The word repentance came from the ancient military Greek term “metanoia” which means “change of mind.” The first time a person repents of his sins in relation to salvation, he changes his mind being convinced about who Jesus Christ truly is, being the Lord, God, and Savior of his life. This humble acknowledgement immediately earned a person the forgiveness of sins: past, present, and future. The apostle Paul describes this as being clothed in righteousness.1 This is what theologians call justification by faith where a sinner is declared righteous after believing in Jesus Christ who sacrifices Himself on the cross for their sins (past, present, and future) to be forgiven.
We can see this in Acts 2:36-38, after the Jewish people realized that they were responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ who was declared to be Lord and Christ by God, they were cut to the heart when they were convicted by the Holy Spirit of their sins.2 When Peter strongly admonishes them to repent, they need to make a decision to acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Yahweh who came in human flesh to save them. This act of repentance made them righteous instantaneously because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ which was appropriated on them. This is what theologians call justification by faith where a person believes Jesus Christ to be the God-man who finished everything on the cross at calvary leading to being declared as righteous. This act of faith in Jesus Christ resulted in the believers forgiveness of their sins: past, present, and future. If it weren’t for this then they would not be saved. This repentance is never in connection with moral deeds for this is not the context of this passage.
It’s understandable that this repentance (change of mind) in regard to Jesus Christ, who pronounced them righteous, would lead to daily repentance (change of mind) when the Holy Spirit reminds them of the sins they committed at the time.3 When a Christian reads the Bible on a daily basis, his mind is renewed, resulting in a change of heart.
Despite the fact that believers have been forgiven of their sins in order to be acceptable to God, they must still repent and ask for forgiveness because they sin at times. The Lord Jesus Christ uses water as an analogy to convey this cleaning. John explains,
Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” John 13:10
Judas was unclean since he was never justified or pronounced righteous to begin with. He isn’t related to the Vine in any way.4 However, when the remainder of the disciples believed in Christ, they received His imputed righteousness.5 Even if we have been cleansed (made righteous) in God’s eyes, it is still necessary to confess or acknowledge our sins to Him. We only confess sins that are gently brought to mind by the Holy Spirit once we disobey God’s word.6 This is not meant to condemn a believer, for the Lord never does.7 The goal of confessing to God is to be set free from the enemy’s condemnation and guilt so that we might receive and experience God’s forgiveness.8 If a Christian fails to confess his transgressions to God, the Lord will undoubtedly intervene as a disciplinarian to bring him back to Him in love.9 Although a believer’s eternal life is guaranteed, various things can happen if he tolerates sins and does not humble himself before God by confessing his sins. Here are the possible consequences:
1. Removal from church position.10
2. Open to the enemy’s attack.11
3. Divine judgment on earth.12
4. Disease and sickness leading to possible physical death.13
5. Worse things can happen.14
It is true that there is no such thing as a perfect Christian in this life because all believers sin. It’s no surprise that Jesus stated, “Forgive us our sins,” in the believer’s prayer.15 Because each believer faces his or her own challenges,16 it is only natural for him to turn to God whenever he is tempted. A Christian can confidently approach His throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace.17 It doesn’t matter how he falls; what matters is that he gets up. “For the righteous falls seven times and rises again,” says the wise man.18 “We should not abuse God’s grace,” many believers remark. However, the Bible makes no mention of it. “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,” writes the apostle Paul.19 At the end of the day, it is the Lord who knows who are truly His and those who are truly His have a hatred for sin.20 In other words, a believer is grieve whenever he sins. Indeed, the hypergrace teachers are mistaken in teaching that God’s grace should not compel believers to confess their sins because He allegedly forgave them of past, present, and future sins. They misunderstood salvation to mean repenting of moral sins rather than repenting of one’s view toward Jesus Christ as Lord, God, and Savior. The hypergrace professors will undoubtedly face judgment from God for their erroneous reading of Scripture and for encouraging many believers to neglect the Holy Spirit to the point of discipline.
Scripture References
1 Phil. 3:9; 2 Cor. 5:21
2 Jn 16:8
3 Acts 26:20
4 Jn. 15:1-2
5 Jn. 15:3
6 1 Jn. 1:9
7 Rom. 8:1
8 Rev. 12:10
9 Heb. 12:10
10 1 Cor. 5:2
11 1 Cor. 3:5
12 Acts 5:1-10
13 Psa. 32:3-5; 1 Jn. 5:17
14 Jn. 5:14
15 Luk. 11:4
16 Rom. 7:15-23
17 Heb. 4:16
18 Prov. 24:16
19 Rom. 5:20
20 2 Tim. 2:19
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