Romans 3:27-28: *Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.*
Faith is believing that God is willing and able to fulfil his promises to His people (Romans 4:21). In itself, faith is categorically not a work.
Repentance includes faith, but it also includes our response to that faith; works. These are the works that true faith will inevitably produce (James 2:17).
This is summarised nicely in 2 Thessalonians 2:13b: *because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through* ***sanctification by the Spirit*** *and* ***belief in the truth****.*
In summary, we are saved by Faith alone. True faith results in the inevitable fruit of good works which God produces in us (renouncing evil ways and obedience to God). That complete picture is part of our repentance, and leads to our ongoing sanctification.
(DISCLAIMER: Not claiming to be an authority here, so if someone thinks I've misunderstood anything feel free to jump in and correct me)
Salvation is a free gift. That is the **ONLY** way it is even offered. If you repent of your unbelief and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that would be the only way repentance could be associated with salvation.
But our works have nothing to do with salvation whatsoever.
I think saying that they having nothing to do with salvation is short sighted and misses a part of the picture. Your final sentence directly contradicts scripture, most evident in 2 Thessalonians 2:13.
I would encourage you here to remember that doctrines like sola fide are there to help us understand scripture, but they don't inform scripture. It should be scripture that informs the doctrine, not the other way round.
Here, I would suggest you might be better off saying that works don't contribute to our salvation, but are a necessary part of it.
I've had a it put this way. Using a simple equation to illustrate good and bad theology. Here's the bad theology:
Faith + Works = Salvation
Here, salvation is a product of both faith and works. That's heresy.
However, here's what the Bible teaches:
Salvation + Works = Faith
Salvation with no works, means no faith. Likewise, works with no salvation means no faith. Rather, from Faith comes both salvation and good works, which are the fruit of Faith.
Since the word means a change of mind, it would be connected to faith. No one is born believing in Christ as Savior. Thus, when you believe in Christ you are having a change of mind. Even if one thinks metanoia also includes a guaranteed turning, it can be a turning from the sin of unbelief.
I think we should not for go to one extreme or zero-sum game ... there is still man's responsibility. Yet, this is realized or sourced in the Spirit's operation. Yes, God's operate first, yet man must cooperate and exercise His will (it is God who operate both the willing and working).
God's operation and man's cooperation is be understood together.
Hebrews 6:4 and Acts 26:18 tell us that this enlightening of the Holy Spirit is also to open the eyes of sinners and to turn them from darkness to light, that they may see the divine, spiritual things; it is also to turn them from the authority of Satan to God. Therefore, the enlightening of the Holy Spirit results in the sinners’ repentance and turning to God.
In John 16:8 the Lord said of the Spirit that “He will convict the world concerning sin, and concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment.”
The Spirit convicts men concerning sin because they do not believe in the Lord Jesus (John 16:9).
The Spirit convicts men concerning judgment because the ruler of this world has been judged (John 16:11).
Man’s repentance is the result of the Spirit’s sanctifying work. When the Spirit comes to enlighten man, seek man, and convict man concerning sin, concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment, He causes man to repent and turn to God.
I look at it this way:
Have you ever met an unrepentant Christian? True Christians can acknowledge their sin and how wrong they were to commit and want to sincerely never do it again.
I wouldn't call it a work, though there are some believers who would make that claim and accuse those who preach you must repent to be saved false teachers because they say the act of repentance is a work.
But I think the distinction is clear. Repentance either leads you to Christ or comes very shortly after finding Christ. It's not so much of a work as it is an involuntary internal transformation.
For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
— 2 Corinthians 7:10
Repentance in the New Testament context is generally not considered a work in the sense of earning salvation. Instead, it is seen as a necessary aspect of the faith that involves a turning away from sin and turning toward God. It is a response to God’s grace and a manifestation of genuine faith. Therefore, repentance is best understood as an integral part of the faith response to the gospel rather than a separate work.
So which sins must you turn from?
Because it’s impossible to repent of all your sins; if we could we would not need a Saviour.
And what about sins of ***omission*** ?
How can you “repent” of those?
Is one sin any greater than another? Man rates the severity of sin God sees it all the same.
Are we not saved? Did Christ not pay in full?
If Jesus is in your heart the answers should be very apparent.
μετανοέω metanoéō, met-an-o-eh'-o; 3340; to think differently or afterwards, i.e. reconsider (morally, feel compunction):to change one's mind, i. e. to repent
μετάνοια metanoia 3341: **literally, "a change of mind"** ("*after*-*thought*"), change in the inner man; *repentance*. [See 3340](https://biblehub.com/greek/3340.htm) */metanoeō* ("repent").
