dead. He seated Him at His own right hand above all other Authority.”

Hebrews 1:3 says He (Jesus) “…being the brightness of the Glory of God, and the exact representation of His person, and upholding all things by the Word of His Power (Jesus’s Power!) when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High.” He had finished His work ! He said so, from the Cross! (John 19:30) God agreed, and seated Jesus at His own right hand.

Does Repentance Bring Salvation?

In Acts 16:30, 31, the Philippian Jailer anxiously asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

Paul and Silas did not “launch into a lecture about repentance, and renouncing the works of his sinful past.” They added no such list of “things to do.” They did not tell the frightened man to accept and adhere to such a list. .

But what did they say? “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house!” But, perhaps you think that passage is too obscure. Maybe you think it was a “special thing” for just that one guy? Then, let’s consider a passage we all know, and which applies to all believers:

Ephesians 2:8-10 describes the “means by which” God saves all believers. “By Grace are ye saved, through Faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the Gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.”

Hmm! No mention of repentance there, either! So: What does repentance mean? The Greek word translated as “Repentance” is “metanoia.” Meta- means “change.” –Noia means “mind.” We use a similar word describing nature. A caterpillar becoming a butterfly, or a tadpole becoming a frog: Both seem miraculous, but we use the Greek word, “Metamorphosis:” A “change of form.”

So, What is Repentance?

“Metanoia” means a “change of mind.” It was impossible for me to arrive at Saving Faith without at least the initial “change of mind” by which I saw that “I am a lost sinner! I am headed for Hell! I need a Savior!” But was I filled with Godly Sorrow? No! I was aware that I was ensnared in my guilt, and not even able to think righteous thoughts, let alone behave righteously.

More to the point, what did I think of Jesus prior to salvation? Was He just a mythological entity? A historical, but deeply fictionalized character? A great prophet? Just a good man, martyred by a mob? Who was Jesus to you, before you came to believe in Him as your Savior?

Whatever you thought about Jesus up until that time, it definitely required a “change of mind” to move from that belief to a new position, believing in His completed Work at the Cross, and trusting Him as your Savior. that is how an unbeliever experiences repentance.

So, repentance is definitely a part of the process of salvation. But where does it fit in? Did “Godly Sorrow” overcome the Philippian Jailer? Or did impending death terrify him, and he suddenly saw that these two prisoners (Paul and Silas) must know the way of escape?

I seriously doubt that “sorrow for sin” came into being until much later. I know in my own case, that it wasn’t until the Holy Spirit began to change me, after salvation, that I began to look back and realize the enormity of my sin, and the damage I had brought to others and the absolute arrogance and insolence I had constantly directed toward Almighty God.

Who Are the Recipients of this Verse? And Who Are the Readers?

The recipients were the believers in Corinth: But the readers could be anyone. In other words, we can read this in at least two ways. Does God direct this to believers or to unbelievers? Or is it both?

If “Repentance to Salvation” is To Believers:

As believers reading this, we need to be aware that Salvation has three tenses, past, present, and future.

Past tense Salvation is based on position. At some point in the past, you trusted Jesus to be your Savior. (A Change of mind: Repentance!) And, from that point, for Eternity, you “have been and ARE saved” from the Penalty of Sin. 1^st Corinthians 12:13 says the Holy Spirit placed you into the Body of Christ at that moment. That is your new permanent position in Christ. God will never again condemn you. (John 5:24; John 6:37-39; John 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 2; Romans 8:38, 39, etc.)
Present tense Salvation is based on condition. Because God has saved you from the penalty of sin, you do not have to sin! Romans 6 says God has set you free from sin. You no longer have to respond to your old sin nature. But, the problem is, we do sin, and we find it difficult to steer clear of it. As we walk with Jesus, He “is saving us” from the Power of sin in our lives. If we wander and waste time, following the flesh, then we do not enjoy that freedom from the power of sin, and our experience is more similar to Romans 7.
Future tense salvation, again, is positional. If God has saved you from sin’s penalty, then, because your position is “in Christ,” you will enjoy freedom from Sin’s Presence, throughout eternity. Sin will never again even tempt you. You will no longer have your old sin nature. Revelation 21 describes the eternal state in the New Heaven and New Earth. And Isaiah 65:17 predicted it, 700 years before Christ.

