"For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears." Acts 20:29-31

There is No Saving Grace Without Repentance Explaining the Vital Importance of Repentance in the Gospel of Salvation in Jesus Christ This 165-page book is free to read here on our website, or available for purchase in paperback or Kindle from the Amazon Store. Click the image for more details.

The title of this book will result in some people falsely accusing me of teaching a works-based heresy, which is not true because I firmly believe that we Christians are saved by grace through faith, and I will provide more Scripture on that later in this book to prove the matter. However, the reason I am saying this in the first paragraph is because, often, such false accusers (i.e. liars) are so lazy, they judge a book by its cover, without even opening the first page to investigate the details of what I am teaching.

For those of you who have read this far, I want to commend you for taking the time to search the matter out thoroughly before judging what I teach. It is good to take time to discern what a man teaches, and judge the truth of the matter, but the Bible tells us that those who judge BEFORE hearing a man out are fools that should be ashamed of themselves.

He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.
-Proverbs 18:13

If you have ever heard doctrine on repentance preached, odds are that you have heard it preached in complete error. I know that, for some readers, a statement like that may sound farfetched, but this is because the average person has no idea how many pastors have distorted and twisted the Biblical doctrine of repentance into something corrupt that is leading millions of hearers AWAY from the true Gospel of Salvation in Jesus Christ.

In most church buildings today, you will hear a lot of preaching on faith, and this is because faith is not only a relatively easy subject to preach about (i.e. it does not require much study or preparation), but it is also something that is not generally offensive to people. Everyone has faith in something they cannot detect with their five senses. Witches have faith because they must believe in pagan spirits. Atheists have faith because they must believe in things like the chimp-to-man model of Evolutionism, since no one has ever seen such a process happen in nature. (Comically, they will often retort that they have 'confidence', not faith, but ironically, the word 'confidence' means "faith.") Even Satanists have faith because they must believe in the Devil, and though Satan is doing his best to keep people away from faith in Christ, he has no need to corrupt the concept of faith, nor would it make sense for him to do so because people can easily believe in things that are not true, which makes it harder for them to hear the truth, and that is one of Satan's goals.

However, what Satan has been working very hard to do is corrupt the concept of repentance, which is a vital component of the Gospel of Salvation, and the Devil knows that if people believe that repentance means something other than its Biblical definition, then they may never find the way to eternal life in Jesus Christ. Of course, a man must actually be looking for eternal life in Christ to find it, which requires the help of the Holy Spirit, but even if he is sitting in the front and center pew of a church building every week, the odds are heavily in favor that he will not hear the fullness of the Gospel of Salvation, and that would help explain why so few people find the straight and narrow path.

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
-Matthew 7:13-14

Before we take a look at the Biblical definition of repentance, I want readers to consider the words of Jesus Christ because, currently, nearly a third of the entire world claims to be "Christian." If that were true, then what Jesus Christ taught here would be a false statement because it would mean that MANY have found the way to eternal life, but because we know that Jesus (who is God, John 14:8-9) cannot lie (Tts 1:2), that means Jesus was telling us the truth, which also means there is a problem with many of the people who claim to be of Christ.

Of course, there are many false doctrines being taught in the world, and because of that, there are many false converts, which is something that Jesus preached about quite often, and we will take a look at some of that doctrine later in this book. The Scripture we just read was near the end of what is commonly known as "The Sermon on the Mount," which is from the book of Matthew in chapters five through seven, and if we continue reading, there are some extremely important verses that often get glossed over in church buildings:

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
-Matthew 7:21-23

To summarize, many souls are going to be brought before the Lord Jesus Christ on the final Day of Judgment, and they will call him "Lord" because they claimed to have served Him for their entire lives, which is why they argue with Him about how many works they had done in His name for so many years. Salvation only comes by the grace of Jesus Christ through faith, which means that a man cannot be saved (i.e. justified by God) through his works, or in other words, no amount of "good boy points" will earn someone a place in the Kingdom of God.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
-Ephesians 2:8-9

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.
-Galatians 2:16

I read the Sermon on the Mount shortly after being saved, but it was not until many years later that it occurred to me (or rather, the Spirit of God helped me to see) what all this really meant. On the Day of Judgment, the Lord Jesus Christ will separate what He called His sheep (i.e. the true faithful saints) from the goats (i.e. those who professed to be "Christians," but are not), which, from a distance, may look like they are part of the flock, but on closer inspection, they are not sheep.

And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
-Matthew 25:32-33

Bear with me, because as I walk through the Scriptures on this, it is going to lead us into the doctrine of repentance, even though the word 'repent' is never used in this passage. As I just pointed out in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told us that the goats arguing with Him are dedicated churchgoers, who very likely attended their church buildings every week to sing songs about the grace and mercy of Christ, gave lots of money, and volunteered their time, but Jesus said He does not know them.

Of course, as a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ, this made me tremble in fear (Isa 66:2), and I desperately wanted to know what the difference was between the two groups. Since both sides claim to have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, and we cannot be saved by our works, why are some going to hell and others going to heaven?

What are the goats on the left missing?

Obviously, simply saying "belief on Jesus" is NOT the answer, otherwise, they would all be going to heaven. Another answer some readers might give is "TRUE faith," but that begs the question: "What is the difference between TRUE faith and FAKE faith?"

Thankfully, the Lord Jesus Christ gave us a clue in Matthew 25, so we just need to keep reading:

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
-Matthew 25:34-40

Some readers might be thinking that this is a list of works one must do to enter the Kingdom of God, or that we have to do works to the right people to gain credit, but we just read the Scripture (from Ephesians and Galatians) which told us that no man can gain justification and enter the Kingdom of God on the merits of his own works. This is NOT about works, and the mystery to this puzzle is solved by comparing the reactions of sheep with the goats:

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
-Matthew 25:41-46

So on one hand, there are the sheep who, when Jesus Christ tells them of their good deeds unto Him, are confused about how they had done these things for Him, but on the other hand, there are the goats who, when Jesus Christ tells them of their lack of good deeds unto Him, they are confused about how they had NOT done these things for Him. As we read in Matthew 7, the goats argued about how many good works they had done in the name of Jesus Christ. The key note to take away from this is that one group does not see their works as worthy of praise, while the other group demands to be praised for their works.

So what is the difference between the sheep and the goats?

HUMILITY.

humility (n): freedom from pride and arrogance; lowliness of mind; a deep sense of one's own unworthiness in the sight of God, self-abasement, penitence for sin, and submission to the divine will
(See 'humility', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved June 2, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

The reason I typically use Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary is because he based many of the definitions in his dictionary on the context of their usage in the King James Bible, and I found it interesting that he correctly adds "penitence for sin" to this definition. Let's take a look at the definition of penitence:

penitence (n): repentance; pain; sorrow or grief of heart for sins or offenses; contrition
(See 'penitence', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved June 2, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

You might have noticed that the first word on the list to define penitence is the word 'repentance', which is the topic of this book, and you may have also noticed that the word 'penitence' can be partially seen in the word 'repentance', and that is because they come from similar origins.

The following are quotations from the Online Etymology Dictionary (i.e. etymology is the study of word origins) for the words 'penitence' and 'repentance':
"penitence: 'sorrow for committing sin or for having offended, with the intention of amending one's life; mortification undertaken to make amends for sin,' c. 1200, from Old French penitence (11c.) and directly from Latin pænitentia 'repentance' (Medieval Latin penitentia)...

repentance: 'state of being penitent, sorrow and contrition for sin or wrongdoing resulting in vigorous abandonment of it in one's life,' from Old French repentance "penitence" (12c.), from present-participle stem of repentir"
(See 'penitence' and 'repentance', Online Etymology Dictionary, retrieved June 2, 2022, [https://www.etymonline.com])

Some readers may never have heard this before because, if you have gained any education from modern-day church buildings and so-called "Christian" ministries, you likely learned that the word 'repent' means "to turn from sin" or "to change one's mind," but that is simply not true, and we will cover the Scripture to prove this point soon. I want to first point out that not only do the word origins show that 'repentance' has always meant "grief and sorrow," but even our modern usage of words demonstrates that fact.

For example, this is where we get the word 'penitentiary', which is most commonly used to indicate prisons, and the following is from a modern-day dictionary:

penitentiary (n): a place for imprisonment, reformatory discipline, or punishment
(See 'penitentiary', Random House Dictionary, 2022, [dictionary.com]; See also Collins English Dictionary, 10th Edition, William Collins Sons & Co, 2012)

Why does the word 'penitent' appear in the word to describe a prison? Because a prison is a place that a criminal is sent, in which we hope that, by his punishment, he might have grief and sorrow for his wrongdoing.

The Bible does not use the word 'penitent', but it does use the word 'impenitent', which has the prefix im- that means "the opposite of." This indicates someone who does NOT have grief and sorrow of their wrongdoing, and now that we know this, read the following verses from Romans 2 more carefully:

And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same [i.e. a hypocrite], that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart [i.e. one who rejects grief and sorrow for sin] treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
-Romans 2:3-6

As we can see, Paul pointed out that the goodness of God leads us to repentance, but those who reject repentance are "impenitent," meaning that they have no sorrow for their sins. As we go through this book, you will see this same concept of the doctrine of repentance taught hundreds of times throughout the Old and New Testaments.

Now let's look up the word 'repentance' in the same modern-day dictionary:

repentance (n): deep sorrow, compunction, or contrition for a past sin, wrongdoing, or the like; regret for any past action
(See 'repentance', Random House Dictionary, 2022, [dictionary.com]; See also Collins English Dictionary, 10th Edition, William Collins Sons & Co, 2012)

Personally, I do not completely trust everything in modern-day dictionaries for a number of reasons, but that aside, even though there is corruption in a lot of them, the true meaning of repentance is still preserved. Let's also look at Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary under the word 'repentance', and we will see that they match:

repentance (n): sorrow for any thing done or said; the pain or grief which a person experiences in consequence of the injury or inconvenience produced by his own conduct
(See 'repentance', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved June 2, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

There are likely some readers who have never heard of this before, and you may be wondering why something so simple, so commonplace in definition, is so rarely preached. There are a lot of reasons for that, and I will cover some of those later in this book, but before we get to reasons why the true meaning of repentance is being suppressed in most church buildings, we should first prove the concept from Scripture.

The Lord God gave us the general definition of repentance at the very beginning of the Bible, going all the way back to Genesis 6:

And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
-Genesis 6:5-6

There are many places in the Bible (most specifically in the King James Bible) where words are defined in this manner, namely, the same instance is described twice to give the reader an understanding of two or more words. In this passage, God tells us that He repented, and then stated it a second time, giving us the general definition that 'repent' means "grief of the heart."

This is a passage of Scripture I find very interesting because, if someone attempts to change the definition of the word 'repent', it creates massive contradictions in doctrine right at the beginning of the Bible. Though there are a number of wild definitions I have heard for the word 'repent', there are three main contenders that I know of, and they are:

Repentance means "to turn" or "to turn from sin." Repentance means "to change" or "to change one's mind." Repentance means "grief and sorrow."

Now I will analyze Genesis 6:6 by using all three definitions, so we can see how it applies. I would ask readers to carefully consider all three, and decide for yourself which one makes the most sense in the context.

The Lord God created mankind, but mankind sinned, and so because of His great mercy and kindness on us, God initiated His plan (instituted before the world began, Tts 1:2) to buy back mankind. He prophesied of the coming of His Son, who would defeat sin and death, and over the course of the next few hundred years, mankind became so corrupt, there was only one faithful man left in the world (i.e. Noah).

Now let's insert the various definitions of 'repent' into Genesis 6:6 to see which one fits the context:

And God turned away from making man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

If God turned from His decision to make mankind on earth, then we would not be here today. Does it make sense to say that the omniscient (i.e. all-knowing) God turned from making man on earth, only to turn back to making man on earth?

And God changed his mind that he made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

The following verse is God's first prophecy of the Messiah:

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
-Genesis 3:15

If God changed His mind, then His prophecy of the coming of Jesus Christ in Genesis 3:15 would have been vanity. Does it make sense to say that God lied in Genesis 3:15 about the coming of the Messiah because He got emotional and changed His mind in Genesis 6:6?

Or, does it make more sense to say the following:

And God had sorrow that he made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

When God looked out on mankind, and saw the wickedness and the continual evil thoughts of their hearts, it inwardly pained Him.

grief (n): the pain of mind produced by loss, misfortune, injury or evils of any kind; sorrow; regret
(See 'grief', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved June 3, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

This not only hurt the Lord God because He knew how far his creation had fallen from Him, but also because it is His duty as the Almighty Judge to punish the wicked, and because the Lord God is so kind and gentle at heart, the Bible tells us that God takes no pleasure in the death of evil men.

Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
-Ezekiel 33:11

Obviously, God has no sin, and therefore, He has nothing to repent of in terms of wrongdoing. However, all men have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23), which means that we must come to repentance towards God, and He is not willing that any perish if it can be helped, but the only way they can have eternal life in Jesus Christ is if they are given the GIFT of repentance.

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.
-2 Peter 3:9

And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
-2 Timothy 2:24-25

Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour [i.e. Jesus Christ], for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
-Acts 5:31

There are many leavened preachers who teach that repentance is a work, and the reason they do this is because they believe it means "to turn from sin" and "to change one's mind," which would be works. This is why some of them remove the doctrine of repentance from salvation, and they do so to their own destruction (2Pe 3:16) because the Bible makes it very clear that repentance is given by God.

Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
-Acts 5:31

When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.
-Acts 11:18

grant (v): to give; to bestow or confer on without compensation
(See 'grant', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved June 23, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

Grief and sorrow of a godly sort is a gift in the same sense that faith and grace are also free gifts.

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
-Hebrews 12:2

But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
-Romans 5:15

There are many types of tears in this world. There are tears of happiness, tears of physical pain, tears of embarrassment, tears of laughter, tears of joy, tears of rage, etc. However, the tears of godly sorrow are unique in that they are a gift from God that brings a man to humility, by which he grieves in his heart that he has done wrong against God, acknowledging the truth of his broken state, and his need for the Savior.

True repentance is exactly the same as the repentance a child has when he has done wrong against his parents. When a young boy has done wrong against his father, and he understands and acknowledges that wrong, he comes to his father in tears of his wrongdoing, sorry that he hurt and upset his father by what he had done.

This is why the Lord Jesus Christ told us that no man will enter the Kingdom of God unless he has first humbled himself as a little child:

But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.
-Luke 18:16-17

What I find amazing about these verses is the lack of understanding in most churchgoers when reading them. I grew up going to a number of church buildings, and whenever I heard preaching about this, it was always geared toward boys and girls of a young age, but this is not what Jesus was talking about.

Please do not misunderstand, I am not saying that God has no love for children; of course, He does. What I am saying is that Jesus was referring to children as an analogy, saying "for of such is the kingdom of God," meaning that the Kingdom of God is made up of those who have come to their Heavenly Father in humility.

Matthew 18 is often quoted concerning this subject, but now that we have this understanding, let's read it a bit more carefully:

And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
-Matthew 18:3-8

This is not to say that we ought not to protect our children, and I firmly believe that anyone who seeks to intentionally harm our children should be brought swiftly to a fair trial before our courts, and if found guilty, should be executed by our government. However, in this passage, Jesus was not referring to physical children, but to spiritual children, meaning those who have been humbled before the Lord God, brought to their knees in tears of godly sorrow for their wrongdoing, are part of the Kingdom of Heaven, and all those who would offend them, either to do them evil or to lead them astray, should beware of God's wrath.

We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth; So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
-2 Thessalonians 1:3-10

This is how precious and highly valued the humble children of God are in His sight. Just as a father would bring forth his wrath against anyone who would seek to harm his sons and daughters, the Lord God will do the same on His appointed Day of Wrath and Judgment.

The concept of godly sorrow (i.e. repentance) is different from the sorrow the world has for various things they experience. Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, explained this to us in more detail, and I will break this down verse by verse with a detailed explanation:

For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season.
-2 Corinthians 7:8

The previous letter that Paul had written to Corinth, in which he had to address the fornication and incestuous relationships that existed among the church, was written with sorrow, in that he was grieved in his heart for having to write it. This is a grief I know very well in which I am forced to write letters (often through emails) that I know will make the receiving party angry and upset, but I have to do it for their sake and for the sake of Christ. However, Paul was pleased that he no longer repented (i.e. he no longer had sorrow in his heart over the matter) because the church had shown genuine repentance of their wrongdoing, even if it was just for a short time. (i.e. Some had repented, and then returned to their previous ways after a time.)

Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
-2 Corinthians 7:9

The understanding of this verse is that a man can be made sorry of a thing he has done, but what caused Paul to rejoice was when someone was sorry after a godly manner, which is the core concept behind repentance. As Paul goes on to talk about in the next verse, there are two different kinds of sorrow, and we Christians need to rely on the same discernment of the Holy Spirit that Paul had, so that we can tell the difference between the two.

True repentance towards God had an effect on the church in Corinth, specifically in their speech and behavior, as a result of the letter Paul had sent them, and this teaches us that when godly sorrow works in a man, it moves him to eventually love such a letter of rebuke, correction, and instruction, that once the grief of the realization settles, he is well pleased with the rebuke that pointed out his error. However, those who forsake the way of Christ end up grieving over the correction itself (Pro 15:10), instead of properly grieving over the wrongdoing which they have committed, and the end result is typically much different, leading to remarks of contention, railing, and strife against the person who gave the correction.

For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
-2 Corinthians 7:10

Paul is providing the reasoning behind his previous statement, to demonstrate the core foundation of why the church in Corinth received his letter willingly, and had not been hurt by it. They had not come to godly sorrow out of any self-achieved abilities or intellectual prowess, nor was it from any natural conscience that God had installed into the minds and hearts of men (Rom 2:15), but rather, it was repentance of a godly sort, in which a child of God is humbled before Him and brought to sorrow of the grief he/she has caused God by his/her words and actions.

This core humility is a foundation that God lays within His children upon their salvation in Jesus Christ. (Heb 6:1) Those who do not have the repentant foundation of a broken heart and contrite spirit will not be saved, and we will go over more verses on that later in this book.

This is the reason that false doctrines about repentance (i.e. assertions that the word 'repent' means "to turn from sin" or "to change one's mind") are so dangerous because when the Biblical definition of the word 'repent' is changed, it changes the meaning of the teaching of Scripture, and therefore, it also changes the meaning of the Gospel of Salvation in Jesus Christ. To change the meaning of 'repent' from "grief" to "turning or changing" creates a works-based doctrine that keeps people in the blindness of their pride, only to be rejected by Jesus Christ in the end because they placed their hopes in a self-serving and self-glorifying heresy.

pride (n): inordinate self-esteem; an unreasonable conceit of one's own superiority in talents, beauty, wealth, accomplishments, rank or elevation in office, which manifests itself in lofty airs, distance, reserve, and often in contempt of others
(See 'pride', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved June 7, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

The gift of godly sorrow is not a worldly type of sorrow. Worldly sorrow is when a man has sorrow of his wrongdoing in a common manner, where a man sees himself in contradiction and violation of his own selfish set of principles and worldviews, which is most often triggered by a loss of material wealth, personal relationships, or personal liberty.

For example, a man might have been abusive to his children when they were young, and when they are older, they do not have a close relationship with him, or he does not see them at all. Therefore, he sorrows of his wrongdoing for the sake of his loss, but not for the sake of the wrongdoing itself in the sight of God.

In another example, concerning the loss of personal liberty, jail time brings some men to sorrow, but in most cases, it is a worldly grief because if they were not in jail, they would not be sorrowful of their crimes. Prison time is supposed to be an attempt to bring criminals to sorrow for their wrongdoing, to be pricked in their hearts with some form of remorse for their corrupt deeds, and to at least fear the wrath of men since they will not fear the wrath of God, which is why it is called the "penal system," because the word 'penal' comes from the word 'peneant', which is an older form of 'penitent', which means to have sorrow for offenses committed.
(See 'peneant', Etymology Online Dictionary, retrieved July 13, 2022, [https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=peneant])

When Paul said "the sorrow of the world worketh death," it means that a man who might have sorrow over the consequences of his sin (e.g. jail time), does not have any sorrow towards the Lord God. Therefore, because he did not acknowledge the truth, at the end of his life, he will end up in everlasting punishment because there is no salvation without godly sorrow.

This is also confirmed in Hebrews 12, in which Esau had sought repentance carefully with tears, but could not find it:

Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
-Hebrews 12:15-17

Just because a man sheds remorseful tears over the earthly losses he has suffered, it does NOT automatically mean he is repentant of a godly sort, though many might be fooled by the deceptive appearance. Many people experience tears of grief concerning things they have lost due to their own conduct, but that type of repentance does not come from the Lord God, and it has no foundation in grief of the sin itself, with understanding of offenses against God.

Please consider that there are many types of inward conditions that will produce tears. There are tears of joy, tears of laughter, tears of embarrassment, tears of rage, tears of loss, and other types of sorrowful tears that are not godly sorrow, but it takes discernment to understand the difference between them.

But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
-Hebrews 5:14

Paul pointed out that it was the gift of godly sorrow within Christians that produced a humble spirit, and that led them to cry out to God. This sorrow of a godly sort is "not to be repented of," meaning that it should not be a sad thing that a man looks to God and grieves of his wrongdoing, and knowing that the Holy Ghost will be the Comforter to him in such situations, and we should quietly rejoice when a man comes to godly sorrow.

Sadly, there are many churchgoers who reject this doctrine, and instead, they pride themselves in church building attendance, paying tithe (which is unbiblical in the New Testament), and the emotions they get when they sing worship and praise music. Such works become the basis for their faith, and they cannot see the simple preaching of Jesus Christ, when he told us a parable to explain who gains justification (i.e. salvation) from God, and who does not.
(Read Christian Music: For the Love of Money here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
-Luke 18:9-14

In this parable, Christ presents two people, one is a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisees were men who were in positions of religious leadership among the Jews, and were highly esteemed in their society to be upstanding men of moral virtue and religious devotion, very much like modern day pastors, priests, elders, evangelists, etc.

Publicans were men whose job consisted of going door to door to collect taxes, and obviously, such men were hated by society, and looked down upon as if they were lower than dirt. Imagine for a moment that taxes were collected today by a man going door to door with police at his side to make sure you handed over your money, and if you did not pay your taxes, they would take your property by force; such a scenario can help us understand how much such men were hated in that day.

The man who was in a position of religious leadership, and greatly respected by those around him, prayed with arrogance, seeing himself better than the publican, and justified himself by his own works. The publican, however, stood in the back and had godly sorrow of his sins, so much that he beat on his own chest because of the inward pain, and pleaded with God to grant him mercy.

Without ever using the word 'repentance' in this passage, we can clearly see that the publican had repentance of his sin, and was humbled before God. Jesus clearly explained to us the difference between those who are given the grace of God and those who are not, namely that those who lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts will not see the Kingdom of God, while those who come to God in the lowliness and meekness of heart, humbly seeking the mercy of God, will be justified.

