Dr. John R. Rice's Conflicting Theological Statements

John 3:14-16, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

The inspired King James Bible presents God's simple plan of salvation very plainly, so that if you take the Bible at face value there is no controversy. The problem arises when well-meaning, but men of corrupt minds, start tampering with the Word of God to satisfy their own whims and agendas. The raging debate over repentance is nothing new.

I get frustrated when I read articles by India missionary David W. Cloud, who likes to quote Dr. John R. Rice (1895-1980) to support his perverted view that you cannot get to Heaven unless you are first willing to change your behavior. Mr. Cloud vehemently accuses professed Christians of not being saved unless their lifestyle clearly reflects it. This is a form of Lordship Salvation.

To Forsake Sinful Behavior Or Not To Be Saved

Here is one of the quotes that David Cloud likes to reference from Dr. Rice's religious tract: “What Must I Do To Be Saved?” (which was written in 1949) ...

To repent literally means to have a change of mind or spirit toward God and toward sin. It means to turn from your sins, earnestly, with all your heart, and trust in Jesus Christ to save you. You can see, then, how the man who believes in Christ repents and the man who repents believes in Christ. The jailer repented when he turned from sin to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.  —Dr. John R. Rice, 'What Must I Do To Be Saved?'

Uh, no, that is NOT what Bible repentance means. Respectfully said, Dr. Rice is very wrong! He clearly gives the wrong impression that to get to Heaven you must make a strong effort to forsake your sinful behavior, which is 100% works.

Ans yet, read what Dr. Rice wrote elsewhere in 1963 regarding repentance, totally contradicting his 1949 tract...

"There are those hyper-dispensationalists who think that John the Baptist preached a different Gospel from Christ when he commanded repentance (Matt. 3:2). But it is the same repentance Jesus commanded in Matthew 4:17, in Luke 13:3 and 5, and the same repentance that Paul preached in Athens that God “now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30 31). Repentance is not a different plan of salvation from having faith: it is part of the same plan of salvation. Or rather repentance is simply another way of describing or looking at the plan of salvation. One who turns from sin to God has done so by trusting in Jesus Christ. A change of mind toward sin is necessarily involved in saving faith. ...Everyone who genuinely repented under the preaching of John the Baptist put his trust in the Saviour John the Baptist preached, and was regenerated. There is no such thing as being “a disciple of John the Baptist” in any honest sense without being a disciple of Jesus, that is, without trusting Christ for salvation." —Evangelist John R. Rice, “Acts: Filled With The Spirit,” pp. 251-252; Sword Of The Lord, Murfreesboro, Tennessee; ©1963

Well, which is it Dr. Rice? Does a person have to turn away from sinning earnestly with all their heart to get to Heaven? Or can they simply trust the Lord Jesus Christ? It cannot be both ways! Dr. Rice's contradictory statements are confusing at best.

So, which is it, do we have to “turn from your sins, earnestly, with all your heart” to be saved; or do we simply trust Jesus Christ, and in so doing we have automatically turned from our sins? Dr. Rice's 1949 tract has stirred MUCH controversy in the religious world, providing ammunition for the Lordship Salvation cult who quote his bad theology.

Evangelist David C. Cloud (a missionary to Nepal in India for over 30 years) is a good man as far as good men go. But he is a bitter enemy against Pastor Jack Hyles, for which I do not respect him. David Cloud has horribly dubbed Dr. Hyles: "The King Of Shallow Soulwinning!" On the Day of Pentecost, the Bible says the Apostle Peter preached the Gospel and 3,000 people got saved. No one was interrogated. No one had to be watched to see if their life changed. No one was required to forsake their sinful lifestyle. They simply "gladly received his Word" (Acts 2:41). That is, they heard the Gospel and they BELIEVED it! (Galatians 3:2). Now, David Cloud can call that type of soulwinning "shallow," but it is the Bible way and the only way to be saved! I have read Mr. Cloud's plan of damnation, and it is not the free grace Gospel.

When David Cloud met with Pastor John Wilkerson (senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana) on April 12, 2022 (per Mr. Cloud's request), Mr. Cloud wasn't man enough to come by himself, he brought another pastor along to gang up on Pastor Wilkerson, who did come by himself. I don't know why Dr. Wilkerson bothered to meet with that scumbag, because as anticipated David Cloud used the meeting to criticize, further smear and tear down the First Baptist Church of Hammond and their pastors for preaching Easy Believism. SHAME on David Cloud and his Satanic plan of damnation (i.e., partial faith in Christ plus works).

It was David Cloud who started spreading the untrue garbage that Pastor Curtis Hutson and Dr. John R. Rice didn't agree on salvation. They both believed the same Gospel!!! They just presented it differently. The only difference is that Dr. Hutson refused to use the stupid phrase "turn from sin," but Dr. Rice unfortunately did and it confuses people still today.

From the quote I just shared with you from the book, “Acts: Filled With The Spirit,” Brother Rice made it very clear that he believed: "One who turns from sin to God has done so by trusting in Jesus Christ." That is the opposite of what we are hearing preached in 90% of Bible colleges and churches today! Look at this Satanic tommyrot preached at Bob Jones University (BJU) nowadays by Dr. Steve Pettit. BJU are ungodly Calvinists. RUN from that accursed cult!

Sadly, Dr. John R. Rice has hindered many people from getting saved by his sinful use of the unbiblical phrase “turn from your sin,” which is nowhere found in the inspired King James Bible. It is a wicked thing to read into the inspired Word of God what it doesn't say.

Likewise, I believe that cartoon artist Jack Chick was saved, but he also sinfully embellished the simple Gospel, requiring people to “be willing to turn away from sin (repent)” in billions of his Chick Tracts (on the back page, step number 2, in his perverse plan of damnation). Romans 5:6b plainly says, “CHRIST DIED FOR THE UNGODLY”!!!

There is no requirement to be willing to reform your life of sin before God will accept your faith in His only begotten Son. Although preachers will continue to debate and argue over this matter, the FACT remains that not one verse in the inspired King James Bible teaches that God won't save you unless you are first willing to reform your life of sin. Those wicked pastors are trying to do the work of the Holy Spirit, trying to force sinners to forsake their sinful ways to receive God's free gift.

I do believe that Dr. John R. Rice was saved, because he plainly stated that “One who turns from sin to God has done so by trusting in Jesus Christ.” Unfortunately, his foolish teaching in his 1949 tract requiring the reader “to turn from your sins, earnestly, with all your heart” to get to Heaven, which impossible requirement would scare any sinner away. If someone had told me that in 1979, I never would have received Christ as my Savior, because I would have felt that such a requirement was too difficult for me to achieve.

Even when I was saved, I used to pass on the Lord's Supper in church, refusing to partake of it because of some ongoing sins (or I should say things that at the time I thought were sinful) I had in my life as a young teenager. I learned years later that the only qualification to partake of the Lord's Supper is to be saved. Had I know that truth, I would have partaken of the Lord's Supper and not pass on it, as I did for a few years. I took things serious as a teenager. So, if someone had foolishly told me that I have to be willing to turn from my sinning to be saved, I would have declined their offer, as does this woman on an airplane when Evangelist Ray Comfort pressures her to stop sinning to be saved. That is not the Gospel!

As much as I love and respect Dr. Rice, he really messed up by using unbiblical terminology, which has misled multitudes of people concerning what you must do to be saved. What irony! The very name of his booklet is: “What Must I Do To Be Saved?,” and yet he fails to accurately present God's simple plan of salvation to the reader.

Perhaps you ask, “What about John 3:20?” John 3:20, “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” Yes, that is a powerful Scripture passage. Most people will not come to Jesus because of sin. John 3:19, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” John 5:40, “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” Jesus said, “ye will not come”; He didn't say, “ye cannot come.” Most people won't come to Christ to be saved because of their love for sin.

