The Lordship Controversy Lesson 3

The third lesson simply titled "Repentance"

Presentation file.

1.This lesson we’ll cover Repentance, its definition, and its meaning in the lordship controversy. Is repentance required for salvation? This is the question that continually comes up within the lordship debate. What do you think? Is it? Are we not justified by faith alone? Then how is it that our Lord and the apostles preached repentance continually through the gospel and during the growth of the church?
2.If we say yes is then are we adding works to salvation? If we say that repentance is not required are we then removing it from our salvation and embracing antinomianism? These are the issues that arise within the lordship debate.

Slide 2
1.What is repentance? What does it mean? We know that faith and justification are closely related because we are justified by faith. So in the same way repentance is closely related to sanctification and is a vital element of our salvation.
2.Louis Berkhoff gives us a concise definition of repentance; it is a change of mind and of heart with regard to sin, so that there is a turning away from sin.
3.Just as in the definition of faith we can see here also in repentance that there are three elements involved. “A change of mind” the notional or intellectual, “a change of heart” this is the assensus or emotional element, “a turning away from sin” this is the fiducia or volitional element. (head, heart, hands)

Slide 3
1.Remember with faith there is a faith that doesn’t save and a faith that does save. The same situation exists with repentance, John Calvin in his institutes tells us of two kinds of repentance.
2.Legal repentance, is similar to remorse, is simply an awareness of one’s guilt in wrongdoing.
3.Evangelical repentance the major difference is the sinner being disgusted with his own sinfulness looks to Christ for help.

Slide 4
1.The word in the heading of this slide is hellenika, which is the Greek word for Greek, it is the word which we get our English word Hellenism. Just a little etymology lesson for you free of charge.
2.Repentance in the evangelical sense is seen in two different Greek words in the NT.
3.Metanoeo and metanoia, these two words mean the same thing and are always translated as “repentance” which is understood as evangelical repentance in the context in which they are used.
4.Metanoeo means to have a compunction (for guilt, including reformation); by implication, reversal of a decision):--repentance. Metanoia is the subjective form of metanoeo, so its definition is the same but you add “another’s” guilt, repentance.
5. Within the context these two words are used in the NT the definition will also include, a true sense of one's own guilt and sinfulness; an apprehension of God's mercy in Christ; an actual hatred of sin and turning from it to God; and a persistent endeavor after a holy life in a walking with God in the way of his commandments.

