Granted Repentance Unto Life

by Terry Wane Benton

A drunkard might repent of being a drunkard and hurting his family, but such repentance is not such a repentance that makes him right with God regarding all his sins. It is a needed repentance that helps his physical well-being and his family's quality of life, but it is not God granting him “repentance unto life." In other words, he is still dead spiritually in relation to God and the spiritual life of reconciliation he could have with God. So, repentance of a particular behavior and repentance unto spiritual life are two different things.

There are Calvinists who believe that you cannot repent or believe unless God gives an “irresistible grace” that changes the sin nature first and gives a person faith that, in turn, causes one to repent. Others think of that divinely given change of the sin-nature as “repentance” that leads to the ability to believe. That really doesn’t fit the cases of conversion we see in the scriptures.

For example, Peter preached the gospel to the 3000 on Pentecost, and the gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). Hearing the gospel led to their conviction: they were lost and under condemnation. They were “pricked in their hearts” (Acts 2:37). They cried, “What shall we do?” The gospel was the power of God to begin breaking down their heart of stone and rebuilding a tender, compliant heart. This was not an “irresistible grace,” something God was forcing upon them. But thousands more were hearing the same gospel but resisting, while about 3000 were not resisting the truth of the gospel. In crying out, “What shall we do?”, they showed a good heart, a heart ready for God to rebuild into a new one.

By the Spirit speaking through Peter for them to “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for remission of sins” (Acts 2:38), the Spirit was working to bring about a new birth “of the water and Spirit” (John 3:1-6). The Spirit gave the power of this “incorruptible seed, the word of God” (I Peter 1:22ff) to convict these hearts and grant them the path to remission of sins. Change of certain behaviors without doing it “in the name of Jesus Christ” is repentance of a particular sin, but it is not “repentance unto life.”

There could have been some Jews gathered that day who decided to quit fornicating, but not because of faith in Jesus, but these 3000 are convicted because of Jesus and are encouraged to repent in view of their desire to get right with Jesus. One repentance is not granted unto life, but one repentance is granted unto life, a spiritual fellowship and reconciliation with God. One quits fornicating to keep from ruining others’ lives and his own well-being, and the other repents because he wants to get right with God through faith in Jesus. One is granted “repentance unto life,” while the other is repenting of a particular sin that is not setting anything right with God. The sins are still on the record, and this person is still condemned before God. Only through the gospel can repentance be granted as “repentance unto life.”

I want to use the conversion of the 3000 on Pentecost to show some common Calvinist and semi-Calvinist errors. I’ll quote some statements and show how they relate to the conversions we see in Acts.

"Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5:31).

"When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life” (Acts 11:18).

These verses show that God gives or grants repentance that leads to life. That is the point we have been making above. So, these verses help to establish that not all repentance leads to life. You can repent to improve the quality of life here, but unless the gospel is the power behind it, it is not unto life (spiritual reconciliation with God).

"If God granted us the right to repent, it's safe to say that He did this while we were in our sins; otherwise, we would have nothing to repent of. So, did we do anything righteous to be given this right to repent?"

The only thing we did was listen to the gospel honestly. But listening to the gospel gives God the chance to start breaking down our sinful hearts. The sinner can resist the Spirit’s call in the gospel, or the sinner can listen and let the Spirit call to them in the gospel. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. We can resist or not resist. If we do not resist, God, through the power of the gospel, “grants us the right to repent. I would ask this particular lady if the 3000 repented out of a clean heart or out of an unclean heart, because later she will say that "repentance leads to salvation." These are conflicting positions.

"No. And if we did nothing righteous to be given the right to repent of our sins, would this right to repent be considered a gift by you?"

Is it good or bad to resist the call of the Spirit in the gospel? We are not yet made right with God by giving a fair hearing to the gospel, but hearing the gospel is a right thing to do, and it is necessary on our end to listen. It is a gift that Jesus gives us the right to do. He was not forced to give this right, but out of His mercy and grace, He gave those who would hear His word the right to repent and be baptized in His name for remission of sins (Acts 2:37-41).

"And if you consider it a gift that God has offered to you, even though you were full of sin when He offered it to you, do you believe that taking that gift makes the gift any less than a gift?"

Salvation is a gift (Romans 6:23), and the conditions to get us there are “granted,” thus a gift. That would include baptism in the name of Jesus. That, too, is “granted” unto life. God offered it out of His grace, and any merit of ours did not force God.

"You shouldn't believe that. If you accepted the gift and "cashed in" your "repentance check" to pay off your debt, why would you want to take credit for "earning" that money when it was given to you as a gift?"

I agree that we did not “earn” God paying off our debt just because we repented and were baptized in the name of Jesus. We are accepting the gift (“you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”) when we repent and are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. We are doing this “for remission of sins” because God offered it on these terms, not because we earned it at all.

"You shouldn't. We don't earn our 'repentance card.' We either accept it as a gift or we reject it by attempting to take credit for earning it all on our own."

I agree. We accept the gift on His terms, and we are not earning it all on our own when we “gladly receive His word and are baptized” (Acts 2:37-41).

"Repentance leads to salvation, and both are gifts given to us by God, and He alone should get all of the glory for providing you those gifts. You should not be attempting to take credit for something that no human has the 'right' to earn."

I completely agree with this statement. Notice that earlier it was claimed that you cannot obey anything without first being given a clean heart, but now the same person is claiming you are still not saved while you are repenting. She now says, “Repentance leads to salvation." Her first position was wrong, but her new position is correct. One can be on the road of repentance but not yet have salvation from the condemnation of sin. The moment that repentance brings to the clean conscience, which is salvation, is when the penitent person is “buried with Christ in baptism” (Romans 6:3-6), at which point God applies the blood of Christ, forgiving our sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16; Romans 6:3-6; Colossians 2:12-13). Repentance is granted unto life, and the “newness of life” is when we rise up together with Christ in baptism.

"We've only been given the 'right' to 'receive' gifts. We have not been given the 'right' to 'earn' them."

I agree! I hope all can see that, in the case of the conversion of the 3000, the gift of remission of sins was granted after repentance unto life and baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for remission of sins. Neither thing “earns” the gifts. But reception of the gifts comes, not at the point of faith’s conviction, not at the point of faith’s repentance, but at the point of faith’s baptism into Christ (Galatians 3:26-27). It is not earned. It is granted as a gift from God.