No doubt this is why so many preachers require that you first be willing to forsake your sinful ways as a prerequisite to saving faith. However, please don't leave off John 3:21, “But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” 2nd Timothy 2:25, “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.” Bible repentance is a change of mind. That is, it is acknowledging THE TRUTH.

Here is one of the best quotes that I've found on repentance by Pastor Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951):

“Which comes first, repentance or faith? In Scripture we read, 'Repent ye, and believe the gospel.' Yet we find true believers exhorted to 'repent, and do the first works.' So intimately are the two related that you cannot have one without the other. The man who believes God repents; the repentant soul puts his trust in the Lord when the Gospel is revealed to him. Theologians may wrangle over this, but the fact is, no man repents until the Holy Spirit produces repentance in his soul through the truth. No man believes the Gospel and rests in it for his own salvation until he has judged himself as a needy sinner before God. And this is repentance.” ('Except Ye Repent,' p. 16)

We learn from Matthew 7:21-23 and Luke 13:23-34 that many religious people (who do “MANY WONDERFUL WORKS”) are not saved and consequently, they are going straight to Hell when they die! There are far more religious people who do GOOD works than BAD works, who are unsaved and going to Hell. The point being, neither good works or bad works are conclusive evidence that a person is either saved or unsaved. The only true evidence of the new birth is the presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit (and that is something that only God can see).

If it weren't for 2nd Peter 2:6-7, we'd never know that Lot was saved, whose own family laughed in his face when he tried to warn them of the coming destruction of Sodom (Genesis 19:14). Proverbs 25:19, “Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint.”

The truth is that getting saved does not change a person's personal character one iota. Not one bit! The only difference is that the Holy Spirit has come to live inside the body of every believer (1st Corinthians 3:16-17; 1st John 3:34; Romans 8:9). You don't have to “decide to change” nor have a “change of direction” to be saved. Respectfully, I hear errant preachers attempting to use the Epistle of 1st John to teach that a person is not saved if they're still living a deathstyle of sin. 1st John 3:8, “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” This means that a person committing wickedness is of the Devil, but the Bible doesn't say they are not saved. Even the apostle Peter was called “Satan” by the Lord for thinking contrary to the Scripture (Matthew 16:23).

And also, here is what Pastor Bob Gray Sr. rightly said about Bible repentance ...

“Repentance means to change your mind—change your mind—change your mind about how you want to get to Heaven to what God says you've got to do to get to Heaven. If you've got to repent of all your sins, you're still headed for Hell tonight.” —Pastor Bob Gray Sr., 'Why You Should Be A Part Of A Growing Church'

There is no controversy if you believe the Holy Bible dear friend. The only reason why so many preachers insist that you must be willing to turn from your sinful ways to be saved, is because they are attempting to force YOU to do the job of God's Holy Spirit. That is, they are requiring YOU to commit to live a changed life to be saved, or to prove that you are saved. Yet, repeatedly we are told in the inspired Holy Scripture that it is God's Holy Spirit who produces the “fruit” of righteousness in God's redeemed children, and not we ourselves.

To tell someone that they must be willing to give up their sinful bad habits to get to Heaven is effectively to require them to keep the law to be saved (Romans 3:19-20). It is very unfortunate that Dr. John R. Rice foolishly chose his words when he wrote his religious tract in 1949, because multitudes of people still today recognize and follow Dr. Rice as a leader in fundamentalism. But we must remember that Brother Rice was merely a man, fully capable of doctrinal error, and he is very wrong in his tract.

We must NEVER tell someone “to turn from your sins, earnestly, with all your heart” to get to Heaven, because no such teaching can be supported with the inspired King James Bible. The very suggestion is intimidating to any sinner. The antithesis of John 3:20 is not turning from your sin, it is turning from your unbelief to trust the 'GOOD NEWS' of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen the third day. The only change of mind regarding sin that you need to have, to be saved, is to admit that you re one. The only thing that you and I contribute to our own salvation is the sin that made it necessary.

Pastor Brad Strand Gets Repentance 100% Correct

Wrong Repentance is Deadly!

A Review Of Dr. Shelton Smith's Book, “What About Repentance?”

Acts 20:20-21, “And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”

I heard a sermon recently from Pastor's School in March of 2000 by Pastor Jack Hyles titled, “When Preachers Disagree.” In that sermon (at 28:15 time) Brother Hyles said that he resigned from their Board of Directors in 1996 and withdrew his support of the Sword of the Lord in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, whose editor since 1995 has been Dr. Shelton Smith. Pastor Hyles said he refuses to preach for Dr. Smith, nor will Dr. Smith preach for him, but they are friends.

That got me to wondering what happened. Dr. Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) succeeded Brother Rice, whom Pastor Hyles recommend to succeed Evangelist John R. Rice (1895-1980). Pastor Hyles became a board member of the Sword of the Lord after he declined the editorship in 1960, following a request from John R. Rice. But why did Dr. Hyles resign under Shelton Smith? I do not know, but wish that I did. I asked ChatGPT and the A.I. said it was over differences in their views on repentance, scandals at First Baptist Church of Hammond, and conflicts in leadership in the independent fundamentalist movement.

What ChatGPT said about repentance caught my attention. I admit that I've made a hobbyhorse out of the Gospel and repentance, because these issues are of the utmost importance. What you believe determines where you will spend eternity.

So, I ordered Dr. Shelton Smith's 30-page booklet written in 2015 titled, “What About Repentance?” The Sword of the Lord insanely wanted $17.50 for shipping for a booklet that only costs $1.49, so I ordered it from '4Gospel' instead, which cost $6.95 including the shipping. Now, I spent eight years at Hyles-Anderson College. By God's grace, I graduated with honors on the Dean's List in 1993. Pastor Jack Hyles signed my diploma. I doubt if anyone is more familiar with Pastor Hyles' thousands of sermons and Bible studies than I am. I know what Brother Hyles believed and taught about repentance. That being said, after reading Dr. Shelton's booklet, I FULLY AGREE with Dr. Shelton's teachings on Bible repentance. I do not see any difference between what Pastor Jack Hyles teaches and Brother Smith.

Pastor Jack Hyles said about repentance...

“Repentance is not some little silly, 'I'm sorry.' Repentance is not simply a fear of God. Repentance is not a monk fasting and afflicting his body in a monastery. Repentance is not remorse because of sin's consequences. Repentance is not penance performed before the pope as you kiss his toe... Repentance is not being sorry for what I've done wrong. It is not confessing one's sins to a priest. It is not just conviction of sin. It is not the signing of a pledge of abstinence. Repentance is that thing when you come before God and see yourself as you are, and see Him as he is, and say with Isaiah 'Woe is me, for I am unclean!'” [emphasis added] —Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001), 'THE GOODNESS OF GOD LEADETH TO REPENTANCE'

I encourage you to read my helpful article, 'What Is Biblical Repentance?' You've got to know what you're being saved from—the penalty of sin, which is the second death in Hell (Revelation 21:8). No one has ever been saved who didn't admit that he is a sinner!

Consider the following quote by the faithful man of God, Dr. Harry Ironside (1876-1951)...

"Repentance is the recognition of my sinnership — the owning before God that I am as vile as He has declared me to be in His holy Word." —Pastor Harry Ironside, 'Except Ye Repent,' chapter 3

Pastor Bob Gray Sr. of the former Longview Baptist Temple church in Texas correctly says...

“Repentance means to change your mind—change your mind—change your mind about how you want to get to Heaven to what God says you've got to do to get to Heaven. If you've got to repent of all your sins, you're still headed for Hell tonight.” —Pastor Bob Gray Sr., a quote from the awesome MP3 sermon, 'Why You Should Be A Part Of A Growing Church'

Pastor Harry A. Ironside rightly describes repentance...