The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
-Psalm 34:18

In this passage, the Lord God plainly told us who He draws close to, and who He saves. Without ever using the word 'repentance', we find two other words that have the same meaning as repentance:

broken--hearted (adj): having the spirits depressed or crushed by grief or despair
contrite (adj): broken-hearted for sin; deeply affected with grief and sorrow for having offended God; humble; penitent
(See 'broken-hearted' & 'contrite', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved June 8, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

Again, because the Lord God is so kind and loving at heart, He grieves when we have done wrong, and He expects us to grieve as well. For example, when King Saul had done wicked deeds, and showed no care for the things of God, it not only grieved God, but also His servant Samuel as well:

It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.
-1 Samuel 15:11

If we believe that repentance means "to turn," this verse would not make any sense because it would say, "It turned me that I have setup Saul," or under the "change of mind" definition, it would say, "It changed my mind that I have setup Saul," but rather, it makes far more sense to say, "It grieved me that I have set up Saul." For God to "turn" from setting up Saul, or to change His mind about it, would be God questioning His own decisions and foreknowledge, which would be heresy, because God is all-knowing. (Psa 139:1-16) Grammatically, contextually, and doctrinally, "grief and sorrow" makes perfect sense, and also fits the description of Samuel crying "unto the LORD all night."

This definition can be found in many places all throughout the Old and New Testaments:

Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins.
-Psalm 73:21

prick (v): to pierce with a sharp pointed instrument or substance
reins (n): the inward parts; the heart, or seat of the affections and passions
(See 'prick' & 'reins', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved June 8, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

When one is pricked in their reins, it means they are hurting inwardly, being pained in grief at something which is wrong. This is what the Scripture tells us happened to the 5,000 people who were saved on the Day of Pentecost:

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
-Acts 2:37-38

Please do not misunderstand this because baptism is not a work to be done for salvation. No works can save a man, and there are many men who have been baptized who were not of Christ.
(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Baptism" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

For example, let's look closely at Simon the sorcerer:

Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
-Acts 8:13-22

Baptism itself does not save anyone, which is why Peter had to rebuke Simon for his lack of a repentant heart, despite the fact that he had been baptized in the name of Christ for the remission of sins. It is important to take note that Simon believed and was baptized, but he was not born again in Jesus Christ, meaning that Simon was a false convert, and he only followed the apostles because he wanted power and influence, and that was because he lost all his power and influence once the apostles came into town. Baptism is a symbolic ritual that represents a man's faith in Christ, that he has repentance in his heart, and that, by the Holy Spirit, his soul has been slain and born again anew in Jesus (John 3:3), but it is not a work done that can grant saving grace, despite the fact that many corrupt religious cults around the world teach otherwise.

The Lord Jesus Christ sent His disciples out into the world before He departed for His Heavenly throne, and in Acts 8, Peter was teaching Simon the sorcerer the exact doctrine that Jesus instructed him to teach to the world:

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
-Luke 24:44-47

remission (n): forgiveness; pardon; the giving up of the punishment due to a crime
(See 'remission', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved June 9, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

The Lord Jesus Christ told His disciples that all the law and prophets concerning Him must be fulfilled, and then unlocked their understanding so they could comprehend the completion of the Old Testament. The purpose of the Old Testament doctrines, and the reason Christ suffered, died on the cross, and rose from the dead, was so that His church would go forth and preach repentance (i.e. godly sorrow) and remission (i.e. pardon/forgiveness) of sins to everyone around the world.

This is why, when John the Baptist came to the people to preach, he taught them humility, that godly sorrow for their sins would lead them to God's grace:

John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
-Mark 1:4

John the Baptist pointed the people to Jesus Christ (Mat 3:11-15), and the first thing that Jesus Christ taught when He started out in His ministry was repentance:

From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
-Matthew 4:17

Jesus taught His disciples what they should teach, and the first thing they preached was repentance:

And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits... And they went out, and preached that men should repent.
-Mark 6:7-12

As we previously read in Acts 2, after the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles of Christ, the first thing they went out and taught was repentance. The apostles then taught the new members of the church, and the first thing the church went out and taught was that men should come to godly sorrow of their wrongdoing:

But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
-Acts 26:20

Notice in this passage that it says that they should "repent and turn to God," but if the word 'repent' meant "to turn from sin to God," then this verse would be saying, "they should turn from sin to God and turn from sin to God, and do works of turning from sin to God, meet for turning from sin to God." Obviously, that is nonsensically repetitive. Rather, what is being said here is that, "they should have grief and godly sorrow for offenses against God, turn to Him by looking to Jesus Christ, and then do works that reflect a heart of godly sorrow."

By looking at correlating verses together, we can find more instances of the true definition of repentance. For example, in Isaiah 25, the Holy Spirit gave us the prophecy of God destroying death and wiping away all tears among those He saves:

He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
-Isaiah 25:8

This is the day in which Christ will resurrect the saints and defeat death, and at the same time, He will wipe away all tears of sorrow from His children. In Hosea 13, it also speaks of this day, and gives us more details:

I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.
-Hosea 13:14

Therefore, repentance is defined as tears of grief and sorrow, which God will put to an end on the final day that He destroys death. The Lord God gives His grace to the humble to save them, but He does NOT give His grace to save the proud of heart:

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
-James 4:6

Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.
-Proverbs 3:34

Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
-1 Peter 5:5

The Lord God looks to the man who has a contrite spirit (i.e. a humble spirit that is broken-hearted over his sin), and fears the judgments in God's Word:

For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
-Isaiah 66:2

After we have seen so many verses on the definition of repentance being "grief and godly sorrow," it is a great wonder why so many preachers keep teaching that repent means "to turn from sin" and/or "to change one's mind." It is evidence that they can read the Word of God, but cannot understand it because if we look closely at Scripture, we will find that the Bible separates the words 'repent' and 'turn' in the same sentence:

For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.
-Jeremiah 4:28

The word 'neither' is a conjunction that means "not one or the other" when giving two possible occurrances in a sentence; or in other words, it means 'repent' and 'turn' do not mean the same thing. If 'repent' meant "to turn," then the phrase would be redundant because it would read "I will not turn, neither will I turn." God will not repent, meaning that He will not be grieved by the evil He brought upon the land because it is righteous judgment on a wicked people.

redundant (adj): superfluous; exceeding what is natural or necessary; using more words or images than are necessary or useful
(See 'redundant', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved July 7, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

In another example:

Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.
-Ezekiel 14:6

Again, if the word 'repent' meant "to turn," then this would be a senselessly redundant statement because it would be saying "turn, and turn yourselves." Rather, the understanding of this verse is that the Lord God is calling them to grief and godly sorrow of wrongdoing, and that they would be converted.

I used the word 'converted' very specifically because this is the proper use of the term, and sadly most modern-day preachers have no clue what it actually means:

convert (v): to change or turn into another substance or form; from one religion to another; from one party or sect to another; from a bad life to a good one; to change the heart and moral character
(See 'convert', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved June 10, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

The word 'convert' means "to turn" and "to change," but the word 'repent' means "grief and sorrow." This gives us a whole new perspective on new-age church-ianity doctrines, and why they are so dangerous.

For example:

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
-Acts 3:19

In order for our sins to be blotted out, which means our sins would be taken off of the record on our account in the Day of Judgment, we must first come to grief and godly sorrow of our sins against the Lord God, and only then will He give us grace through the Lord Jesus Christ. Then, we are converted, which means to be turned and changed, but in most church buildings today, they teach that repentance means to be turned and changed, which means that, if we apply that to the Scriptures, they are teaching people that they are supposed to turn and change in order to be turned and changed, or in other words, they are teaching a false works-based doctrine that one must be converted BEFORE Jesus Christ will convert them.

Most modern-day church-ianity institutions want people to believe that they can be saved and converted WITHOUT the humility of repentance. I grew up going to typical church buildings, and many times throughout the years, I heard the preaching of the parable of the prodigal (i.e. lavish/wasteful) son, but now that I have a more complete understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I find it fascinating how often churchgoers hyper-focus on the father in the parable, rather than on the son.

Before we read the parable, I would like readers to take note of the following verses, which were preached many times from the pulpits in church buildings I used to attend:

How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
-Matthew 18:12-13

What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
-Luke 15:4-6

Of course, what is taught in these verses is a true and wonderful thing, but as I just stated, the hyper-focus on the emotions of the shepherd is the purpose of many sermons today, but little time is dedicated to discussing the lost sheep, and how those sheep are found. This is because most churchgoers want to focus on how much they believe God loves and cherishes them, but never stop to consider that the problem was with that one sheep.

If we keep reading in Luke 15, the Bible gives us more details:

I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
-Luke 15:7

The joy of God is over a man who comes to grief and godly sorrow of His wrongdoing, and is humbled in tears of pain at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ. These verses are what preface the parable of the prodigal son, and now let's take a look at it with a new perspective:

Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
-Luke 15:10-16

A foolish young man wanted his inheritance early, and when he received it from his father, he went out into a land far from his home to waste it on the pleasures and lusts of the flesh. The land he was in came under a great famine, so that many people did not have their basic needs met, and so no one had any extra to give to others, and therefore, when his money ran out, his only choice was to find some sort of job, and that job happened to be feeding pigs (which is very dirty work).

He was very hungry, going enough time without eating that he felt like he would faint from exhaustion, and so in his desperation, he ate of the scraps that were supposed to be given to the pigs, specifically husks, which could be many things, such as the peels from fruit. The son was humbled just about as low as a man can go, and through this, the Spirit of God worked in him to bring him to his senses:

And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
-Luke 15:17-19

This was a great change in the son, in which he was humbled to the point that he would be pleased simply to be his father's servant if only he could have his father's forgiveness of his sin. Notice specifically that he acknowledged his sin against heaven, which means he was repentant towards his Heavenly Father first and foremost, and secondly, he was repentant of the sins against his own earthly father.

And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
-Luke 15:20

This is the verse on which pastors and churchgoers hyper-focus because they love to hear this message. The father had compassion, and he knew ahead of time, just by the fact that his son had returned, that the son was repentant of his wrong, and so the father was more than willing to forgive him, however, what most churchgoers overlook is that the son stopped his father, and insisted on communicating his message to his father because he took his wrongdoing with the utmost seriousness.

And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
-Luke 15:21

In humility, the son confessed the truth to his father, acknowledging his sin, as well as his own worthless and vile state, pleading for his mercy. Once again, Jesus said:

For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
-Luke 14:11

The problem with modern-day church buildings is that within their halls, they preach that if you just come to the Father, you will receive forgiveness and grace. Pastors often preach about grace like it is a free sample at a grocery store, in which you are invited to come up and take one if you wish, and can circle back around and get a few more if you like it, but again, grace is not given to the proud of heart.

Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
-Psalm 138:6

What very few pastors and churchgoers teach is that you must come to the Father with the humility of repentance, just like the prodigal son, and ONLY then will God give His saving grace.

But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
-Luke 15:22-24

There is a major problem with most churchgoers coming together to rejoice in salvation, but having never been brought to the humility of repentance. Many of them were just raised up going to church buildings, and so they just continue in that tradition, singing their songs about Jesus every week, thinking that God is well-pleased with them, when in fact, God is angry with the hypocrisy of their willful blindness.

For example, when the Jews brought their sacrifices and oblations to the Temple, honoring their feast days which God had commanded them to do in that dispensation, God said He would not look upon them or hear them:

Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
-Isaiah 1:13-17

The reason God told the Jews that their hands were full of blood is because they were bringing in sacrifices of animals over and over again, which was supposed to trigger repentance in their hearts, but they had no godly sorrow for their sins. Rather, they were using those religious customs as a costume of holiness, thinking themselves to be righteous because they did them, just as many churchgoers today think that because they attend a church building every week, pay the Old Testament ordinance of tithe, and passionately sing songs about Jesus, they are somehow "holy" in their appearance.
(Read "Tithe is Not a Christian Requirement" here at creationliberty.com for more details. Tithe was done away with by the Lord Jesus Christ, and is strictly against the doctrines of the New Testament, which is why it was never commanded by the apostles.)

Most Jews did not have repentance in their hearts, just as most churchgoers today have no repentance in their hearts, and that is why God did not want to hear the songs of the hypocritical Jews anymore than He would want to hear the songs of hypocritical churchgoers today.

I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.
-Amos 5:21-24
(Read "Unbiblical Cop-Outs: 'Don't Judge Me!' here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

I am in no way arguing that singing praises unto the Lord God is not a good thing, but it is only good and acceptable in the sight of God when it is done with understanding:

For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.
-Psalm 47:7

What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
-1 Corinthians 14:15

When a man comes to repentance (i.e. godly sorrow of his sin), he does not need to remember every individual offense he has ever committed throughout his entire life. Repentance is about understanding one's own wretched, broken, and vile state, in which one understands one's own wickedness in the sight of God.

Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
-Revelation 3:17

O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
-Romans 7:14

I have listened to corrupt preachers who opposed the Biblical doctrine of repentance, and they often pose the following questions to cast doubt on the hearers: "What sins are we supposed to be sorry for? How is a man supposed to know every law he's ever broken?" However, leavened preachers who ask these questions are willingly ignorant of Scripture.

Which laws have we broken?

ALL OF THEM.

For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and
yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
-James 2:10

Those of us who are given the gift of repentance to acknowledge the truth (2Ti 2:25) know that we do not need to remember every specific sin because by our offense in one area, we have offended God in all areas. Therefore, the attitude of a truly repentant man is the same attitude that Job had when he repented before the Lord God:

Then Job answered the LORD, and said, I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
-Job 42:1-4

Do not misunderstand this because Job was not demanding anything of God, but rather, he was repeating God's demands of Job a few chapters earlier. (Job 38:1-4) God asked Job question after question for three chapters, and then Job declared to God that he would answer those questions in the following statement:

I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
-Job 42:5-6

abhor (v): to hate extremely; to lothe, detest or abominate
(See 'abhor', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved June 10, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

Just to clarify, Job stated that he hated himself with the utmost hatred, acknowledging his own vile and worthless state, and this is very relatable to those of us who were given the gift of repentance from the Lord Jesus Christ. I remember hating myself with the utmost hatred, and was brought to tears of grief and sorrow at the offenses I had done against the Lord God, pleading with Him for His mercy on me.

Job said that he repented in something called "dust and ashes." It is important for Christians to understand the meaning of "repenting in dust and ashes" because it gives us more Scriptural evidence concerning the Biblical meaning of repentance.

One of the most common displays of grief and godly sorrow in the Old Testament was the rending (tearing) of clothes, and wearing sackcloth while covering oneself in dust and ashes. Please do not misunderstand; this does not mean that Christians need to tear their clothes or cover themselves with dust and ashes, but we do need to understand what these outward symbols mean so we can understand the condition of the heart when one comes to repentance.

Abraham was visited by God, and he humbled himself before the Lord:

And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes:
-Genesis 18:27

This is based on what God told Adam:

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
-Genesis 3:19

Sackcloth is similar to the coarse material used in a potato sack, and when worn, it is very uncomfortable. Sackcloth has been made from a variety of materials, including, but not limited to, goat hair, flax, camel hair, cotton, and hemp. For the Jews, sackcloth shirts and loincloths were an outward sign of inward grief and sorrow.


This is not to say that someone who wears sackcloth and sits in ashes has godly sorrow, but in ancient Jewish society, this was an outward demonstration of inward humility, in which one views himself as vile and worthless in the sight of God. Such a thing was rare to see among the higher ranks of society, which is why sackcloth and ashes would be taken very seriously if the public witnessed a rich man or governing leader wear such a thing.

The following are a few examples in Scripture in which sackcloth and ashes (or dust) were used:

O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow [rolling to cover] thyself in ashes: make thee mourning [grief and sorrow], as for an only son, most bitter lamentation [cries of grief]: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.
-Jeremiah 6:26

And shall cause their voice to be heard against thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall wallow themselves in the ashes:
-Ezekiel 27:30

Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
-Luke 10:13

The Bible tells us that those who would find the way to eternal life would hate themselves; meaning that they would hate their lives because of the sinful nature of the flesh:

He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
-John 12:25

This is not to say that one hates himself in the sense that he provides no food, drink, clothing, or shelter for himself, nor is it to say that he disrespects the life God has given him, but rather, he has no concern for his life in the way the world concerns themselves for their own lives. The world seeks to do anything they can to preserve their lives, thinking their short time in this world to be very significant, but those who have come to the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ with a repentant heart are reborn in the spirit as a new creature, and that new creature grows with an understanding that the things which this world highly esteems are nothing compared to the eternal things of God.

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
-Matthew 6:21

Concerning the rending/tearing of clothes, Jacob grieved heavily when he heard news that his son was dead:

And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
-Genesis 37:34

Again, the tearing of clothes was an outward sign of grief and sorrow:

And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.
-Joshua 7:6

Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him: And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.
-2 Samuel 1:11-12

Please do not misunderstand, the tearing of clothes does not mean they were stripping themselves naked, but rather, it was the outer clothing that was worn over their inner clothing. The outer coat or vest was typically considered to be fashionable, and so the tearing of more costly, colorful clothing was a sign of inward repentance, or in other words, their grief was so overwhelming, they wanted their outward appearance to match the inward grief in their hearts.

And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying.
-2 Samuel 13:19

Notice that, in most of these verses on dust, ashes, sackcloth, and rending, the word 'repent' is never used, yet repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow) is present in those passages. Again, the grief and godly sorrow of repentance is a condition of the heart in which a man recognizes his broken and lost state in the sight of God, and is therefore pained at the thought of it. Sadly, most churchgoers and preachers today cannot see this because they are willingly blinded (by their own pride) to this very simple concept.

I listened to the testimony of Charlotte Keckler, a former nun, who was taken into a secret convent of the Catholic Church when she was only a little girl, because she thought she was following God's plan for her life, but she was tortured in ways that most people have a hard time believing. (Just to clarify, I believe her because her testimony matches all the research I have done on the depravities of the Catholic cult.) She was hung up by her fingers, starved to near-death, raped by priests, and many other horrible things. She barely escaped the dungeon of that Catholic convent, and many years later, after she was rescued from the Catholic dungeon, while she was working at her job as a house cleaner, the Word of God came to her mind, and the Spirit of God fell on her, and she knew she was guilty as a sinner, she came to tears of godly sorrow (i.e. repentance), and she was born again. Despite all the evil that was done to her from when she was little child, the Lord God gave her understanding that she needed to come to godly sorrow in the sight of the Christian God of the Bible, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, to be saved.
(See Charlotte Keckler, "Confessions of a Roman Catholic Nun," Twelvefoundations, Jan 18, 2012, retrieved Apr 19, 2018, [https://ugetube.com/watch/the-horrifying-testimony-of-ex-nun-charlotte-keckler-from-the-evil-roman-catholic-church_CXjBCSuzAm4FtGL.html]; Read Corruptions of Christianity: Catholicism here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

The reason I mentioned Charlotte's testimony is this: If a young girl, who was tortured and abused as much as she was, needed repentance of her sin, what man on this earth, except the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, does not need repentance?

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
-Romans 3:10-12

Those who have been humbled to repentance and born again in Christ understand the impossibility of keeping all the law of God in their sinful, broken nature, which is why they weep in repentance, because they have finally understood the Word. The law of God taught us that it was impossible for us, while in our flesh, to keep those laws, and therefore, we weep and lament when we first come to acknowledge the truth, and through that repentance, we are then ready, willing, and desperate to come on our knees to the foot of the cross.

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
-Galatians 3:24

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
-1 Corinthians 1:18

So often, I see churchgoers putting up signs that say "Jesus Saves," but the problem is that Jesus does not just save anyone who speaks His name. Please do not misunderstand because, quite obviously, the Bible teaches us that we must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved (Rom 3:22), but the reason I needed to write this book in the first place was because most churchgoers and pastors are blinded to the concept of Biblical repentance, and when one believes he is born again without godly sorrow, it produces countless heresies that lead people AWAY from the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I am not arguing that someone has never been saved after they have seen a "Jesus Saves" sign (because I have no idea if anyone has), but the only way they would have come to salvation is if they had a repentant heart of their wrongdoing against God at that point in time. Because of this, I personally believe that "Jesus Saves" signs are a complete waste of time and money, but most churchgoers do not understand why this is the case. What unbelievers need to see are things like the Ten Commandments, not because the law will save them, but because until a man has understood his own corrupt and wicked state, in which he will be judged for his sins, there will be no true conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ, and as we just read from Galatians 3, it is the law that brings them to Christ in the first place.

The grace of God is a free gift (Rom 5:15), but that free gift is not offered to just anyone, and I repeat this verse again to emphasize that point:

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
-James 4:6

Some churchgoers will argue against my insistence that the law is better than a "Jesus Saves" sign, but I follow the Word of God, not my own feelings and opinions:

The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
-Psalm 19:7

After understanding that the law of God is perfect for the purpose of converting the soul of a man, leading him to the understanding that it is impossible to achieve his own righteousness, then why do most modern-day church buildings think they have a better way? Why are so many people trying to invent new methods of evangelism? Why are modern-day pastors focusing more on movies, music, and other entertainment to draw people in?

Some Christian readers might object to what I said a moment ago, namely, that one is not saved by simply speaking the name Jesus Christ out of their mouths. The reason some of you might object to this is because you are familiar with a commonly quoted verse in church buildings, which says:

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
-Romans 10:13

Of course, this begs the question, if anyone who speaks the name of Jesus is saved, does that mean that there are billions of people around the world who are saved and do not know it? Of course, we can know that is not the case because the Lord Jesus Christ taught us that those who are saved hear the Word of God AND understand it:

But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
-Matthew 13:19

So this contradicts the idea that just speaking the name of Jesus, whether in passing or in a prayer, saves a man, because one must first have been given understanding before he can be saved.

What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.
-1 Corinthians 14:15

So what is the real meaning of "call upon the name of the Lord?" Remember, I have mentioned repeatedly in this book that the concept of repentance is talked about in the Bible in many places where the word 'repent' is never used.

Sadly, it is a common practice in modern-day church buildings for pastors to either preach with common usage definitions (which change in society over time), or worse still, they cherry-pick definitions from new-age lexicons and concordances, instead of looking at the context, as well as correlating Scriptures to gain understanding. Many churchgoers are unaware that the Lord God told us in His Word how to read and study the Bible, so before we address "calling on the name of the Lord," let's take a look at God's instructions on how we should gain understanding of Scripture:

Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
-Isaiah 28:9-10

In other words, the Word of God is not organized with color codes and bullet points, and is purposefully designed in a way that the fullness of a doctrine can only be understood if all the pieces are aligned, and most often, those doctrines are located throughout various books in the Bible. The Lord God instructed us to read His Word "precept upon precept," meaning that we take each commandment in correlation with other commandments, "line upon line" meaning that we need to read it in its context, and "here a little and there a little," meaning that we need to compare verses of Scripture with other verses of Scripture and correlate them together.

The reason God structured His Word this way was so that corrupt men (i.e. those who do not have the Holy Spirit) who would read and attempt to understand God's Word would never be able to fully understand it. Without the Holy Spirit for understanding, they stand in front of a pulpit and preach foolish things to foolish listeners, believing they have gained wisdom and understanding, but that simply allows the children of God to spot the counterfeit teachers more easily.

This is why Isaiah went on to write that false teachers would "fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken," just a few verses later:

But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
-Isaiah 28:13

This is why many pastors today have to put on a show, to convince people that they are "spiritual" by acting a certain way, rather than just preaching the truth. It is the result of a man who has spent countless hours reading the Bible in his so-called "Christian" university, ever studying, ever learning, but NEVER able to come to a knowledge of the truth because he does not have the Holy Spirit to open his understanding.

