Biblical Repentance - Bellator Christi

By: Brian G. Chilton, Ph.D., M.Div. | March 19, 2023

Editor’s Note: This question is about biblical repentance. But to submit your question to the Bellator Christi team, visit https://bellatorchristi.com/submit-a-question-to-bellator-christi/, fill out the form, and add your question. Your question may be featured in a future article at Bellator Christi or on the Bellator Christi Podcast.

Question

“Since the Greek word for repent is metanoeo, which means ‘change your mind.’ Was Jesus using this term [to mean to] change your mind about who I am? The Pharisees were strict keepers of the law. Yet Jesus told them to (change your mind) about him. With that said, is that saying universal salvation is given to all who just change their mind about God? Yet with no repentance, change of action. Hypers-gracers say no need to confess sin. It is forgiven for the past and present future sins. Also, if any man(woman) is in Christ they are new creatures said by Paul. So basically, it would be said, at least according to those that propose Hyper-grace, can sin freely with no consequence. Sin because it is forgiven, but this does not sound logical from Christ’s point of view. With no change of action in behavior.” -Kerry Parker

Response:

Kerry,

First of all, thank you for your question. This is an issue that is of extreme importance in the modern church and Christian faith. There are numerous issues that you addressed in your question. You first discussed the Greek definition of metanoeo—the term defined as “repentance.” Then, you mentioned Jesus’s use of metanoeo with the Pharisees. Finally, you noted the use of repentance by a group that advocates a position termed “hyper-grace.” All of this encircles one quintessential question, what is biblical repentance? We’ll come back to that question in a moment. Let’s first dissect the minor question before coming back to the major one.

Terminology for Biblical Repentance

It is true that a Greek word for repentance is metanoeō. The word speaks of changing one’s mind about a particular person, thing, or position. Prior to the New Testament times, the Jewish use of metanoeō described someone who “comprehensively turned back to God.”[1] This was the way repentance was viewed in the Apocryphal book Sirach, stating, “Despite all this the people did not repent, nor did they forsake their sins, until they were carried off as plunder from their land,

and were scattered over all the earth” (Sirach 48:15).[2] In this sense, the people were to turn back to God. Metanoeō was used in the same manner in Acts 3:19; Acts 26:20; by John the Baptist (Mark 1:15); and Jesus in certain circumstances (e.g., Matt. 4:17). Thus, repentance with metanoeō means to repent and turn to God.

However, there is another term often used for repentance, and that term is metanoia. Like metanoeo, metanoia speaks of a change evoked in a person’s life. However, it is a bit more extensive in that it calls for a “comprehensive change of one’s orientation toward following God” (LTW, Logos). In New Testament times, metanoia spoke of repenting of one’s sins and turning everything over to God. John uses the term to speak of the “baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4). Jesus also uses metanoia when exhorting people to repent (Luke 5:32). Jesus used metanoia when instructing his disciples to preach a message of repentance and for the forgiveness of sins to all nations (Luke 24:47).

Taking these two words together, it is safe to say that biblical repentance includes a changing of the mind toward Christ, turning oneself toward God, and repenting of sinful behaviors. We will come back to this definition as we conclude the article.

Jesus’s Use of Biblical Repentance with the Pharisees

In the question, no particular passage of Scripture was referenced when discussing Jesus’s interactions with the Pharisees. Therefore, it is difficult to say with any certainty which passage of Scripture is in mind. With that in mind, let us look at all the times where Jesus used the term metanoeo when speaking of repentance. The times Jesus speaks to the Pharisees will receive special attention.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus uses metanoeo in Matt. 3:2 when he began preaching, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near!”[3] Jesus denounced the unrepentant towns of Chorazin and Bethsaida, where his miracles had been performed, and called them to repentance (Matt. 11:20–21). He did address the Pharisees when they asked for a sign, but then Jesus spoke of the people of Nineveh who repented (metanoeo) when Jonah preached the message of God.

On two occasions in Mark’s Gospel (Mk. 1:15; 6:12), Jesus uses the term metanoeo. However, Jesus does not directly speak to the Pharisees either time. As in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus denounces Chorazin and Bethsaida, and he uses the illustration of the Ninevites’ repentance.

Luke records more occurrences of metanoeo by Jesus than in any other Gospel. Like Matthew and Mark, Luke records Jesus’s denouncement of Chorazin and Bethsaida (Lk. 10:13), and he also highlights Jesus’s teaching on the Ninevites’ repentance (Lk. 11:32). Other incidents of metanoeo do not include a precise interaction of Jesus with the Pharisees either. Jesus affords a general call to repentance (metanoeo) in Luke 13:3 and 13:5. In Luke 15:7 and Luke 15:10, he speaks about the joy in heaven over one person who repents (metanoeo). The term is also used in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man (Lk. 16:30). Finally, Jesus uses metanoeo when speaking of dealing with a person who repents (Lk. 17:3, 4).

Interestingly, the Gospel of John does not use metanoeo. So, there is nothing in the Gospel that directly impacts our study of the word.

In all the instances we have observed, we do not see where Jesus used the term metanoeo in the sense that was used in the question. Therefore, we cannot address the means by which Jesus addressed the Pharisees specifically. However, we can speak of Jesus’s theology of repentance.

Biblical Repentance and Hyper-grace

Kerry mentions concerns with the hyper-grace movement, and for good reason. Hyper-grace refers to a modern movement that argues that a person merely needs to confess Christ without adopting the moral and ethical teachings of Christ. Some have called hyper-grace “easy believism” since nothing more than intellectual assent is required for the Christian life. That is, a person can live as they please as long as they profess Christ.

Though hyper-grace is a new movement, it is based on an ancient heresy. As Solomon said, there truly is nothing new under the sun (Eccl. 1:9). Antinomianism means “anti-law.” An early branch of Gnosticism—a well-known heretical movement in the apostle John’s time—taught that a person should live a hedonistic lifestyle since they were under God’s grace. Some believed that the more a person sinned, the more they experienced God’s grace. While no one should fall into legalism, antinomianism is just as dangerous. John combatted this movement by writing, “Little children, let no one deceive you. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as [God] is righteous” (1 Jn. 3:7).

When it comes to Jesus’s theological view of repentance, he emphasized intellectual assent (Matt. 4:17; 16:16; Mk. 1:15), emotional trust (Matt. 11:20), and moral volition (Lk. 3:8; 17:3–4).[4] Therefore, Jesus’s understanding of repentance matched that of Jewish theology in the OT and Second Temple Judaism. That is, repentance involved a change in one’s entire being.

Conclusion

To summarize, a singular word study was not overly helpful in this endeavor, at least as it pertained to the interactions that Jesus had with the Pharisees on repentance. Nonetheless, when we look at the overall teachings of Jesus, we then see that his theology required more than simply an acceptance of a few facts and figures. Rather, true repentance involves a total commitment of oneself to the Triune God.

About the Author

Brian G. Chilton earned a Ph.D. in the Theology and Apologetics program at Liberty University. He is the host of The Bellator Christi Podcast and the founder of Bellator Christi. Brian received his Master of Divinity in Theology from Liberty University (with high distinction); his Bachelor of Science in Religious Studies and Philosophy from Gardner-Webb University (with honors); earned a Certificate in Christian Apologetics from Biola University, and plans to purse philosophical studies in the near future. He is also enrolled in Clinical Pastoral Education to better learn how to empower those around him. Brian is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Evangelical Philosophical Society. Brian has served in pastoral ministry for over 20 years and currently serves as a clinical hospice chaplain as well as a pastor.

https://www.amazon.com/Laymans-Manual-Christian-Apologetics-Essentials/dp/1532697104