GRACE GRENADE #4 Repent means change your mind not confess yours sins

When John the Baptist and Jesus both proclaimed “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matt 3:2/4:17) they weren’t saying confess all your sins, they were saying change the way you think because it is only now being made possible to be born again and enter into the Kingdom of God. Up until this point, nobody could have entered the Kingdom. Everyone who died went down to either Paradise or Sheol which were the waiting places for the departed spirits of the dead. (See Luke 16:19-31, Luke 23:39-43). 

For the righteous-dead it was Paradise, otherwise known as Abraham’s Bosom, but for the unrighteous-dead it was Sheol/Hades to await final judgement and entry into the Lake of Fire. (See Revelation 20:11-15). 

In order for people to be able to enter into the Kingdom of God the Messiah had to come and offer His blood as a perfect sacrifice. Only then could people be completely cleansed of their sins. Before this no-one could be born again and enter the Kingdom because everyone’s sins were only temporarily covered. The Kingdom up until this point had always been far away, even for all the Old Testament saints. All of them including the greats like Abraham, Moses, Elijah and King David had to go down to Paradise to await the coming Messiah, the Deliverer. Only then would the Kingdom become accessible.

We see that after Christ died He descended into the lower earthly regions (Paradise) to free the captives that were being held there. Then when He ascended He led all those captives up into the Kingdom. (See Ephesians 4:8-10). 

With the coming of Christ, access into the Kingdom was now finally coming into reach. It was at hand. It would only be made possible through the death and resurrection of Christ. And access into it could only come through faith in Jesus Christ.

His death was to cleanse us from our sins, and His resurrection so we could be born again and receive eternal life.

Up until this point Israel had been relying on works, law keeping and animal sacrifices to save them. But with the coming of Christ that old way of thinking had to change! If you didn’t change your thinking you would miss salvation. You wouldn’t miss it because of your sin, you would miss it because of your unbelief in Christ. This change of mind was absolutely necessary for Israel, as it is for everyone today! They needed to turn away from thinking that works, law keeping and animal sacrifices could save them and turn towards belief in the Gospel. This seminal change of mind is called repentance!

True repentance is about us turning away from works and turning to God through faith in Jesus. Repentance is to change your mind about salvation through works and believe the Gospel that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ. Look at how Scripture defines repentance:

Hebrews 6:1 “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,”

Acts 20:21 “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Acts 19:4 “Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.”

The focus of repentance is not the confession of sins but of faith towards Christ. At its core essence repentance is turning from wrong thinking towards faith. “Stop thinking works can save you, and realise only faith in Christ can!” God is more interested in what you believe than in what sins you confess.

The religious Pharisees said they would obey God but their actions revealed their hearts didn’t believe. The sinners of the day didn’t say they would obey God, however, when they heard the preaching of John the Baptist they repented. They changed their minds and believed in the One to come, Jesus.

The parable of the two sons draws this out. Can you see it? 

MATTHEW 21:28-32 “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he CHANGED HIS MIND and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not BELIEVE HIM, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes BELIEVED HIM. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward CHANGE YOUR MINDS and BELIEVE HIM.

What does Jesus emphasise in this parable, confession of sins? No. He emphasises changing your mind and believing the message.

It’s unfortunate that people make repentance all about confessing sins. It distracts our understanding from what repentance truly is.

I’m not saying it’s wrong to confess your sins. I’m just saying that repentance is less about confessing sin and more about believing the Gospel. The reality is that someone who believes will confess! But someone who confesses doesn’t necessarily believe. We see that in the previous parable of the two sons. The Pharisees confessed but didn’t believe whereas the sinners believed without confessing!

The thief on the Cross didn’t confess all his sins, He simply believed Jesus was the Messiah. The household of Cornelius in Acts 10 didn’t confess all their sins, they simply believed the message that Peter preached and were born again as they heard and believed. Most of the conversions in the New Testament don’t mention confession of sins but rather their focus is faith towards Christ. Yet in the modern Church we’ve made confession of sins the main requirement for someone getting saved. 

But Ryan, what about 1 John 1:9 that says we need to confess our sins? Actually, it says we need to walk in the light which is the truth of Christ. When you walk in the truth you will happily acknowledge that you are a sinner who is in need of a saviour. You have to understand that verse 9 is speaking into a specific context where the church was being heavily influenced by the Gnostic deception, as many Bible scholars affirm. These were people who didn’t believe that they could sin, or that they were sinners in need of a saviour. If you don’t believe that you are a sinner then you will never reach out for a saviour. You’ll stay in the dark. This is what John was warning against. He was saying “Church, don’t follow these people, they are in darkness”. Anyone who won’t acknowledge/confess their sin and therefore their need for a saviour is in darkness and the truth is not in them. But as soon as someone acknowledges their sin and comes into the light/truth of Jesus – then all their sins are forgiven and cleansed away. This confession is not about recollecting all the sinful acts you’ve done, it’s about acknowledging the truth that you are indeed a sinner who desperately needs a saviour and that Christ is that saviour. Confessing all our sins is not what cleanses us and saves us, it’s acknowledging the truth and turning to Jesus in faith that saves and cleanses us.

What about all the various scriptures that talk about “repentance for the forgiveness of sins”?

Aren’t they saying we must repent of our sins in order to be forgiven? No, that’s not what they are saying. They are saying that anyone who turns away from dead works and towards Christ in faith will receive the forgiveness of sins. This is a forgiveness that had not yet been granted up until this point because this kind of repentance did not exist yet. Until Christ had come no one could turn to Him in faith and be cleans of sins, they still had to rely on works and sacrifices to cover their sins.

Try reading these scriptures through that lens:

Mark 1:4 “John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”

Luke 3:3 “And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”

Luke 24:47 “and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”

Acts 5:31 “God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”

Acts 26:18 “…to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”

Ryan, are you saying we shouldn’t confess our sins or turn away from them? No, I’m not saying that at all. I believe that those who change their mind will have no problem confessing their sins and turning away from sin. 

Acts 19:18 “Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices.”

What about these scriptures that sound like repentance is confessing sins.

Matthew 3:5-6 “Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.”

Mark 1:5 “And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.”

These people were coming to John because they believed he was a prophet. They were baptised because they believed his message. His message was, “Repent and believe on the One to come, the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world”. Their repentance was not their confession of sins. Their repentance was believing John’s message that the Messiah who would take away their sins was now here. Their confession of sins was an acknowledge that they were sinners in need of a saviour and believed that this saviour was now here.

Should we confess our sins, yes, but that’s not what repentance is. Repentance is changing your mind from dead works to faith in Christ. It’s believing you are a sinner who needs a saviour and that you can’t save yourself, only Christ can!