For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
-2 Timothy 3:6-7

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
-1 Corinthians 2:14

For example, please consider this book for a moment, specifically about how I have written and structured it. You can see that, I take the time to explain the Scriptures in their context, and when making a point about them, I correlate Scripture together, which is how Christians ought to approach the matter of doctrine and interpretation, but sadly, in my experience, churchgoers often refuse to do this because it is too inconvenient for them (i.e. they are lazy when it comes to God's Word), because their feelings are more important to them than the truth, and because they hate correction.

My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD;
neither be weary of his correction:
-Proverbs 3:11

Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way:
and he that hateth reproof shall die.
-Proverbs 15:10

Now that we understand how Scripture should be read and studied, let's analyze the meaning of "calling upon the name of the Lord." In modern-day church buildings, it is typically thought that when the word 'call' is used, it simply means "to speak."

Depending on the context, that can be true. For example, a bird call, a phone call, or a mother calling her children to supper are all examples of the word 'call' having the meaning "to speak," but in Romans 10, this is what is labeled an "intransitive verb," meaning that the verb 'call' does not have a particular object it is referring to, so let's look at those intransitive verbs in Noah Webster's 1828 Dictionary and see what other definitions are given to them:

call (v): to pray to or worship; to utter a loud voice; to bawl
bawl (v): to weep, to wail; to cry loud, as a child from pain or vexation
(See 'call' & 'bawl', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Apr 11, 2018 [webstersdictionary1828.com])

The word 'call' in this instance means that someone would bawl in prayer to God, which means to weep in pain. Once again, this is the concept of humility in repentance, which God has placed in the hearts of those who are the children of God from the very beginning of this world.

And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.
-Genesis 4:26

Again, most churchgoers take Romans 10:13 to mean "whosoever SPEAKS the name of the Lord shall be saved," but that is not what is meant by this passage. This is telling us that "whosoever comes to the Lord Jesus Christ in tears of repentance shall be saved."

Earlier in this book, I quoted this passage from the Sermon on the Mount, but let's go over it one more time with this understanding:

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
-Matthew 7:21-23

These men and women called Jesus Christ "Lord" during their lifetimes, which means, according to the common usage of the word 'call', they "called upon the name of the Lord." They prayed many prayers, they sang many songs, they attended church buildings many times, they gave a lot of money to the church buildings, and did many Bible devotionals, however, they were not saved by the Lord Jesus Christ because they were lifted up in the pride of their hearts, and they rejected the humility of tears in godly sorrow for their sins.

Therefore, they spoke the name of Jesus, but refused to call upon the name of the Lord. This is why many churchgoers offer up prayers and songs to Jesus, but it is only lip service because their hearts are far from Him, meaning that all their worship is a complete waste of time and energy.

He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
-Mark 7:6-7

There are many people in false religions who have a general worldly sorrow, but as we read earlier in Second Corinthians 7:10, they did not have godly sorrow. They have grief in their hearts, but they direct it toward men, and trust in works doctrines for justification, instead of trusting the Lord Jesus Christ alone.

I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness [sin], saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.
-Jeremiah 8:6

If everyone who spoke the name of the Lord in worship was born again in Christ, then all works-based cults, like Catholicism, Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventism, Pentecostals, Charismatics, and every other flavor in between, all around the world, would all be saved and going to heaven. That would mean MANY people would be on their way to heaven, but again, that is NOT what Jesus Christ taught.
(Read Corruptions of Christianity: Catholicism, Corruptions of Christianity: Seventh-day Adventism, Corruptions of Christianity: Jehovah's Witnesses, Corruptions of Christianity: Mormonism, and "Speaking in Tongues vs Charismatic Gibberish" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
-Matthew 7:13-14

The reason many people will not find the way to eternal life is not because they refused to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, but rather, it is because, in the pride of their hearts, they refused to be humbled to repentance. Earlier, we read the parable of the prodigal son, in which most churchgoers and pastors hyper-focus on the father, rather than the son, and the reason they often do this is because they do not want to think about the son's broken state, and his humility of godly sorrow, and the reason they do not want to think about it is because most of them have never experienced it.

I have listened to many people talk about trying to find a church building to attend (because they are told they need to put the 'UR' in CH__CH by all the cutesy church-ianity signs along the roadside), and the majority make those decisions based on their feelings. They prefer one over another based on whether or not they think the pastor is a good speaker, or whether or not they have entertaining music, or whether or not they have fun activities, all of which are worldly desires based on the love of mirth.

It is better to go to the house of mourning [grief and sorrow], than to go to the house of feasting [luxurious eating and entertainment]: for that [i.e. sorrow] is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth [social merriment and high excitement]. It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.
-Ecclesiastes 7:2-5

mirth (n): social merriment; hilarity; high excitement of pleasurable feelings in company; noisy gayety; jollity
(See 'mirth', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved June 10, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

Sadly, people are generally taught false doctrines that lead them to instant rejoicing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but Jesus taught us that, when that happens, there is no root of faith in them. The only way to have true faith is to hear the Gospel of Christ with a heart of sorrow:

But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon [quickly or immediately] with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
-Matthew 13:20-21

Most churchgoers have no interest in going into the house of mourning, where there is a solemn sorrow for offenses against God, but they have a great interest in going into the house of mirth, where they have plenty of snacks, happy music, and fun entertainment. Many of them make the excuse that they want to experience the joy of the Lord, but that comes naturally to those who have been born again, without having to seek it artificially through worldly pleasures. The real reason they are searching for joy is because they do not have it from the Holy Spirit, which is why the thought of having grief and sorrow is so abhorrent to them (i.e. they have no true joy in Christ because they have never come to repentance), and they instead look for it from worldly entertainment, using the church buildings as a cover to appear "holy" while they are enjoying their carnal pleasures.


Please do not misunderstand because laughter itself is not a sin. It is a creation of God for us, and of course, my wife and I laugh together often, as does our church when the occasion calls for it. However, what is important to remember is that men are NOT saved through laughter and mirth, and that is why the Bible is not a joke book.

One of the first preachers I ever learned from after I got saved (who I later found out is a false preacher), used to teach his listeners to, "get people laughing while you cut out their sin," and I thank God that He had mercy on me to get me away from such deception. Laughter is something the world highly esteems, and the message of repentance is something the world hates, and they most especially hate those who preach the truth that they hate.
(Read Wolves in Costume: Kent Hovind here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
-John 15:18-19

A man can never come to grief and godly sorrow through laughter. When a man comes to understand the broken, corrupt, and depraved state of his spirit, and also understands the price that Jesus Christ paid to save him, it is no laughing matter. If a man jumped in front of a car and died to push you out of the way to safety, would you laugh about it? This is why you will never see a man be born again at a comedy club, and if you see anyone claim that he did, you can know for sure he is a false convert.

It is through erroneous and deceptive doctrines about repentance from many willingly ignorant and corrupt preachers today that a massive amount of false converts, who addict themselves to mirth and scoff at anyone who dares to teach them any doctrine that opposes their customs, are being created and filling up church buildings around the world. There are many preachers who create countless videos and articles online, but because they refuse to preach repentance, or they preach it in error, they convince many churchgoers that they are born again in Christ, even though they are not, once that happens, it is quite difficult to get a man to listen when he has already been convinced he is going to heaven under false pretenses, or in other words, the corrupt men travel around the world to bring in converts to their religious institutions, and not only are they on their way to hell without repentance, but the men they convert will be twice as bad.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass [travel across] sea and land to make one proselyte [convert to a religion], and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
-Matthew 23:15

There are many more verses in Scripture that we will go over to prove the Biblical definition of repentance, but I believe it is best that we do that in response to the false doctrines of some of these corrupt preachers. It will be easier for Christians to learn how to discern the deception of wolves (who disguise themselves as sheep) by looking at their arguments, and comparing them with Scripture.

For example, Jack Zavada is a contributing author for the "Religion" category on the websites About.com and ThoughtCo (which is now published on Learn Religions). In an article he wrote on the meaning of repentance, he said: "Repentance in Christianity means a sincere turning away, in both the mind and heart, from self to God. It involves a change of mind that leads to action—the turning away from a sinful course to God." -Jack Zavada, "Meaning of Repentance in Christianity," Learn Religions, Mar 22, 2018, retrieved June 15, 2022, [https://www.learnreligions.com/what-is-repentance-700694]

In this book, I have already demonstrated many times over what the concept of repentance is, namely, grief, or more specifically for mankind, it is sorrow of one's offenses against God, without which, one cannot be saved in the first place. Just as a reminder, Jesus Christ Himself told us that without repentance, we would all perish in hell for eternity.

I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
-Luke 13:3

We also went over the definition of 'convert', which means to turn and change in both mind and heart, the very description that Zavada provided for us. This means that when Zavada quotes Jesus Christ saying that men must repent, and I quote Jesus Christ saying that men must repent, we are talking about two VERY different things.

In fact, Zavada quotes Luke 13:3 later in his article:
"The invitation to repent is a call to absolute surrender to the will and purposes of God. It means to turn to the Lord and live in constant awareness of him. Jesus issued this radical call to all people, saying, 'Unless you repent, you will all perish!' (Luke 13:3)... there can be no faith in Christ without repentance and no repentance without faith. The two are inseparable."
-Jack Zavada, "Meaning of Repentance in Christianity," Learn Religions, Mar 22, 2018, retrieved June 15, 2022, [https://www.learnreligions.com/what-is-repentance-700694]

This brings us to the dilemma, namely, what are the prerequisites for salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ? According to Zavada, it is repentance and faith, which is exactly what I am teaching in this book, and it is also what we learned from Scripture, but do not be deceived because the difference between the doctrine of Scripture and the doctrine of Zavada is the definition of the word 'repent'.

So when I preach repentance and faith to lost sinners, I give them the law to show them their corrupt spirits, and if they respond to that with godly sorrow, I tell them that they only need to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and they will be saved. However, when Zavada preaches repentance and faith to lost sinners, he might give them the law to show them their sin, but then tells them that they must work to turn from all their sins, and then, if they believe on Jesus, they will be saved.

To put it another way, the Lord Jesus Christ converts us when we come to repentance and faith. So I teach people that they are converted unto Christ by godly sorrow and faith in Him, but Zavada teaches people that they are converted unto Christ by first converting themselves and having faith in Him.

We do not turn and change so we can be turned and changed. That is nonsensical. Rather, the correct order is that we are brought to godly sorrow of our sins, and then we are converted:

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
-Acts 3:19

The crazy part about Zavada's article is that he quotes from a modern college dictionary, saying that repentance is "being penitent; feeling of sorrow, especially for wrongdoing," but then immediately tries to change that definition by quoting from a corrupt lexicon, which says, "a complete change of orientation." This is doctrinal sleight-of-hand, and it is not only a man whose education in seminary colleges (or what I prefer to call "cemetery colleges") has corrupted his mind, but is also a man who has never gone through the process of true repentance, and he wants to convince as many others to convert to his religious belief in order to give himself more validation in his error.
(Read "Dangers of Using Lexicons and Concordances" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

This is why this false doctrine on repentance creates such a big controversy, even though the controversy is mostly covered up in many church buildings. They often do not like to talk about it because it creates division among them, however, what most churchgoers do not understand is that if there is division created on the basis of the truth of the Gospel of Salvation, then that is a division that SHOULD take place.

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
-Romans 16:17-18

Through charismatic words and beautifully written speeches, such men give the impression to their audiences that they are well educated on spiritual matters, but in reality, it is all a show to hide the deceit of what they are actually teaching. When they teach things that pervert the Gospel of Salvation in Jesus Christ, then those are offenses against Christ and His church, and therefore, we should mark those people (i.e. point out who is doing it) so the church is aware of them, and then avoid those people, not having any fellowship with them.

I have met countless churchgoers who have gotten very upset with me that I teach this, but Jesus Christ, even though He is the Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6), told us that He did not come to this world the first time to bring peace:

Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
-Luke 12:51-53
(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Sanctification" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

There are so many ways to Biblically prove Zavada (and other false preachers) are incorrect in their doctrine, it is difficult to know where to begin. One of the ways we can do this is by showing that God has said that He will not repent, and yet, He has repented.

God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
-Numbers 23:19

And also the Strength of Israel [God] will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.
-1 Samuel 15:29

One who has little understanding of Scripture might look at this and consider it to be a contradiction at first glance, and that would be due to their indoctrination that the word 'repent' means "to turn and change." How is it that God would say that He turns, but does not turn? Or that He changes, but does not change? (Mal 3:6)

For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.
-Deuteronomy 32:36

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.
-Judges 2:18

However, if we stick to the Biblical definition of repentance, which is grief, there is automatically a distinction between God's repentance and man's repentance, namely, that man must come to repentance of his many sins. The Lord God has no need to repent of sins because God has no sin, and cannot sin, and therefore, God's repentance is general grief of the heart.

In Deuteronomy 32, the Lord God looked upon His servants, those who had been called by His grace, being sinners who were repentant of their sins, and faithful in His great mercy, and He grieved at the evils that He had allowed to come upon them, because our Lord God is so very kind and compassionate to the poor and needy. In Judges 2, the people had come to godly sorrow of their sins against God, and they cried out to Him to save them from those who oppressed them, and God grieved in His heart at those evils that had come upon those who came to Him with a penitent heart.

Some Christian readers might recognize the name of the website Got Questions, which is a deceptive site for many reasons not talked about in this book, one of which is that Michael Houdmann does not write much of his material. He gets volunteers to write his "answers" for him, and then he and his wife profit from the work of others, and I cover a lot more details about his scam in my book, 501c3: The Devil's Church. Presuming that Houdmann is the author of this piece because he owns the site (i.e. they do not list out who the author is, and that is done on purpose), he wrote the following about repentance:

"Regretting sin and turning from it is related to repentance, but it is not the precise meaning of the word."
-Michael Houdmann, "What is repentance and is it necessary for salvation?" Got Questions, retrieved June 16, 2022, [https://www.gotquestions.org/repentance.html]

So we can see that Houdmann rejects the Biblical understanding of repentance, namely, he rejects godly sorrow, or at the very least, tries to sweep it under the rug. Why? Because Houdmann did not come to Jesus Christ with godly sorrow, which is why he does not understand it, and instead, Houdmann believes he just "changed his mind" to gain salvation, so that is what he teaches about repentance:
"In Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost (Acts chapter 2), he concludes with a call for the people to repent (Acts 2:38). Repent from what? Peter is calling the people who rejected Jesus (Acts 2:36) to change their minds about that sin and to change their minds about Christ Himself, recognizing that He is indeed 'Lord and Christ' (Acts 2:36). Peter is calling the people to change their minds, to abhor their past rejection of Christ, and to embrace faith in Him as both Messiah and Savior."
-Michael Houdmann, "What is repentance and is it necessary for salvation?" Got Questions, retrieved June 16, 2022, [https://www.gotquestions.org/repentance.html]

Houdmann seems to be confused, and the language used in this article is very telling of that. The key thing to note is the prepositions that are used in some of his sentences, and I will highlight one in particular:

"Repent FROM what?"

preposition (n): in grammar, a word usually put before another to express some relation or quality, action or motion to or from the thing specified; as medicines salutary to health; music agreeable to the ear; virtue is valued for its excellence; a man is riding to Oxford from London
(See 'preposition', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved June 16, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

I found it fascinating that even though Houdmann claims he does not believe that the word 'repent' means "to turn," he still used the preposition for it. If repent meant "to turn," then we would say "turn FROM sin," if repent meant "change of mind," then we would say, "repent ABOUT sin," and if repent meant "godly sorrow," then we would say, "repent OF sin."

from (prep): the sense of from may be expressed by the noun distance, or by the adjective distant, or by the participles, departing, removing to a distance; men often go from good to bad, and from bad to worse
about (prep): concerned in, engaged in, relating to, respecting; the painter is not to take so much pains about the drapery as about the face
(See 'from' & 'about', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved June 16, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

When we use the word 'turn' in a sentence, we use the preposition 'from' after it, so for example, we would say, "Sally turned FROM the house," which indicates direction and location, and the Bible uses the word 'turn' in the same way, namely, "turn from." (Exd 32:12) Likewise, when we speak of changing our minds, we use the preposition 'about' after the action and before the subject matter, so for example, we would say, "George changed his mind ABOUT the house," which indicates concern and relation to it.

It is important to note that, if you study the King James Bible, the word 'repent' is NEVER used that way in Scripture. In the Bible, the word 'repent' is always attached to the preposition 'OF', which is an indication of a relationship between two things (e.g. grief and the heart), but today, most pastors and churchgoers use the phrase "repent FROM" all the time, despite the fact that it is not how the Bible uses it, because they believe that the word 'repent' means "to turn."
(NOTE: Some may argue Hebrews 6:1, which says "repentance from," but the preposition 'from' must be attached to a verb, not a noun, and since the word 'repentance' is the noun form of 'repent', then 'from' in that verse is attached to the verb 'laying'.)

The reason Houdmann asks the question, "Repent FROM what?" is because, in his mind, he believes that repent means "to turn," even though he claims that is not the precise meaning. If he truly believed that repent meant "to change one's mind," he would say, "Repent ABOUT what?" but that is not what he wrote.

In this book, we have already gone over the Scriptures in which God had repented, but if repent means "change of mind," then it destroys the concept of the omniscient (i.e. all-knowing) nature of God. The words and actions of men are all known to God outside of time, and so there is no need for God to change His mind on anything, but rather, we only view it in that way because of our limited perception within the boundaries of time.

Peter did not call the people to change their minds about sin in Acts 2, and it is nonsensical to even propose such a thing. The Jewish people were already very aware of sin, what it is, and had extensive measures to punish it. Rather, Peter was calling the people to godly sorrow of their sin, and to make sure that they knew that the very Messiah that was sent unto them to save them, was the same man who they had crucified.

Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
-Acts 2:36

This was to bring them to shame and fear of God, that they would tremble at His Word, and then understand what they had done, so they would have grief of their wrongdoing. Of course, Houdmann quotes from verse 36, and then he skips one verse to quote verse 38:

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
-Acts 2:38

Some readers might recall that we have already seen these verses in this book, but I want to point out that by skipping a verse, Houdmann makes this seem like "change of mind" could be the definition of repent. He makes it seem like Peter wanted them to change their minds about Jesus because they had crucified Him. However, if we read that seemingly elusive verse 37, we will see that the men came to grief and godly sorrow of what they had done:

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
-Acts 2:37

As we learned earlier, this means that they were pained within themselves:

Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins.
-Psalm 73:21

The reason Houdmann left out this verse is very simple: He tried to downplay grief and sorrow from the beginning of his article. It is difficult to talk about examples in Scripture where men were sorrowful for their wrongdoing when you are trying to remove sorrow from repentance.

For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.
-Ecclesiastes 1:18

When I was first saved, I did not know what repentance was, but I do remember that I was in tears of grief for hours on that day, and that is why, years later, when I finally learned the true Biblical meaning of repentance, it was VERY easy to accept because I had experienced it. However, for many churchgoers and leavened preachers, it is VERY difficult for them to accept because most of them never went through that process, and instead said a repeat-after-me "sinner's prayer," putting their faith into their own intellect and works, while giving lip service to Jesus Christ in hypocrisy.

This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
-Matthew 15:8

This is not to say that we should not have our minds changed and turn from sin, because the Scriptures clearly teach us that we should have our philosophy (i.e. way of thinking) changed, and we should turn away from our old sinful ways. (Col 3:8-10) However, there are millions upon millions of people who have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, had their minds changed on various matters, have turned from various wrongdoings, and have even had grief towards others for the hurt they have caused those around them, but they remain in the pride of their hearts and have NEVER come to godly sorrow for their sins (which is a gift from God), and therefore, they will NOT inherit eternal life because they willingly remain trapped in the snare of the Devil.

And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
-2 Timothy 2:24-26

These corrupt preachers (who I am quoting), whether they want to admit it or not, are helping to keep people in the Devil's snare by teaching false doctrines. They claim to have a great love for the people they preach to, but the truth is that they only have a love of themselves, and they only have a love of the things of God if those things first match their preconceived ideology, or in other words, their true god is their own feelings, opinions, and traditions.

For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
-Acts 20:29-31

Corrupt mega-church preacher John MacArthur also teaches false doctrine on repentance, leading millions astray with his fair speeches: "Now I think all of that is simply to say repentance is a critical matter. It is an essential part of the saving work of God. It is a call for a turning from sin." -John MacArthur, "The Doctrine of Repentance," Grace to You, Apr 3, 2005, retrieved June 17, 2022, [https://bit.ly/2HiLTUc]

What I typically find most egregious about the writings of John MacArthur is that he is an accurate example of the man spoken of in Romans 16 (verses 17-18, which we read earlier), meaning that he preaches with "good words and fair speeches to deceive the hearts of the simple." In his teaching, he says something very similar to what I have said in this book, namely, "We talk a lot about believing, we don't talk a lot about repentance. But this is absolutely critical."

Though we Christians might agree with MacArthur that most churchgoers do not talk a lot about repentance, when I made a similar statement earlier in this book, I did not say "we" (i.e. born again Christians) because those of us who understand the doctrines of repentance and faith DO talk about it a lot; it is typically churchgoers and leavened pastors who do not talk much about repentance. However, MacArthur says "WE [i.e. his church building congregation] don't talk a lot about repentance," and what many of them do not realize is that is because HE does not preach about it often, and so for someone who believes it is "absolutely critical" for the Gospel of Salvation, it is an alarming contradiction that he does not preach much about it, especially since the doctrine is brought up so many times all throughout the Bible.

MacArthur quotes a number of verses we have already studied in this book, to emphasize the point that the Bible clearly teaches that men need to come to repentance, and then he claims that repentance "is a call for a turning from sin." Just to clarify his position, to make sure I am not misrepresenting him, MacArthur goes on to say:
"And here's a basic understanding of what repentance means. It is, by all those who define both the word and its theological meaning, a radical turning, a radical conversion, a transformation of nature, a definitive turning from evil, a resolute turning from evil toward God; a commitment to move from unrighteousness to righteousness, from disobedience to obedience."
-John MacArthur, "The Doctrine of Repentance," Grace to You, Apr 3, 2005, retrieved June 17, 2022, [https://bit.ly/2HiLTUc]

The first major red flag with this statement is that MacArthur declares that what he summarizes to be the meaning of repentance is a culmination of "all those who define both the word and its theological meaning," even though that is impossible, meaning that this is a deceptive statement designed to influence a simple-minded crowd. How could MacArthur know every writer who has ever defined repentance?

For example, MacArthur has never read (and probably will never read) this book on repentance, which means that he does not know how I (as an author) define the word 'repent'. I also know of other authors who do not define it the same way MacArthur just did, and he obviously does not know how the Word of God defines it, so on what basis does he claim that all authors throughout time agree with MacArthur?

In his definition of 'repentance', MacArthur completely avoided any definition that has to do with godly sorrow for sins. He goes on in his article to repeat, many times, that repentance is to turn from bad things to good things.