“Which comes first, repentance or faith? In Scripture we read, 'Repent ye, and believe the gospel.' Yet we find true believers exhorted to 'repent, and do the first works.' So intimately are the two related that you cannot have one without the other. The man who believes God repents; the repentant soul puts his trust in the Lord when the Gospel is revealed to him. Theologians may wrangle over this, but the fact is, no man repents until the Holy Spirit produces repentance in his soul through the truth. No man believes the Gospel and rests in it for his own salvation until he has judged himself as a needy sinner before God. And this is repentance.” —Pastor Harry Ironside, 'Except Ye Repent,' p. 16

The only thing that we need to repent from to be saved is the sin of UNBELIEF. Repentance simply means “a change of mind.” Believers change our minds every day about all kinds of things, including the sins in our life. Repenting of sins throughout one's Christian life is solely a matter of DISCIPLESHIP, not SALVATION. It is a matter of growing in the Lord's grace (1st Peter 2:2), as we yield to the Holy Spirit's leading in obedience to the Scripture (2nd Corinthians 10:5-6). Repentance means to change your mind—that’s what believing is.

Dr. Shelton Smith says in his book on page 1 that the word “repent” in its various forms appears in the King James Bible 112 times total (46 times in the Old Testament, and 66 times in the New Testament). I full agree with Dr. Smith that repentance is TOWARD GOD and not “from sin.” Repentance is looking up to God the Father as an acknowledged guilty sinner, and turning by faith to His only begotten Son to be saved.

On page 3, Dr. Smith says:

The word “repent” in its various forms is found 46 times in the Old Testament. Of that number, God Himself does the repenting 28 times, and man, only 9 times. The other 9 times tell of things of which God will not repent. If “repent” means to turn from sin, then you have God turning from sin 28 times in the Old Testament and man turning from sin only 9 times. —Dr. Shelton Smith, “What About Repentance?,” p. 3

Amen and amen, I agree. Brother Smith says of all those 112 mentions, it seems to him that there is only place that the Bible gives us the meaning of repentance, which is in Acts 20:21, “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” I humbly disagree with Dr. Smith that this defines what it means to “repent.” We already know what it mean to repent from the Greek noun metanoia, it is “a change of mind”; nothing less, nothing more.

What Dr. Smith is referring to is the application of repentance, not the definition. Since the Greek word “metanoia” itself does not tell us what to change our mind about, we need supplemental information, which as Dr. Smith correctly says on page 4 can only be determined by the context of a particular passage. In the case of Acts 20:21, we are taught to change our mind (or the Greek verb, metanoeo, which means: “to think differently”) toward God. Nowhere in the entire inspired Holy Bible are we told to repent of our sinning to get to Heaven.

Bible repentance is a matter of repenting (changing your mind) to acknowledge the truth (2nd Timothy 2:25). You must acknowledge THE TRUTH that you are a guilty SINNER (Romans 3:19-20), and that Jesus is the only SAVIOR (Galatians 3:24-26). That is the only things you need to change your mind about to be saved.

I agree with Brother Smith that repentance and faith are inseparable, as two sides of the same coin. I also agree with him on page 8 that, “Some folks make everything so hard that they rarely win anybody to Christ. That is a tragic misrepresentation of the Gospel!”

On pages 10 and 11 he rightly refutes the error of Lordship Salvation.

Dr. Shelton Smith Ought Not Sanction the 'Repent of your sins' Unbiblical Expression

The only real problem I have with his book is on page 4, where he writes:

“We often hear the expression, 'Repent of your sins,” and I don't see anything wrong with using that expression. But nowhere does the Bible says, Repent of your sins.' When the Bible uses the word 'repent,' what the repentance is about is always determined by the context.” [emphasis added] —Dr. Shelton Smith, “What About Repentance?,” p. 4

Whoa Horsie! I DO have a problem with using that expression, simply because it is not found anywhere in the Bible. If the inspired Word of God doesn't teach to repent of your sins to be saved, then why in the world would Dr. Smith be okay with it? I cannot help but feel that he is coddling his ministry's supporters. I'd dare say that over 90% of the churches and Bible colleges that financially support the Sword of the Lord today foolishly teach that you must repent of your sins to get to Heaven. In my humble opinion his book attempts to appease BOTH sides of the argument, although in fairness to Dr. Smith he plainly refutes David W. Cloud (without mentioning his name in the booklet) as a false accuser and troublemaker. Anybody who is familiar with the writings of David W. Cloud KNOWS exactly who Shelton Smith is talking about in his book.

Accuser of the Brethren, Dr. David W. Cloud 

Missionary to Nepal, India, David W. Cloud has slandered the Sword of the Lord for decades, wrongly accusing Dr. Curtis Hutson and Brother Smith of changing the Sword's earlier position which was held by Dr. John R. Rice. Nothing could be further from the truth. As Dr. Smith rightly points out in his booklet in defense of the Sword of the Lord, these editors all used their own different words (some stronger than others), but they all believed in salvation by grace without actually having to forsake a lifestyle of sinning to be saved. John R. Rice made it abundantly clear that the man who trusts Christ has turned from his sins; that is, he has repented toward God. Repentance means to change your mind—that’s what believing is.

There are those hyper-dispensationalists who think that John the Baptist preached a different Gospel from Christ when he commanded repentance (Matt. 3:2). But it is the same repentance Jesus commanded in Matthew 4:17, in Luke 13:3 and 5, and the same repentance that Paul preached in Athens that God “now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30 31). Repentance is not a different plan of salvation from having faith: it is part of the same plan of salvation. Or rather repentance is simply another way of describing or looking at the plan of salvation. One who turns from sin to God has done so by trusting in Jesus Christ. A change of mind toward sin is necessarily involved in saving faith. [emphasis added]

SOURCE: Evangelist John R. Rice, “Acts: Filled With The Spirit,” pp. 251-252; Sword Of The Lord, Murfreesboro, Tennessee; ©1963

Oh dear friend, that is so beautiful. Clearly Dr. Rice did not believe nor support the damnable heresy that you must be willing to forsake your sinful bad habits to get to Heaven. He plainly taught that when you put your faith in the 'GOOD NEWS' (Gospel) of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen the third day, you have turned in faith toward God from the sin of unbelief. The only thing that you and I contribute to our own salvation is the sin that made it necessary.

I have heard Missionary David W. Cloud and other false teachers, attempt to portray Dr. Rice as a proponent of Lordship Salvation, saying he taught that people must turn away from a lifestyle of sin to be saved. David Cloud even goes as far as to pitch Dr. John R. Rice against his successors Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) and Dr. Shelton Smith. Mr. Cloud claims that Curtis Hutson leaves off repentance, thus corrupting the Gospel. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Dr. Shelton Smith Wickedly Bids Godspeed to PCC

What I don't understand is why Dr. Shelton Smith wickedly bids Godspeed to PCC. From reading his booklet, “What Is Repentance?” (published in 2015), it is abundantly clear that Dr. Smith does NOT agree with PCC's perverted plan of salvation. I personally contacted the Sword of the Lord in 2024 to warn them about what PCC is preaching. I asked why the Sword of the Lord are wickedly supporting PCC. To no surprise the Sword totally ignored me. They will answer to God for pulling on the same rope as the Devil for filthy lucre's sake!

The Sword of the Lord for the longest time have run full page advertisements promoting Pensacola Christian College (PCC), who preach Lordship Salvation and Misunderstood Repentance. We have a terrible sore evil in fundamentalism today of indifferent preachers going along with the herd, tolerating the “repent of your sins” damnable heresy which has crept into most churches and Bible colleges. I am convinced that all Bible colleges do today is neuter the pastors of tomorrow.

