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.
Evangelicals teach a Doctrine of Works Righteousness.
ReplyDeleteDid I mean to say "Roman Catholics"? No. It is true that Roman Catholics do incorporate Works Righteousness into their theology but in a very different manner than Evangelicals. It is my opinion that the Evangelical Doctrine of Salvation relies more heavily on Works Righteousness than even that of the Roman Catholics! Let me explain:
Roman Catholics teach that Jesus alone saves you, but then the believer, the Christian, must do good works to complete or assist in his salvation. However, salvation itself was initially given without any merit of the sinner.
In the Roman Catholic Church, any infant (who is a sinner by way of Original Sin) brought to them with the consent of the parents or guardians, will be baptized and receive God's gift of salvation, even if the parents themselves are not believers. So what did this child do to merit salvation? Answer: he was breathing and present at the time and location that God chose to save him. That's it.
In Evangelical theology, the sinner must choose or decide that he wants to be saved. Now some evangelicals may nuance this position and state that this decision is only possible due to the work of the Holy Spirit creating faith in his heart, but bottom line, most evangelicals believe that the sinner must choose to believe. "We are not automatons or robots in the act of salvation: we have to choose to be saved!" they will say.
So who did more work to be saved in these two theologies: the Catholic baby at the baptismal font or the evangelical adult or older child who used his maturity, his intellect, and his decision-making capabilities to make a decision as a prerequisite for God to save him?
http://www.lutherwasnotbornagain.com/2013/10/salvation-is-much-simpler-than.html