This is concerning my teaching:
Is Repentance Part of Salvation?Previously, I had taught that the phrase "
repent FROM" was never used in Scripture. It turns out that there is one place that needs some more explanation because there is one instance where it appears to be used that way, or rather, a place where people who do not study Scripture will claim there is an anomaly (i.e. a unique instance out of place), and I have made appropriate adjustments on that in my article. I will not say it is error just yet (even though I'm posting this as a correction), and I'll explain it in a moment. However, the article now reads as follows:
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 3:9-10The first mistake made by churchgoers and preachers is that 'repent' does not mean "to turn" in this passage, and it would not make sense to say that it does because it would mean the Bible says, "if God will turn and turn, and turn away," which would be the definition of redundant (i.e. exceeding what is necessary). That would mean God was doing a 540-degree turn. (i.e. 180 [degrees] x 3) What I ask Christians to do is to study the Bible slowly and carefully because we should not just speed-read past these verses.
When we use the word 'turn' in a sentence, we use the preposition 'from' after it, so for example, "Sally turned from the house," which indicates direction and location. The Bible uses turn in the same way, namely, "turn from." I want to point out that the word 'repent' is never used that way in Scripture. (i.e. the verb 'repent' in connection to the preposition 'from') Notice that when the word 'repent' is used in the Bible, it is always followed with the preposition 'of', which is an indication of a relationship between two things (i.e. grief and the heart), but today, most pastors and churchgoers use the phrase "repent from" very casually in their speech, despite the fact that it is not how the Bible uses it.
In the above verses, it says if God will "turn away FROM his fierce anger," and that the people of Ninevah "turned FROM their evil way." In the next part, it says that "God repented OF the evil" that He was going to do to them. The prepositions change for the word 'repent'. 'From' is used in context of distance, region, or position, but 'of' is used in context of the source, author, or object. The words 'repent' and 'of' are based on the person, whereas the words 'turn' and 'from' are based on the direction.
So now let's address an anomaly. Based on my experience studying Scripture, if the Bible uses a term or phrase in a unique way, there is typically a special reason for it.
Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit.
-Heb 6:1-3I believe that these verses have relevance to us as Christians because the culmination of the Old Testament law and prophets is fulfilled in Christ, and Paul prefaces this by calling it "
the doctrine of Christ," so we ought to take this matter to heart, but we also need to remember that Paul is writing to the Christian Hebrews in this chapter, and that will help us lay a foundation of context to gain a full understanding of what is being referred to. The key to understanding why the phrase "
repentance FROM dead works" is used is the definition of "dead works" according to the context, and by looking at what the preposition 'from' is attached to in this sentence.
When we read this as Gentiles, we see it more straight-forward, but that is not the sense in which the Jews will read this because they know this is referring the sacrifices of the Temple. According to their own rabbinical teachings, it commonly said among them the following phrase, and we can see the reflection of the humility of godly sorrow that is intended to be in a man's heart during the sacrifices:
"When a man sacrifices a beast, he thinks in his own heart, I am rather a beast than this; for I am he that hath sinned, and for the sin which I have committed I bring this; and it is more fitting that the man should be sacrificed rather than the beast; and so it appears that 'by the means of his offering he repents'"(See Al Garza, Epistles, Lulu.com, 2018, p. 56, ISBN: 9781387646395)Thus, the "dead works" that are being referred to here are the animal sacrifices. So, once we have a heart of repentance (i.e. grief and godly sorrow of wrongdoing), leaving the principles of Christ (not in a contentious manner, but in faith of His ultimate sacrifice for sins forever), they should depart
FROM the sacrifices of the Temple, and therefore, the preposition
FROM is correctly used there to indicate the direction away from laying a foundation in sacrifices.
The repentance (i.e. grief and sorrow) of a sacrifice should no longer be exercised, for the godly sorrow should be established in Christ. Therefore, it is not repentance from dead works in the sense of turning from dead works (as many preachers erroneously teach by the false definition that 'repent' means "to turn"), but rather, not laying a foundation of repentance in the dead works of the sacrifices, having godly sorrow in Christ alone, not in continual sacrifices, which is why, a few chapters later, Paul concludes that the Jewish priests vainly put their hope in the animal sacrifices:
And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
-Heb 10:11In summary, my statement was not technically wrong the first time because the word 'from' is not applied to 'repentance' in that sentence because the preposition 'from' is applied to an action, and the action in that verse is not from 'repentance' itself, but rather, it is from "laying a foundation in dead works," and that the Christian Hebrews should turn from that. Therefore, I don't think I have anything to apologize for, and what I said was technically correct (i.e. there are no instances of 'repent from' used in Scripture), but the problem is that most people who do keyword searches (instead of Bible studies) for the phrase "repentance from" will not understand this verse, and I hope that will help others to understand the matter more thoroughly.
