Repentance and the Great Commission
Luke 24:46-49
46 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And you are witnesses of these things. 49 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."
In Luke 24:47 we have Luke's rendition of the Great Commission. Here the Lord said "that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." The Great Commission was not a commission to evangelize. This is taken for granted. In order to be an effective disciple of Christ, you must first be born again! The Great Commission was a commission to disciple those who believe. This ministry is to be done with reference to every nation.
Matt 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
In Matt 28:18-20 the Lord told the disciples to make disciples by baptizing them and teaching them to observe all that He had taught them. We don't conclude from this that baptism and discipleship instruction are conditions of eternal life, do we? In the same way, the Great Commission in Luke concerns discipleship. Repentance is indeed a condition of on going fellowship with God and of the forgiveness associated with that fellowship (e.g., Luke 5:32; 15:4-32). We know from 1 John 1:9 as well that all believers need ongoing fellowship/familial forgiveness from God. While we are completely forgiven at the moment of regeneration positionally (Acts 10:43), we need ongoing forgiveness in our experience.
Evangelism is only part of the picture, the starting point. In both these commissions this is taken for granted. We must make people disciples! We do so by first giving the message of eternal life, of course, but then by preaching repentance, forgiveness of sins, and teaching the new believers from the nations to observe all things that He has commanded.
The fact of the matter is that there is not ONE text in the New Testament that uses repentance or any of its cognates to denote a condition for the reception of eternal life and/or justification. Not one!
The verb used in Luke 24:47 and translated "preach" is the Greek verb kerusso, meaning "to proclaim aloud, announce, mention publicly, preach." Yet John certainly does not preach repentance (or any of its cognates) in his gospel, which was composed, by the way, for the express, written purpose of bringing people to faith in Christ and thus eternal life (John 20:30,31), the only explicitely evangelistic book in the canon. You don't preach a doctrine by being silent about it. Compare this to how explicit Peter is on the subject (Acts 2:38; 3:19).
John was there when Jesus spoke those words in Luke 24! In light of Christ's command to preach repentance, John did not do so! It isn't as if he doesn't know about repentance. He uses the word "repent" some 12 times in the book of Revelation. Besides Luke, John mentions repentance more than any other New Testament writer (even Paul!). It is significant that John was commanded to preach repentance but does not in his gospel, which was written for evangelistic purposes. John had plenty of opportunities to preach repentance as well, starting with his discourse on John the Baptist.
Along with this thought is the idea of "forgiveness of sins". Repent/repentance is found 0 times in the gospel of John, God's evangelistic love letter, but how many times is their mention of "forgiveness of sins"? Answer: virtually none. I say virtually none because there is one curious reference to it:
John 20:23
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
Whatever this verse is referencing, it is not talking about receiving forgiveness of sins by faith alone. For John, the matter is not forgiveness of sins, but the possesion or lack of possession of eternal life. For the one who has eternal life there is no judgment for eternal destiny; the one who has eternal life will be resurrected. John is not interested in forgiveness of sins in a salvific sense. For John, forgiveness of sins is a experiential, familial, and fellowship related doctrine. I do not deny that John understood the perfect forgiveness in Christ. Yet Paul is the one who deals with positional truth, and John's emphasis in his writings (the upper room discourse in his gospel and his 3 epistles) is experiential fellowship with God, and temporal forgiveness of committed sins is very important in that endeavor.
In Conclusion,
The Great Commission of Jesus Christ to His disciples communicated to them that they must be about the business of teaching the works and commandments that are required of born-again servants of the Lord, as well as doctrine vitally necessary to their growth.
The parallels of the Great Commision in Luke and in Matthew are striking and their message is complimentary.
So often in our readings of the Bible, we get caught up in lack of discernment. This happens to me frequently when I am not using the logical rules of hermeneutics.
One of the first rules of hermeneutics is the rule of affirmation. "Everything is identical with itself, or what it is, and we may affirm this of it."
Negatively stated, "It is erroneous to affirm the identity of two things unless Scripture does so". One must never say that two things are identical just because the reader finds them similar. In order for them to be identical, it must be affirmed that they are.
That is why one must distinguish between "like" or "similar" issues. For the understanding comes in the distinctions not in the similarities. This is "rightly dividing the word of truth".
So often, in my estimation, people use the words of Jesus or the writings of the New Testament authors in senses that are not warranted by the context. No greater danger in Bible exposition can occur than when this practice is used in soteriology. Jesus was definitely interested in getting people saved. Not doubt. But this was not his greatest emphasis. He desired that those who have received the free gift of eternal life would grow, mature, and be abundantly fruitful, to His and the Father's glory. The greatest emphasis in His teaching is discipleship/Christian life truth, not soteriological truth.
