John MacArthur has provided a helpful article on the nature of biblical repentance on PulpitLive! This is much like what he has written so clearly in The Gospel According to Jesus and The Gospel According to the Apostles.
Erik Raymond
IrishCalvinist.com :: Erik Raymond’s old wordpress blog blog
Erik,
You did it again. You got me to thinking about the way I have approached evangelism in the past. I’m sure it was a learned formula. When speaking with someone about the Gospel they have often made comments regarding cleaning up their life before coming to Christ. I have often heard and used the response “don’t you worry about cleaning up your life, God will do that for you”. Now I know God does do this through santification but I am also thinking we should be very careful not to mislead others into believing that they do not have to change their life or immediately turn from their sin. In the article MacArthur refers to this former type of “non life-changing repentance” as merely a change of mind. Do we just re-think our lifes’ direction or do we turn and throw ourselves on the mercy of God? I like how MacArthur brings out the whole concept of biblical repentance as “the decision of the whole man to turn around” and I love how the theological dictionary defines the word.
Again, way to get me thinking again.
Living by God’s grace,
Barry
Barry- glad to hear you were encouraged.
One of the things I love about following Jesus is that he is always tweeking us, whether this is in evangelism or otherwise. It is great incentive to keep reading and depending on him through his word.
erik