I understand that the words “Rapture,” “Trinity” and “Bible” and not in the King James Bible, but the meaning of those terms is quite clear; whereas the meaning of the expression “repent of your sins” can mean a bunch of different things to a lot of people. It is a dangerous phrase to use! In fact, that is the very reason why a lot of preachers use it without explaining what it means, so when challenged they can go either way on the issue.

I think it is wrong and shameful that Dr. Shelton Smith doesn't earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints (Jude 1:3). It is not a trifle matter that he is going along with damnable heresy which the Bible calls “doctrines of devils.” There is no controversy if you believe the Bible. I am tired of hearing sincere but misguided preachers dismiss the matter as not worth dividing over, merely because so many preachers cannot come to an agreement on what it means to “repent.” The Greek meaning of the noun “repent” is simply “a change of mind.” That is what it means. To know what we must change our mind about can only be determined by a particular Scripture passage. For example: Mark 1:15, “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Repentance in this Bible verse means to change your mind to believe the Gospel. Repentance means to change your mind—that’s what believing is.

Christian author Michael Patrick Bowen rightly states in his excellent book titled, “I NEVER KNEW YOU,” on page 114...

“Repent, as Christ meant it to be in terms of salvation, means to change your mind from trusting in what you can do for God to trusting only in what He can do for you.” —Michael Patrick Bowen, a quote from the awesome book, “I NEVER KNEW YOU” (Page 114)

I picked up a little Gospel tract titled, “God's Way Of Salvation,” authored in the 1920's by Evangelist Alexander Marshall (1846-1928). The original Gospel tract that I have set before me is nearly a century old. It is a little 31-page booklet, which could easily fit into a man's shirt pocket, and it's as thin as a dime. This excellent Gospel tract was originally published by Moody Press in Chicago, back when Moody Bible Institute and Moody Church could be trusted doctrinally. In his tract, Brother Marshall correctly writes...

“I HAVE NOT REPENTED ENOUGH”
What do you mean? “I am not sorry enough for my sins.”

And if you were very sorry, would God be more willing to save you than He is now? “I think so.”

Then you are completely mistaken.

“But does it not say, unless we repent we shall perish?”

Yes; but what do you think is the Scriptural significance of “repentance”? If you say “sorrow for sin” you are wrong. It does not mean sorrow for sin: it means a CHANGE OF MIND (Matt. 21:29). This change will doubtless produce sorrow; but sorrow and repentance are two very different things (Heb. 12:17. margin, and II Cor. 7:9). When God calls on you to “repent, and believe the Gospel,” He wishes you to lay aside your wrong thoughts, and believe the glad tidings that He proclaims to you. Formerly you may have imagined that you were required to feel very sorry before being saved. Change your mind. You may have supposed you must first “feel” some great change in order to know you were saved. Change your mind. First believe in God's great love to you, as revealed in His gospel, and you will KNOW that you have eternal life (John 5:24).

Yes, that is excellent. Mr. Marshall is 100% correct! We are at spiritual war in our churches today over the meaning of repentance (and thus, the Gospel). Dr. Smith is sinfully coddling the enemy by supporting PCC. Look for yourself at what demonic garbage PCC teaches...

“REPENTANCE — Now is the time to turn from your sin and embrace God. The act of turning away from sin is called 'repentance.' This word implies an inward decision to follow and obey God's will instead of your self-serving sins. It means changing your mind about sin and seeing it as something that grieves God. The Bible says that God patiently waits for all people to make this decision.” [emphasis added]

SOURCE: “John & Romans,” Campus Church at Pensacola Christian College, p. 60

My God in Heaven, why does Dr. Shelton Smith and the Sword of the Lord wickedly bid Godspeed to this blatant heresy? 2nd John 1:11, “For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.” This is a counterfeit plan of salvation on par with the Church of Christ, Seventh-Day Adventists and Mormonism! PCC's Campus Church further states:

“I repent of my sins. I realize that sin is something that God hates and I no longer want to hold onto sinful bad habits.” [emphasis added]

SOURCE: “John & Romans,” Campus Church at Pensacola Christian College, p. 62

Oh My! Folks, this is NOT part of the Gospel which the Apostle Paul preached in 1st Corinthians 15:1-6...

1st Corinthians15:1-4, “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: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.”

There you have it! The “Gospel” is the “GOOD NEWS” that Jesus Christ DIED on a cross for our sins, He was BURIED and after three days He physically RESURRECTED from the dead. In Paul's Gospel (which Paul said he received directly from Jesus in Galatians 1:11-12), did you see anything that reads: “follow and obey God's will instead of your self-serving sins”? No, that is not what Paul taught. RIGHT DOCTRINE MATTERS!!!

So, why is PCC and their Campus Church promoting this filth? 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.” That is the true Gospel, not the demonic garbage that is being preached at PCC and throughout the city of Pensacola today.

Whereas Shelton Smith Profits from Sinful Compromise; I Am Shunned for Fighting the Good Fight of Faith

You know, I have been blackballed by PCC, their Campus Church, and all PCC associated churches in the Pensacola area. They all know who I am and what I stand for as a fundamentalist Baptist Bible preacher, and moreover that I am taking a biblical unapologetic uncompromising stand against Pensacola Christian College for perverted the Gospel. They all know about my website ministry, which I have never shared with any of them. They found it!

You just read it for yourself dear reader. How am I the bad guy in all of this? And yet, I am not welcomed at Smyrna Baptist Church. I am not welcomed at Family Baptist Church. I am not welcomed at PCC's Campus Church. I mean I've been banned in writing, since August 2, 2022. They kicked us out of Family Baptist Church in June of 2025 and threatened to call the police if me and my wife didn't leave.

Telling THE TRUTH will cost you something. It might even cost you everything! I have been shunned, ostracized, kicked out of churches, banned, mistreated, slandered, falsely accused, hated, ignored and blackballed for taking a courageous stand against the gods at PCC with their huge egos, because they are guilty of perverting God's simple plan of salvation.

And that also includes the ungodly corrupt Calvinist Bob Jones University (BJU) Lordship Salvation cult too, with their umpteen different Bible versions!

All in all, I approve of Dr. Shelton Smith's booklet, “What About Repentance.” It is well written and makes some excellent points. On pages 12 and 13 he shows that many passages about believing on Christ in the Bible don't even mention repentance, and that is so important to see dear reader. In fact, the word “believe” in it's various forms appears in the Gospel of John 90 times, but the word “repent” is never mentioned ever once. That is because the man who believes has repented. That is, he has changed his mind. Repentance means to change your mind—that’s what believing is.

The only main thing I didn't like in Brother Smith's excellent book was that on page 4 he says he's okay with the expression, “Repent of your sins,” and I think that is a big mistake. That stupid phrase has caused so much unnecessary confusion and division, creating doubts instead of dissolving them. Dr. Smith concedes that the expression is not in the King James Bible, which is why I think he ought not support it. My suspicion is that since his predecessor Dr. John R. Rice used it, he doesn't want to create a rift in their organization's image. Seems to me.

I think Dr. Smith sums it up well on page 14, “The 'sins' we have committed will be forgiven and placed under the blood of Christ when we have repented of our 'sin' of unbelief.”

Six Reasons Why You Don't Need To Repent Of Your Sins To Be Saved

Unfortunately, false religion has infiltrated many once doctrinally sound New Testament churches, perverting their doctrine and turning them into religious cults. One of the biggest deceptions which Satan has crept into churches today is False Repentance (human reformation). In his helpful book titled: 'Enemies Of Soul Winning,' Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) gives six reasons why you DO NOT need to repent of your sins to be saved:

1. God says to the unsaved, "Repent of your unbelief."

It's very interesting that in I John the word "repentance" is never mentioned, and yet the purpose of I John was to give people the assurance of salvation. I John 5:13, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." Of course, repentance is certainly implied throughout the entire book, because the book tells us that what saves is believing on Christ (or relying on Him) to save, which, of course, implies that that person must repent of what makes him lost, which is unbelief.

