Refuting the “Repent of Your Sins” Heresy
Please read Part 1 if you haven’t yet: Repentance for Salvation Part 1
The requirement to “repent of your sins” or “turn from your sins” to be saved is a false gospel. It is not the gospel preached by Christ or the apostles. It adds works to salvation and robs believers of assurance.
The Bible says:
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”
— Acts 16:31 (KJV)
It does not say, “Turn from your sins and thou shalt be saved.”
It does not say, “Stop sinning and thou shalt be saved.”
It does not say, “Reform your life and thou shalt be saved.”
It says believe.
The Phrase Is Not the Gospel
The phrase “repent of your sins” is not given in Scripture as the condition for receiving eternal life. More importantly, the Bible never presents “turn from your sins” as the requirement to be saved.
The Bible can speak of repenting in connection with wickedness, evil deeds, or judgment in other contexts. But when the question is eternal salvation, the command is clear:
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”
— Acts 16:31 (KJV)
If turning from sins were required for salvation, then salvation would be by works. But the Bible says:
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
— Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV)
Turning from sins is work. Reformation is work. Obedience is work. Keeping commandments is work. None of these things can be added to faith as the condition for eternal salvation.
The Context Test
The word repent must be understood by context. If repent always meant “turn from sin,” then we would have a serious problem when the Bible says God repented. In fact, God repents more than anyone else in the Bible.
“And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.”
— Genesis 6:6 (KJV)
“And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.”
— Exodus 32:14 (KJV)
“It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king…”
— 1 Samuel 15:11 (KJV)
God has no sin. Therefore, repent cannot automatically mean “turn from sin.”
In these passages, the word has to do with a change in God’s declared dealings with man. God did not sin. God did not need salvation. The word simply cannot mean “turn from sins” every time it appears.
Context determines the meaning.
The Apostle Paul’s Example
Paul also used the word in a way that had nothing to do with turning from sin for salvation:
“For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent…”
— 2 Corinthians 7:8 (KJV)
Paul was not talking about eternal salvation. He was not saying he had turned from sin. He was speaking of a change of mind concerning the letter he had written.
Again, the context proves the point: repentance does not automatically mean “turn from sins.”
The Danger of Adding Works
When a preacher tells a lost sinner that he must “repent of his sins” to be saved, he is adding works to the gospel. He is telling the sinner that faith in Christ is not enough.
That is another gospel.
A sinner cannot turn from all sin, make himself righteous, or offer personal reformation as payment for salvation. That is why he needs a Saviour.
Christ did not come to help good people finish saving themselves. He came to save sinners.
The gospel is not:
“Stop sinning and believe.”
The gospel is:
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”
— Acts 16:31 (KJV)
The Clear Gospel
The gospel is plainly declared in Scripture:
“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.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (KJV)
Christ died for our sins.
He was buried.
He rose again the third day.
Believe that. Trust Christ alone. The moment a sinner believes on the biblical Lord Jesus Christ, he has everlasting life.
Repentance unto salvation is not turning from sins. It is not works. It is not self-reformation. It is changing your mind from unbelief, false religion, dead works, idols, self-righteousness, and every false hope to faith in Jesus Christ alone.
Salvation is by grace through faith, plus nothing, minus nothing — just as Baptists have always taught and believed because the Bible says so.
Have you trusted Christ alone? Read the Bible way to Heaven.