Slide 5
6.examples …

Slide 6
7.The Greek word used for legal repentance or remorse is metamellomai; meaning to care afterwards, i.e. regret:--repent (self).(Strong’s) is used of a change of mind, such as to produce regret or even remorse on account of sin, but not necessarily a change of heart.
8.This word is used best to describe to the type of repentance experienced by Judas Iscariot in Mat 27:3, “Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse (metamellomai) and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,”
9.So Judas had a change of mind and returned his reward but he did not turn to Christ for salvation, this is something less than evangelical repentance because it lacks the volitional part. As we saw in Faith when you lack one of the elements, notional, emotional or volitional it is always less than saving faith. Here also in repentance if you lack one element it is less than evangelical repentance.
10.A really good example where we can see the contrast between metanoia and metamellomai is 2 Cor 7:8-9, “For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret (metamellomoai) it; though I did regret it for I see that the letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while 7:9, “I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance;(metanoia) for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.”
Slide 7
1.In summary True repentance leads to eternal life through our Savior Christ Jesus, just as the Westminster Confession asks us in question #87, “What is repentance unto life? The answer, “Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience.”
2.The answer includes 3 elements as we talked about earlier,“a true sense of sin”=Intellectual “Grief and hatred”=emotional “turn from it unto God”=volitional
3.ref texts Acts 2:37, “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, (emotional) and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" 38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." 40 And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation." 41 Then those who gladly received (intellectual) his word were baptized; (volitional) and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
4.In the proof text Acts 11:18, “When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life." What kind of life is this scripture talking about? Eternal life, this is important later on when we examine the No lordship position of repentnace.
5.True repentance then as defined in scripture never exists except in conjunction with Saving Faith. Repentance is another aspect or element of conversion and is a complementary part of the conversion process. It cannot be separated from Saving Faith. As Pastor Mark said, it is the other side of the coin, Faith on one side and repentance on the other.
Slide 8
1.Now since we've defined repentance let's look at the no lordship view. The No lordship view of repentance is based on Chafer's word study on repentance in his Systematic theology.
2.Chafer based his definition of repentance on a word study of “metanoia” and used Mat 21:28-32 as a ““true example of the precise meaning of repentance” and that it means simply a change of mind. Let's read the passage together...
3.In the KJV translates metamellomai here as “repent” suggesting an evangelical repentace. But the point of this illustration is not to demonstrate a repentance unto salvation but instead Jesus is contrasting someone who does the will of the father that will enter the kingdom of heaven and someone who does not do the will of the father and does not enter the kingdom.
4.Chafer's exposition of this passage is that repentance must be a simple change of mind about Jesus.
5.Dr Ray, Hodges all have based their view on chafer's work and Charles Ryrie adds to this definition with “Repentance is a change of mind, about Jesus Christ so that He is believed and received as personal Savior from sin. (Ryrie Balancing the Christian Life)
6.Ryrie also had this to say in his Study Bible, “Repentance is a valid condition for salvation when understood as a synonym for faith. It is a false addition to faith when understood as a prerequisite, requiring the cleansing of the life in order to be saved. (Ryrie Study Bible)
7.Is repentance a synonym for faith? The idea that repentance is a prerequisite is derived from Chafer's refutation of a movement that said you must attain a certain remorsfulness before being saved, adding a work before salvation, Mark what was the name?
8.Unfortunalty Chafer and others have reduced repentance as a mere synonym for faith, this is not how repentance is understood in the scriptures.
9.So in the No-lordship scheme of salvation what roll does repentance play? We can look to this explanation from Dr Ray and his Handbook on personal evangelism, “When God tells an unsaved man to repent, He means for man to change his mind about how to reach God and accept GOD’S way of salvation. The person must CHANGE HIS MIND from any idea of religion he may have to save him, and trust Christ’s payment for everything he has done wrong”
Slide 9
1.The main point in all of no lordship theology is that faith is the sole condition for justification, this is very true. The problem is they take that doctrine to the extreme and to the exclusion of all other aspects of our salvation. Here Zane Hodges further explains the role of repentance in the no-lordship scheme.
2.“Repentance is not a vital part of salvation; the sole condition is faith in Jesus Christ. The only requirement is Faith, Faith alone (not repentance and faith) is the sole condition for justification and eternal life" (Absolutely Free, p. 144)
3.To support this idea Hodges quotes John 6:47, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life” and Gal 2:16, “knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified” Again Hodges' exegesis is flawed here, he attempts to make a contrast or division that doesn't exist, faith alone vs works of the law. The problem is he is working with a wrong definition of repentance.
