The following article of faith appears in
many Baptist Church Manuals as a declaration of what Baptists believe
concerning these matters:
"We believe that Repentance and Faith are
sacred duties, and also inseparable graces, wrought in our souls by the
regenerating Spirit of God; whereby being deeply convinced of our guilt,
danger and helplessness, and of the way of salvation by Christ, we turn to
God with unfeigned contribution, confession, and supplication for mercy; at
the same time heartily receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as our Prophet,
Priest, and King, and relying on him alone as the all sufficient Saviour."
(See: Pendleton's Church Manual, p.51; Hiscox's Standard Manual for Baptist
Churches, p. 64; and Cobb's New Manual for Baptist Churches, pp. 91-92.)
I would find no fault and offer no
criticism concerning the teaching that repentance and faith are necessary
conditions of salvation. Certainly, this is abundantly taught in the word of
the Lord. But the order in the plan of salvation in which by Baptist Manuals
and Baptist preachers is not sustained by reason or the Bible. As you may
know, in harmony with the article quoted above, Baptists place repentance
before faith in that plan. The following scriptures are offered, by them as
proof that they should be so arranged:
"And ye, when ye had seen it, repented not
afterward, that ye might believe him"
(Matthew 21:32).
"Repent ye, and believe the gospel"
(Mark 1:15).
"Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God,
and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ"
(Acts 20:21).
In all these passages repentance Is
mentioned before faith, and it is concluded by Baptist preachers that
repentance must precede faith in the plan of redemption. Let us, therefore,
make a little study of these matters In the light of God's word.
The Order
of Mention Is Not Always the Order of Occurrence
The contention of Baptist to repentance and
faith in this respect is based purely upon as assumption—they assume that
the order of mention is the order of occurrence. Without this assumption
there is no basis for the theory that repentance precedes faith. But this
assumption is absolutely not true. Of course, when God promises a blessing
on a certain condition, the condition must always precede the blessing.
Salvation is based upon the conditions of faith and repentance. Necessarily,
the conditions must precede the salvation. Likewise, baptism is made a
condition of salvation
(Mark 16:16),
and, as such, It must precede salvation. But when salvation is offered on a
number of conditions, the order in which the conditions are mentioned may
not be the order of occurrence. To prove this just look at Paul's statement
in Romans 10:9:
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe
in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
In this verse salvation is offered on the conditions of faith and
confession, but confession is mentioned before faith. Must we say this is
the order of occurrence? Can a man "Confess with his mouth" something he has
"believed in his heart" before he has believed it? This would be impossible.
So the order of mention in this passage cannot be the order of occurrence.
Besides, the very next verse reverses it and mentions faith before
confession. The order of mention could not be made the order of occurrence
in both verses. The mere fact then that repentance is mentioned before faith
does not necessarily prove that it comes before faith in the plan of
salvation on.
The
Significance of the Passages Investigated
Matthew 21:32
and Mark 1:15
are both addressed to the Jews who lived during the personal ministry of
Christ on the earth. They were already believers in God. According to
Matthew John the Baptist "came In the way of righteousness" but the Jews
"believed him not," that is, they did not believe what he preached. "But the
publicans and the harlots believed him." But the Jews addressed, after they
"had seen it," did not afterward repent that they "might believe him." Since
they were already believers in God, they could have repented toward God that
they might believe the preaching of John. While this would be "repentance
toward God" before "faith in John," It would not be repentance toward God
before faith in God. Faith in God had to come first. The same can be said of
the statement in Mark 1:15: "Repent ye, and believe
the gospel." Again the Jews were addressed in this passage. They were
already believers in God and could therefore repent toward Him that they
might believe the gospel. This would be repentance before they believed the
gospel, but it would be repentance toward Him in whom they already believed.
Consequently, faith in God came before repentance toward God, and there is
no comfort here for Baptist preachers in the proclamation of their doctrine.
While the language of
Acts 20:21
is spoken concerning both Jews and Greeks, the principle involved is the
same. Paul testified "repentance toward God" and "faith toward our Lord
Jesus Christ." The repentance and the faith were not directed toward the
same person. It was not "repentance toward God" and "faith toward God."
Neither was it "repentance toward Christ" and "faith toward Christ." But it
was "Repentance toward God" and "faith toward Christ." When the repentance
and faith are directed toward the same person, the repentance is never
mentioned before faith.
It Is
Impossible to Make A Practical Application of the Theory
Some theories are like some men—they won't
work. And this is one of them. Men may preach long and loudly that sinners
must repent before they can have faith, but getting some one to do the
impossible is quite another thing. Paul said in
2 Corinthians 7:10
that "Godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation." Repentance must
follow "godly sorrow" as a result of it. But what produces the "godly
sorrow"? Do you think it would be possible to produce godly sorrow in a man
who has no sign of faith in God? Without some degree of faith in God no man
could ever be led to "godly sorrow" or to "repentance toward God." And
unless a man, to some extent, believes in Jesus Christ, he could never be
led to "repentance toward Christ." Some degree of faith is absolutely
indispensable in leading one to repent of his sins. It is contrary to all
reason as welt as to revelation, for a man to insist that it is otherwise.
If It Could
Be Worked; It Would Be Displeasing To God
I have had Baptist debaters, while engaged
in discussion with me, make the claim that everything that an alien sinner
does is displeasing to God and is a sin. They have based such contention on
the statement of Paul in
Hebrews 11:6.
He says: "Without faith it is impossible to please him." All the acts of a
man before he is saved, according to Baptist debaters, Is without faith, for
just as soon as he has faith they say he is saved. Hence, they conclude that
such a sinner cannot do anything that pleases God—everything is without
faith and is therefore a sin. But in view of this, either it is Impossible
for men to repent before faith, or if they should do so, it would not be
pleasing to God, for "repentance before faith" is "repentance without
faith." According to their doctrine, as outlined in Article VIII of their
creed, it becomes a sin to repent of sin. This is but the absurdity of
Baptist teaching.
They Say
They Are Inseparable Graces
When faced with the consequences of their
doctrine, they will then begin to hedge and say that you cannot say that
repentance comes first for they are "inseparable graces." The very instant
one occurs the other occurs. This has been illustrated by some of them by
referring to a man's firing a bullet through a plank wall. They ask the
question: "Which goes through the wall first — the hole or the bullet?" And
they reason that there is no difference — they go through at the same time.
Well, if this is a correct representation of repentance and faith in the
plan of salvation, they should quit preaching that repentance precedes faith
and revise their creed accordingly. If they occur at the same instant, one
does not precede the other, and their creeds and their doctrines are wrong.
They cannot have it both ways—-either repentance comes before faith or it
dues not. Let them take their choice and Stick with it.
