Is repentance necessary for salvation?

Is repentance a work? I was reading a presentation where it was said that only faith was required for salvation and so repentance was not required. Repentance was what followed after salvation. Interesting, and in some ways true, but I think it is a misunderstanding of the whole issue because of western linear thinking and seeing repentance as from sin rather than from the world.

Jesus and the apostles, called on people to repent and to believe and so it would appear that this kind of teaching is questionable.

For those of us from India, it is easier to understand, since people who come from Hinduism to Christianity have to repent from their idols before salvation? Why? Because this shows that they have faith in Jesus Christ.

In fact the whole concept of repentance and faith are inextricably interwoven. At any point of time, I believe in certain paradigms and base my life on those beliefs. As my beliefs change, my patterns of behaviour change too. Belief does not change instantaneously. First I look at a new idea and consider if it is worth exploring. Then I begin to explore the idea and then slowly my faith in the idea grows. A time comes when the faith in the idea becomes so strong that it begins to affect my behaviour. It is at this stage we can call it a faith that saves, since we have begun to commit our life to the idea.

In other words, repentance is not of behaviour and actions but of faith. It is the repentance of faith that brings about a change in behaviour. So, as the writer has said “Repentance (from works) is secondary and not required for salvation but repentance in faith is necessary”. I think Jesus was meaning a repentance of faith to the coming Kingdom and away from the kingdoms of this world. In other words we need to build our lives based on faith in the Kingdom of God and not in the kingdom of this world (Rom 12:2, I John 2:15-17). Salvation begins when we repent from the world.

This is an important concept, since repentance from works cannot come till my faith in the world has diminished or vanished. I Tim 6:10 says that the love of money is the ROOT of all evil. In other words, my attitude to the material is the root of all evil in my life. To rid these evils from my life I need to change my attitude to the world and turn in faith to God. If I do not turn from the world, these sins have deep roots in our life and we just fail to have a victory over our sins and turn from our sins.

I am the True Vine

John 5:1-3

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that bears not fruit he takes away: and every branch that bears fruit, he purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

This beautiful passage has been read as a passage full of promise and warnings. But while taking a closer look I was surprised that it is essentially a passage meant to encourage and not to warn. Let us look at the words used.

“Takes away” = airo and is used as follows:-

In the temptation of Jesus it is translated “bear thee up” Luke 4:11 and Matthew 4:6.

In the crucifixion scene is translated “bear” in Matthew 27:32 speaking of Simon of Cyrene carrying the cross for Jesus.

In John 11:41 it is translated as “lift up” as Jesus lifted up his eyes.

The word also means to take or carry away.

“Purges or prunes” = kathairo

“Clean” = katharos

They are the same word.

In John 13 we have his version of the Last Supper and then the move from there and we have the discourse from John 14-17, known as the Farewell Discourse. Jesus is bidding farewell and encouraging the disciples. In this He says – if you are in the vine, but do not bear fruit, I lift you up and bear you so that you can become strong and bear fruit! Only a tiny minority of commentators take this line, most going with you are cast off and thrown into the fire.

But in the context, and the fact that Jesus is speaking to the close disciples, I prefer to see it as a promise of help rather than a warning of judgment. It is a passage for those who feel ill-equipped to bear fruit, that Jesus is saying, do not worry, I will carry you.

To those who are bearing fruit Jesus says that I will make you clean (purge). Most translators, in the context of the vineyard, use the term prune. So you would have read commentators and preachers tell you how pruning is painful that produces fruit in out lives. But this is not the teaching here. In verse 3, Jesus says clearly, that the cleansing takes place by the word of God. It is not cutting anything away from you, but interpreting your fruit bearing in the light of the word, so that you are more focused and you renounce the things that distract. You are cleansed by the word working in your life, and not painful circumstances!

Personally, I find this much more encouraging than most sermons and commentaries on this passage.

John 15:6 Those who do not abide in the vine (i.e. walk away from Christ) are cast forth and condemned, not weak believers.