2. God says to the saved people, "Repent of sin."

This is done by the Holy Spirit as He comes in to live to remind us to take the clothes off the bedpost, the shirt off the chair, put the shoes into the closet, etc.

3. If a person must repent of his sins to be saved, of what sins must he repent?

Can he repent of all of them? Isn't that sinless perfection or holiness? Isn't that salvation by works? Of what sin must one repent? He must repent of the sin that makes him lost, and that's the sin of unbelief.

4. If turning from sins would get you saved, then turning back to sins would get you lost.

In Acts 16:30 the very simple question is asked, "What must I do to be saved?" This is the one time in the Bible where this question is asked. Now the answer to this question must be what saves a person. Acts 16:31, "And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." There's the answer—belief. There is nothing about repentance here, except, yes, there is something about repentance, because you can't believe without repenting from unbelief.

5. If a person has to clean up his own life before he gets saved, we are back to Arminianism or salvation by works.

6. We cannot do what the Holy Spirit can do.

The Holy Spirit first convicts us of our sin of unbelief to bring us to Christ. Once He brings us to Christ, He comes in us to live. Romans 8:9, "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." I Corinthians 6:19, 20, "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

Then when the Holy Spirit is in us, He begins to convict us of things in our lives that should be changed. Then the Christian life becomes a constant repenting until we wake in the likeness of Christ.

SOURCE: Pastor Jack Hyles, 'Enemies Of Soul Winning'; chapter 4, 'Misunderstood Repentance'

Amen and amen! Not one verse in the inspired King James Bible teaches that to get to Heaven you must forsake a lifestyle of sinning. Neither does the inspired Word of God teach that you must “be willing” to turn away from sinful bad habits. Yet, in nearly every Baptist church today, you will hear such blatant lies preached from the pulpit, telling lost sinners that if they desire to go to Heaven they must forsake their past sinful ways, and promise to do their best to follow Christ for the rest of their life. No such teachings are found in the Holy Bible.

In God's true plan of salvation, you simply come to God as a wretched sinner with nothing to offer, because we have nothing to offer God. Our best self-righteousness is utter contemptible filth to God (Isaiah 64:6). You come to God just as you are, as a hellbound wretched sinner! Someone is saved the moment they receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full-payment for their sins, believing that Jesus was buried, but then resurrected bodily from the dead three days later. This is “the gospel” (1st Corinthians 15:1-6), by which all who BELIEVE IT are saved instantly and permanently (Romans 1:16).

Judas repented of his sins and still went to Hell (Matthew 27:3). That is because you cannot be saved by turning from your sins. Judas felt guilt (penitence). He returned the 30 pieces of silver (penance). He had turned from his sins (reformation). But dear reader, you don't get to Heaven through penitence, penance and reformation; you go to Heaven because you trust (rely, faith) in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 20:31, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” John 6:47, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” Are you starting to get the big picture?

When a sincere but misguided preacher insists that you must repent AND believe, teaching that you must be willing to turn from your sinful bad habits to be saved, he is preaching another gospel (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4). That man is a bold-faced liar! Not one verse in the entire inspired Word of God requires that you be willing to forsake a sinful lifestyle, give up the world, turn over a new leaf, change your bad behavior or surrender “all” to Christ to be saved.

One of my favorite free grace preachers is Pastor Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951), who wrote these edifying words in his Gospel tract titled, 'What Is The Gospel?' ...

“The Gospel is not a call to repentance, or to amendment of our ways, to make restitution for past sins, or to promise to do better in the future. These things are proper in their place, but they do not constitute the Gospel; for the Gospel is not good advice to be obeyed, it is Good News to be believed. Do not make the mistake then of thinking that the Gospel is a call to duty or a call to reformation, a call to better your condition, to behave yourself in a more perfect way than you have been doing in the past …Nor is the Gospel a demand that you give up the world, that you give up your sins, that you break off bad habits, and try to cultivate good ones. You may do all these things, and yet never believe the Gospel and consequently never be saved at all.”

SOURCE: Harry A. Ironside, from the tract: 'What Is The Gospel?'

I couldn't have said it any better myself. I sure appreciate guys like Harry Ironside, who fully understood God's simple plan of salvation. While in the whale's belly, the prophet Jonah pondered the biblical truth that, “Salvation is of the LORD” (Jonah 2:9b). The only thing that we contribute to our own salvation is the sin that made it necessary. Right doctrine matters!

There are two great divisions today in the evangelical world:

1. NEO-EVANGELICALS - The first group is the “repent of your sins” crowd. These are neo-evangelicals (and neo-fundamentalists who masquerade as fundamentalists). This is the Lordship Salvation camp who combine (mix) works with grace, service with salvation, discipleship with sonship, and sanctification with justification. This group errantly preaches that you must repent AND believe. Their perverse grasp of repentance is viewed as a sincere desire to cease from one's past sinful behavior, and commit to live a changed life moving forward. This group includes Pensacola Christian College, Bob Jones University, Faith Baptist Bible College, 'Unshackled' radio, Pacific Garden Mission, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, et cetera.
2. FUNDAMENTALISTS - This is the easy-believism camp. The man who believes has automatically repented. That is, he has laid aside his wrong thoughts to embrace faith in the Good news of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen. Service must be kept separate from salvation. Discipleship must be kept separate from sonship. Repentance is simply a change of mind, nothing more. You change your mind to believe the Gospel, which is what Mark 1:15 means. One's behavior or attitude toward one's behavior has absolutely nothing to do with receiving God's free gift of eternal life, which Jesus has already paid for in full with His precious blood. Such free grace preachers include: Harry Ironside, Jack Hyles, Curtis Hutson, Steven Anderson, M.R. DeHaan, Max Younce, Ralph Yankee Arnold, Hank Lindstrom, Ray Stanford and John Bunyan.

Galatians 1:6-9 teaches that there is only one Gospel, not two or more. Of the two preceding plans of salvation, either one or both may be false, but both cannot be correct.

We Are Saved By Believing, Not By Repenting

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.”

The reason why I write on the topic of repentance quite often is simply because it is probably the most debated and misunderstood subject in the inspired Holy Bible.

Do we repent AND believe, or do we repent TO believe? Preachers and theologians wrangle over this question incessantly, oftentimes in heated debates. I strongly contend that we repent TO believe. That is, repentance is included in believing. This is why the word “believe” appears 85 times in the Gospel of John (which is God's Gospel tract according to John 20:31), but the word “repent” does not appear even once. The man who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ has repented! That is, he has changed his mind from unbelief to belief.

I love how Evangelist Alexander Marshall (1846-1928) explains repentance...

“I HAVE NOT REPENTED ENOUGH”

What do you mean? “I am not sorry enough for my sins.”

And if you were very sorry, would God be more willing to save you than He is now? “I think so.”

Then you are completely mistaken.

“But does it not say, unless we repent we shall perish?”

Yes; but what do you think is the Scriptural significance of “repentance”? If you say “sorrow for sin” you are wrong. It does not mean sorrow for sin: it means a CHANGE OF MIND (Matt. 21:29). This change will doubtless produce sorrow; but sorrow and repentance are two very different things (Heb. 12:17. margin, and II Cor. 7:9). When God calls on you to “repent, and believe the Gospel,” He wishes you to lay aside your wrong thoughts, and believe the glad tidings that He proclaims to you. Formerly you may have imagined that you were required to feel very sorry before being saved. Change your mind. You may have supposed you must first “feel” some great change in order to know you were saved. Change your mind. First believe in God's great love to you, as revealed in His gospel, and you will KNOW that you have eternal life (John 5:24).