What is fascinating to me is that this makes no sense whatsoever when compared to a story he told just a few paragraphs earlier in the article that documented his sermon:
"I preached a rather prolonged sermon in Kiev in the Ukraine... And the pastor, after I was finished preaching, said, 'Pull it together, and call for people to repent. And then I'll come up, and we'll invite people to repent.' And he did. He came up after I had preached... and he said, 'If you desire to repent, please come to the front.' And I wasn't sure what that meant, but people began to come to the front. When they came to the front, the pastor handed them a microphone and said, 'Repent.' That's right. And so they took the microphone and they repented publicly. And as I remember it - and I think it's pretty accurate - after each person repented, there was rejoicing, and they sang a verse of a hymn, and that went on till 1:30, two hours of people repenting, because they understand what the Bible means by what the Bible says. It's about repentance."
-John MacArthur, "The Doctrine of Repentance," Grace to You, Apr 3, 2005, retrieved June 17, 2022, [https://bit.ly/2HiLTUc]

Let's take a moment to break this down because this is very revealing of MacArthur's willful blindness. There are a number of things that do not add up in his statement.

The first, and most curious, thing I noticed was that when the pastor told the people to come up and repent, MacArthur said "I wasn't sure what that meant." Perhaps I am just old-fashioned, and am not well-versed enough in the politics of new-age church-ianity, but I would say that if you do not understand what repentance is, then you should not be preaching at all!

The reason this confused John MacArthur is because he believes that the word 'repent' means "to turn from sin." In his mind, they were being called to the front to "turn from their sins," and this begs the question: How are you supposed to turn from your sins by talking into a microphone?

Obviously, I was not there, and I cannot pull any other information from the event that MacArthur did not give us from his description, but essentially, what I took from this is that they likely had a better understanding of grief and godly sorrow than MacArthur did, which is why MacArthur was confused. Of course, one does not come to godly sorrow by speaking into a microphone, so likely, what they were actually doing was coming up to confess their sins and confess the Lord Jesus Christ.

However, in his teaching, MacArthur is trying to convey the ridiculous idea that one can turn from all his sins before he is saved, or at the very least, have the intention to do so. As we have already learned in this book, until a man has been given the humility of godly sorrow and faith in Christ, he will not be able to change or turn from much of anything. Furthermore, MacArthur is trying to teach people that they can "turn from sins" by coming up to a microphone to say a few words, and of all the corrupt preachers I have ever quoted, I believe that John MacArthur is one of the most deceptive because of his elegant speech, while at the same time being one of the most absurd in his doctrine because of his lack of understanding.

Again, from 2nd Timothy:

Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
-2 Timothy 3:7

False mega-church pastor Jack Graham of PowerPoint Ministries said: "You may be surprised to learn the word repent in the Greek New Testament simply means to turn around. It was a military term that described a soldier marching in one direction and then doing an about-face." -Jack Graham, "What does it mean to 'repent'?" Crosswalk, Feb 17, 2012, retrieved June 17, 2022, [https://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/powerpoint/powerpoint-feb-17-2012.html]

If (and I emphasize, IF) that were true, it would be correct to say that I would be surprised. It is typical of arrogant preachers with a PhD to consider themselves an authority of their own, and therefore, do not provide any references to back up the statements they make, and Jack Graham is no exception to this because there are no sources of any information in his very short article on this subject, reflecting the lazy nature of a lot of modern-day preachers.

Earlier in this book, we looked at an etymology dictionary on the word 'repent' to see where the origin of the word in English came from:
"c. 1300, 'to feel such regret for sins or crimes as produces amendment of life," from Old French repentir (11c.), from re-, here probably an intensive prefix (see re-), + Vulgar Latin *penitire "to regret," from Latin poenitire "make sorry," from poena (see penal)."
(See 'repent', Online Etymology Dictionary, retrieved June 17, 2022, [https://www.etymonline.com/word/repent])

Could some military officer at some point in the distant past have used the word 'repent' to refer to turning around? Sure, any such thing is possible, but without evidence, why would you say it?

However, that was not the full meaning of what Graham said because he said that the word 'repent' in the New Testament was born out of a military term. There is not much more to say about this because he never tells us where he got any of that information from, and it is absurd to think this came from a military phrase because God spoke of repentance all the way back in Genesis, which means the word (in whatever language was singularly spoken in that day) existed LONG before any military existed in this world.

The hate-filled, warmongering, false preacher Steven Anderson also teaches corrupt doctrine on repentance, which should be of little surprise to those readers who know of Anderson's works of the flesh.

In a teaching he has called "The True Definition of Repentance," Anderson said:

"Now that's a pretty clear statement. The Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel. Now what do you think that means? It's pretty clear from the context. He's basically saying he changed his mind about it. I mean, he wanted to make him king, then he saw, you know, what he did with it, and he said, 'You know what? I wish I hadn't have done that.' You know, and he said, 'I've changed my mind about that'."

-Steven L. Anderson, "The True Definition of Repentance," Steven Anderson's Official YouTube Channel, Jan 13, 2010, retrieved Mar 2, 2018, [https://youtu.be/jusl3qL0rGs]; See also Steven L. Anderson, "The True Definition of Repentance," IMDb, Jan 13, 2010, retrieved Apr 13, 2018, [imdb.com/title/tt4081346]; See also mirrored video, Steven L. Anderson, "The True Definition of Repentance Pastor Steven L Anderson," bill berube, May 4, 2015, retrieved Apr 13, 2018, [https://youtu.be/DbJTD2PLAtk]

We have already covered the fact that if we say that God changed His mind about making Saul king, it destroys the concept of God's omniscience, meaning that He knows ahead of time all the thoughts, words, and actions of men, but Anderson (as a preacher) is the philosophical equivalent of a bulldozer operator wearing a blindfold. Anderson is willingly blind to the fact that repentance is godly sorrow because Anderson grew up in church buildings since he was a little boy, and therefore, he believes himself to have been a Christian all his life without ever being converted to Jesus Christ through the godly sorrow of repentance.

Earlier in this book, we briefly read from First Samuel 15, in which the Lord God and Samuel grieved because of the wicked things King Saul had done:

Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.
-1 Samuel 15:10-11

Anderson made the somewhat brazen statement that God "WANTED to make [Saul] king," but if we just read the book of First Samuel, we discover that was NOT the case. In fact, God did not want the nation of Israel to have a king at all:

Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.
-1 Samuel 8:4-9

Samuel then proceeded, as God had commanded him, to go before the people and give them fair warning that if God gave them a king as they had demanded, then that king would take away their sons to be soldiers, take their wages as taxes for war machines, take their daughters to be cooks and maids, take their fields and give them to his own servants, and in the end, they would all be enslaved to him. He also warned them that they would come before God in tears of grief in that day because of the king they had asked Him to establish for them.

Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us... And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.
-1 Samuel 8:19-22

We can clearly see that God did not want to make Saul king, so why did Anderson make such a blatantly false statement? The reason is not because he studied Scripture to find the truth, but rather, he believes that the word 'repent' means "to turn" and "to change," and therefore, Anderson presupposed that God wanted to make Saul king, but then later changed His mind.

In case some readers did not understand what I just said, I want you, for a moment, to suppose that the word 'repent' meant "to change one's mind," just for the sake of argument. After we read the fact that God did NOT want the Jews to have a king, how could God repent of (i.e. "change His mind" about) making Saul king when He never had His mind set on making Saul king in the first place?

If the word 'repent' meant "to turn" or "to change," then this passage in First Samuel 15 makes no sense, and this is one of the reasons men like Steven Anderson are so deceptive. It often takes many pages of explanation to undo the lies and manipulation that roll off his tongue in one or two sentences.

Anderson continues his charade:
"Now, did you know that the most common use, in the Bible, of the word 'repent' is God repenting? If you look up every time the word 'repent' is used, the most common person repenting is God."
-Steven L. Anderson, "The True Definition of Repentance," Steven Anderson's Official YouTube Channel, Jan 13, 2010, retrieved Mar 2, 2018, [https://youtu.be/jusl3qL0rGs]; See also Steven L. Anderson, "The True Definition of Repentance," IMDb, Jan 13, 2010, retrieved Apr 13, 2018, [imdb.com/title/tt4081346]; See also mirrored video, Steven L. Anderson, "The True Definition of Repentance Pastor Steven L Anderson," May 4, 2015, retrieved Apr 13, 2018, [https://youtu.be/DbJTD2PLAtk]

This proves what I have long said about Steven Anderson, namely, that he uses keyword searches and counting words in Scripture to deceive people into thinking that he is a smart person who is well-learned in the Bible. This is a common tactic that is used by corrupt preachers when they stand behind their pulpits because the average layman thinks it is very impressive that someone could know something like that, and so to gain intellectual clout, they will say such things, which really have no influence on the doctrine at all.

However, not only was that statement pointless, but it was also wrong. It is ridiculous that I would have to do this, but I went to a Bible search engine and counted out the number of times the word appeared, so I could double check Anderson (because he does not double check himself). If we just look at the verb form of the word 'repent' (i.e. what Anderson said), it is used 17 times to refer to God, but is used 26 times to refer to mankind, and that alone already disproves Anderson's statement.

If we add in the past tense form, 'repented', we find 13 instances in which it refers to God, but it is used 19 times to refer to mankind. If we add in the noun 'repentance', we can see why Anderson specifically said the word 'repent' and NOT 'repentance' because the Bible only uses it one time to refer to God, but the Bible uses it 25 times to refer to mankind.

So we can add up the numbers, and if we include the one present tense use of the word 'repenting' (in Jer 15:6) that refers to God, the word repent is used in reference to God repenting 32 times, while it is used 70 times in reference to mankind. This does not include the MANY other verses in Scripture that talk about repentance without ever using the word, but the main point of this is to prove that Steven Anderson speaks very confidently about things he does not know or understand, or in other words, he is a fool parading himself as a wise preacher.

fool (n): one who is destitute of reason, or the common powers of understanding; an idiot; a person who acts absurdly; one who does not exercise his reason; in scripture, fool is often used for a wicked or depraved person; one who acts contrary to sound wisdom in his moral deportment
(See 'fool', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved June 23, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

Every prudent man dealeth with knowledge: but a fool layeth open his folly.
-Proverbs 13:16

Anderson continues to tell us the thing:
"And here's the thing: You open up the Webster's—Noah Webster 1828 Dictionary, it'll tell you to repent means to be sorry for your sins, and God doesn't have any sins to be sorry for, okay?"
-Steven L. Anderson, "The True Definition of Repentance," Steven Anderson's Official YouTube Channel, Jan 13, 2010, retrieved Mar 2, 2018, [https://youtu.be/jusl3qL0rGs]; See also Steven L. Anderson, "The True Definition of Repentance," IMDb, Jan 13, 2010, retrieved Apr 13, 2018, [imdb.com/title/tt4081346]; See also mirrored video, Steven L. Anderson, "The True Definition of Repentance Pastor Steven L Anderson," May 4, 2015, retrieved Apr 13, 2018, [https://youtu.be/DbJTD2PLAtk]

We have already looked at Noah Webster's 1828 definition for 'repentance' at the beginning of this book, but let's look up the verb form 'repent' to double check Anderson:

repent (n): to feel pain, sorrow, or regret for something done or spoken
(See 'repent', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved June 23, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

So we can see that Anderson deceived his audience because Webster did NOT say, "to be sorry for your sins" under the first definition, but rather, he said that it was grief (i.e. to feel pain and sorrow), and specifically, he also said that it was "regret for something done." When I said that Steven Anderson was a fool, perhaps you will understand my full meaning now because, just a moment ago, we read Steven Anderson talk about what God had done in the instance of making Saul king over Israel, and Anderson said, "then he [God] saw, you know, what he [Saul] did with it, and he said, 'You know what? I wish I hadn't have done that.'," but in a display of unfathomable blindness, Anderson could not see that what he just described as God's repentance in Scripture is EXACTLY what Noah Webster said it was.

That being said, I have a few of my own disagreements with Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary on this subject (which are few and far between), but not in the way that Anderson has disagreements. (i.e. Anderson operates on conjecture, and then yells and screams at anyone who dares to rebuke him.) For example, the third definition under 'repent' in Webster's dictionary says, "to change the mind in consequence of the inconvenience or injury done by past conduct," and the verse he references to is from Exodus 13:

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:
-Exodus 13:17

What I believe Webster failed to understand was that his initial definition (i.e. repentance is grief and sorrow) is exactly what is meant in this verse. Those who have never been through war do not fully understand the grief of it, and so when the Hebrews would go into the land and see much war, they would have the pain of grief in their hearts, and sorrow for ever having left Egypt, which would cause them to turn around and go back, or in other words, their repentance (i.e. grief) would cause a conversion (i.e. change of mind), but repentance itself is NOT a change of mind.

However, if we skip down to the FIFTH definition under 'repent', Webster wrote, "to sorrow or be pained for sin," which Webster specifically denoted was for mankind in "violation of God's holy law," and so now we can clearly see the deception of Anderson. Anderson, in an effort to manipulate his audience and justify what he wants to believe, skipped over many definitions of repentance, until he found one that could help him fool an audience of people who do not look very closely at what Anderson teaches.

In summary, if you listen to his entire teaching, Anderson made the argument that one cannot be saved by works, which is true (Eph 2:8-9), but then argued that repentance means "to turn from sin," and that if you have to "turn from sin" to be saved, then that is works-based false doctrine. Of course, IF the word 'repent' meant "to turn from sin," then I would agree, but the word 'repent' does NOT mean "to turn from sin." Anderson is doing nothing more than deceiving his audience with a bait-and-switch argument in which he baits people in by correctly preaching against the false doctrine of works-salvation, but then switches the definition of 'repent' to convince the people of a false gospel message that excludes repentance.

Anderson goes on to mock Christians (including myself) for teaching that repentance (in terms of salvation for mankind) is godly sorrow, claiming that we are false teachers that "change the meaning of the word repent." If Anderson's foolishness was not bad enough at this point, he is about to make it FAR worse because, as soon as he makes this statement, he goes on to ask a question to his audience:
"Who speaks Spanish in here? Who knows a little bit of Spanish? Who knows the Spanish word, pensás?... What does it mean? To think! So what do you think RE-pent means, which is a Latin word? RE-think."
-Steven L. Anderson, "The True Definition of Repentance," Steven Anderson's Official YouTube Channel, Jan 13, 2010, retrieved Mar 2, 2018, [https://youtu.be/jusl3qL0rGs]; See also Steven L. Anderson, "The True Definition of Repentance," IMDb, Jan 13, 2010, retrieved Apr 13, 2018, [imdb.com/title/tt4081346]; See also mirrored video, Steven L. Anderson, "The True Definition of Repentance Pastor Steven L Anderson," May 4, 2015, retrieved Apr 13, 2018, [https://youtu.be/DbJTD2PLAtk]

I can assure you that this is a very rare occurrence, but when I listened to Anderson say this, I actually did a forehead slap, and dropped my head into my hands in an effort to mentally process the comically absurd statement he just made. First of all, we have already gone over the word origin of 'repent' and that it was from the Latin, but the ONLY connection between the word 'repent' and the Spanish word 'pensás' is that Anderson noticed that they share three letters.

So Anderson, in alleged "wisdom" of his own conceit (Pro 26:12), assumes that every word that begins with the letters 're' is using the prefix 're', which means "to go back and do again." So, for example, the word reflect, which, just like the word pensás (pehn-sahr), can also mean "to think," but it does not mean that you "flect again," or in other words, it is a single word, which means you would have to add the 're' prefix to it (i.e. re-reflect) if you wanted to infer the meaning "think again."
(NOTE: There is a 'flect' word in Spanish, which means "to bend," and so it is possible that the base word may have used a 're' prefix, but I could not find any information in etymology dictionaries on it, and the word 'flect' is not found in English dictionaries, meaning that, in English, 'reflect' is used WITHOUT a prefix.)

In another example, there are some evolutionists who have claimed that the Bible teaches millions of years of evolutionism because of its use of the word 'replenish' in the first chapter of Genesis:

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
-Genesis 1:28

The argument from the evolutionists is that the word 'replenish' means "to fill again," and so they believe that the earth was full of creatures, and a massive extinction event took place where God killed all the creatures before He made Adam and Eve, which shows us how easily false doctrines can be created when someone decides to change the contextual meaning of God's Word. However, at the time the King James Bible was finished (in 1611 AD), the word 'replenish' simply meant "to fill," which was the common definition and usage of it until some people started doing what Anderson did, adding in a prefix to the word where there was no prefix, and a few hundred years later, it not only gained a new meaning "to fill again," but even the word 'plenish' was eventually created (which was not a word in the 17th century) because it is far easier to create a new word to cover for the error of the people, than to attempt to correct the public misuse of the word.

And likewise, the word 'repent' is one word, not a word with the prefix 're' attached to the front of it. There is a word in the English language called 'pent', which Noah Webster defined as "closely confined," or preferably, "shut up," which, if Anderson were compelled to do, would spare the world a lot of false doctrine.

Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.
-Proverbs 17:28

For a dream cometh through the multitude of business;
and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words.
-Ecclesiastes 5:3

If anyone wants to make the argument that repentance is turning, then I would ask them to read Jeremiah 31 very carefully:

I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God. Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.
-Jeremiah 31:18-19

The Lord God told us that Ephraim was turned, and THEN he repented. If repentance was turning, then are we to believe that Ephraim turned, and then turned again away from that which he was turned? How does it make sense to say that after a man was turned, he turned?

I would ask readers to consider if you believe that it would make more sense that, after he was turned away from the sins of his life, as men sometimes do, he was brought to godly sorrow, having been given understanding from God about the inward corruptions of his heart and secret lusts. Some men, like Anderson, would war against that idea because they hate the doctrine of godly sorrow (because they have never experienced it), but let's take a look at the definition of 'bemoan' to get a better understanding:

bemoan (v): to lament; to bewail; to express sorrow for
bewail (v): to express grief; it expresses deep sorrow
(See 'bemoan' & 'bewail', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved June 23, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

Once again, without ever using the word 'repent', we can see the theme of repentance all throughout Scripture. In this instance, Ephraim lamented and "smote upon" his thigh, which is an expression of the pain of godly sorrow, and so if any preacher refuses to hear and understand this doctrine, it is a willful blindness of pride, and again, God rejects the proud of heart.

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
-James 4:6

Steven Anderson also offers another argument in a teaching he did on repentance a few years later in 2012. He said:
"The book of John mentions some form of the word 'believe' 101 times! That's an average of approximately five times per chapter! Chapter 1: 'Believe, believe, believe, believe, believe!' Chapter 2: 'Believe, believe, believe, believe, believe!' Chapter 3: 'Believe, believe, believe, believe, believe!' I mean, an average of five times per chapter, God's saying 'BELIEVE!' 'BELIEVE!' 'BELIEVE!' 'BELIEVE!' 'BELIEVE!'... But you know what is missing from the book of John? The word 'repent' is never found in the book of John, one time... but it is a book that is adequate and sufficient enough to tell you how to get saved... and then look at it, and there's no repent there, that tells me that believing's enough!"
-Steven L. Anderson, "False Repentance Doctrine Exposed," Steven Anderson's Official YouTube Channel, Aug 20, 2012, retrieved Feb 23, 2018, [https://youtu.be/FVSxeENosmQ]; See also "Steven Anderson's Confusion About The Gospels," Creation Liberty Evangelism YouTube Channel, retrieved June 23, 2022, [https://youtu.be/5w-N2UvQOqM]

Earlier in this book, we went over how God told us we are to study His Word, but Anderson refuses to do that, meaning that he is not studying the Bible "precept upon precept," and "here a little and there a little," or in other words, he is not correlating commandments together from various parts of the Bible and combining them into one unified doctrine. Furthermore, his argument is ridiculous if we apply that same philosophy to other books of the Bible.

For example, did you know that, in the Book of Acts, which records the forming of Christ's church, the word 'love' is never found one time? If we adopt Steven Anderson's way of thinking, we would have to conclude that there is no requirement for the church to love, however, if we read the Bible precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, we can know that we are supposed to love the brotherhood of Christ, and our neighbors as ourselves.

And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
-Mark 12:31

Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.
-1 Peter 2:17

And since Anderson is putting so much emphasis on the Book of John, we can correlate verses from that book as well, in order to know that we are to love one another:

This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
-John 15:12

This is how the Bible is supposed to be read and studied, but when corrupt preachers and leavened churchgoers want to justify a particular belief they have adopted, they will abandon the proper method of Biblical study, and use foolish arguments. There are hundreds of correlating verses that can be used in relation to verses on faith and belief, in order to gain a full understanding of the Gospel of Salvation, which is why there are FOUR books on the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and not just one.

What is mind-blowing is that Steven Anderson himself stated this in a different teaching he gave: "The Four Gospels are actually a perfect eyewitness testimony, giving different details, appearing to contradict on the surface, only to the unlearned, only to those who haven't studied, and then once you do study it out, you see that they corroborate... Why are there four gospels? Well, it's four corroborating testimonies, and it is also that we might learn different things, and have different things emphasized unto us."
-Steven Anderson, "Steven Anderson's Confusion About The Gospels," Creation Liberty Evangelism YouTube Channel, retrieved June 23, 2022, [https://youtu.be/5w-N2UvQOqM]

Therefore, we can see clearly that Anderson teaches one thing, but then does something different in practice. In other words, in many cases, Anderson does not practice what he preaches.

Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
-Matthew 23:2-3

Let's take a look at the Scriptures to gain a better understanding of what Anderson seems not to understand, namely, how the corroboration of the Gospels applies to the doctrine of repentance. The following verses are taught very often in most church buildings today, even in the leavened ones, because they love the doctrine of forgiveness, since it benefits them:

Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
-Matthew 18:21-22

When I was young, I attended a variety of church buildings, and the general consensus among them was that you were supposed to forgive someone under any circumstance, no matter what; however, that is not the fullness of the Gospel on that matter. If we go to corroborating Scripture in Luke, we find that there is a condition to that forgiveness, and it is the same condition that God gives to us if we want His forgiveness:

Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
-Luke 17:3

Thus, forgiveness is not automatic, as is preached in many church buildings because there is no forgiveness without repentance (i.e. grief and sorrow of one's wrongdoing). Let's suppose a criminal murdered a man's daughter, and the criminal bragged about it, would the father be forced to forgive and accept the man who killed his daughter? Should the father forget all, welcome the criminal into his home, and show him mercy when the criminal, who took away the man's daughter, sticks his nose in the air and justifies himself out of the pride of his heart?

When that criminal finally realizes what he has done, and comes in the tears of sorrow of his wrongdoing to plead for forgiveness, that is when we must forgive them, as our Heavenly Father has forgiven us. Knowing what Christ has done for us, and even though it is difficult in some situations, how could we not do the same for others?

The point is that, without proper study of Scripture, correlating the verses together from different books of the Bible, we would not fully understand this doctrine. By practicing forgiveness without repentance, not only will it put Christians in many grievous situations, but it would also give the impression to mankind that God forgives men no matter what, under any circumstance, and that is simply not the case because the gift of grace comes with the condition that a man must have a contrite, humble spirit of repentance.

Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart [i.e. not penitent; a hardened heart that rejects godly sorrow] treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
-Romans 2:4-5

Anderson's war against Biblical repentance went so far that he created a separate website called "Repentance Blacklist," which was his effort to create a list of what he called "heretics" who preached that repentance was part of salvation. He first started the site in 2007, but for many years, he hid the fact that he was the owner of it, even though the domain data clearly showed that he owned it (see image). He continued to update the site over the next 10 years. In 2017, Anderson hired someone to do a flashy overhaul on the site to make it look fancy, and he finally decided to be open with viewers that he was the owner, but mysteriously, in 2019, he removed the site completely, and I was unable to find out the reason why. (See Steven Anderson, The Repentance Blacklist, Faithful Word Baptist Church, retrieved June 27, 2022, [https://web.archive.org/web/20071112231622/http://www.repentanceblacklist.com])

On his "Repentance Blacklist" site, one of Anderson's directory links was to another site he owns called "Hard Preaching," and the following image is from that site shortly before he took it down along with Repentance Blacklist: (See Steven Anderson, "Hard Preaching," retrieved June 27, 2022, [https://web.archive.org/web/20190105135835/http://www.hardpreaching.com])

As you can see, Anderson put up a picture silhouette of a man preaching behind a pulpit, and added the words "RIPPING FACE" in a fiery, bloody font. I could not think of a better picture to describe the heart of Steven Anderson than this, as it truly represents his hateful, warmongering nature, and it helps to demonstrate what a man becomes when he fools himself into believing that he has faith in Christ, but has never been given the humility of repentance (i.e. godly sorrow of his sins).

I first discovered Anderson's "Repentance Blacklist" site in 2013, and when we go back to look at the 2013 version from internet archives, it is very interesting because he had a section on the front page that he called, "Written Articles that Teach the Truth." In that original list, there were only two authors, one is (of course) Steven Anderson himself, but there is another he puts in a higher position than his own, and that is Jack Hyles.

(See Steven Anderson, "The Repentance Blacklist," retrieved June 27, 2022, [https://web.archive.org/web/20131001061528/http://www.repentanceblacklist.com])

Later, Anderson would go on to add other preachers to this list, but most of them were his dedicated followers, specifically preachers who he personally trained. However, the point that needs to be emphasized here is that there was only one other person in Anderson's original list, and that happened to be his mentor.

I have listened to Anderson publicly claim to his listeners that Jack Hyles was not his mentor, but not only does he, at minimum, highly revere Jack Hyles, there is also contradicting evidence to that statement. One of the major pieces of evidence is that Anderson, as a young man, traveled halfway across the country to Indiana in order to study at the college Jack Hyles founded, Hyles-Anderson college.

Another interesting piece of evidence is that Anderson's preaching on repentance is nearly identical to the preaching of Jack Hyles on repentance. Hyles has a chapter in his book, The Enemies of Soul Winning, entitled "Misunderstood Repentance," and if you read through it, you will discover that Anderson is simply parroting what he learned from his mentor, who also rejected the Biblical understanding of repentance.

In his book, Hyles wrote:
"The repentance there is a turning from the thing that keeps him from being saved to the thing that saves him. So, yes, there is a repentance from unbelief in order to believe. It is simply a change of direction. It means a turning around. You are going away from believing, and you decide to turn around and believe."
(See Jack Hyles, "Chapter Four from The Enemies of Soul Winning - Misunderstood Repentance," retrieved June 27, 2022, [https://web.archive.org/web/20131001071049/http://www.repentanceblacklist.com/misunderstood.html])

Anderson has taught this same concept, in which Hyles twists the meaning of repentance away from grief and sorrow for sins (because Hyles was never given that gift from God), but at the same time wants a definition of repentance that suits his way of thinking, that is, one should just have a general belief in Jesus Christ to be saved.

I hope readers do not misunderstand me when I say this because it is ABSOLUTELY necessary to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved. We must believe that Jesus is the Son of God (Gal 2:20), that He died on the cross at Calvary (Luke 23:33) to pay for the debt of our sin with His own shed blood (1Pe 1:2), that He raised Himself from the dead (John 2:19-21), and He returned to His Heavenly throne to sit at the right hand of God the Father (Mark 12:36) to make intercession for the saints. (Heb 7:25)

However, I also want to warn Christians that there have been many people who have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ over the past 2,000 years, claiming to be Christians, but have not been saved. We can see the Lord Jesus Christ address this during His ministry in this world, when He preached to a crowd of people who believed on Him:

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
-John 8:31-32

Jesus continued to point out to them that, in their hearts, they hated Him, despite the fact that they openly professed to believe on Him. He ended by telling them that they were of the Devil, and not of God:

Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
-John 8:44-47

The reason for this is because Jesus knew that there was no repentance in their hearts, meaning that they had no sorrow of the sins they had committed against God. At that point, they (i.e. those who believe on Jesus) picked up stones to kill Him, proving that He was right in His accusation against them, meaning that they spoke of their belief on Him outwardly, but inwardly, they hated His Word.

This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
-Matthew 15:8

Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
-Isaiah 29:13

Just like Steven Anderson, Jack Hyles professed faith in Christ and preached to the people without a heart of repentance, meaning that he had no godly sorrow of his sins. When anyone preaches a false gospel message on salvation, namely, a false message that excludes the humility of godly sorrow for sins, and they refuse to hear otherwise, they are FALSE teachers, and those false teachers end up using, abusing, and manipulating the people around them.

His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.
-Isaiah 56:10-11

Later in her life, Jack Hyles' daughter, Linda, testified of her father's double life, meaning that on the surface, he acted like he was a dedicated preacher of God, but behind the scenes, he abused his wife and family, he was involved in numerous affairs, and he became a millionaire cult leader who left nothing to his children:
"My dad lived a double life. One of righteous family man, and dynamic speaker in the public eye, but one of sordid sexual secrets, privately. Secrets that only my siblings and me and my mom knew. He hated my mom—HATED her, treated her terribly, abused her, and even turned his own children against our mother. We hated her. He told us she was crazy. We thought, 'to make him happy, we'll hate her too'. Our home was full of turmoil, hatred, stress, strife, and as a little girl, it was isolating, it was intense, and it was frightening. He had affairs. He had a mistress for many years, the wife of a Sunday School teacher, built her family a beautiful home right around the corner from our house. You could see their family from our back door. It was craziness, living one way, preaching another... You see, he had taught us that the best way to please God was to please him [Jack Hyles] because he was 'God's man', and he taught us that to please him, we had to keep all the secrets... He died a multi-millionaire. He left nothing to his children."
-Linda Murphrey, daughter of Jack Hyles, "TEDxOjaiChange - Linda Murphrey - From Cult to Courage," retrieved June 27, 2022, [https://youtu.be/pdtxM0rD86I?t=153]

A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.
-Proverbs 13:22

We can also see the corrupt root of a man when we look at his fruit, and there are many pastors who have had strong affiliations with Jack Hyles' church building (i.e. First Baptist Church in Hammond, Indiana), and/or were educated at Hyles-Anderson college, that have been arrested and convicted for violence and sex crimes against children. These include, but are not limited to:

Tedd Butler, former pastor of Gospel Light Baptist Church in Walker, Michigan, who was convicted of sexual molestation of a five-year-old boy. Christopher Settlemoir, former pastor of Antioch Baptist Academy in Warren, Michigan, who was convicted of sexually assaulting a minor. Charles Schifflett, former pastor of First Baptist Church in Culpeper, Virginia, who was convicted in 2006 of cruelty to children, as well as assault and battery. Joseph Combs, former pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Bristol, Tennessee, who was convicted of kidnapping and abusing a minor. Chester Mulligan, former pastor of Central Baptist Church in East Chicago, Indiana, and former pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Miami, Florida, who was convicted of felony stalking a 14-year-old. William (a.k.a. "Andy") Beith, former principal at Liberty Baptist Academy in Lake Station, Indiana, who was convicted of crossing state lines with the intent to have sex with an 11-year-old girl. Craig Sisson, former pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Imperial, Missouri, who was convicted of child molestation. Kerry Martin, former pastor of Temecula Valley Baptist Church in Temecula, California, who was convicted of molesting a 14-year-old girl.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land [i.e. you travel around the world] to make one proselyte [i.e. a convert to a religious ideology], and when he is made, ye make him twofold [twice] more the child of hell than yourselves.
-Matthew 23:15

Jack Hyles taught heresy to Steven Anderson, and Anderson passed it on to Kent Hovind, who has long taught a false gospel message on salvation because of his lack of understanding about repentance. He taught it in serious error from the beginning of his ministry, up until he was visited in prison by Steven Anderson, and now he parrots the false gospel of Steven Anderson. I cover a lot more details about Kent Hovind's heresies, his marriage to multiple wives at the same time, his lies in court (which led to his 10-year prison sentence), his abuse of his staff members, and much more in my free-to-read book, Wolves in Costume: Kent Hovind. However, focusing on the subject of repentance, Kent Hovind spoke about this in a number of interviews he did while he was in prison:

HOST (RUDY DAVIS): "Josh says: 'I have a Bible question for Doctor Hovind relating to repentance and the gospel. Why did Jesus let the rich young ruler die and go to hell? Wouldn't this story indicate that God is NOT (and 'not' is capitalized), wouldn't this story indicate that God is NOT so eager to save that he will cheapen the gospel to the point of not including repentance from sin?'"
HOVIND: "Hmm. Well, there's a couple of built-in assumptions in that question, and I don't think it's cheapening the gospel to not include repentance. I just talked to Matt about that and he played for me the end of my seminars where I talk about repentance. I don't know that I've changed my mind; I haven't analyzed it, but I think that salvation is much simpler and freer than we wish—or than we think. I think there are a hundred verses just in the book of John that talk about 'believe'... There are at least a hundred verses that talk about 'believe' to be saved. There are a few, maybe two, that add the word 'repentance' in the same sentence."
-Kent Hovind, "Kent Hovind Rejects Repentance," Creation Liberty Evangelism YouTube Channel, retrieved June 25, 2022, [https://youtu.be/8bu0-TzRux0]

As we can see, Hovind is repeating Anderson's argument (i.e. the Book of John never once uses the word 'repent'), which I proved earlier in this book to be fallacious by comparing the example that the Book of Acts never once uses the word 'love', but love is obviously a key theme in the church. To give another example, the word 'hell' is not used in most verses where the Bible talks about the eternal judgment of God, but it would be absurd to argue that, because the word 'hell' is not used in every verse that speaks about God's judgment, that hell does not exist, or that people are not in hell right now.
(Read "Hell Is Real And Many People Are Going There" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers,
how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
-Matthew 23:33

Though Hovind is willingly ignorant of the true meaning of repentance, he is effectively preaching that the Gospel of Salvation in Jesus Christ is not made any worse when the doctrine of repentance is dropped from it. However, as we have seen so far, based on numerous Scriptures and other examples, repentance unto salvation is just as vital as faith unto salvation, and as indicated in the title of this book, no man can have true faith in Christ without a repentant heart.

And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
-Luke 5:31-32

"My first question would be: If repentance... is part of salvation, why isn't it in every verse dealing with salvation? It would seem wrong for it not to be in every single verse if it is indeed part."
-Kent Hovind, "Kent Hovind Rejects Repentance," Creation Liberty Evangelism YouTube Channel, retrieved June 25, 2022, [https://youtu.be/8bu0-TzRux0]

For those of us who are born again in Christ, we are humbled by the Spirit of God and given understanding so that we know that we should study to learn the philosophy (i.e. way of thinking) of Christ, and not just adopt a way of thinking that is of the world, based on our personal feelings.

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy [a way of thinking] and vain deceit [useless lies], after the tradition of men, after the rudiments [first teachings you learn] of the world, and not after Christ.
-Colossians 2:8

However, Kent Hovind does not have that same understanding because he believes that he is the judge over the Word of God. Hovind, in his seminars, always used to "translate" what atheists and evolutionists would say, or in other words, he would expose the true meaning behind what they were arguing, and so I will do the same with the deceptive question that Kent just posed. What Kent actually said was: "God, I do not like the way you wrote this, and I believe I have a better understanding of how the Bible should be written, so I refuse to believe what you said until you write it the way I want it."

I know that Hovind would never be willing to read a book that rebukes him, especially from someone who (at the time I wrote this paragraph) has only been preaching about one quarter of the time he has been preaching, but allow me to return a question to him: Why did God not put the word 'faith' or 'belief' in every verse that uses the word 'salvation'? There are a number of verses throughout the Bible that speak of the salvation of mankind, but those verses do not include the words 'faith' or 'belief' along with it:

So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
-Hebrews 9:28

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
-Philippians 2:12

And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
-Luke 1:76-78

I already know what my opponents would say about this, namely, that faith is implied in these verses, and I would agree, but that knowledge is based on the fact that other correlating verses exist which verify that doctrine. Therefore, repentance is also implied in the verses concerning salvation based on other correlating verses that exist to verify that doctrine.

Let's look at the example of Second Peter to help illustrate the point:

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.
-2 Peter 3:9

So if we were to only read this verse, how could we know that faith is part of salvation, and not just repentance? Again, we have correlating verses to verify that for us:

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.
-John 20:31

However, Kent Hovind makes a special effort to avoid this subject (which is a standard, off-camera practice for him). Let's look carefully at what Hovind says next:
"The Bible clearly says the law is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, I understand. There seems to be quite a conflict among Christians these days of exactly: what must I do to be saved? And this has kind of always been the thing, coming to the head again now like it does every twenty or thirty years. Is it easy-believism or is there a series of steps we have to take? Someone here gave me a book, an article, to read two days ago saying, 'Ooh, you gotta' do—probably most of the people who think they're saved aren't, you know, you don't just pray a prayer'. The other side of that coin is 2 Peter 3: 'God is not willing that any should perish!' He wants everybody to be saved."
(See Kent Hovind, "Kent Hovind Rejects Repentance," Creation Liberty Evangelism YouTube Channel, retrieved Mar 19, 2022, [https://youtu.be/8bu0-TzRux0])

The reason this is very significant is because after Hovind went to prison, he temporarily lost control of his ministry, Creation Science Evangelism, and so he created another ministry called "2Peter3.com," because he heavily emphasized the importance of that chapter in the Bible. In many of his teachings, he stated that he had the third chapter of Second Peter memorized, and because of that, we can know that his statement in the interview was very deceptive. (See Kent Hovind, "Dr. Kent Hovind's Official Website," Internet Archives Wayback Machine, May 30, 2016, retrieved June 27, 2022, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160530054854/https://2peter3.com])

I just quoted 2 Peter 3:9, which says that God is "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance," and yet, when Kent Hovind quoted this verse (which he has memorized) for his audience, he purposefully left out the end of the sentence because he knew it would contradict his own words, namely, "I don't think it's 'cheapening the Gospel' to not include repentance." Hovind was only trying to save face in a situation where he had no answer, and in doing so, he was "snared," and was made to "fall backward," as we learned about earlier in Isaiah 28:13, and this is not the first time he has done this because I have heard him stop at the word "perish" in 2 Peter 3:9 in his seminars and other teachings.

Because of their belief in the twisted definitions of repentance, I have heard many of these preachers say that repentance is only for those who are saved, but has no bearing on the world before they are saved. If that were true, then they would have to confess their belief that the Holy Spirit is a liar, and that Paul was wrong to preach this message to the pagans in Athens:

And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but
now commandeth all men every where to repent:
-Acts 17:30

By the grace of God and His gift of understanding, I say it would be better for Kent Hovind to stop judging God's Word, and instead let God's Word judge him. After marrying multiple wives (at the same time) and trying to hide it from the public, lying in court (while trying to cover it up in front of his viewers), and many years of abusing his family and staff members (all of which I provide evidence in my book, Wolves in Costume: Kent Hovind), it is clear that Kent has never come to the humility of godly sorrow.

Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
-John 7:24

For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.
-Isaiah 61:8

For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
-1 Corinthians 11:31
(Read "Unbiblical Cop-Outs: Don't Judge Me!" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Kent continues to deceive his listeners by comparing repentance to baptism:
"I think baptism is important, and I got baptized after I got saved, and I've tried to repent of all my sins. I have not succeeded at that yet; I won't tell you what the rest of them are, but I'm still working on that."
(See Kent Hovind, "Kent Hovind Rejects Repentance," Creation Liberty Evangelism YouTube Channel, retrieved Mar 19, 2022, [https://youtu.be/8bu0-TzRux0])

Baptism is one of the few commanded rituals that the Lord Jesus Christ gave to the church, and it is only to be done once after a man has come to repentance and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. Baptism is a cleansing ritual, which was performed by the Levitical priests in Israel (Lev 16:16-24), which is symbolic of the spirit dying (going under the water), and being raised a new creature in Christ (coming out of the spiritual water of birth, or being "born again"), being washed and sanctified.

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
-Acts 16:31-34

And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
-1 Corinthians 6:11

Just to clarify, baptism is not a requirement for the saving grace of Jesus Christ, but it is a commandment He gave for the church to do for one who is born again in Him. Thus, baptism is not a work that someone does in order to be saved, even though there are MANY corrupt religious cults who teach that false doctrine.
(Read "The Biblical Understanding of Baptism" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

What Hovind did was compare his false concept of repentance (i.e. "turning from sin") with baptism, arguing that because you do not have to be baptized to be saved (which is true), therefore, you do not have to have repentance to be saved (which is NOT true).

Since Kent Hovind often battled against logical fallacies from atheists and evolutionists, I will point out that his argument in this instance is a form of a weak analogy. Hovind, in his seminars and debates, used to say it was, "comparing apples and oranges, and calling them the same thing." A weak analogy is when someone compares two concepts, objects, or events in order to link them together to create an argument, but those two things do not have a strong enough connection to make the contextual case being presented.

So in this instance, Hovind used the concept of turning from sin and compared it to a water immersion ritual, and once we consider that, it becomes relatively easy to see that the only connection that those two things have is that they are both talked about in the Bible. In fact, one is a concept, and the other is a ritual, which separates them farther apart than other weak analogy examples (e.g. apples and oranges, which are both fruit). Neither baptism nor turning from sin are requirements for salvation, as Hovind pointed out, but repentance, in the context of salvation, means "godly sorrow of wrongdoing," and because of his experience in public speaking, he talks so fast that most listeners will not catch his contradictions and logical fallacies.

However, the most damning part of Hovind's words is when he said, "I've tried to repent of all my sins. I have not succeeded at that yet," which is his open admission to not having repentance unto salvation. This is not only nonsensical (i.e. trying to have sorrow for wrongdoing; you either have it or not), but it should be terrifying for Hovind when we consider Christ's warning:

I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
-Luke 13:3

"That's quite an issue today among Christian circles, and I would come down—at least now—my current understanding after 46 years of studying that book, is that repentance is something that comes as a result of salvation. You don't want to sin anymore. You're born again, but it's more in the works category than in the faith category."
(See Kent Hovind, "Kent Hovind Rejects Repentance," Creation Liberty Evangelism YouTube Channel, retrieved Mar 19, 2022, [https://youtu.be/8bu0-TzRux0])

Today, Kent Hovind has, by his own admission, been studying the Word of God for over 50 years, and still does not understand the very basic concept of repentance. The reason for this is because the Holy Spirit is required to have a full understanding of the doctrines of Scripture, and though a man can parrot what other good preachers have taught, he himself cannot understand those doctrines without the Holy Spirit unlocking his understanding.

But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
-1 Corinthians 2:14

To clarify, the things of the Spirit of God cannot be discerned by mankind's natural intellect alone. Therefore, a man can study Scripture all his life, and never understand the Bible, even though he believes he does understand it, and so when the time comes that he should be a teacher among men, he has need for the milk of the Word of God because he actually has no understanding.

For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles [prophets] of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
-Hebrews 5:12-14

In another interview, we can see the comparison of the heresy that Kent Hovind was preaching before his time with Steven Anderson, and his heresy after his time with Anderson:
HOVIND: "I'll have to go back and look and see what I said and see, you know, would I say it again? [i.e. He is asking himself if he would teach repentance unto salvation.] Probably not. I would say that would come after salvation. You're asking a dead man to be hungry. He's not hungry. After he gets alive, born again, then the hunger will come, and the desire to want to serve God. Yeah, I'll review that when I get out. Good point. Don't have an answer right now."
MATT: "Would you like me to play the quick clip for you, just so you can hear it?" HOVIND: "If you'd like, sure."
MATT: "Okay."


[HOVIND'S RECORDING FROM SEMINARS]: "Let me explain what you need to do to go to heaven. The Bible says we're all sinners. We've all broken God's laws. We've disobeyed the creator. We've done wicked things. We're sinners. Some are worse than others in man's eyes, but we've all broken God's laws. The Bible says you have to repent. The word repent means 'to turn'. It actually means two things: to turn from your sin and turn to God."

MATT: "If you heard that, I guess that's what was raising a lot of controversy from people."
HOVIND: "Ah! Okay. Well, that might be from my influence from Ray Comfort, Living Waters, who I still gladly recommend and love in the Lord. I've stayed at his house and consider him a friend. Hmm... I know he's much stronger on that and emphasizes that. Yeah, I think I will change that. [i.e. remove repentance from his salvation message] I think it is—salvation's a free gift. It's not something I work for. If the question is: 'Is repentance a work?' Then I think, probably yeah. It falls into the category of a work... I doubt anybody is honestly being hindered from being saved by that statement 'cause I don't say you gotta' list out all your sins or anything like that. It's like telling somebody, 'Stand on your right foot and pray this prayer.' They may wonder, 'Why do I stand on my right foot?' I don't think it's going to hurt, but I think it may be overkill. It may be unnecessary."
(See Kent Hovind, "Kent Hovind Rejects Repentance," Creation Liberty Evangelism YouTube Channel, retrieved Mar 19, 2022, [https://youtu.be/8bu0-TzRux0])

So in years past, Kent Hovind preached repentance unto salvation, but his error was in defining repentance as "turning from sin," and again, I will say that IF the word 'repent' meant "to turn from sin," I would agree that repentance was a works-based doctrine, but the problem is that 'repent' does NOT mean "to turn from sin." Later on in his ministry, Hovind met Steven Anderson, and now, instead of trying to understand the true meaning of repentance, Hovind does what many other corrupt preachers have done, which is to remove the concept of repentance from salvation entirely.

Hovind mentioned that he was influenced on the doctrine of repentance by Ray Comfort, and this brings us to a very interesting philosophical knot because Ray Comfort, allegedly, teaches that the word 'repent' means "grief and godly sorrow," or at least, that is what it appears to be on the surface. Some readers may be surprised by this, but I do not trust or recommend Ray Comfort's materials at all, even though I once did, and that is because I discovered the truth about what Ray Comfort actually believes and teaches.

I want Christians to understand that just because a man teaches that repentance is godly sorrow for our sins, it does not necessarily mean that a man has been GIVEN that repentance he is preaching. This is a very key point. As I noted earlier, a man can simply repeat what he has heard out of the mouth of the true preachers of Christ, but that does not automatically mean he has been born again in Christ.