So, What About Repentance?

For Believers?

Repentance for believers, then, means “changing our mind” about going our own way, and returning to walk with Jesus. He (present tense) saves us from the power of sin as we walk with Him. (1^st John 1:7)

What About for Unbelievers?

Repentance for an unbeliever means “changing my mind” regarding Jesus and His completed work at the Cross. It means choosing His finished work as opposed to anything I can do.

As long as my confidence (faith) is in what I can do, then I have either not received God’s Grace, or at least have not understood it. (False teachers have taught some genuine believers to doubt God’s Word. God has accepted them, because of Jesus. But such believers have little or no confidence. False teachers taught them to believe God is still most interested in their works. The book of Galatians works to undo that damage. And God directed that message to real believers who had become ensnared by and enslaved to legalism through false teachers.)

The Danger of Self-Righteousness

Ezekiel warns of the danger in self-confidence. Ezekiel 33:13 says, (God speaking) “When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.” None of us claim we are free from sin. Yes, we are sinners! The issue in question, is “in what are we, as sinners, trusting?”

Jesus reiterated that condemnation in John 3:17-20. ¹⁷For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. ¹⁸ He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

If my faith for salvation is in anything other than Jesus Christ and Him Crucified, then I am in trouble. It is instructive to note that Paul said in 1^st Corinthians 2:2 “For I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him Crucified!”

Position versus Condition

Notice an unbeliever’s “position:” (He is LOST!) (1^st Corinthians 15:22 says, “For as in Adam (position) all die, even so in Christ (position) shall all be made alive.”)

When I was still an an unbeliever, I was still “in Adam.” I was still a lost sinner. I was still a heathen, separated from God. That was my position! It really didn’t matter what I did, or how I felt, or what grand thoughts I may have entertained. I was condemned already (John 3:18)

Outside of Christ, your “condition” is irrelevant. No matter how “good” you may be, if you are outside of Christ, (i.e. still in Adam) you are still lost.

Consider Noah’s Ark: There were only two possible locations (think “positions.”) People were either inside the Ark, and perfectly safe, regardless of their condition, or outside the Ark, and utterly lost, regardless of their condition.

As a believer (again, regardless of condition,) my position is in Christ. I am no longer in Adam, and I have zero confidence in my own ability to please God. I desire to live in such a way as to please Him, but I believe what Jesus said, in John 15:5. “Apart from Me ye can do nothing!”

So, What Can We Conclude?

This verse, and others like it do not nullify the underlying truth that Jesus’s Blood is our only hope for salvation. God singled out some specific people and commanded them to repent of their works, as part of their path to salvation.

The classic example is in Acts 2:37, 38. Peter addressed the specific Jews who had unanimously called for the crucifixion of Jesus. He told them, “repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.” He went on to promise, “and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

But God gave that command for repentance to only that group. He included no one else in that command. Why? Because He wanted them to publicly confess they crucified Jesus. He wanted them to confess they were wrong to crucify Him. Finally, He required them to confess that they needed His Grace, for Salvation!

So, Finally…

Yes, repentance is a part of how God saves us. The fact is, Faith itself requires a change of mind.

And, as believers, we experience repentance constantly, as we repeatedly find ourselves wandering away from the centrality of Christ in our lives. We desire to “dwell in the Secret place of the Almighty,” but (again) we find that we are far away, and stumbling around in darkness again. We repent, as did the prodigal Son, and we return to our Father’s house. Revelation chapters 2 and 3 repeat that warning five times to the Seven churches: “Repent!” (That is to believers, every time.)

And, yes, Godly sorrow does produce repentance. We see the condition into which we have fallen, and we are sorry, as we know that we did it ourselves. We repent (turn around! change our minds!) and we return, to walk with Jesus!

Lord Jesus, please turn our eyes back to You, in repentance: Restore us to a joyful walk with You. Allow us to reach to others with that Joy.