Yes, that is excellent. Mr. Marshall is 100% correct! Marshall plainly recognizes that sinners are saved by BELIEVING THE GOSPEL; that is, he says, “to lay aside your wrong thoughts [Repentance] and believe the glad tidings [Gospel] that He proclaims to you.” This is the simplicity that is in Christ. The Gospel is simple. Anyone who simply BELIEVES IT is saved. Even a small child can do that.

If you want to go to Heaven, simply by faith (taking God at His written Word) receive Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full-payment for your sins, believing that Jesus was buried, but then physically resurrected from the dead three days later. This is 'THE GOSPEL' (1st Corinthians 15:1-6), by which all who BELIEVE IT are instantly and permanently saved (Romans 1:16).

So, to clarify, you don't have to change your sinful ways to be saved. Behavior modification has nothing to do with God's free gift of eternal life. God is giving you something for free; not you giving or trading something in exchange for salvation. Jesus doesn't forgive sin. You read correct. Jesus has already paid for everyone's sins with His blood. That is why the Bible calls eternal life a “free gift” three times in Romans 5:15-18. A gift is a take proposition, not a give proposition.

The False Gospel Of The “Yee Yee Life” YouTube Channel

Galatians 1:6-8, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”

I was watching an intriguing video today on YouTube in which a man named Parker is shooting various types of guns at several stainless steel frying pans, to see how many pans each different type of weapon can penetrate. I love stuff like this! Here's the video...

How Bulletproof are Frying Pans?

About halfway through the video Parker explains that he is a Christian, that is, he believes that Jesus is whom He claimed to be, the only begotten Son of God, the very Christ. I fully agree with him on that truth. However, at the end of the video Parker unfortunately ADDS turning from your sins to be saved, which is false teaching. Proverbs 30:5-6, “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” Nowhere does the inspired King James Bible, nor the available copies of the ancient Hebrew and Greek manuscripts of Scripture, require that you repent of your sinning to be saved. You don't repent AND believe to be saved; you repent TO believe to be saved, Repentance facilitates (makes possible) believing. If you didn't change your mind (repent), then you'd never turn from your unbelief to be saved.

Now, I'm sure in defense of repenting of your sins to be saved some Smart Alec will cite John 3:20, “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” Ostensibly this passage seems to teach that you must turn from your love of sin to be saved. However, please don't leave out John 3:21, “But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” The Word of God doesn't say, “But he that turneth from his sins” cometh to the light; it reads “But he that doeth truth” cometh to the light to be saved.

The Apostle Paul sheds further light on this obscure passage of Scripture in 2nd Timothy 2:25-26, “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” Amen! Repentance in the Bible concerning the new birth never means to turn away from sinning, it means to acknowledge THE TRUTH.

One of my favorite Bible teachers is Pastor Brad Strand. I recently purchased his 'The Strand Study Bible.' I love it so much that I bought four of them (three used). Here is Brother Strand's commentary for 2nd Corinthians 7:8...

Repentance may include “remorse” (made you sorry), but remorse is not repentance. If so, then Judas repented because he was remorseful over what he had done to Christ (Mt 27:3). You can weep over sin and even express great remorse, but until you “change your mind” as to who you are and who Christ is and agree with God (Mt 3:2), you have not repented biblically.

Repentance may include “sorrow” (you were made sorry), but sorrow for sin is not repentance. Hell is full or sorrow, but only for the consequences of sin. The rich man who died and went to Hell uttered not a word of sorrow for his sin, only sorrow for his pain (Lk 16:19-31). You can weep over sin and even express great regret, but until you “change your mind” as to who you are and who Christ is and agree with God, you have not repented biblically.

Repentance may include “conviction” (after a godly manner), but conviction is not repentance. If so, then Felix repented when he trembled before Paul (Acts 24:24-25). You may be convicted that you are a sinner and even admit that you are lost, but repentance is a two-sided coin. You not only have to “change your mind” as to who you are, you have to also “change your mind” as to who Christ is and call upon Him to be your Savior (Rom 10:9-13). Otherwise, you have not repented biblically.

SOURCE: Pastor Brad Strand, “The Strand Study Bible,” p. 1938

I am so thankful for Pastor Strand, that he is one of few preachers today who gets repentance correct. Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) in a sermon titled, “A Vote For Preaching,” spoke in this excerpt about the false gospel of Lordship Salvation which is unfortunately being preached from nearly every pulpit today. RIGHT DOCTRINE MATTERS!!!

Getting back to the initiate topic, in response to Parker's interesting but heretical video on YouTube, I posted this kind response in the comments (hopefully he will heed the truth)...

Kindly said Parker, I love your video and was glad at first to rejoice when you boldly proclaimed your faith in Jesus, but then you ruined it at the end by perverting God's simple plan of salvation. Unless you are using one of Satan's modern corrupt English Bible previsions, the trustworthy inspired King James Bible nowhere defines "repentance" as "turning from your sins." The Greek noun for "repent" concerning salvation is always metanoia (a change of mind), and the verb metanoeo (to think differently). Turning from sin is the English dictionary's meaning of "repent," but it is not the biblical Greek meaning. 

When God calls on you to "repent, and believe the Gospel" in Mark 1;15, He wishes for you to lay aside your wrong thoughts, and believe the Glad Tidings (i.e., Jesus' death on the cross, burial and bodily resurrection) that He proclaims to you (1 Corinthians 15:1-6). It was ignorant but sincere theologians who added turning from sins as a prerequisite to being born again (Proverbs 14;12). 

I encourage you to read the writings of true free grace preachers such as Pastor Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951). In his Gospel tract titled, "What Is The Gospel?," Pastor Ironside accurately writes these words: 

“The Gospel is not a call to repentance, or to amendment of our ways, to make restitution for past sins, or to promise to do better in the future. These things are proper in their place, but they do not constitute the Gospel; for the Gospel is not good advice to be obeyed, it is good news to be believed. Do not make the mistake then of thinking that the Gospel is a call to duty or a call to reformation, a call to better your condition, to behave yourself in a more perfect way than you have been doing in the past …Nor is the Gospel a demand that you give up the world, that you give up your sins, that you break off bad habits, and try to cultivate good ones. You may do all these things, and yet never believe the Gospel and consequently never be saved at all.”

I encourage you to read books by Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995), Dr. Mark G. Cambron (1911-2000) and Pastor Max D. Younce (1935-2023), which doctrinally sound Bible study books are available for free online). 

In particular, I encourage you to read Michael P. Bowen's helpful book in defense of a free grace Gospel, "I Never Knew You," which is also freely available to read in .pdf format online. Right doctrine matters my friend. 

I understand from your video that you first responded to a religious invitation concerning Christ in 2021, but what you responded to simply wasn't the Gospel if you turned away from your sinning to be saved, it was manmade tradition and not the commandment of God (Mark 7:9). 

When the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas what he must do to be saved, their simple answer in Acts 16:31 was to, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ." They didn't instruct the Roman jailer to turn from his sins to be saved. 

When the Apostle Peter preached the Gospel to Cornelius and his friends in Acts chapter 10, at no point in his presentation did Peter instruct them to turn away from their sins to be saved. Since the only sin that can prevent us from going to Heaven is unbelief, then to be saved we must turn from unbelief (or "dead works" as Hebrews 6:1 mentions) to trust Jesus Christ. 

In John 20:31 the Apostle John says the purpose for which he penned the Gospel of John is to convince the reader that Jesus is the Christ, the only begotten Son of God. The book of John is God's Gospel tract for humanity. At no point does John teach to forsake one's sinful ways to get to Heaven, which would constitute works for salvation (Romans 3:20). 