4.To support his exegesis Hodges' quotes from John Calvin's work The Institutes of the Christian Religion. It would be hard to imagine two stranger bedfellows than these two. But Hodges offers this quote from Book 3 chapter 3, “In one word, then, by repentance I understand regeneration, the only aim of which is to form in us anew the image of God, which was sullied, and all but effaced by the transgression of Adam” Here Hodges is hoping that you will agree with him that Calvin is likening Faith with Repentance as a synonym. And if you have an active imagination I'm sure you could.
5.Let's look at Calvin's defintion of repentance in context, “With good reason, the sum of the gospel is held to consist in repentance and forgiveness of sins and, therefore, where these two heads are omitted, any discussion concerning faith will be meager and defective, and indeed almost useless. (Luke 24:47; Acts 5:31)" (p. 592); and, "surely no one can embrace the grace of the gospel without betaking himself from the errors of past life into the right way, applying his whole effort to the practice of repentance" (Book III, p. 593). Further, he says, "Repentance has its foundation in the gospel, which faith embraces" (Book III, p. 593).
6.So we can see plainly here that Calvin never intended to take Repentance as a synonym for repentance, what he says is quite the opposite he says it is both disticitve and related.
Slide 10
1.This next segment I've titled “exegesis or eisegesis”. Exegesis being the extraction of meaning from scripture and Eisegesis being the insertion of meaning into the scriptures. We have see several examples of eisegesis from our study of the no lordship view of faith, and here we'll take a look at a couple more examples.
2.Zane Hodges in his book Absolutely Free offers this explanation of Acts 26:19-20, a passage that plainly supports the role of repentance in our salvation.
3.Acts 26:19-20, “So, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision, but kept declaring both to those of Damascus first, and also at Jerusalem and then throughout all the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance”
4.“Paul is preaching here about a kind of religious experience that turns people to God and produces good works” “Paul does not say that one cannot be saved without repentance or that one cannot go to heaven unless a life of good works is lived.” This view is keeping consistant with the no lordship of faith being the sole work of man and with the carnal christian doctrine that teaches a second blessing that produces a spiritual Christian.
5.Zane uses Romans 4:5 “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness“ again to support his supposition, and again Zane misunderstands what Paul is saying here, Paul is referring to justification through the law, justification is appropriated through faith, not the works of the law.
Slide 11
1.Dr Ray Stanford in keeping with the no lordship scheme of repentance offers this explanation of Luke 13:1-5
2.Luke 13:1-5, “Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate?” I tell you, no, but unless you repent, (metanoeo) you will all likewise perish. "Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem?” I tell you, no, but unless you repent, (metanoeo) you will all likewise perish."
3.In lordship salvation this cannot mean that Jesus is calling these people to repentance because of their sin, but instead Dr Ray says that when Christ is tells the people to repent , he is not saying “turn from your sin” but instead He is saying that they should recognize that they are sinners.” Here Dr Ray is promoting a mere intellectual ascent to repentance much like the no lordship intellectual ascent to faith. But you have to wonder, how would recognizing that you are a sinner save you from destruction?
4. To summarize the no-lordship view of repentance,
4.Repentance, discipleship, commitment are not required to appropriate eternal life,
1."Any teaching that demands a change of conduct toward either God or man for salvation is to add works or human effort to faith, and this contradicts all Scripture and is an accursed message." Handbook of Personal Evangelism, by Dr. Ray Stanford.
Slide 12
4.The Gospel that Jesus, and later His apostles preached was a call to forsake sin and a summons to faith. From the beginning of the Gospel to the end, Christ called sinners to repentance, to turn from sin and follow Him.
5.the beginning of the Gospel Mark 1:1 began with John the Baptist preaching repentance. Mark 1:4, “John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
6.Jesus called people to repentance during his ministry Mat 4:17, “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
7.And in the Great Commission, Luke 24:46-47, ““…Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

Slide 13
1.Even the argument that some dispensationalists and no lordship advocates make that the Gospel Jesus preached was different that what the Apostles preached, therefore the NT church is founded on Grace and Faith alone doesn't hold up to the light of scripture.
2.From the beginning of the apostles ministry in Acts 2:38, “when the people asked Peter “what should we do brothers?” Peter responded “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” to the end of Paul's ministry repentance was preached as a vital part of the Gospel. Acts 26:20, “but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.”
3.But we know from scripture that like Saving Faith, repentance produces obedience and a changed life, Luke 3:7-8, “Luke 3:7-8, “So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, We have Abraham for our father, for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.”
4.and it is a gift of God, “2 Tim 2:25, “with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,”

Slide 14
1.Faith and repentace are inseparable though they are distinct, they cannot be removed one from another as in No lordship salvation. Repentnace is a vital part of our salvation and life as a child of God.
2.Read Scroogies note.

Slide 15
1.Summary.