When theologians are not careful to abide by the law of affirmation, they fall into grievious error. This can be illustrated by the "biblical and theological mixologist": He throws a variety of scriptures and texts into a blender (a little of this, a dash of that, a pinch of this) and hits puree; the cocktail that is produced is a synthesis of soteriological and sanctification truth which is fatal, for eternal life is free, but discipleship truth expounds the hard nature and works of the servant of Christ. This cocktail is fatal.
The Water of Life is a pure and absolutely free gift. To add any other element to its reception (which is by simple and uncomplicated faith alone in Christ alone)is to subtly add poision to it.
My prayer is that we all seek to "divide" the Word of Truth correctly in order that in "that day" we will be approved. The eternal destinies of the hearers of your "gospel message" are on the line, therefore, we must use the KISS method:
KEEP IT SIMPLE, SAINT!
(You thought I was going to say stupid, didn't you?)
Antonio da Rosa
Lakeside, Calfornia
46 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And you are witnesses of these things. 49 Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."
In Luke 24:47 we have Luke's rendition of the Great Commission. Here the Lord said "that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." The Great Commission was not a commission to evangelize. This is taken for granted. In order to be an effective disciple of Christ, you must first be born again! The Great Commission was a commission to disciple those who believe. This ministry is to be done with reference to every nation.
Matt 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
In Matt 28:18-20 the Lord told the disciples to make disciples by baptizing them and teaching them to observe all that He had taught them. We don't conclude from this that baptism and discipleship instruction are conditions of eternal life, do we? In the same way, the Great Commission in Luke concerns discipleship. Repentance is indeed a condition of on going fellowship with God and of the forgiveness associated with that fellowship (e.g., Luke 5:32; 15:4-32). We know from 1 John 1:9 as well that all believers need ongoing fellowship/familial forgiveness from God. While we are completely forgiven at the moment of regeneration positionally (Acts 10:43), we need ongoing forgiveness in our experience.
Evangelism is only part of the picture, the starting point. In both these commissions this is taken for granted. We must make people disciples! We do so by first giving the message of eternal life, of course, but then by preaching repentance, forgiveness of sins, and teaching the new believers from the nations to observe all things that He has commanded.
The fact of the matter is that there is not ONE text in the New Testament that uses repentance or any of its cognates to denote a condition for the reception of eternal life and/or justification. Not one!
The verb used in Luke 24:47 and translated "preach" is the Greek verb kerusso, meaning "to proclaim aloud, announce, mention publicly, preach." Yet John certainly does not preach repentance (or any of its cognates) in his gospel, which was composed, by the way, for the express, written purpose of bringing people to faith in Christ and thus eternal life (John 20:30,31), the only explicitely evangelistic book in the canon. You don't preach a doctrine by being silent about it. Compare this to how explicit Peter is on the subject (Acts 2:38; 3:19).
John was there when Jesus spoke those words in Luke 24! In light of Christ's command to preach repentance, John did not do so! It isn't as if he doesn't know about repentance. He uses the word "repent" some 12 times in the book of Revelation. Besides Luke, John mentions repentance more than any other New Testament writer (even Paul!). It is significant that John was commanded to preach repentance but does not in his gospel, which was written for evangelistic purposes. John had plenty of opportunities to preach repentance as well, starting with his discourse on John the Baptist.
Along with this thought is the idea of "forgiveness of sins". Repent/repentance is found 0 times in the gospel of John, God's evangelistic love letter, but how many times is their mention of "forgiveness of sins"? Answer: virtually none. I say virtually none because there is one curious reference to it:
John 20:23
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
Whatever this verse is referencing, it is not talking about receiving forgiveness of sins by faith alone. For John, the matter is not forgiveness of sins, but the possesion or lack of possession of eternal life. For the one who has eternal life there is no judgment for eternal destiny; the one who has eternal life will be resurrected. John is not interested in forgiveness of sins in a salvific sense. For John, forgiveness of sins is a experiential, familial, and fellowship related doctrine. I do not deny that John understood the perfect forgiveness in Christ. Yet Paul is the one who deals with positional truth, and John's emphasis in his writings (the upper room discourse in his gospel and his 3 epistles) is experiential fellowship with God, and temporal forgiveness of committed sins is very important in that endeavor.
In Conclusion,
The Great Commission of Jesus Christ to His disciples communicated to them that they must be about the business of teaching the works and commandments that are required of born-again servants of the Lord, as well as doctrine vitally necessary to their growth.
The parallels of the Great Commision in Luke and in Matthew are striking and their message is complimentary.
So often in our readings of the Bible, we get caught up in lack of discernment. This happens to me frequently when I am not using the logical rules of hermeneutics.