In John 6:28-29 when some people asked Jesus what they must do to work the works of God, the dear Savior simply replied, "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." Again, Jesus did NOT tell them to turn from their sins. 

To place one's faith in Jesus Christ is to turn from the awfulness and condemnation that sin brings. But this is vastly different than having a willingness to make an effort to stop sinning, which is works. We are saved by believing, not by repenting, but a person MUST repent to be saved. That is, they must change their mind from unbelief to belief. You and I contribute nothing to salvation except the sin that made it necessary. 

The plain truth is that those false converts who think they have "turned from their sins" to be saved are still full of sinful thoughts and ways. The only thing that makes me any more righteous than the vilest hellbound sinner is the precious blood of Jesus that washed my sins away the moment I got saved at age 13 in 1980.

There is no such thing as turning from one's sins, only being forgiven of our sins through faith in Jesus. A changed life is NOT the result of genuine repentance unto life (the new birth); but rather, a changed life is the "fruit" of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-24). But a redeemed child of God must choose daily to walk in the Spirit, or by default we will walk in the flesh (Galatians 5:25). The former is salvation (Galatians 3:26), the latter is service (Romans 12;1). One has nothing to do with the other. Pastor M.R. DeHaan (1891-1965) explains it very well... 

“There is a vast difference between coming to Jesus for salvation and coming after Jesus for service. Coming to Christ makes one a believer, while coming after Christ makes one a disciple. All believers are not disciples. To become a believer one accepts the invitation of the Gospel, to be a disciple one obeys the challenge to a life of dedicated service and separation. Salvation comes through the sacrifice of Christ; discipleship comes only by sacrifice of self and surrender to His call for devoted service. Salvation is free, but discipleship involves paying the price of a separated walk. Salvation can't be lost because it depends upon God's faithfulness, but discipleship can be lost because it depends upon our faithfulness.” —Pastor M.R. DeHaan, Hebrews; Zondervan Publishing House, 1959 (p. 117)

Biblically, a lost sinner need only come to God on the basis that they are a guilty sinner, and by faith (taking God at His recorded Word in the Scripture) trust in the Good News of the blessed crucified, buried and risen Savior to get to Heaven. The moment that a lost sinner by faith receives Christ's sacrifice on the cross as full payment for his sins, believing that Christ was buried but is risen, that sinner is instantly, irrevocably and forever saved by God's grace alone. 

Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty. 

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. 

If to “repent” means to forsake our sinful ways TO BE SAVED, but Jesus already paid for our sins by dying on the cross, then what are we repenting from? 

The true Gospel always points you to CHRIST; a false gospel always points to YOU.

Thank you for reading.

What Is Bible Repentance To Be Saved?

2nd Timothy 2:25-26, “In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”

WHAT IS REPENTANCE? (GREEK: METANOIA)

Bible “repentance” is to ACKNOWLEDGE THE TRUTH of two things:

1. I are a guilty sinner
2. Jesus is the only Savior

So many today speak about “repentance” — but few understand what it truly means.

Some think it’s about crying over sin, feeling sorry, or turning over a new leaf.

But that’s not the Bible repentance that saves.

In the context of biblical salvation, repentance is not turning from sin — it’s changing your mind toward God and His truth.

The word “repentance” comes from the Greek word μετάνοια (metanoia), which literally means “a change of mind.”

It comes from meta (to change) and nous (mind or understanding).

It’s realizing you’re a sinner who cannot save yourself — and turning from unbelief to believe the Gospel of grace.

It’s the moment you stop trusting your religion, works or emotions, and start trusting Jesus Christ alone for your salvation.

“Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” —Acts 20:21 (KJV)

Repentance and faith are inseparable — they’re two sides of the same coin.

No one can truly believe the Gospel unless they have repented, because repentance is that change of mind that leads to faith.

When you believe the Gospel, you’ve already repented.

When you repent toward God, you’re ready to believe.

The Gospel that saves:

“...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.” —1 Corinthians 15:3b–4 (KJV)

Salvation isn’t about what you can do — it’s about what Christ already did.

It’s not about turning from sin to earn forgiveness — it’s about believing the One who paid for your sin in full.

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.” —Titus 3:5 (KJV)

Repentance = Μετάνοια (Metanoia) — A Change of Mind

• Not emotion.
• Not self-reformation.
• Not behavior adjustment.

It’s a heart-level change of thinking — from rejecting God to believing His truth.

When you truly believe the Gospel, you have repented.

When you truly repent toward God, you will believe the Gospel.

That’s how salvation by grace through faith works — it’s all of Him, none of us.

One Bible Verse Proves Repentance Heretics All Wrong!

Romans 6:1, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?”

Here is a wonderful Bible verse I just read that PROVES WRONG James Melton, John MacArthur, Sam Horn, Ray Comfort, Paul Washer, Marty Herron, Steve Pettit, Chuck Phelps, Gary Walton, Jeff Redlin, Timothy Zacharias, Chip Ingram, William Lane Craig, Rick Warren, Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen, Steven Furtick, John Hagee, Charles Stanley, Adrian Rogers, Keith Gomez, Billy Graham, Franklin Graham, Mormons, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witness, Roman Catholics, Church of Christ, Moody Bible Institute, Bob Jones University, Pensacola Christian College, Liberty University, Master's University, Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary, Pacific Garden Mission's 'UNSHACKLED' radio series, and MILLIONS more heretics on Bible repentance, who all falsely teach that genuine repentance results in a change of behavior (without which change they ASS-U-ME that you have never been born-again at all)...

Romans 6:1, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?”

If a Christian CHOOSES to continue living like the Devil, for the remainder of their natural life, GRACE WILL ABOUND!!!!!!! That is, they can never forfeit, jeopardize nor lose God's free gift of eternal life, which is by faith alone WITHOUT WORKS (Romans 4:4-7).

Christian author Michael Patrick Bowen accurately states in his excellent book titled, “I NEVER KNEW YOU,” on page 114:

The beloved Pastor Bob Gray Sr. correctly preaches:

“Repent, as Christ meant it to be in terms of salvation, means to change your mind from trusting in what you can do for God to trusting only in what He can do for you.” ~Michael Patrick Bowen, “I NEVER NEW YOU” (p. 114) 

“Repentance means to change your mind—change your mind—change your mind about how you want to get to Heaven to what God says you've got to do to get to Heaven. If you've got to repent of all your sins, you're still headed for Hell tonight.” ~Pastor Bob Gray Sr., Why You Should Be A Part Of A Growing Church

Here is an excellent and needful writing by Dr. Mark G. Cambron (1911-2000) on the subject of REPENTANCE. Please read the following quote carefully, because Dr. Cambron is one of few theologian who gets it 100% correct, that is, he understands the simplicity of the Gospel and that repentance does not mean turning from sin as proponents of Lordship Salvation foolishly teach:

Repentance is necessary for salvation.

The Greek word for repent is metanoeo, which, translated into English is: to change ones mind. It does not mean to turn from sin. That would add works to salvation.

Repentance for salvation means a change of mind from men's ideas of salvation and religion, to an acceptance of Gods only way of salvation.

This results in a completely new creation, not a reformation of the old. The old nature remains as evil as ever after salvation and has not been reformed . . . The old nature can now be controlled by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.

God guarantees salvation. This is His gift to us.
God guarantees reward and fruit to the obedient son.

God guarantees chastening and loss of rewards to the disobedient son.

God does not cast out disobedient children, but in some cases, does take them home. He does not permit His children to live as they please without His discipline and guidance.

