To “Repent” Doesn't Mean To Forsake Sins, It Means “To Think Differently”

Mark 1:14-15, “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

Here in Mark 1:15, the verb 'REPENT' means (Greek: metanoeo, “to think differently”) and BELIEVE THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. That is how you get to Heaven—you simply come to a holy God as a guilty sinner, and by faith (trusting what God has written in His Word) you believe the Good News (Jesus' crucifixtion, burial and resurrection). 1st Thessalonians 4:14, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.”

Nothing is mentioned in the Bible about “repent of all your sins,” which is not possible. Nothing is said about reforming yourself. Nothing is said that you must have a visible manifestation of something (e.g., speak in tongues or cry and weep or be mournful) to prove to others that you are saved.

No, the Bible just says to think differently (repent) and believe the Good News. That's all salvation is. Simply believe that Jesus did it all for you! Getting saved (born again) has nothing to do with keeping the sacraments of the church in order to be saved. Receiving God's free gift of eternal life has nothing at all to do with your willingness to clean up your life of sin, to reform yourself, or to follow Jesus as His disciple. These are strictly matters of SERVICE, not SALVATION. They are matters of DISCIPLESHIP, not SONSHIP. When you get saved you become an adopted son of God (John 1:12; Romans 8:15).

I cannot warn you enough not to use the Devil's modern Bible revisions. Let's compare the trustworthy inspired King James Bible, to one of the new popular modern Bible versions, in this case the English Standard Version (ESV)...

KING JAMES BIBLE (KJB) - 1st Corinthians 1:18, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”

ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION (ESV) - 1st Corinthians 1:18, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

Do you see the big difference in wording? Any corrupt Bible translation that says believers “are being saved” instead of “are saved” in 1st Corinthians 1:18 is flat out wrong. The KING JAMES BIBLE makes it clear that either you BELIEVE, and thus you ARE SAVED; or else you don't BELIEVE, and thus ARE NOT SAVED. There is no in BETWEEN. There is NO PROCESS! The new birth is instantaneous, not a prolonged lifetime process. Becoming Christlike requires a process of growing in grace, which is entirely a matter of service (discipleship). But coming to Christ by faith to be saved is a one time instant event. The new birth is a supernatural miracle of God in respnse to one's faith in Jesus Christ.

Getting saved (born again) happens in an instant, the very moment you trust Jesus as your personal Savior, receiving His sacrifice on the cross as full payment for your sins, believing that He was buried but then physically resurrected from the dead three days later. This is “the Gospel” according to 1st Corinthians 15:1-4...

1st Corinthians 15:1-5, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”

The Apostle Paul said that he received this Gospel directly from Jesus (Galatians 1:12). Some people foolishly claim that Paul and Jesus preached a different Gospel, but that is NOT true. 

Neither was there a different plan of salvation under Mosaic law in the Old Testament. Acts 10:43 plainly says that people have always been saved by faith alone in Christ. Acts 10:43, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” People in the Old Testament were saved by looking foward to Calvary; we are saved by looking back to Calvary.

Romans 4:4 plainly teaches that if salvation had ever been by works (as Pastor Peter S. Ruckman (1921-2016), Dr. WIlliam P. Grady and other heretics falsely preach), then salvation would have been a DEBT OWED by God, and not freely given by God's merciful GRACE. Romans 4:3-4, “For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.” For anyone to foolishly say that people were saved by doing WORKS in the Old Testament is to go totally contrary to the inspired written Scriptures.

Please don't let anyone deceive you dear reader, Jesus came into the world to die on a cross for your sins (John 3:17), He doesn't demand that you first be willing to forsake sinful bad habits to get to Heaven, which would be works of self-righteousness (Jonah 3:10). Salvation is not doing your best, it is having Christ's best put to your account through receiving Him by faith. Turning away from sinful ways would be a work. Faith puts all of the merit where it belongs, on the object of our faith, Jesus and His work.

The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU. Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty! We must stay true to the simplicity of the Gospel!! Repentance regarding salvation is a change of mind from unbelief to belief. We must earnestly contend for the faith (Jude 1:3). Thank you for reading my ministry blog. To God alone be the praise, credit and glory.