This article addresses the doctrine that in addition to putting one's faith in Jesus as their Savior, a person must also repent of their sins, in order to be saved.
"Repenting of sins" is then defined variously as:
Sin is broadly defined by God as "the transgression of the Law":
1 John 3:4
4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Therefore, anyone preaching that someone must "believe in Jesus and repent of their sins" for Salvation, is preaching "believe in Jesus, and keep the Law" to be saved.
However, one will not find anyone admitting that this is what this doctrine teaches, even though it does, because everyone who knows even a little bit about the Bible knows how absurdly anti-Scriptural teaching justification by the Law is, so those who teach it work to obfuscate this fact.
"The Law" is not just certain aspects of the Old Testament that we do not follow anymore. It is the very standard of righteousness (1 John 5:17). It contains loving God with all of one's heart, and loving one's neighbor as themselves - two commandments which encapsulate almost every good work or avoidance of evil - of which the Lord says, "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40).
However, the Bible is clear in teaching that a person is not justified by keeping the Law:
Galatians 2:16
16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Therefore, this teaching nullifies the entire purpose of the New Testament, and the payment of Jesus Christ. Those who preach it do not understand the scope of the Law, nor do they even attempt to quantify just how well it needs to be kept to be saved. Instead, they float out an unquantified, unknowable requirement of "repenting of your sins" to be saved, without understanding that it is keeping the Law, and without defining how well one has to keep it.
How many sins one has to repent of is left undefined because, logically, if obedience to the Law is required for Salvation, then perfect obedience is required, as justification by the Law is an all-or-nothing situation (James 2:10). If one bind themselves to keeping any part of it in regard to their eternal destiny, they have made themselves a debtor to keep the entire Law perfectly (Galatians 5:3), which is why no one has ever been justified by keeping the Law (Galatians 2:16, 3:11, Romans 3:20).
Galatians 2-4, and Romans 3-4, are five chapters almost entirely dedicated to debunking the heresy that the Law plays a role in one's justification or Salvation. Those who preach this false doctrine are bringing people back under the Law, which cannot give life (Galatians 3:21) but only condemnation (Romans 4:15). It was only given to point a person to the Savior (Galatians 3:24), and has absolutely no role to play in justifying them:
Romans 10:4
4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
Therefore, believers do not need to keep the Law to be saved, which by the definition of "sin" (1 John 3:4), means that they do not have to "repent of their sins" to be saved either.
Even discounting the fact that this doctrine is the Legalism warned of so often in the New Testament, someone would have to be totally ignorant of what the Bible calls a "sin" in order to think that repenting of sins does not require extreme amounts of work.
For example:
James 4:17
17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
The above verse demonstrates that any form of laziness or procrastination is sinful. By definition, repenting of that sin requires doing work.
Many of the commandments of God are commandments to do something, and so by definition, repenting of those sins requires doing whatever action that they are telling a person to do. Some of these "positive" commandments include:
There are many such examples of commandments in Scripture, which require someone to do work in order for them not to be violated.
In addition to all of the sins that can be defined by looking at commandments, it can also be demonstrated from Scripture that the command to "repent of your sins" to be saved is a commandment to be perfectly righteous, as the Bible says:
1 John 5:17
17 All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.
Repenting of sins, then, is repenting of all unrighteousness, which takes extreme dedication and effort, in contrast to Salvation, which is "not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).
The above passages are proof that those who teach this doctrine do not understand how high the Bible's standard for "sin" actually is. By telling someone to "repent of sin", one is telling them to be perfectly righteous, and do many things that require work on their end. If they were automatic, or didn't require work on the part of the believer, they would not need to be given as commandments in the first place.
In summary - repenting of sin is not just stopping doing the bad things that one does. It is a requirement to actively do all the good things as well. Both of these things take work on behalf of the believer, which explains the hundreds of exhortations in the New Testament to do them, none of which would be required if it were automatic, or guaranteed.
Unlike the new birth, which happens at a single point in time, repenting of sin is a lifelong process, which requires renewed effort each and every day to maintain:
Luke 9:23
23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Hebrews 3:13
13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Likewise, we see in the Lord's prayer, which is intended to be a model for "daily" prayer (Matthew 6:11), that we are told to confess our sins, which also implies turning from and forsaking those sins:
Luke 11:3-4
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
So, does one's Salvation hang in the balance every single day, based on whether or not they maintain their repentance and submission, to some undefined degree, well short of perfection? Do one need an unbroken chain of repentance and submission, in order to prove one's faith is "real", so that they go to Heaven when they die?
Any time someone sins, assuming they know what the sin is (which if they do not, that could be another sin of neglecting to study God's Law, 2 Timothy 2:15), they do so willfully (1 Corinthians 10:13). At that moment, which happens many times, every single day (1 John 1:8), they have un-repented of that sin. Therefore, if "repenting of sin" is a requirement for Salvation, they have just lost their Salvation, unless "repenting of sin" has been redefined into "repenting of some sins, sometimes".
This doctrine logically and Biblically demands sinless perfection from the moment of Salvation until death, yet it is watered down by its proponents in an attempt to make it seem more doable. This takes the holy, perfect standard of God, and lowers it into what is achievable by the efforts of sinners, living in a corrupt body of flesh (Romans 7:14-25). It also takes the new birth, and stretches it out over a lifetime.
Almost every single verse in the Bible that uses the word "repent" is interpreted by proponents of this doctrine to mean "turn from sins". In reality, the word "repent" simply means "to turn", and context must determine what is being turned from. In regard to Salvation, one is turning from unbelief to belief in the Savior.
From Scripture, it can be demonstrated that, in regard to Salvation, the person who has believed in Christ has repented:
Luke 13:2-3
2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?
3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Comparing the above with John 3:16:
John 3:16
16 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.
In John, Jesus says that whoever believes shall not perish. In Luke, He says one will perish if they do not repent. The two words are used interchangeably. That is because in regard to Salvation, one is repenting of trusting in themselves to trusting in the Savior:
2 Timothy 2:25
25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
Once again, one is repenting of trust in themselves, and believing the Gospel message, putting their faith in Christ instead:
Mark 1:15
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Matthew 21:32
32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
The word "repent" can be used to talk about turning from sin, but that is never the context that it's used in when referring to Salvation. Such a message would be one of self-justification by working to obey the Law of God - whether it be the Natural Law (Romans 2:14-15), Mosaic Law, or Law of Christ (Galatians 6:2). All require effort to obey, otherwise, each believer would be sinless.
Therefore the word "repent" needs to be carefully interpreted whenever it appears in Scripture. The only thing one needs to "turn from", given a Salvific context, is unbelief to belief.
Free Grace Christians are not against repenting of sin. Neither are we against submitting the Lordship of Christ. Instead, because these things must be done daily, making them a requirement for Salvation makes Salvation utterly unknowable before one's dying breath, and also turns Salvation into an arduous, lifelong commitment to obey God, which if one succeeds in to an unknown degree, they get to go to Heaven.
Somehow, this all must be shoe-horned into what the Bible calls a "free gift" (Romans 5:15-18, 6:23), and "not of works" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Also, the event of the new birth must be turned into a process contingent on daily obedience, and since daily obedience is never perfect, the new birth is made unknowable. In light of the fact that living without sin is impossible (1 John 1:8, Ecclesiastes 7:20), making it a requirement for Salvation bars everyone from Heaven, unless God's perfect standard is lowered, and replaced with an imperfect one, that a person can meet via diligent effort, in order to justify themselves.