In one of my recent discussions online with a proponent of the “repent of your sins to be saved” gospel, I pointed out that the bible never uses the phrase “repent of sins” or the like anywhere. Repent means to have a change of mind, and while we could have a change of mind about some particular sin (see Acts 8:22, for example), as it relates to the gospel, what we must have a change of mind about is the gospel. We are condemned for unbelief in Jesus Christ,according to John 3:18, so if we want to be free from condemnation, we must change our mind about Him. Still, just as Cain in Genesis 4 brought God the works of his hands, people today still want to have some part in their own salvation so they can boast in their own righteousness.
The fellow I was conversing with responded with this:
Ezekiel 18:30 is basically saying repent of your sins!! If repentance of sins isn’t necessary then why does the Bible continue to command us TO repent of sins?
Now, this isn’t the first time I’ve had someone claim that Ezekiel 18:30 says we must “repent of our sins” to be saved. Ezekiel 18:30-31 says:
“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live.”
So maybe Ray Comfort is right when he says:
So do we have to live a life of sinless perfection to be saved, Ray? Not to worry, there is apparently a little wiggle room. In Way of the Master: How to share your faith simply, effectively, Ray writes:
Obviously Christians refrain from lawlessness. They don’t lie, steal, commit adultery, etc. If they fall into sin (as opposed to diving into sin), they confess and forsake it, because they know that “without holiness, no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14, NIV). Page 38
So if you do sin, just make sure you are falling, rather than diving into it. I’d love to give your more instruction about the difference between falling and diving into sin, but strangely the bible is silent on this important distinction. (I’m pretty sure that a sign of true repentance is that you don’t question this doctrine too vigorously.)
So I guess I was wrong. As it says in Ez. 18:30-31, to be saved we must repent of our sins, which means we desire to have nothing to do with sin, but it’s ok if we fall into sin occasionally, so long as we don’t dive into it. Yep, a little wiggle room, just like it says in verse 21:
If a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live.
Wait a second…I must have missed the part about the distinction between diving and falling into sin. This verse says that the wicked person must keep “all” God’s statutes. I guess when you die, you get to argue your case that when you didn’t keep all God’s statutes that you had only fallen into sin, that you didn’t dive into it. Maybe God will overlook a few indiscretions because of the righteous things you’ve done. But if you are basing your salvation on your repenting of your sins as in in verse 30-31, you should also take a look verse 24:
But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.
If only Ezekiel had had internet access, he might have been able to some Way of the Master videos to find out about the distinction between falling and diving into sin, because he sure didn’t include it in this passage. This passage says if you turn away from your righteousness and do the things you used to do, your righteousness is no good. Wow, under this standard, who could be righteous by his own deeds?
Jesus doesn’t exactly lower the bar, either. In Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus preaches:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Was Jesus telling people that “close enough” is good enough? The Pharisees weren’t exactly lawless. They were sticklers for the law.
It sounds like having our own righteousness is a pretty impossible task. It sounds like no one will be able to meet God’s standards. Maybe that’s why Paul says “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
If you want to live, you must find a way to be righteous. The bible teaches there is only one way. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Only by taking on His righteousness can be ourselves be righteous. How do we receive this righteousness? Romans 4:5 says:
And the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.’
Are you blessed today? I am, because my faith in Jesus Christ has covered my sins. I am righteous in the eyes of God, not because of the goodness of my life; not because I fall into sin instead of diving into it; not because I desire nothing to do with sin; not because I go to church; not because I read the bible; not because I’m a Christ follower. I am righteous before God because my faith in Jesus Christ is counted as righteousness. If you’re trusting and believing in some other gospel, which is no gospel at all, I hope you will repent of your unbelief and put all your faith in Jesus Christ, not just most of it.