Many teach repentance for salvation incorrectly, by including some form of human effort or righteousness, such as willingness to turn from sin, or turning from sin. This is heresy and has confused many people. It adds works to salvation and causes many to not understand Gods great gift. It is probation, not salvation. It is completely unscriptural. It is Galatianism and a counterfeit of the gospel.

It is a tragedy that many Christians live shallow Christian lives. The Cambron Institute is dedicated to the task of training Christian men and women in the importance of total dedication and making Jesus the Lord of their lives not to be saved but because they are saved.

Shallow Christianity cannot be cured by adding works to salvation.

Salvation is not the result of what we do, but is by receiving what God has done for us. Acts 13:38, 39; Acts 20:20: Gal. 1:8,9; Gal. 2:4; Gal. 2:21; Gal. 3:1.3; Gal. 5:1-4; Eph. 2:8-10; II Cor. 5:21;John 3:16-18; Phil. 3:9; Titus 3:5-8:11 Cor. 11:13-1 5.

SOURCE: The Cambron Institute

Amen! I fully agree. The only thing that is required to be saved is to realize one's need as a guilty sinner in the sight of a holy God (Romans 3:19-20). You must know why and what you are being saved from, which is from the consequences of our sin, which is to suffer the Second Death in the Lake of Fire forever (Romans 6:23; Revelation 21:8). Jesus Christ paid our debt of sin on the cross, so that we could escape this horrifying judgment and eternal fate (Romans 5:9). I also fully agree with what Pastor Harry Ironside says about repentance:

“The Gospel is not a call to repentance, or to amendment of our ways, to make restitution for past sins, or to promise to do better in the future. These things are proper in their place, but they do not constitute the Gospel; for the Gospel is not good advice to be obeyed, it is good news to be believed. Do not make the mistake then of thinking that the Gospel is a call to duty or a call to reformation, a call to better your condition, to behave yourself in a more perfect way than you have been doing in the past …Nor is the Gospel a demand that you give up the world, that you give up your sins, that you break off bad habits, and try to cultivate good ones. You may do all these things, and yet never believe the Gospel and consequently never be saved at all.” ~Dr. Harry A. Ironside, 'What Is The Gospel?'

Yes, it is possible dear reader for a true believer to CONTINUE IN SIN, and still have the 100% absolute confidence and peace of soul that he or she is saved safe and secure in the Father's hands. Romans 6:1, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” No matter how much we may choose to sin as a child of God, GRACE WILL ABOUND. That refutes every false prophet who errantly preaches that if a person's faith is real, then they will live a changed life. No, there is no Biblical proof of that claim. Not all saints live changed lives. In fact, many are downright rotten to the end! Certainly, every one of God's children continue in sin to some degree, because no one is without iniquity.

So if your church pastor says to “turn from your sin” or “repent of your sin” to be saved, ask him exactly what he means by that (because 95% won't tell you plainly unless you ask them directly). If he answers that there must be conviction of sin, so that you see your need to Christ, then he is okay. Albeit, he shouldn't be using those unbiblical phrase “turn from your sin” or “repent of your sin” because they confuse people!

But if your pastor answers that genuine repentance results in a change of behavior, then I plead with you to either tell your pastor that he is wrong, or LEAVE THAT PLACE in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ if he refuses to repent of his wrong repentance!!! Sadly, 99% of pastors are full of sinful ego, stinking pride, so that they greatly resent someone questioning or God forbid, correcting, THEIR doctrine. The ideas of “turn from your sin” or “repent of your sin” are MANMADE commandments, and not the COMMANDMENTS OF GOD. Mark 7:9, “And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.”

To sinfully tell someone that repentance by implication cannot just mean “a change of mind” is to corrupt the inspired Word of God. In fact, repentance does just mean a change of mind in the original Koine Greek New Testament. We are saved by BELIEVING the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That is, the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ crucified on a cross, buried and bodily risen the third day (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). If turning away from sinful behavior were necessary to be saved, then the Apostle Paul would have included it in his defining of the Gospel, which Paul said we are saved by if we BELIEVE IT!!!

Furthermore, the Epistle of 1st John is perhaps the most misunderstood in the Holy Bible. Certainly 1st John is often misunderstood. 1st John 3:8, “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” John is not saying that a professed believer who wilfully sins is not saved, God forbid. The next verse in 1st John 3:9 says, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” Since every saint still sins, we know that this verse must mean when we choose to sin, it is the FLESH and not the HOLY SPIRIT that is committing sin.

We find the answer in Romans 8:4, “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.”

And we read in Romans 8:8, “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” The most important verse in 1st John, in my humble opinion, is 1st John 3:24, “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.” In my mind, I have always thought that the only way to KNOW you're saved (1st John 5:13) is by one's FAITH in Jesus Christ. But the Bible says we KNOW that we are God's child by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

It is my humble opinion that the reason for which God said this, is simply because there are millions of people who have heard the Gospel their entire life, and are very familiar with what is required to get to Heaven, but they (as Judas) just don't believe. I have heard Benny Hinn preach the Gospel correctly in one meeting, and preach damnable heresy in the next. Will the real Benny Hinn please stand up! I have heard the same hypocrisy from Dr. John MacArthur. My spiritual discernment tells me that Benny Hinn knows the details of the Gospel, but he doesn't believe a word of it, he just manipulates people and exploits Christianity to make billions of dollars in filthy lucre. Hebrews 4:2 says that the Jews in the Wilderness heard Moses preach the Gospel for 40 years! But they perished in their sins because they didn't have any FAITH in the Gospel.

I think that is why God authored the Epistle of 1st John, so that we as INDIVIDUALS can self-examine our own soul, to determine if we have the HOLY SPIRIT. John never once says that works are evidence of being saved; but rather, if we are saved we will be convicted by the indwelling Holy Spirit about the sins in our life. It is false doctrine to look at one's life to prove that we are saved. Please don't do that. If you have God living in you, then YOU KNOW IT! Since the age of 13, I have known the sweet presence of God's Holy Spirit in my life. I wasn't aware of the Holy Spirit when I got saved at age 13. It wasn't until age 18 that I began to learn about who the Holy Spirit is. But now that I have been born-again for 34 years, I can look back with the joy of the Lord, and clearly see God's presence throughout my life, through the good times and the bad. I know that I am saved from John 3:16, because I BELIEVE on the only begotten Son of God, the Christ (John 20:31).

But I have the added confirmation that I have eternal life, by the presence of the blessed Holy Spirit in me. I love Jesus (even though I don't always live as I should). I love the Word of God (even though I don't always read it as I should). I love my fellow saints (even though I sometimes avoid them because they are mean). I love God's commandments (even though there have been times in my life when I wilfully lived in open sin). I have always felt Holy Spirit conviction over the sins in my life (Hebrews 12:6-8; Romans 8:9).

I don't feel Holy Spirit conviction over the shortcomings, failures and foolish decisions I've made in life, because those things are a natural part of being a human being, and God doesn't expect me to be perfect. In fact, it was all those mistakes, foolish decisions, mistakes and shortcomings that has enabled God to greatly bless and use my website ministry to reach others for Jesus Christ. God uses humble nobodies, because then He gets all the credit!!! So it is not my life that confirms I am saved, but the indwelling Holy Spirit. No one should worry or try to live right to feel saved, that is very wrong to do. Clearly, no one is saved who is wrong on repentance and the Gospel.

Romans 6:1, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” You may have the Holy Spirit in you, and still choose to live like the Devil your whole life (like Samson, Demas, Lot and Solomon did), but the indwelling Holy Spirit will convict you about those sins, and you will be of all men most miserable. That is all I think John is saying in his epistle. But no this, WORKS have no place at any point in receiving God's gift of salvation. Believers SHOULD live godly (Titus 2:12), but the Bible doesn't say that we MUST or WILL live godly in Christ Jesus. Thank you for reading my blogs.