Repentance and the Baptist Church Constitution

Does your church constitution have a statement carefully defining repentance?  If your current church leadership went on to their eternal reward suddenly in an accident or other unplanned situation, would your church constitution be an effective guard against having a new pastor or pastors who teach a heretical gospel?  (Of course, not even the best constitutional statement is a substitute for a regenerate and spiritually mature church membership and church leadership that understand and regularly preach the gospel to the lost and agree wholeheartedly with the need to separate from even "Baptist" proponents of a false repentance-less "gospel.")

If your church does not currently have a statement on repentance, simply putting in one that is found in a classic Baptist confession, such as those discussed here, where one can also find sound exegesis on Biblical repentance, is a good start.  Perhaps the following suggested one would be a worthwhile addition to your church constitution and, consequently, something worth reviewing with all who seek to unite themselves to Christ's church in your area:

A Suggested Constitutional Statement on Repentance

   

Unfeigned repentance is an inward and true sorrow of heart for sin, with sincere confession of the same to God, especially that we have offended so gracious a God and so loving a Father, together with a settled purpose of heart and a careful endeavor to leave all our sins, and to live a more holy and sanctified life according to all God’s commands.[1] [Note: this is simply a quotation from a very widespread Baptist confession on repentance. Obviously, do not include this parenthetical statement.]  When the lost repent, they turn to God from their idols with the intention of serving the living and true God and waiting for His Son from heaven (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).  God commands: “Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin” (Ezekiel 18:30). “[T]urn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?” (Ezekiel 33:11).  John the Baptist preached to the lost that repentance results in bringing forth good fruit, and those who do not repent and as a result bring forth good fruit are cast into unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:7-11), while Jesus Christ preached the same message of repentance as the first Baptist (Matthew 3:2; 4:17) and commanded His church to continue to preach the same message (Luke 24:47).  The Lord Jesus warns that the unsaved who do not “repent of their deeds,” deeds such as “murders . . . sorceries . . . fornication . . . thefts . . . [and] worship [of] devils, and idols,” will not be saved but will miss the Rapture and enter the “great tribulation” (Revelation 2:22; 9:20-21; 16:9-11; Matthew 24:21).  Standard lexica correctly define “repentance” when they affirm the word means: “[A] complete change of thought and attitude with regard to sin and righteousness . . . [a] total change, both in thought and behavior, with respect to how one should both think and act. . . . [T]he focal semantic feature of these terms is clearly behavioral rather than [only] intellectual . . . [resulting in a] change [in] one’s way of life.”^[2]  The conclusion is clear that “[i]n the New Testament, metanoeo and metanoia [the Greek words for “repentance”] . . . are never used to indicate merely intellectual action. . . . [T]hey are always used to express volitional action . . . the change of purpose . . . from evil to good. . . . [T]hey always express internal change . . . [and] they require change in the outward expression of life as a necessary consequent . . . [t]he fullest content [is] found in the . . . radical change in the primary choice by which the whole soul is turned away from evil to good.”[3]

Both the words for “faith” or “belief” and the words for “repentance” in describing the response of the lost sinner to the gospel involve receiving Jesus Christ Himself (John 1:12).  The lost recognize that Jesus is the Christ—the Messiah, the Ruler and Redeemer who is the only One who can save (John 20:31).  Since Jesus Christ is God (John 20:28), Lord (Philippians 2:11), King (John 12:13), and Savior (2 Peter 3:18), the lost receive Him as God, Lord, King, and Savior from both the penalty and power of their sin—they receive Him as both Ruler and Redeemer.  The lost cannot receive a divided “Christ” who is only a Savior from the penalty of sin while the sinner continues to reject, rebel against, and refuse the Messiah as God, Lord, and King.  When the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is received, the dominating power of indwelling sin is broken (Ephesians 2; Romans 6) and, while indwelling sin is still present (Galatians 5:17), the lost receive a new nature (2 Corinthians 5:17) at the moment of their new birth (John 3), so that God’s holy laws are in their hearts and minds (Hebrews 8:10-12) and they become servants (Romans 1:1) of the King in the kingdom of God (John 3:3).

When the gospel is explained to the lost orally, the Biblical doctrine of repentance should be proclaimed, and when it is explained through written preaching, gospel literature that explains Biblical repentance should be employed.

The Bible warns that corruptions of the gospel are not to be tolerated, “no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue” (Galatians 2:5; 1:8-9), and Scripture is very clear on the necessity of practicing separation from those who corrupt the gospel and other Biblical teachings (1 Timothy 1:3; 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; 2 John 7-11).  Consequently, ----- Baptist Church will not allow anyone to preach from its pulpit, teach in its Sunday School classes, or preach and teach in any other of its ministries who cannot wholeheartedly and without mental reservation agree with the truths of Scripture summarized in the statement on repentance above.  Nor will ------ Baptist Church support financially any evangelist, missionary, or any other person or persons who do not both personally agree with, and whose sending churches also agree with, the statement on repentance above, wholeheartedly and without mental reservation.  Nor will ------ Baptist Church partner with any Bible college, seminary, institute, or other training institution, nor recommend its church members attend any Bible college, seminary, institute, or other training institution that does not wholeheartedly and without mental reservation agree with the Biblical teaching summarized above on repentance.

I believe that a statement of this sort  can help protect a Biblical Baptist church from the extremely dangerous heresy on that doctrine that has infected a frightening percentage of independent Baptist congregations today, and pass a pure and uncorrupted gospel on to future generations, so that they can both be saved themselves rather than not be saved but be hell-bound people who have just said the sinner’s prayer, and also so that our community and the lost world can continue to hear from independent Baptist churches the pure gospel as proclaimed by Christ, His Apostles, and the New Testament churches, instead of a watered-down corruption that will not save or that is less powerful to save because of crucial aspects that are left out.

TDR

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[1]           The Orthodox Creed, Baptist, 1679.

[2]           Louw, J. P & E. A. Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament:  Based on Semantic Domains (New York:  United Bible Societies, 1996), 41:52.

[3]           Thompson, Effie Freeman, Metanoeo and metamelei in Greek Literature until 100 A. D., Including Discussion of Their Cognates and of their Hebrew Equivalents: Historical and Linguistic Studies in Literature Related to the New Testament Issued Under the Direction of the Department of Biblical and Patristic Greek, 2^nd series, vol. 1 (Chicago, IL:  University of Chicago, 1908) 376-377.