Ray Comfort recorded a teaching he gave in a church building, in which he talks about the importance of repentance concerning the Gospel of Salvation. At the beginning of his talk, he said that he was struggling with the issue back in the 1970s, and so he went back to older preachers to see what they had taught on the subject, and parroted what they said: "I began to make it a matter of urgent prayer and began to study the gospel proclamation of men like Spurgeon, Wesley, Moody, Whitefield, Luther, and others that God used down through the ages," -Ray Comfort, "Hell's Best Kept Secret," SpiritLessons DivineRevelations, Oct 7, 2012, retrieved Apr 17, 2018, [https://youtu.be/0oARXAAl9zY?t=122]

I want to emphasize this warning to Christian readers, namely, that men can deceive us with their preaching, in which they say what sounds good to us initially, but once we dive deeper into their true beliefs, we find contradictions and hypocrisy. For example, while he was on the street preaching, Ray Comfort defined repentance as grief and godly sorrow:
"Folks, who of us doesn't repent of sin? You commit adultery, you feel guilty. You say, 'God, I'm sorry,' that doesn't mean you're forgiven."
-Ray Comfort, "Hell's Best Kept Secret," SpiritLessons DivineRevelations, Oct 7, 2012, retrieved Apr 17, 2018, [https://youtu.be/0oARXAAl9zY?t=375]

There are some errors I need to address in Comfort's short statement, and the first is with the phrase "you feel guilty" because, even though this is a common phrase used today, it is nonsensical. Guilt is not a feeling, otherwise people would be convicted through a court system based on the feelings of the judge, or the feelings of the jury.

guilt (n): criminality; that state of a moral agent which results from his actual commission of a crime or offense
shame (n): a painful sensation excited by a consciousness of guilt
(See 'guilt' & 'shame', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved June 30, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

You can feel ashamed, because shame is a sensation that results from a consciousness of guilt, but guilt is a state or condition of criminality, in which a man has done a wrong and is charged with it. This means you are either guilty or not guilty, but you cannot "feel guilty" because that is impossible.

Sadly, many modern-day churchgoers and preachers are teaching an anti-shame campaign, in which they are indoctrinating their congregations into believing that shame is a bad thing, even though the Lord God gives men shame for their own benefit. (i.e. It is part of our conscience, which is a gift from God, and I cover this topic in more detail in an article called, "The Biblical Understanding of Pride" here at creationliberty.com.) The phrase "feel guilty" has been developed to remove guilt of sin, and likewise, shame of sin, because if a man does not feel ashamed of his wrongdoing, then he will never come to repentance of his sin.

Let the proud be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause: but I will meditate in thy precepts.
-Psalm 119:78

But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.
-Psalm 44:7

But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies.
-Psalm 44:9

The second point of error is Comfort's assumption that all people repent of sin, when he says, "who of us doesn't repent of sin?" This is quite surprising from a man who claims to have been studying the Bible for over 50 years, and has been street preaching almost as long, because there are A LOT of people who do not repent of their sin.

An hour before I first wrote this paragraph, I had a conversation with a man who lied to me, but even though I caught him in his lie, he argued that it was just a "misunderstanding," and he refused to admit it was a lie. This is a clear example of a man who does not repent of his sin, so Comfort's question is just nonsense.

Certain people repent of some sins, but not others, and it depends on what their personal values are. There are thieves who have no conscience for theft, but great conscience for murder, while there are mafiosos who have no conscience for murder, but great conscience for lying to other members of the mafia. I no longer watch anything with Ray Comfort in it, but many years ago, I used to watch his videos, and I have seen atheists lie straight to his face, so for Comfort to suggest that everyone has repentance (i.e. a general grief) of sin, is absurd, especially when we consider that the Bible (i.e. God) tells us that men have their consciences seared, meaning that their consciences bear no shame that would lead them to repentance for their wrongdoing.

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
-1 Timothy 4:1-2

Now that we have addressed the errors in Comfort's statement, we can confirm that he made one correct point, and that is, "You say, 'God, I'm sorry,' that doesn't mean you're forgiven." This is referring to the "sorrow of the world," which Paul mentioned in 2nd Corinthians 7:9-10, and it "worketh death," meaning that it produces death in hell because there was no sorrow towards God, that Christ might author true faith in a man.

Just to clarify once again, those who have true faith in Christ are those who came to the foot of the cross of Christ on their knees in tears of their offenses against God, hating their own wretchedness (Rom 7:24), and believed that Christ's shed blood on that cross pays the full penalty for their sin. To them, Christ promised that He would give His grace and restore their spirits to life everlasting, and on the surface, it seems as though Ray Comfort believes this same doctrine, however, if we look closer, Comfort has said that he believes repentance means to turn from sin:

"Without repentance from sin, wicked men cannot have fellowship with a holy God. We are dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1) and until we forsake them through repentance, we cannot be made alive in Christ. The Scriptures speak of 'repentance unto life' (Acts 11:18). We turn from sin to the Savior. This is why Paul preached 'repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ' (Acts 20:21).'"
-Ray Comfort, "Is Repentance Necessary for Salvation?" Ray Comfort's Official Facebook Page, July 1, 2014, retrieved June 30, 2022, [https://bit.ly/2J21X9Z]

Notice that Comfort said "repentance FROM sin," not "repentance OF sin," and that helps to prove the point I made earlier, that the prepositions they use can help determine what they really mean when they say the word 'repent'. When Comfort says that "we turn from sin to the Savior," that is the process of conversion, not repentance, and so by now, most readers should find it very strange that a man who claims he understands the true meaning of repentance (i.e. godly sorrow for sins), and has been teaching it for decades, would contradict his other teachings by saying that repent means "to turn from sin."

Though the incorrect use of a preposition is not the best evidence, it does correlate with strong evidence, and proves the point that, in most cases, when someone says "repent FROM," they believe in an unbiblical definition of repentance. The following quote may surprise those who have believed that Ray Comfort is a model of evangelism, because after quoting a new-age bible version from 2nd Corinthians 7:10, Comfort said: "On careful reflection of my own conversion, I have looked back and concluded that although I didn't weep in sorrow for my many transgressions, I did show the genuineness of my mourning by turning from sin, something called 'fruit of repentance.'"
-Ray Comfort, Ray Comfort's Official Facebook Page, Mar 10, 2014, retrieved June 30, 2022, [https://www.facebook.com/official.Ray.Comfort/posts/745299918823817]

This presents more problems to Comfort's teaching on Salvation in Jesus Christ because, if repentance means "to turn from sin," then it is a works-based heresy. Of course, Comfort preaches that Salvation is not of works, and is a free gift from God, but his doctrine that one must repent to be saved, while saying that repent means "to turn from sin," contradicts the doctrine of free grace he claims to believe in.

Another problem is that Comfort, by his own admission, never came to repentance, meaning that he never had any godly sorrow of his wrongdoing, but rather, he claims his "salvation" in Christ based on his turning from sin. This is a works-based doctrine, proving not only that Comfort contradicts himself, but that he was never born again in Christ, and simply puts on a show for his audience while he rakes in money and prestige with churchgoers.

Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
-John 7:24

I know this will be a hard pill to swallow for some Christians, because they have believed the media narrative that Ray Comfort is a dedicated soldier for Jesus Christ, but Comfort has contradicted himself on this doctrine many times. For example, the following is a screenshot taken of the Australian mirror of the Living Waters website, which I first discovered in 2014, and I took a screenshot of it in 2018 just in case they tried to remove or change it: (Click Image for Larger View)

This is an earlier version of "Hell's Best Kept Secret" that was preserved on the Australian mirror site, which is important to note because, on his main American Living Waters site, they removed the phrasing Comfort used, namely, that you must "turn from sin" to be saved. I checked the site again in 2022, and it is still up, so investigate the link in the reference if you want to view it yourself:
"You have violated God's holy Law, and you're in BIG trouble. On Judgment Day, you will be found guilty and end up in Hell. That's why you need the Savior. Merely being sorry for your sins, or confessing them to God won't help you. You must turn from sin (repent), and your faith must be in Jesus Christ alone. He is the only 'grounds' for God to grant mercy towards you."
-Ray Comfort, "Save Yourself Some Pain," Living Waters Down Under, retrieved June 30, 2022, [https://livingwatersdownunder.com/save-yourself-some-pain/]

Just to clarify, here is an image of two screenshots of the same paragraph, the first being Comfort's original teaching from the Australian mirror, and the second being Comfort's updated teaching on the American site: (Click Image for Larger View)
-Ray Comfort, "Save Yourself Some Pain," Living Waters, retrieved June 30, 2022, [https://www.livingwaters.com/save-yourself-some-pain/]; See also Ray Comfort, "Save Yourself Some Pain," Living Waters Down Under, retrieved June 30, 2022, [https://livingwatersdownunder.com/save-yourself-some-pain/]

So we can see that, in his original teaching, he taught that you must turn from sin to be saved, and he confessed that his salvation (i.e. through repentance) is based on his turning from sin, but in his American version, he took those words out and changed it a little bit. I suspect what happened is that Ray Comfort believed what he originally wrote about the requirement to turn from sin (since he has believed and taught that for many decades), but when he brought his message to the United States, some churchgoers started noticing the problem, and I suspect he got a lot of complaint letters, which prompted him to take that part out, so naïve churchgoers would continue to give him support and send him money.

Please do not misunderstand because I am very sympathetic to someone who taught something wrong in the past, and then made corrections later. This is a normal process for a Christian to go through because not everything we say and do is flawless. However, if anyone wants to believe that Ray Comfort just made a correction, then I challenge you to go find a public statement where he openly came out and told everyone that he was teaching it wrong from the 1980s through to 2015, and then corrected himself later.

In short, when Ray Comfort talks about repentance, faith, and grace, and I talk about repentance, faith, and grace, he and I are talking about two very different things, and that is why it is so important for us to not only make the definitions of our words clear, but that we should also stick with the Biblical definitions of those words when we speak about spiritual matters. Only God fully understands spiritual things, so for us to understand spiritual things, we must rely on His knowledge from the Bible, and not our own speculations.

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
-Hebrews 4:12

However, the problem with Comfort gets worse when we consider his comments about his works and repentance. Of course, we Christians believe what the Word of God says, namely, that repentance is a gift given to us by Jesus Christ, and that our works are a reflection of a repentant heart, but Comfort believes the opposite, namely, that his repentant heart is a reflection of his works.

Again, Comfort said, "I didn't weep in sorrow for my many transgressions, [but] I did show the genuineness of my mourning by turning from sin," which is confusing for a number of reasons. The first is that, if he were mourning for the sins he committed, then he would have sorrow for sins, but he said he did not have sorrow for his sin, so that means he did not mourn for his transgressions.

Then, to convince us that he had sorrow/mourning that he just told us that he did not have, he said that he turned from his sins to prove it. This is not only backwards to what the Bible tells us, but it is nonsensical because a man who goes through therapy for alcohol addiction might "turn from sin" by turning from his drunkenness, but that does not automatically mean that he had godly sorrow of his sins.

When Comfort said the Bible talked about the fruits of repentance, he was referring to what Jesus Christ taught us:

Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
-Matthew 3:8

Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance,
-Luke 3:8

One who God has given the humility and godly sorrow of repentance will also demonstrate that repentance by a change in his words and actions, which is what I pointed out earlier is called conversion. That conversion process will lead us to eventually turn from sin and change our minds about the rudiments (or first teachings) of the world's corrupt philosophy (i.e. way of thinking).

Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy [a way of thinking] and vain deceit [useless lies], after the tradition of men, after the rudiments [first teachings you learn] of the world, and not after Christ.
-Colossians 2:8

However, true conversion unto Christ does not happen until there is a humble heart of repentance, and that must be given by God. Earlier, we read from Jeremiah 31, but let's look at it again:

Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.
-Jeremiah 31:19

This is to show that, in the Bible, there are those who have come to repentance (i.e. godly sorrow of their sins) before AND after turning from sin, but turning from sin is NOT the foundation of salvation. As Jesus said, the fruit is evidence, and we Christians do good works, but if Ray Comfort was truly doing good works on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ, he would not be doing many of the things that he does.

There may be some readers that have never heard these things before about Ray Comfort, so I will add a couple of side notes here to explain what I mean in more detail, and these are just for your consideration. Comfort works directly with Kirk Cameron, a worldly Hell-ywood actor and media whore (i.e. he yearns for media attention), who lies to his audience and preaches a false gospel message on salvation, so why does Ray Comfort yoke together with Kirk Cameron?
(For examples of Kirk Cameron lying to his audience, read Christmas: Rejecting Jesus here at creationliberty.com.)

yoke (v): to couple; to join with another
(See 'yoke', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Apr 17, 2018,[webstersdictionary1828.com])

The concept of yoke is when a piece of wood binds two oxen or horses together, so they plow the line in the same field without moving apart from each other. It is a similar concept to the phrase "birds of a feather, flock together," meaning that those who are of like mind, and have matching philosophies, will naturally join together.

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
-2 Corinthians 6:14-18

Where is Comfort's discernment on these matters? Or, are we allowed to consider the possibility that Comfort has no spiritual discernment on these things, and instead does it only for the media attention he knows he will get by having his name attached to Cameron's?

Comfortites (i.e. cult followers of Ray Comfort) will defend him by saying he is just using their popularity to get the message of Christ out to as many people as possible. This raises even more red flags because I would challenge anyone to find me anywhere Jesus Christ or His apostles used popular media figures to boost their own popularity.

Furthermore, why has Comfort agreed to go onto the TV show of Joyce Meyer and treat her like she is Christian brethren, when she is a rebellious heretic who has no part with Christ? The Bible clearly teaches us that, when it comes to women, they have no Biblical authority to be in a teaching position over the church specifically, so why did Comfort treat her like she was a legitimate Christian pastor, instead of rebuking her?
(Read "Can Women Be Pastors?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

(Read "Wolves in Costume: Joyce Meyer" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
-1 Timothy 2:11-14

I have read statements online from various people arguing this back and forth, and Comfortites will once again claim that he only went on Meyer's show to get his message out to the lost members of her cult. However, I have one very important question for the people making that argument: Where is the public video where Ray Comfort said that himself?

Furthermore, where is the video in which Ray Comfort rebukes Joyce Meyer for her false doctrines? My message to Comfortites is this: If you want to follow Ray Comfort despite the evidence of his leaven, that is your business, but at the very least, stop trying to deceive others into your corrupt beliefs by putting words in the mouth of your sacred cow.

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness,
but rather reprove them.
-Ephesians 5:11

Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.
-1 Timothy 5:20

Preach the word; be instant in season [i.e. when it is convenient], out of season [i.e. when it is inconvenient]; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
-2 Timothy 4:2-4

Another interesting point to consider is why Comfort yoked together with Billy Graham, an ecumenical false preacher who died and ended up in hell with his hopes in false doctrine. In my teaching, "Wolves in Costume: Billy Graham," I document Graham telling the world (on an internationally broadcast program) that all mankind, even atheists, will all go to heaven by default, meaning that Graham preached a FALSE Christ until the day he died, but Ray Comfort, in effort to boost his public image, ignored Graham's false doctrines, and instead praised Graham, declaring that he went to heaven:
"While the world offers its condolences at the loss of Billy Graham today, at age 99, I think I can speak for Christians and say that while we shed a tear in the passing of an icon, we secretly rejoice. We rejoice because of the sure hope of the salvation Billy Graham had in Jesus Christ."
-Ray Comfort, "Billy Graham Dead? We Know Better," Living Waters, Feb 21, 2018, retrieved May 4, 2018, [livingwaters.com/billy-graham-dead-we-know-better]; Read "Wolves in Costume: Billy Graham" here at creationliberty.com for more details.

It fascinates me that Ray Comfort told everyone (as we read earlier) that he had the "fruit of repentance," but when he yokes together with false preachers, it does not seem to be true. Therefore, as Jesus said, the blind continue to lead the blind:

But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
-Matthew 15:13-14

Speaking of corrupt preachers who Ray Comfort yokes together with, we will now turn our attention to Ken Ham and Answers in Genesis, although some readers may be disappointed because, when it concerns Bible doctrine, Ken Ham usually avoids saying or writing anything about it. For the most part, Ham relies on other authors, and recommends their materials, and on the subject of repentance, Ham recommends his son-in-law, Bodie Hodge.

"God loves you so much that He sacrificed His own unblemished Son to suffer the wrath against sin and die on the Cross. He commands you to repent (change your mind and turn from sinful ways) and trust in Him:"
-Bodie Hodge, "The Free Gift of Salvation: Belief in Christ," Answers in Genesis, Apr 21, 2009, retrieved July 1, 2022, [https://answersingenesis.org/gospel/salvation/what-does-it-mean-to-be-saved/]

We have already addressed the fallacies of claiming that 'repent' means "to turn from sin" or "to change one's mind" (or both, in this case), but it is unsurprising that Ham and Hodge would parrot church-ianity tropes since their entire focus is about gaining more popularity and money from unsuspecting churchgoers, and to accomplish that, they know they must agree with the general religious narrative in the majority of church buildings. I have been to Ham's Creation Museum in Cincinnati (which is about a 90-minute drive from my home), and I can testify from first-hand experience that, despite what they claim, their goal is to entertain and make money while doing it.
(Read "Denominations Are Unbiblical" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Of course, Ham would argue that is not true, and that they make effort to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and win the lost to Him. However, what fascinates me is that they have visitors from many various denominational faiths, which are absolutely opposed to one another on the Gospel of Salvation in Jesus Christ, so if it was really about preaching the truth of Christ's Gospel of Salvation, then these various cult members would refuse to go because of the offense they take at what is being preached, and yet, they keep coming back because Ham waters-down the doctrine of Christ enough to be all-inclusive, which is more financially profitable.

As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest [i.e. they twist and distort the Word of God], as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
-2 Peter 3:16

Ken Ham's endorsement of Bodie Hodge is comical when you learn some of the things that Hodge teaches because, for example, Hodge wrote a short book on Christmas, in which he claimed the gods of the Greeks are just other names for people mentioned in the Bible, even though he presents no sources or other evidence to back that up. Furthermore, Hodge wrote another short book on Halloween, in which he claimed, in all seriousness (i.e. this is not satire), that Noah (who built the ark) invented Halloween, and once again, Hodge offers nothing in his writing to back up that statement except his own speculative imagination.
(Read Christmas: Rejecting Jesus & "Halloween: Are Christians Lovers of Death?" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

In my opinion, Hodge, as an author, has a few screws loose, but when he is married to Ken Ham's daughter, Ham wants Hodge to make as much money as possible so she is taken care of, and therefore, Ham promotes him. After all, it is a recommendation from a prestigious "Christian" organization, so most churchgoers just go along with whatever they say, and never double-check them. Both Ham and Hodge are only going to say things that help to back up the typical church-ianity tropes, and standardized corrupt teachings of false pastors, so they can increase their sales, and with that understanding, their willful blindness on the doctrine of repentance should make more sense.

Recently, Ken Ham has finally decided to give his opinions on repentance concerning the Gospel of Christ in his 2018 book called Gospel Reset: Salvation Made Relevant. In this book, he starts out by praising false preacher Billy Graham (who believed that everyone went to heaven automatically), and pointed out that Billy Graham taught repentance as part of the message of salvation, which is true (i.e. Graham did teach repentance was godly sorrow, even though he was a hypocrite), but Ham believes that our modern culture is just so different, we cannot preach what Jesus Christ taught us to preach when it comes to repentance.
(Read "Wolves in Costume: Billy Graham" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Ken Ham said:
"We can't just start with a message of repentance anymore."
-Ken Ham, "Ken Ham's New Book Gospel Reset Now Available," Answers in Genesis, Apr 15, 2018, retrieved July 4, 2022, [https://answersingenesis.org/culture/ken-hams-new-book-gospel-reset-now-available]

Before I had read any of Ham's article on this subject, I knew just from the title of his book that this was going to be an offense against Jesus Christ. Please do not misunderstand, I was not merely judging the book by its cover, as I intended to at least hear what Ham had to say, but when a preacher believes that the doctrine which Jesus taught (and taught us to teach to others) is "irrelevant" and must be "reset," then I know I am reading the words of a corrupt preacher who is not of Christ because not only does this mean that Ham does not understand the Gospel of Salvation, but it also means that Ham believes that Jesus Christ did not have enough foresight to understand how culture would change, and therefore, Ham believes you need his worldly intellect in order to understand it.

The Bible does not teach us that we need to change the doctrines that God has given us with every passing generation, but rather, the Bible tells us that, when it concerns corrupt hearts of mankind, there is nothing new under the sun, meaning that the things that men have done over the past 6,000 years of history are the same things they will do today, no matter how much technology or culture changes:

The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
-Ecclesiastes 1:6-9

Ken Ham gave a presentation about his book in his Creation Museum auditorium (with aforementioned false preacher John MacArthur unsurprisingly sitting in the audience, waiting for his turn to speak), and Ham emphasized that, "we are not saying the Gospel has changed, it has not, God's Word has not changed," in order to quell serious concerns about the title of his book, but if we look closely at what he teaches, we can know he is deceiving his audience because even though he believes he has not changed the Gospel of Christ, the problem is that he did not understand it in the first place. Ken Ham does not know the meaning of repentance and remission of sins because he has never experienced it, and therefore, he convinces himself that he has understood the Gospel, tells everyone that he is not changing it, but he already changed it long before he began construction of any museum.
(See Ken Ham, "Gospel Reset with Ken Ham," Answers in Genesis, retrieved July 4, 2022, [https://youtu.be/tAPpmhghDH0?t=522])

In Ham's presentation, he argued that the Gospel of Salvation must be preached differently because Paul preached differently between the Jews and Gentiles, and he cherry-picked a verse from the first chapter of First Corinthians. I will quote it from the King James Bible, but keep in mind that Ham is one of those deceptive preachers who constantly switches out bible versions to get the verses to say what he wants them to say:

But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
-1 Corinthians 1:23

Ham is very slick in his speech because he knows most people would not make effort to review that verse, nor have a chance to think on it while he is speaking. The point that should be emphasized here is that the Jews and the Greeks in this example both argue different points and have different contentions, and that still exists today (i.e. we have different conversations with different people on different topics), but notice that the SAME gospel message of Christ crucified was preached to BOTH parties, or in other words, the Gospel message did NOT change in the way that Ken Ham is trying to change it.

One of the major problems Ken Ham has is that he does not grasp the full understanding of what Paul was preaching because if we go back to read more of the text, we can find the opposite message to what Ken Ham is preaching:

Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
-1 Corinthians 1:20-25

The wise, the scribes, and the debaters of this world are in the world, and God is in heaven, infinitely far above and beyond them, and therefore, God's wisdom has made the wisdom of the world foolish, so we should trust what He tells us is true and right, whether we understand it or not. It is pleasing in God's sight and His infinite understanding that we should be made to look foolish to many when we preach the Gospel of Salvation in Jesus Christ, but the wisdom of God is wiser than men, and therefore, we should rely on it when having conversations with unbelievers, even if we do not quote Scripture to them in certain instances.

One of the major stumbling blocks for Ken Ham is that he believes intellectual conversation (i.e. scientific debate) will create converts to Jesus Christ, and therefore, he also believes that to be effective in preaching the Gospel is to have a bunch of worldly animatronics, parks, zoos, and a gigantic useless boat that will never float on water, filled with restaurants and theaters, in order to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is not only nonsensical, but it forces everyone else to rely on Ham to do that preaching for them through his museum, since they cannot create theme parks on their own dime. On the other hand, the Bible makes it clear to us that the understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ does not come through the intellect, but by the unlocking of a man's understanding through the gift of the Holy Ghost:

Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
-1 Corinthians 2:13-14

Ken Ham does not understand this because he believes he came to Christ through the power of his own intellect. Therefore, he is creating thousands upon thousands of false converts all over the world through a false gospel presentation, in order to create more churchgoers who will invest in his international media empire because he is a marketer, not a minister.