One of the first rules of hermeneutics is the rule of affirmation. "Everything is identical with itself, or what it is, and we may affirm this of it."
Negatively stated, "It is erroneous to affirm the identity of two things unless Scripture does so". One must never say that two things are identical just because the reader finds them similar. In order for them to be identical, it must be affirmed that they are.
That is why one must distinguish between "like" or "similar" issues. For the understanding comes in the distinctions not in the similarities. This is "rightly dividing the word of truth".
So often, in my estimation, people use the words of Jesus or the writings of the New Testament authors in senses that are not warranted by the context. No greater danger in Bible exposition can occur than when this practice is used in soteriology. Jesus was definitely interested in getting people saved. Not doubt. But this was not his greatest emphasis. He desired that those who have received the free gift of eternal life would grow, mature, and be abundantly fruitful, to His and the Father's glory. The greatest emphasis in His teaching is discipleship/Christian life truth, not soteriological truth.
When theologians are not careful to abide by the law of affirmation, they fall into grievious error. This can be illustrated by the "biblical and theological mixologist": He throws a variety of scriptures and texts into a blender (a little of this, a dash of that, a pinch of this) and hits puree; the cocktail that is produced is a synthesis of soteriological and sanctification truth which is fatal, for eternal life is free, but discipleship truth expounds the hard nature and works of the servant of Christ. This cocktail is fatal.
The Water of Life is a pure and absolutely free gift. To add any other element to its reception (which is by simple and uncomplicated faith alone in Christ alone)is to subtly add poision to it.
My prayer is that we all seek to "divide" the Word of Truth correctly in order that in "that day" we will be approved. The eternal destinies of the hearers of your "gospel message" are on the line, therefore, we must use the KISS method:
KEEP IT SIMPLE, SAINT!
(You thought I was going to say stupid, didn't you?)
Antonio da Rosa
Lakeside, Calfornia
posted by Antonio at 7:31 PM
28 Comments:
Aha! I got the first comment this time.
The eternal destinies of the hearers of your "gospel message" are on the line
This is important. That is why it is worth discussing.
To add any other element to its reception by simple and uncomplicated faith alone in Christ alone is to subtly add poision to it.
Beware the leaven of the Pharisees.
Get a better night of sleep tonight, Antonio. :~)
Once again you've done a great job of addressing this issue. The blender analogy can probably be applied to every denominational issue. Thanks again for all your efforts.
[quote]He desired that those who have received the free gift of eternal life would grow, mature, and be abundantly fruitful, to His and the Father's glory. [/quote]
So you believe we grow on our own instead of growing because of the gift?
I believe the gift gives growth. This is to the Fathers glory.
Love
I appreciate your clarity on these all-important subjects!
Antonio and all,
I am only here and still reading because of Antonio coming to my blog and asking why it was removed from my roll.
If I and my beliefs are making you all uncomfortable and you would like me to leave please let me know I will follow the lead.
Love
And please make it straight forward...
Antonio,
When you came to my site and asked if you had offended me I thought for a moment that here was one that maybe cared if he offended.
I can see from this response that I was wrong. I hope your intelligence and my saintly stupidity makes you seem more manly.
Hi ambiance,
I think Antonio is probably at work. He didn't respond, right?
Excellent post, Antonio.
You covered this subject with a simplicity that would have been quite missing if I had dealt with it.
Had I written this post, being very ecclesiologically orientated, I would have got tangled up dealing with the complexities of the Dispensational position of the Great Commission in relation to Israel.
I am not sure you would quite agree with my Dispensational take on the Great Commission, but I certainly agree with your views on its soteriological singnificance.
Every Blessing in Christ
Matthew
Ambiance, you are not making me uncomfortable at all.
God Bless
Ambience,
I believe that it is a co-operation between the Christian and God. God provides the spirit and the regenerate seed, and man supplies the environment for that seed and gives the opportunity to the Spirit by yeilding to Him.
Antonio
Ten-Cent,
Repentance is not merely a change of mind, but a turning away from sins unto righteous behavior and includes the behavior that attends it.
John the Baptist explained repentance with doing certain works that he commanded selfish people, tax-collectors, and soldiers.
After Jesus talking to some Israelites about repentance, he gave this parable:
Luke 13:6-9
He also spoke this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?' 8 But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9 And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.'"
NKJV
Jesus commanded Israel nationally to repent. God waited on judging Israel, but after finding that they had not repented and bore the fruit of repentance, He judged Israel and in 70 AD Jerusalem was destroyed and 1 million Jews perished.
Repentance is not a mere change of mind, but a change of behavior.
Antonio
Kristi,
I think that this is your first comment on my blog!
