The Impossible Gospel. Joel Collison
will attempt to prove that "to change your mind" is the biblical definition of "repent." John 20:31 says, "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name." This verse is stating that the book of John was written for the purpose of bringing people to eternal life. That is why I quote John often.
Now mysteriously, the words "repent" and "repentance" are NEVER used once in the book of John. If repent means to change your mind, then that is understandable, because in John it says to believe. IF YOU START TO BELIEVE SOMETHING THAT YOU DIDN'T BELIEVE BEFORE, YOU CHANGED YOUR MIND. Now if repent means something else, you have a big problem. The book that claims its purpose is to bring people to Christ, missed half the gospel! It got the believe, but it missed the repent! Would God make a mistake like that?
Here are some examples of "repent" being used in the Bible. Genesis 6:6 "And it REPENTED the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart." Exodus 32:14 "And the Lord REPENTED of the evil which he thought to do unto his people." Judges 2:18 "And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it REPENTED the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them." Here are three examples of God repenting. Did God turn from all known sin? No, He's perfect! That is blasphemy to say such a thing! Repent in these Scriptures simply meant God changed His mind.
Exodus 13:17 "And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people REPENT when they see war, and they return to Egypt." Interestingly, God did not want Israel to repent! Also, why would repenting cause the Israelites not to want to go to the promise land? If repentance meant turning from sin, then this verse has many problems. One of the countless problem is that it would contradict II Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." We see Exodus 13 makes much more sense if repent means "to change your mind."
Here's an example from the New Testament. Matthew 27:3 "Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, REPENTED himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders." Judas repented? Two verses later he killed himself.
This verse makes a lot more sense if repent means he changed his mind. He wished he hadn't betrayed Jesus. This does not mean that Judas got saved, and it definitely doesn't mean he quit sinning or tried to quit sinning, because the next thing he did was hang himself.
I have tried to give some of the many examples where "repent" can only mean one thing. The verses that you think work well with a different definition work just as well with the context of changing your mind. Will you repent about what the biblical definition of repent is? I hope so.
I pray I have made it clear that I do believe repentance is required to go to Heaven, but at the same time we don't need to stress it. This is because when someone BELIEVES, they have repented. This point makes reading the Bible so much easier, and it solves many so-called contradictions in the Bible.
Mark 1:15 "And [Christ] saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel."
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