If any reader is unfamiliar with what I mean when I say Ham is a marketer, and not a minister, in the first few minutes of his presentation, he opens by bragging about how popular he is and how much he owns. If you watch the presentation for yourself, you will find that Ham glorified himself for the fact that he has huge parking lots with tons of visitors, he owns massive facilities, he owns the biggest (10-story high) timber frame structure in the world, he owns one of the biggest restaurants in America (1500 seats), he is building a second zoo, as well as a 2500-seat auditorium with a 36,000 square foot basement, and that he did not even need to promote his book on his own, but rather, an individual donor paid for his book to be sent to over 260,000 church buildings in America, and even more around the world, without Ken Ham having to pay a dime for it.

The Lord Jesus Christ offered a warning in a parable He taught, and I would urge readers to consider this carefully, most especially pastors and evangelists:

And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
-Luke 12:15-21

There are many shady things about what Ken Ham has done in building up Answers in Genesis and his museums, but that will have to be something I write about in another book. For now, let's get back to the topic of repentance.

So Ken Ham then said he wants to start a revolution concerning the preaching of salvation in Jesus Christ:
"I've got a radical idea for revolution. How about we start sharing the gospel the way that God does it in the Bible, by starting at the beginning? What a concept! Would you have ever thought of that?"
(See Ken Ham, "Gospel Reset with Ken Ham," Answers in Genesis, retrieved July 4, 2022, [https://youtu.be/tAPpmhghDH0?t=1532])

I agree with his general statement, but in this book, I have already quoted Jesus Christ telling us what we are to teach when we go out to preach the Gospel:

And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
-Luke 24:46-47

However, Ken Ham, as we read earlier, told us that he disagrees with Jesus Christ (i.e. not directly, but indirectly) because he believes that Jesus, in His teachings in the Bible, did not properly prepare us to handle modern, changing cultures because Ham said, "We can't just start with a message of repentance anymore." Of course, that is not true, but if that were true, the only reason for it is because of false preachers like Ken Ham, who have no understanding of the Gospel of Christ, and therefore teach false doctrine on the meaning of repentance, which leads the next generation to have no understanding of what it actually means, which also leads me to have to write this book, that some might come to know the truth of Scripture and be warned of heretics.

Ham goes on to argue that our culture is like the Greek culture 2,000 years ago, and he asserted that they did not have a creation-based culture, which is not true because the Greeks did believe mankind was created, but they believed it was by their various false gods. Ham also argued that the Greeks had no concept of sin, and he wrote this in the article promoting his book:
"They don't understand what sin is, so they can't understand their need for repentance and salvation."
-Ken Ham, "Ken Ham's New Book Gospel Reset Now Available," Answers in Genesis, Apr 15, 2018, retrieved July 4, 2022, [https://answersingenesis.org/culture/ken-hams-new-book-gospel-reset-now-available]

That is simply not true because they may not have specific knowledge of sin, knowing the name of all sins, the specific details about them, and how they all interconnect together, but they generally know of the offenses and wrongs they have done, and it simply takes an honest preacher with understanding to bring that guilty conscience to their mind in conversation. Please do not misunderstand because I can agree with the statement that men must know they are lost before they have an understanding that they need a savior, but the Bible tells us that all men have a general understanding of sin by their own conscience because God has written His law in the hearts of men, and that is an extremely useful tool when evangelizing.

Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;
-Romans 2:15

Therefore, as I pointed out earlier in this book, the Bible tells us that the preaching of God's law to the lost is how they come to understand their own wretched and vile state, which (if the Spirit of God gives them understanding) will bring them to their knees in tears at the foot of the cross of Christ to plead with God for mercy.

But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
-Galatians 3:22-25

Of course, the law of God does not save anyone, nor do the works of the law save anyone. Only the mercy of God can save men, but the law is the knowledge of sin, which brings men to understand their guilt before the Holy God, and with a contrite spirit, when they inquire to understand how they might be redeemed, they need only believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for His shed blood to pay for their penalties.

Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
-Romans 3:20

This proves the point that when Ken Ham says that we must start with the message of creation, that is not necessarily the case because, in order to believe that God exists, you must start with a presupposition that God exists, and that presupposition must be based on evidence, which does not come from the scientific method; rather, it comes from conviction of sin by the law of God written in the hearts of mankind. Of course, there are instances in which we may talk about creation, or start off a conversation about it, which is not wrong to do because we may have a lot of various conversations before reaching the Gospel message, but in the end, it is the law which convicts a man of his own guilt, and there is no amount of scientific research that will convert a lost soul to Jesus Christ because it is the Spirit of God that must regenerate a man.
(Read "Everything You Need to Know About Atheism" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
-Titus 3:5

Therefore, if a man claims that he has been born again by Jesus Christ through a different method than the Holy Spirit established in Scripture, then that man is NOT born again, and I would contend that Ken Ham has not been born again, which is why he does not understand this, and just keeps piling up heaps of wealth and esteem from the world. There are so many other new-age "methods" proposed by leavened preachers for salvation, which result in millions of false converts around the world, and sadly, most of the time, their suggestion for another method of salvation comes from their own experience instead of the Word of God, meaning that, for example, if a man believes he was converted by his own intellect instead of through repentance and remission of sins, then that man will preach the gospel of intellect instead of the saving Gospel of Christ, which is what Ken Ham is doing, and why he rejects the preaching of repentance.
(Read Why Millions of Believers on Jesus Are Going to Hell here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

And yet, just a few years prior to this, when speaking to the mainstream media about atheist comedian Bill Maher, Ken Ham called him to repentance. The Christian Post reported:
"Answers in Genesis President and CEO Ken Ham recently called on atheist comedian Bill Maher to repent for his sins, saying that although God is merciful, it is possible the television personality could go to hell if he does not end his 'God-hating comments' soon... He cited Revelations 21:8 that tells of unrepentant sinners suffering their "second death" in the "lake which burns with fire and brimstone.""
-Katherine Weber, "Ken Ham Calls on Bill Maher to Repent: 'I Truly Fear for His Soul'," Christian Post, Mar 26, 2014, retrieved July 5, 2022, [https://bit.ly/3ymtv58]

Why did Ken Ham not call Bill Maher to come visit his creation museum instead? Why did Ham not call Maher to read the book of Genesis, like he told us in his "Gospel Reset" presentation? Hypocrisy is not the only problem because Ham believes that the word 'repent' means to "turn from sin and change one's mind," which means that, even if Ham calls a man to repentance, he is calling that man to a works-based false doctrine (i.e. that you must turn from all your sin to be saved, or be saved by your own intellect) because he does not understand what repentance means.

And when it comes to speakers on the topic of creation versus evolution, Kent Hovind, Ken Ham, and Ray Comfort are not the only ones who teach heresies that lead people away from the Gospel of Christ. For example, Henry Morris of the Institute for Creation Research (ICR) preached false doctrines on repentance:

"To be 'converted' can mean many things. The Greek word simply means to 'turn' or 'change directions.' Christian conversion, however, refers to turning away from the whole world system and turning to God through Christ. Similarly, to 'repent,' in the Greek, means essentially to 'think differently' and, in a Christian context, to change one's whole thought process from worldly reasoning to spiritual, as centered in Christ and the Scriptures."

-Henry M. Morris, "Be Truly Converted," Institute for Creation Research, Days of Praise, Dec 4, 2002, retrieved July 6, 2022, [icr.org/article/18707]

So not only did Morris confuse the word 'conversion' with the word 'repentance', he actually believed they meant the same thing. As we saw earlier in Scripture, one can have a worldly repentance, and not be converted, so to say that repentance and conversion are the same thing is spoken from a man who has not understood the fullness of the Gospel of Christ. One of his major problems was falling into the trap I have seen so many preachers fall into, and that is the "Original Greek" scam, in which pastors have been trained to reinterpret the Bible based on Greek grammar dictionaries, instead of using the context of God's Word to define the words and phrases that He uses, which means their true god and master is a Greek grammar dictionary (i.e. lexicons and concordances).

If any readers do not understand what I mean when I say that they worship Greek grammar dictionaries, I have a couple of teachings on my website that you can look up and get a lot more information. The first is called "The 'Original Greek' Scam" and the other is called "Dangers of Using Lexicons and Concordances," both of which have audio teachings to go along with them, which will explain how many pastors deceive their congregations with a feigned intellectual superiority, while at the same time being deceived themselves because they are willingly blind to the fact that the authors of many lexicons and concordances are corrupt men who did not believe in the Gospel of Salvation in Jesus Christ.

But evil men and seducers shall wax worse
and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
-2 Timothy 3:13

One of ICR's competitors, Creation Ministries International (CMI), also teaches error on repentance, claiming that it is simply a "change of mind" without godly sorrow for sins:
"Repentance means a complete change of mind—that you agree with God about your sin and about who Jesus is and what He did for you, and you now want to live a life pleasing to Him."
-Anonymous Author, "Good News!" Creation Ministries International, retrieved Apr 17, 2018, [creation.com/good-news]

Some readers may be familiar with the name Jim Jones because he became infamous for leading over 600 people (including women, children, and himself) to their deaths by drinking Kool-Aid laced with poison. The reason I mention Jim Jones is because, if you look up archived transcripts of his sermons, he preached against sin, meaning that he "agree[d] with God about [his] sin."

Therefore, if we accept the definition of repentance that CMI gave us (i.e. to agree with God about sin), then we would have to conclude that Jim Jones repented and went to heaven when he drank his poison. However, if we accept the Biblical definition of repentance that God gave us (i.e. to have godly sorrow of our sins), then we would have to conclude that Jim Jones did NOT repent, and so I hope readers can understand more clearly why preaching of these false doctrines on repentance is so dangerous, namely, that people can be led to believe that wicked, false preachers were actually godly men.

There is another creationist by the name of Ray Bohlin of Probe Ministries, and I mention him because I was once invited to speak at the same creation conference as him, and we spent a little time together in conversation. Though we were both speakers at a young-earth creation conference, I can assure you that the conversation was not had in agreement, namely because I discovered (during conversation with him) that Bohlin did not believe in the young (6,000-year-old) earth that the Bible teaches, but rather, he believed there were millions of years of evolutionism before Adam and Eve were created.
(Read "Evolutionism: Another New-Age Religion" and "Dinosaurs and the Bible" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

I only found out later that the man who was organizing the conference did not bother to do research into the speakers he invited because he was more concerned about the prestige he would get for having internationally-known speakers like Bohlin at his conference, or in other words, he was more concerned about the money and fame than he was about the truth. Of course, I have not been invited to speak anywhere in about 10 years, and that is primarily because I chose to expose such men for their underhanded practices and false doctrines, and when you rebuke pastors, they will banish you from meetings and organizations, and keep you away from preaching in their sphere of influence as much as they can.

If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
-John 15:18-20

Ray typically handled the "science" side of things, while his wife, Sue, spent more time answering emails and maintaining their website. Sue Bohlin also taught false doctrine on repentance:

"Repenting means to change the way we think and to turn 180 degrees around, a U-turn, in our behavior. Repenting of our bad thinking and behaving patterns is the first step. Then comes the step of asking for forgiveness, which is necessary for there to be any reconciliation. They are two separate steps."

-Sue Bohlin, "How Do We Repent If Those We Hurt Are Dead or Far Away," Probe Ministries, June 18, 2008, retrieved July 6, 2022, [https://web.archive.org/web/20210506085622/https://probe.org/how-do-we-repent-if-those-we-hurt-are-dead-or-far-away/]

Again, we have another so-called "ministry" teaching error on repentance, and not only the error of "turning from sin" or "changing one's mind," but in this case, Bohlin actually confuses repentance with remission. Earlier in this book, we learned that remission is the forgiveness and pardoning of sins, and repentance is the godly sorrow of those sins, not the asking for forgiveness. Please do not misunderstand, it is natural for a repentant man to plead for mercy and forgiveness of a wrong, but that is not the core concept of repentance, and the reason Bohlin does not understand that is because she (and her husband) do not understand what repentance means.

As I continued to investigate numerous preachers on the topic of repentance, I found other strange statements and contradictory teachings. One of the men I researched, David J. Stewart, is the owner of a website called "Jesus is Savior," and this man is extraordinarily deceptive, to the point that I believe he deserves an entire book dedicated to exposing him.

Stewart says he believes that repentance is just a change of mind, and in an article rebuking Kent Hovind for his stance that repentance means "to turn from sin," Stewart also insists that repentance does NOT mean sorrow of sins: "Repentance is a simple 'change of mind' of acknowledging one's guilt as a sinner (Galatians 3:24-26). Repentance is not intent to reform, turning away from sins, forsaking the world, sorrow for sins, ceasing from sinful bad habits, nor a willingness to do better."

-David J. Stewart, "Dr. Kent Hovind," Jesus Is Savior, March, 2013, retrieved Apr 18, 2018, [jesus-is-savior.com/Evolution%20Hoax/dr_hovind.htm]

There is a bit of mental gymnastics we need to unravel, so bear with me. Earlier, we went over Kent Hovind and his teaching that repent meant "to turn," but in his earlier seminars, Hovind used to teach that people should pray, "I don't want to do wrong anymore. I'm sorry. I've offended you. I want to do right."

Stewart quotes Kent Hovind in his article, and then says, "Being sorry for sins... is not required to be saved." This is because Stewart never had godly sorrow for his sins, and simply "changed his mind," so he believes "change of mind" is repentance so he can believe that he has been born again without having a contrite spirit.

But this gets a lot stranger when we consider that David Stewart is a big promotor of Jack Hyles, who we also learned about earlier in this book. I quoted Jack Hyles, where he said that repentance is turning from sin and turning to God, and that is exactly what Steven Anderson believes as well, because Anderson learned that from Hyles.

In another article Stewart wrote, called "What Is Biblical Repentance?" he quotes from an audio teaching that Hyles preached, and so the following is a quote from Jack Hyles, which is found in Stewart's article:
"Repentance is not some little silly, 'I'm sorry.' Repentance is not simply a fear of God. Repentance is not a monk fasting and afflicting his body in a monastery. Repentance is not remorse because of sin's consequences. Repentance is not penance performed before the pope as you kiss his toe... Repentance is not being sorry for what I've done wrong. It is not confessing one's sins to a priest. It is not just conviction of sin. It is not the signing of a pledge of abstinence. Repentance is that thing when you come before God and see yourself as you are, and see Him as he is, and say with Isaiah 'Woe is me, for I am unclean!' - Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001), a quote from the timeless MP3 sermon, THE GOODNESS OF GOD LEADETH TO REPENTANCE!"
-David J. Stewart, "What Is Biblical Repentance?" Jesus Is Savior, January 2006, retrieved July 6, 2022, [https://jesus-is-savior.com/Believer's%20Corner/Doctrines/repentance.htm]

As we can see, Jack Hyles and David Stewart reject the Biblical doctrine of repentance (i.e. godly sorrow of sin), and the blindness and ignorance of these men is far greater than that I have seen from others. If you do not understand what I mean by that, when a man falls on his knees before God and cries out "Woe is me, for I am unclean!" then we should carefully consider what the word "woe" means in Scripture:

wo (n): grief, sorrow, misery; used in denunciation [i.e. in condemning of oneself], and in exclamations of sorrow
(See 'wo', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved July 6, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

So in his teaching, Hyles said that repentance was not being sorry for what we have done wrong, but then turns around and says that we should exclaim that we are sorrowful for what we have done wrong. These are the words of a willingly ignorant man, who paraded himself as one having wisdom and understanding of Scripture, and David Stewart prefaced this quote by saying that Jack Hyles was "100% correct."

So in his article, Stewart is angry at Hovind for teaching that repent means "to turn from sin," then praises Hyles for preaching that repentance means a change of mind, even though Hyles actually taught that repentance means "to turn from sin and turn to God," and quoted Hyles accidentally preaching that repentance is godly sorrow without even realizing it. If you thought that was the end of the mental gymnastics, get ready for a philosophical triple tuck because Stewart also taught that repent means to turn from sin unto God, the very thing he said it did not mean:
"Biblical repentance is simply TURNING UNTO THE LORD by faith to receive the gift of forgiveness for one's sins." [caps are used by the author]
-David J. Stewart, "What Is Biblical Repentance?" Jesus Is Savior, January 2006, retrieved Apr 18, 2018, [jesus-is-savior.com/Believer's%20Corner/Doctrines/repentance.htm]

If you are confused, you are not the only one, but remember that God is not the author of confusion, which means this is not the true preaching of Scripture by the children of God:

For God is not the author of confusion,
but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
-1 Corinthians 14:33

There are some who may feel uneasy in themselves over this because they have looked up articles from the Jesus Is Savior website and learned things from it. However, now that we have seen the deception and confusion from David Stewart, it should not surprise you to learn that in 2006, Stewart wrote an article called "The Tower of Babel Today," and when speaking of the construction of the European Union headquarters, Stewart said:
"I personally am not a Christian or a member of any religion for that matter, however even I can see the inherent evil in this philosophy."
-David J. Stewart, "The Tower of Babel Today," Internet Archives Wayback Machine, retrieved June 23, 2021, [https://web.archive.org/web/20130728001955/http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Illuminati/tower_of_babel.htm]

After some internet bloggers found the statement and started calling him out on it, he tried to hide it by removing the article from his site, but it still remains in internet archives to this day. David J. Stewart admitted that he was not a Christian, but parades himself as one on his various websites, and he owns a lot more than just jesus-is-savior.com.

Sam Gipp, who is most well-known for his defense of the King James Bible, said:

"Now, you have probably seen this happen in a service. A preacher will preach, you know, about salvation, preach about, maybe some sin, and either a lost person will come down, and have this reaction at the altar, or a saved person about their sin in their life, or getting right with God, and they come down to the altar, and weep and cry, and you go, 'Man, they repented!' Right? We have this mental picture that repentance comes with tears and a broken heart, and that is NOT repentance." -Sam Gipp, "The 3 'Rs', Repentance, Remorse & Regeneration," retrieved July 7, 2022, [https://youtu.be/lQTrp6YMHWA?t=254]

First of all, I heavily disagree with Gipp that most people have a mental image that repentance is weeping in tears. I believe that many leavened preachers, like Sam Gipp for example, have been the cause of our society losing that mental image.

A second point to note is that the "altar calls" that are done in church buildings are completely unbiblical. The concept of an "altar call" was created by a man named Charles Finney in the 19th century, and he was a false preacher who created a lot of unbiblical traditions that are still used in modern-day church buildings, and if any readers want to learn more about that, you can read a teaching I have at creationliberty.com called "Revivalism: The Devil's Design."

The final point is that we have seen so many Scriptures that point to repentance being godly sorrow of sins, and many other words, phrases, and concepts, such as a contrite spirit, a penitent heart, calling upon the name of the Lord, and weeping in dust and ashes, being the core understanding of repentance. And yet, Sam Gipp, who has spent many decades studying the King James Bible, and who claims to have been a Christian decades longer than I have, still does not understand it.

I thought it important to include in this book an explanation of how ridiculous it is for preachers to teach that 'repent' means "change of mind," because they claim that "God changed His mind." Over the years, the Lord God has been kind and patient with me, slowly showing me who He is by the doctrines of His Word, and after analyzing the Scripture on this, I have come to the conclusion that God has never changed His mind in the sense that men change their minds.

While watching Sam Gipp preach his message, he asked his audience if they had ever been going one direction, and then turned around to go a different direction, and then he physically walked across the stage, stopped, and then turned around to go a different direction. Gipp explained that this is what God was doing when He changed His mind on a matter, but in order to believe that, you have to believe in a different god than the Christian God of the Bible.

In order for a man to have his mind changed, he must acquire knowledge, wisdom and understanding that he did not previously have, so his philosophy might be altered. The Christian God of the Bible is omnipresent and omniscient (Pro 15:3, Psa 139:4, Psa 139:8), which means He is in every place at all times and knows all things, and He is infinite in His understanding (Psa 147:5), and therefore, He cannot gain knowledge, He cannot gain understanding, He cannot gain wisdom, and there is no thought that has suddenly occurred to Him.

The only way that God could change His mind about something is if He were to acquire knowledge and understanding that he did not previously have, which is impossible for God, and therefore, it is impossible for Him to change His mind in the same sense that mankind changes his mind. Certainly, God changes the providential dealings He has with mankind, but this is according to mankind's placid and limited ability of thinking inside the realm of time (which is a created dimension), and in our current condition in the flesh, we are unable to understand that which is outside of the dimension we live in, let alone can we understand the infinite nature of God.

One of the passages of Scripture I struggled with for a long time was in Exodus 32, while Moses was up on the mountain with God. The following verses take place after Aaron had crafted the golden calf for the people, and the Hebrews began to worship it:

And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.
-Exodus 32:10

The Lord God had done many miraculous things for the sake of the Hebrews and His promise to their fathers. He brought them out of bondage, led them safely through the wilderness, gave them plenty to eat and drink, and yet, the moment they had a little doubt, they turned their backs on God and began to worship false gods. God was angry, and for very good reason, and therefore, He instructed Moses to go down from the mountain "that I may consume them."

I personally believe that there are many who have read these verses too quickly, and have not considered why God would need Moses to go down from Mt. Sinai to punish the Hebrew people. When we understand the Biblical definition of repentance, the following conversation that takes place demonstrates the great love, mercy, and kindness of God, that He is so great in His charity, it goes beyond our comprehension.

And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand?
-Exodus 32:11

This was not to say that Moses was being rebellious against God for not immediately exiting the mountain, but Moses understood the kindness and mercy of God (even in His hot anger), and he "besought" the Lord, meaning that he made an urgent and humble request of God. Please keep in mind that we just established that God is all-knowing, meaning that, at this point, God not only knows all the words that will come out of the mouth of Moses (because the Holy Spirit was guiding Moses on what he ought to say), but God also knows that He was not going to destroy them all.

Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent [i.e. have grief of the thought] of this evil against thy people.
-Exodus 32:12

This is a great point because when God punishes mankind, it is always just and good because it is the will of God, and God is the standard of all goodness. However, when He issues punishments to mankind according to His righteous judgment, wicked men (like atheists for example), take an opportunity to blaspheme against God by calling Him "evil," (i.e. claiming that God does the works of the Devil) and this is what the Egyptians would do in this situation.

Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.
-Exodus 32:13

These are not the words that Moses came up with on his own, but rather, it was the Holy Ghost speaking through him, so that these words would be recorded for our benefit. The Lord God must punish evil because He is the Judge over all mankind, and so the thought to punish evil is often countered by His merciful and kind nature, which results in His glorious longsuffering with us.

If not for the Word of God, how would we know the depths of His great kindness? We need Him to educate us about who He is, and this interaction is His way of communicating to us more about Him.

And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
-Exodus 32:14

The Lord God did not change His mind about what He would do because He already knew what He would do, but we need to pose the question: "Why did God need Moses to remove himself from the mountain in order to punish the people?" The answer to that is in the fact that God repented (i.e. had grief in His heart) of the punishments He knew were just to do unto wicked men, but that grief did not come from the people in general, rather, it came from Moses, His child, who also grieved with God at the thought of destroying them all, and not only was Moses grieved at the thought of punishment, he was also grieved at the thought of the name of God being blasphemed by other wicked men.