I appreciate your visit. Questions and comments are always welcomed (objections: less so, hehe).
I am glad that you were able to get something out of my writing.
Antonio
Ambience,
I love you and your comments. You are welcomed here and I appreciate your visiting.
Did I offend you? Nothing in this post was directed at you. NOTHING. The hypothetical people in the Traditionalist religion were based upon people whom have been giving me a lot of trouble lately and calling into question my ability to teach.
Antonio
The tenebrous soteriological exegesis of certain theological pedagogues leaves one rather vacuous.
Ok, now for the English version. I plead with any rational reformer to efficiently and succinctly point out the fallible errors in this post.
This has helped me understand to a greater degree the immense need for discipleship. No wonder our babes in Christ are floundering on the rocks. They have been birthed and then left to fend for themselves. Those ones not fortunate enough to find milk are left to the wolves. They become prey for the various cults and fads of a sensually depraved society.
Hey, Antonio...I haven't seen you around lately! My friend has started a new Bible study...come on over...I know you love to talk about the bible!
http://bibleseek.blogspot.com/
Ten Cent, can I ask you:
Does a Christian ever need to repent of some sin?
If he does need to repent, has he lost his faith before he repents, or is he repenting while committing the sin that he needs to repent of?
Every Blessing in Christ
Matthew
Ten Cent, so suppose I as a believer am committing some sin, do I want to repent of it while I am committing it?
Am I in a repentant state while sinning?
If faith and repentance are inseparable, surely then either one is not in a state of faith while committing sin or else one is in a state of repentance while sinning. Does this not follow?
Every Blessing in Christ
Matthew
Brian, probably you could. We are saved through believing that we receive eteranl life through Christ's saving work, not by rejecting our pride.
Of course pride could lead one to follow a gospel of works righteousness that had no power to save.
However, there is nothing in saving faith that we exclude one who was proud and arrogant. Nowhere is humility presented as a condition of receiving eternal life.
Every Blessing in Christ
Matthew
[Is pride and self-righteosness sin?
Can one believe in the free gift of God without turning from it?]
Brian,
You have got to be kidding, some of the most proud men I have seen are pastors and christian leaders.
Salvation does not change our sin nature, rather it gives us the ability to walk by the Spirit. Prior to regeneration we are slaves of sin, but when the Spirit enters our spirit, we are born again. We are thus responsible to put to death the practices of the body by putting on the Lord Jesus Christ daily and making no provision for the flesh to fulfill it's lusts.
The battle with sin, in all its variant forms exists as long as the flesh exists.
But, it seems Bhedr, is on to something--he's getting at defining terms, which is all important in this discussion. If Brian is implying that pride is annihilated after one is saved, then I would disagree, along with Matthew; if he is getting to the motivational why question then I think we should go with that aways. In other words why would a person want to choose to believe or trust Christ in the first place?
I think, like good old Augustine, concupisence (self love) is the most adequate definition of sin--this even gets under pride and arrogance (i.e. expressions of self-love); serving as the motivational center for why we do what we do in the first place (Jer 17:9), i.e. choose self over God. After all this is what God looks at, isn't it (I Sam 16:7)?
P.S. Jim, I will be starting a new bi-monthly blog.
Brian,
Sorry man, I just don't follow you?
Could you please tell how long ago you trusted Christ as your savior?
blessings,
Jim
Bobby,
Aha! You couldn't resist, maybe you can dictate and someone else type for you, your wife maybe?
I look forward to reading your posts.
God bless,
Jim
Pride could certainly keep one from believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.
I would not deny that there is a certain humbling of oneself in believing that salvation is through Christ. However, one could still have an exagerrated view of one's self-worth while believing in Jesus Christ for salvation.
Every Blessing in Christ
Matthew
Brian, if you think that amounts in any way to repentance, I would say your view of repentance is seriously deficent.
God Bless
Matthew
Brian, with regards to your BTW, I answered your question on my blog. Is there a problem with your computer?
So, repentacne is not actually necessary for salvation, then? Did Jesus say 'If you do not start repenting you will perish'?
God Bless
Matthew
Brian, you have my apologies.
THe comment disappeared for some reason.
I think blogger was malfuntioning yesterday. I actually received notification of your comment four times and for some reason my comment was deleted.
I have posted my response a second time.
Every Blessing in Christ
Matthew
Ten Cent, I agree with most of what you said.
We are indwellt with the Holy Spirit who enables us to be conformed to Christ.
However, if we walk in the flesh, not the Spirit then we will not be conformed to Christ. We need to die to ourselves and to die to the flesh for the fruits of sanctification to be realised in us.
Every Blessing in Christ
Matthew
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