Misunderstood Repentance

Galatians 3:2, “This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?”

In Dr. Jack Hyle's excellent book, 'Enemies of Soulwinning' in his chapter titled, 'Misunderstood Repentance,' he correctly states:

“So, from what must a person repent in order to be saved? He must repent of that which makes him lost. Since "believing not" makes him lost, 'believing' makes him saved. In repentance there is a turning from the thing that keeps him from being saved to the thing that saves him. So, yes, there is a repentance from unbelief in order to believe. It is simply a change of direction. It means a turning around. You are going away from believing, and you decide to turn around and believe. You change your direction; you change your mind. With your will you believe and rely upon Christ to save you. In order to believe, you have to repent of unbelief. That which makes a man lost must be corrected. —Dr. Jack Hyles, a quote from chapter 4, titled “Misunderstood Repentance”—An Enemy Of Soul Winning,” from the classic book titled, 'ENEMIES OF SOUL WINNING!'

Pastor Danny Castle correctly says:

“You are not saved by repenting, you are saved by your faith in Jesus Christ.” —Pastor Danny Castle, a quote from the 2016 sermon titled, “Acting Responsibly.”

I take seriously every word that I type onto the internet, as I realize every word must be accounted for in eternity (Matthew 12:36). I regularly think about articles which I have written, and edit or remove them if the Lord convicts me about anything. I want to be as accurate and honoring in my work for the Lord as possible. All heresy begins by sincere preachers who are misled by other preachers, or who misinterpret the Word of God. By God's grace my intent is to help provide helpful resources for other Christians. That's why I make a fuss over little things. If a preacher is wrong on repentance, he'll be wrong to some degree on everything else too.

“All things truly wicked start from innocence.” ―Ernest Hemingway, Author

There is ONLY one meaning of “repentance” for salvation, which is “a change of mind” (Greek: metanoia). This is the noun form of the word. The verbal form is metanoeo, which means “to think differently”! Mark 1:15b, “Repent ye, and believe the Gospel.” Exegeted, Mark 1:15 literally says, “Think differently and believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins, was buried, and bodily resurrected the third day.”

In contrast, the dictionary defines the word “reform” as, “self-improvement in behavior or morals by abandoning some vice.” Repentance in the Bible doesn't mean reform. Repentance is just as brother Hyles said—turning toward the Gospel (belief) from whatever was keeping you lost (unbelief)! We are saved by believing the Gospel (Good News) of the Lord Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen. Repentance and belief are so inseparably related that the Bible often simply tells us to “believe.” It is impossible for a person to turn to the Gospel by faith, without at the same time turning away from that which had hindered them previously from coming to Jesus Christ (John 3:20). Thank God for the beauty of His simple plan of salvation!