The Lord God could not bring punishment on evil men for the grief it would cause just one of the Hebrews, Moses. Therefore, He wanted Moses to be removed from His presence, otherwise, the grief of that punishment on them would be too great for God to carry out, which, as I said a moment ago, demonstrates the great love of God, that God is willing to exercise great patience and longsuffering, enduring extreme pain of grief within Himself, even if it is for the sake of only one of us, His children.

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.
-2 Peter 3:9

There is one more preacher I want to cover before we move on, and that is Charles Stanley from In Touch Ministries. Stanley is quite deceptive because, if you listen to his teaching on repentance, you might be led to believe that he preaches the message of godly sorrow.

At first, he says that repentance is "recognition of my sin with godly sorrow," but shortly after that, he says that is NOT the case: "So when someone says that repentance is feeling sorry for your sins, no it's not! Repentance is grieving over sin; no it's not! Repentance is sorrowful [sic] because of your sin; no it's not!... When a person repents of sin, they have a change of mind. That change of mind is going to result in a change of direction, a change of conduct, a change of behavior, in their life." -Charles Stanley, "A Call to Repentance - Dr. Charles Stanley," In Touch Ministries, retrieved July 6, 2022, [https://youtu.be/nZcjsUDidKE?t=180]

Again, we have another famous preacher who is confusing repentance with conversion. The problem with this is that when you say that one must "repent to be saved," Stanley is actually teaching them that they must "convert" to be saved, which is something that no man can do, or in other words, a man must be saved by Jesus Christ through repentance and faith in order to have his mind changed and be turned from his sin, and if things are done in any other order besides that, then it is works-doctrine that does NOT rely on the grace of Christ and regeneration of the Holy Ghost.

Again, I want to note that the reason there are so many preachers twisting the doctrine of repentance is because they know they have never come to godly sorrow. They never experienced it because they are too prideful in their hearts to be humbled before God, and therefore, they need repentance to mean something else that they foolishly believe they can accomplish on their own (e.g. changing the mind or turning from sin) so they can claim that they are Christians that have been saved.

I know I have already said this, but I want to emphasize that I am in no way arguing that Christians ought not to have their minds changed and turn from their sin. On the contrary, that is part of our duty to the Lord Jesus Christ.

If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
-Ephesians 4:21-24

However, to require a man who is still lost in his sin, full of corrupt conversations and deceitful lusts, to turn from these things, or have his mind changed about them, BEFORE Jesus Christ saves him, is an impossible task. We cannot save ourselves. If we have these requirements put onto salvation in order to get "grace," then it is not grace in the first place.

Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.
-Romans 11:5-6

grace (n): favor; good will; kindness; disposition to oblige another; the free unmerited love and favor of God
(See 'grace', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved July 7, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

What is so very sad is how many preachers I have heard speak of the grace of Christ, and sing passionate songs about the grace of Jesus, but in their doctrine, they preach the opposite, and they seem to be completely oblivious to it because they are so hyper-focused on making sure they preach the message they learned from their seminaries and Greek grammar dictionaries. Those who have gone through the process of repentance (i.e. those who have come on their knees in tears of godly sorrow to the Lord to seek His mercy) understand the grace of Christ, and the importance of the doctrine of repentance.

Some preachers will object to the doctrine of repentance that I have taught in this book, and they will bring up certain verses to contend against it. For example, the following is often used as a counter to the teaching of godly sorrow:

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:
-Exodus 13:17

It is often said by preachers that this proves that 'repent' means "to turn," and so they turned back to Egypt, but in order to understand this clearly, we need to simply think on the general, Biblical definition of repentance, which is "grief of the heart." Many modern-day preachers have never seen war, so they do not know how grievous it really is, and so when the Hebrews would see war, they would grieve in their hearts because of the suffering, and would desire to return to Egypt so they would have some form of safety and comfort, even if it was fleeting and oppressive.

Furthermore, no one says the phrase, "they turned and returned," unless they mean that someone had turned 180°, and then returned to the original direction they were facing, for a full 360° turn. To claim that 'repent' means "to turn" in this verse is redundant and pointless because the word "return" covers that basis without having to add in more "turns."

Another popular argument from leavened preachers is Jonah 3:

Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
-Jonah 3:9-10

Again, they start by presupposing the word 'repent' means "to turn," but the problem is, if that were true, this verse would be one of the most nonsensical verses in all of the Bible because it would say that, "God will turn and turn, and turn away." Is God supposed to be doing a 540° spin because He did not know which way He was going?

Earlier in this book, we covered the prepositional phrases that are used in the English language. For example, we say "turn FROM" because the preposition 'from' has to do with the position or direction of the noun attached to the verb "turn." Now we have a verse that demonstrates both prepositional phrases concerning the words 'turn' and 'repent'.

In the first part of the sentence, the Bible says that God "turned FROM," which is correct because the word 'from' indicates God's direction. However, in the second part of the sentence, the Bible says that God "repented OF the evil," which is correct because the word 'of' indicates God's condition.

Therefore, the word repent in this passage means "grief of the heart," just as God defined it in Genesis 6:6. The use of the word 'repent' in this passage shows God's great mercy, and how wonderfully kind He is, but most preachers do not seem to understand this.

In order to explain this more simply, I did an experiment with my wife by telling her to imagine that a little puppy had done something wrong, and while watching from across the street, imagine she saw the owner of the puppy look down at him, having his ears down in shame and sadness, and pull out a shotgun to blow the puppy's head off. As soon as I said that to my wife, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped, and before she could say anything, I stopped her and said, what you are feeling right there, that grief in your heart that someone would do something so evil to that puppy who was repentant of his wrongdoing, is exactly the condition of God's heart.

What many leavened preachers do not understand is that God is grieved in His heart over the wicked things we have done, and He expects His children to be grieved that we have grieved our Heavenly Father by our wrongdoing. When we grieve (i.e. repent) of our sins towards God, He grieves of the evil that would be done to us in punishment for our wrongdoing, and because He is so kind, and so merciful, He turns away from His fierce anger.

In Jonah 3, God sent His prophet to Nineveh to give them a chance because God had enough of their wicked deeds, and He was on the verge of issuing punishment to them. The things they did were so bad, Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh as God had commanded, which is why God put him in the belly of a large fish for three days, to humble Jonah, so that he would do as God commanded.

When Jonah had finally gone to Nineveh, he delivered God's message that they had forty days before they would be overthrown, and that message alone showed God's mercy, in which He was giving them time to come to repentance (i.e. godly sorrow) of their sins.

So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
-Jonah 3:5-9

The people came in the humility of godly sorrow, which is repentance, to plead for the mercy of God, that He might be grieved at the evil He thought to do to them, and the Lord God did show them mercy. There are many men in this world who have turned away from a life of crime, but have never had godly sorrow of their sins, and this is an important distinction because turning from one's evil ways is not enough, because no good works can earn a man eternal life; one must have the grace of God, and once again, God only gives His grace to the humble.

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
-James 4:6

The men of Nineveh had godly sorrow of their sins, and they showed the fruit of their repentant hearts:

Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance,
-Luke 3:8

There are many arrogant churchgoers who scoff at this message of repentance and remission of sins because they are prideful, and will not be humbled, and it is no different today than it was in the days of Jesus Christ in Israel:

The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
-Matthew 12:41

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
-Ecclesiastes 1:9

Acts 16 is also used by leavened preachers who argue that repentance has no part in salvation. The argument is that the jailor was saved by simply believing on Jesus and nothing more.

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were freed from prison by an earthquake from the Lord God while they sang praises to Him. In verses 27-28, the jail keeper was going to commit suicide because if any one of the men would have escaped, his life would be forfeit. (i.e. The Roman government would have punished him with execution that may have involved public humiliation and horrible torture before death.) Paul stopped the jailor from killing himself, reassuring him that no one had escaped, but they were only released from their cells. Then the following happens: Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas [i.e. repentance], And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. -Acts 16:29-31

This man was about to face certain death, not only to be taken away from his family, but also to have to face the Judgment of God, but then, he was informed of the situation, and realized that God had mercy on him, that he would not have to face execution. In such a situation, a man is faced with his frail mortality, and so the jailor was on his knees in repentance before he asked anything of Paul and Silas.

A man does not desperately ask what he can do to be saved if he is not in fear of God and seeking His mercy, and man is only in fear of God and seeks His mercy when he is repentant of his wrongdoing. AT THAT POINT, all Paul and Silas had to do was tell the jailor to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for his salvation, but sadly, most pastors and churchgoers do not understand this because they prefer to skip to the easy "believe on Jesus" part of the Gospel (which brings in many followers and donations), while ignoring the difficult "repent of sins" part of the Gospel, which does not bring in worldly rewards, and many people (especially churchgoers) hate those who preach repentance and remission of sins.

Earlier, we went over the verses in Galatians 3, which says that the law of God was the schoolmaster (i.e. teacher) to bring us to faith in Christ. (Gal 3:24) This correlates with what Jesus taught us when He was questioned by a wealthy ruler:

And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.
-Luke 18:18-23

The interesting question we need to ask ourselves is this: When Jesus was asked how one could inherit eternal life, why is it that Jesus did not just tell the man to "believe on Him?" After all, if we are simply to believe on Jesus to be saved, why would Jesus not just say that? Did He not want this man to be saved?

Please do not misunderstand what Jesus Christ was doing here, nor should it be said that we are not saved by grace through faith, because all those who are born again in Christ have been saved by grace through faith. However, the problem with this wealthy ruler is that he believed he had kept the laws of God, which was not true (nor is it true for any man because "the scripture hath concluded all under sin," Gal 3:22), and therefore he did not have a repentant heart (demonstrated by the fact that he lied to himself and to God), meaning that there was no godly sorrow of wrongdoing within him, so Jesus gave him exactly what he needed to hear.

The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
-Psalm 19:7

The Lord Jesus Christ told this man the truth, letting the law (i.e. the knowledge of sin) do its job, that God might give him repentance to acknowledge the truth. Christ obviously knew that, without repentance, it would be useless for a man to "believe on Jesus," because faith without repentance is a FAKE faith.

In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
-2 Timothy 2:25

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
-1 Corinthians 1:18

A few years ago, a man who called himself "chainsmoke" (whatever that is supposed to mean) read my article teaching on repentance and was very angry. He wrote me a vicious letter telling me that I was a false preacher that was going to hell, and demanded that I should not teach that repentance is part of salvation, and he argued:
"And what about all of Paul's clear writings on salvation that do not speak of repentance?"

My answer to "chainsmoke" was a quote from Paul's clear writings:

And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
-Acts 20:18-21

The Lord God had Luke document Paul's teachings for us, and Paul said, in no uncertain terms, that he went house to house, from the beginning of his ministry, preaching repentance and faith in Christ. If Mr. "Chainsmoke" has a problem with that, then he needs to take that up with God because I am not the author of Scripture.

Another man named Bill had also read my teaching on repentance, and once again, I received a letter informing me that I was a false preacher that was going to hell because I taught that repentance was part of salvation. Sadly, Bill was so blinded in his rage, he could not understand what he was writing:
"Christopher what you promote with your unbiblical teaching of repentance is works salvation... Based on the above, I have decided to separate myself from you... If you repent of your false gospel and beliefs, let me know. If not, I do not want to hear back from you."

What was so fascinating about this email was that Bill was instructing me that I was going to hell because I was a false preacher who taught that repentance was a requirement for salvation, but then immediately told me that in order for me to go to heaven, I needed to repent of my false preaching. So according to Bill, I am not supposed to teach people that they must repent to be saved, but according to Bill, I have to repent in order to be saved?


Bill believes that the word 'repent' means "to turn," and therefore, he believes I am teaching a false, works-based message by teaching people that they must turn from their sin to be saved. All Bill did was prove that he did not read my teaching, otherwise, he would know that is not what I taught, but rather, he did what a lot of lazy churchgoers typically do, which is to read the title, then judge the teaching based on the title of the book only, instead of searching through it to get the details.

In other words, he answered the matter before he heard it, and was unwilling to hear it. The Bible calls this man a fool who should be ashamed of himself:

He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.
-Proverbs 18:13

Of course, I have accused others of not being of Christ because they have never come to repentance, and here, we can see that I am being accused of the same, so who should you believe? My answer is that you should go to the Scriptures yourself to understand them, pray for the wisdom of God, study, and listen to both sides before you come to a conclusion.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
-2 Timothy 2:15

The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.
-Proverbs 15:28

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
-James 1:5

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
-Acts 17:11

These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
-1 John 2:26-27

More often than not, the world rejects sorrow for wrongdoing because they are so prideful. When they are caught lying, they say, "Well, I misspoke" instead of confessing their lie. When they are caught stealing, they complain about their rights instead of confessing their theft. Most often, men offer justifications, rather than confessions, and with that same mentality, churchgoers most often put a huge emphasis on forgiveness, but very little, if any, on repentance, and in some cases, they even teach that repentance is wrong.

There is a charity organization called The Salvation Army, its origin goes back to the late 19th century. (It should be noted that, today, The Salvation Army is very corrupt, and has adopted woke ideology, even having something called the "Salvation Army's International Social Justice Commission.") In the late 1800s, William Booth founded The Salvation Army on the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to give to the poor and needy, while preaching the message of repentance and remission of sins, and towards the end of his life, he offered a warning to the church, which I believe should be heeded very carefully:

"I am of the opinion that the chief dangers which confront the coming century [i.e. 20th-21st century] will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell." -William Booth, quoted in The Homiletic Review: An International Magazine of Religion, Theology and Philosophy, Religious Newspaper Agency, Vol. 44, 1902, p. 382, [University of Michigan]

William Booth, who I consider to be a brother in Christ in heaven today, was correct on ALL points, and the Lord God gave him the insight to see what was coming. There is not room enough in this book to cover each point (and I have done that in many other teachings at creationliberty.com), but the key point to take away from this is that, at the turn of the 20th century, Booth saw the problems with corrupt preachers who were offering a new method of salvation, in which men could get forgiveness without repentance, and that false message has been replicated so much, most church buildings have no understanding of the Gospel of Salvation, while they sit in willful blindness and ignorance, proclaiming with smooth words that they have Biblical understanding on the subject.

Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:
-Isaiah 30:10

I have my disagreements with Charles Spurgeon in some of the things he believed and taught, but on the subject of repentance, he had a good understanding. He wrote:

"The Holy Ghost creates repentance in us by supernaturally renewing our nature, and taking away the heart of stone out of our flesh. Oh, sit not down straining those eyes of yours to fetch out impossible tears! Repentance comes not from unwilling nature, but from free and sovereign grace. Get not to your chamber to smite your breast in order to fetch from a heart of stone feelings which are not there. But go to Calvary and see how Jesus died. Look upward to the hills when comes your help. The Holy Ghost has come on purpose that He may overshadow men's spirits and breed repentance within them, even as once He brooded over chaos and brought forth order. Breathe your prayer to Him, 'Blessed Spirit, dwell with me.

Make me tender and lowly of heart, that I may hate sin and unfeignedly repent of it.' He will hear your cry and answer you."
-Charles Spurgeon, Works of Charles Spurgeon, "How Repentance Is Given," Seltzer Books, 2018, ISBN: 9781455392728

As I have stated many times in this book, repentance is a gift from God, given by His grace, and no man can force out his own tears of godly sorrow. When a man looks at the price that Jesus Christ paid on the cross, and he laughs, that is a man who has no understanding, but when he looks at the price that Jesus Christ paid on the cross, and then looks inward to see his own wretchedness to acknowledge the truth, only the sin of pride could keep him from falling to his knees in tears of repentance.

No one in this world looks at a man who has been brought low to tears of sorrow, and thinks within themselves, "Look at how much work that man does." That is nonsensical. It is self-evident that inward grief is not a work, but in contradiction and hypocrisy, many preachers mock those who come to Jesus Christ in godly grief of their sins.

For some readers, this is the first time you have ever heard this doctrine taught, and as you read through this book, you may have thought back and realized that you had been given godly sorrow on that day you came to repentance and faith in Christ, but you did not realize that is what had happened to you. That is completely normal because one does not have to understand the definition of repentance to be given the gift of repentance by the Lord God.

There are also some readers who might read this book and realize that they never had godly sorrow for their sins, and they are not sure what to do about that, but I would offer the same advice as we just read from Spurgeon, and that is because God gives repentance as a gift, so if you lack repentance, ask Him for it, and be persistent in asking Him for it. The Lord Jesus Christ gave us a parable to help understand this:

And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
-Luke 11:5-8

importunity (n): pressing solicitation; urgent request; application for a claim or favor, which is urged with troublesome frequency or pertinacity [persistence and unyielding tenacity]; men are sometimes overcome by the importunity of their wives or children
(See 'importunity', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved Nov 7, 2023, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

These parables are given to teach us the difference between the true and false convert; the difference in the way they act and speak. A man who comes to the Almighty God (who is merciful and kind) in prayer, consistently, day-after-day in humility, knocking on His door with importunity, pleading for the gift of repentance of sin, the Lord will eventually open that door for him, which is why Christ went on in the next verse to say:

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
-Luke 11:9-13

There are many people who will see this book in passing and pay it no attention because the Lord did not put it in their heart to seek and knock. Others will be angry with the title of this book, and refuse to read it, making me into an enemy, but in what manner am I an enemy for telling people the truth, to show them to way to eternal life because I am concerned about the state of their souls?

Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?
-Galatians 4:16

I am not calling readers unto works for salvation because you cannot be saved by your works. I am not calling readers unto religious customs for salvation because you cannot be saved by traditions. I am simply calling readers to take the Bible seriously, and lament of their sins for salvation.

lament (v): to mourn; to grieve; to weep or wail; to express sorrow
(See 'lament', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved July 12, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

This is why there is a book of the Bible called "Lamentations," which is about the Hebrews grieving when God had humbled them in captivity. When they were overtaken by Babylon, their many transgressions and corruptions were seen by the world, and when their sins were finally exposed, and they had no more pretense to hide behind, they expressed great sorrow, and cried unto God for His mercy.

This is the same process that God puts mankind through before they can be saved, meaning that they must be brought low, and oftentimes, that coincides with suffering and pain. When a man suffers great loss, and the pretense drops, then his heart is in a much more receptive place, by which it is easier for a man to hear the truth and acknowledge it.

In like manner, there are many parents who make the grave mistake of spanking their children for every single infraction, using spankings to work out their anger onto a child (otherwise known as abuse), without ever understanding the correct reason for a spanking. It is not just to correct children, but specifically, a spanking is needed when children are being rebellious and lie against the truth, having no sorrow for their wrongdoing, and so they must feel pain in order to humble them, and bring them low to acknowledge the truth.

He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes. [in the proper time]
-Proverbs 13:24

This is why the Lord Jesus Christ chastens us.

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
-Revelation 3:19

chasten (v): to correct by punishment; to inflict pain for the purpose of reclaiming an offender
(See 'chasten', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved July 12, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

It is because He loves us enough that He brings us low so we will acknowledge the truth.

In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
-2 Timothy 2:25

This is why we must come to Christ as little children in this manner, otherwise, we will never enter into His Kingdom.

And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
-Matthew 18:3

If you read the book of Lamentations, you will notice that no one stands up and leads the Hebrews in a "repeat-after-me sinner's prayer" to be saved because such a concept is not taught anywhere in the Bible. Those methods have been adopted by corrupt preachers who do not understand the Gospel of Salvation. A man must be brought low in humility before God, with a repentant heart, a contrite spirit, a lamenting mind, to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for His grace, that they might receive remission for their sins.

Sadly, we have a massive epidemic in church buildings around the world, in which they have brought in millions upon millions of churchgoers who all said the sinner's prayer, but the majority had no repentance. They create these nonsensical, unbiblical terms and phrases, like "make a commitment to Christ," or "make a decision for Christ," or vaguely tell them they need to "have a relationship with God," but almost none of these people have the grief of godly sorrow in their hearts.

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes:
but the LORD pondereth the hearts.
-Proverbs 21:2

As I said at the beginning of this book, faith is very commonly preached in church buildings all around the world, and the primary reason for that is because it is a very easy subject to preach about. In most cases, no matter what pastors say about faith, it is very hard to be wrong about it because all mankind must believe in certain things which they cannot see with their eyes and hear with their ears.

This is why, over the past few decades of listening to pastors, I have so often heard them talk about the struggles they have when they get a flat tire on the road, or the dishwasher breaks down, and how we have to have faith through the "tough" times. Such pathetic attempts at "preaching" have no spiritual value, meaning that they do not add any wisdom or understanding, but to an audience of false converts who do not have any discernment, they believe such preaching is "enlightening," and the real purpose of the sermon is seen at the end, when the pastor tells the congregation that they can show their faith by their giving in tithes and offerings.
(Read "Tithe is Not a Christian Requirement" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
-1 Timothy 6:9-11

Lack of faith is not the problem for many people because there are many who believe in God. There are many Jews, Catholics, Muslims, and much more, who all believe in God, but they will end up in hell. In fact, God pointed out to us that devils believe and tremble in fear too, but they will also end up in hell.

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well:
the devils also believe, and tremble.
-James 2:19

So what is the difference between mankind and devils? Why is it that Jesus told us that millions of believers would come to Him on the Day of Judgment, and He would turn them away to everlasting fire in hell?

Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
-Matthew 7:21-23

These people claimed to serve Jesus Christ, called Him "Lord," dedicated their lives to preaching, exorcising devils, constructing church buildings, tithing, putting on Christmas pageants, having grand Easter displays, and much more. However, Jesus said that He never knew them, and as a young Christian, when I read these verses, I was afraid because I wanted to know what the difference was, so that I would not be counted among them.
(Read Christmas: Rejecting Jesus & "Easter: Christians Celebrating Abomination" here at creationliberty.com for more details.)

I knew that the Bible had to have answers somewhere, and once the Lord God granted me mercy by showing me the truth about all the false doctrines I had been taught in church buildings, and gave me understanding about repentance, everything that Jesus taught clicked right into place for me. And now that we have a foundational understanding of repentance, let's read what Jesus said next, starting in verse 24, and consider it carefully:

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
-Matthew 7:24-27

Those who hear the sayings of Jesus Christ and go out to do them (i.e. to do the works He did, and preach the doctrines He taught), are those who have been humbled to repentance because they are doing works that are worthy of repentance.

Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
-Luke 3:7

But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
-Acts 26:20

So what is the difference between those who faithfully tremble in fear, and those hypocrites who tremble in fear? The Bible answers that with a verse we read earlier:

For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
-Isaiah 66:2

contrite (adj): broken-hearted for sin; deeply affected with grief and sorrow for having offended God; humble; penitent
(See 'contrite', American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, retrieved July 12, 2022, [webstersdictionary1828.com])

It is my hope that the Lord God would use this book to open the eyes of some, that they might be converted to Jesus Christ through repentance and faith, as He taught us. I have another book called Why Millions of Believers on Jesus Are Going to Hell, which is free to read (as are all my books at creationliberty.com), and is a short, but thorough, overview of the Gospel of Salvation, so that as many as possible might be saved.


I thank you for your time reading this, and pray the Lord Jesus Christ would richly bless all of us in wisdom and understanding. If this book helped you, please share it with someone else, so as many as possible might hear the Gospel of Salvation in Christ and be saved.

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life;
and he that winneth souls is wise.
-Proverbs 11:30

Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
-2 Corinthians 7:9-10

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