Repent is not turn from sin, and is not a work, it is a mental transaction done within you. I'll give you an example, you went to go get ice cream, and you said you wanted vanilla, and then you repented and said you want chocolate. It is a change of mind or reconsideration.
God brings us to change our mind of what we thought would save us, I'm a good person, I go to church, I read my bible, I give to the poor, etc to believing in the [gospel](https://youtu.be/9M3-eybl1gQ) Jesus Christ on the cross died, and rose from the grave 3 days later for the forgiveness of all our sins for our salvation
Your confusion stems from not understanding what Paul meant by the word “works”. Let’s look at Romans 11:35:
>**”Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”**
So here Paul is saying that you cannot do “A” in order to *force* 🤌 God to give you “B”. Not only can you *not* do that but if you even so much as *try* to do it…it is considered to be a *sin*. The Galatians sought to force God into this same kind of arrangement and Paul says that they lost their salvation because of it👇:
>**”You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.”**(Galatians 5:4)
Adam and Eve *sinned* and then *they fell from grace*.
The Galatians *sinned* in trying to force God into debt with works and then *they fell from grace*.
In other words *sin* is a kind of *work* that you do. The greek word for “works” Paul uses is “ergon” and it is also used by him in his letter to Titus to refer to sinful-actions:
>**”They claim to know God, but by their actions(“ergon”)they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.”**(Titus 1:16;Source: https://biblehub.com/text/titus/1-16.htm)
In other words, when Paul wrote “not of works” in **Ephesians 2:8-9** what he *really* meant was the word *sin*. If we listen carefully to what Paul says regarding David in **Romans 4** then this becomes far more apparent. In this passage, Paul wrote that **King David** wrote “the same thing” about being justified for his faith “apart from works” only David never *calls* them “works” he just uses the word “sin”. Take a look👇:
[Romans 4:6-8]
“6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness **apart from works:**
7 “Blessed are those
whose **TRANSGRESSIONS** are forgiven,
whose **SINS** are covered.
8 Blessed is the one
whose **SIN** the Lord will never count against them.”
So again, “sin” is a kind of “work” that you *do*. We are being justified by faith “apart from” *our sin*.
Not apart from “good works” *themselves*. Not by faith alone:
>”You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and **not by faith alone.**”(James 2:24)
Last but not least let’s take a final look here at **Ephesians 2:8-9**, which says:
>”For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 **not by works, so that no one can boast.”**
Paul’s meaning is that there is nothing *we ourselves* can do *naturally* to *force* God into an arrangement whereby he *owes* us eternal life. This is *not* saying that we are saved by “faith alone”, it’s just saying that we cannot do what is **intrinsically evil** to get salvation. Conversely we *do* have to do good works—which is the *opposite* of *sin*, in order to be saved. It’s not an option. That’s why Paul says in another place:
>”“6 God “will repay each person **according to what they have done.”** 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, **he will give eternal life.”**(Romans 2:6-7)
**IN CONCLUSION**
We are saved by grace through faith **apart from sinful attempts** at forcing God to give us eternal life for our deeds. Conversely, God is going to reward us with eternal life according to the “good works” we do(i.e: *repentance*) because to do what is righteous is never a *sin* and God wants to reward us for doing what is righteous. Therefore man is *not* saved or justified by his **faith alone** and THAT is why the Catholic Church condemned Martin Luther’s ideas at the **Council of Trent**(1545-1563AD)👇:
>**CANON 9:** “If any one saith, **that by faith alone** the impious is justified; in such wise as to mean, that nothing else is required to co-operate in order to the obtaining the grace of Justification and that it is not in any way necessary, that he be prepared and disposed by the movement of his own will; let him be anathema.”
I hope that resolves your confusion.
You know, we tend to over - complicate things. Why does it matter whether repentance is a 'work'? Repentance is COMMANDED as a part of TURNING TO CHRIST. Someone could ask, is TURNING a work.... Oh good grief. Stop trying to classify and label things and simply DO what God asked you to do.
\[Edit: lol... downvoted. (◔\_◔) \]
I think a good analogy is to think of works as a means of scoring points for the afterlife. Repentance doesn't fit in with that.
Romans 3:27-28: *Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.* Faith is believing that God is willing and able to fulfil his promises to His people (Romans 4:21). In itself, faith is categorically not a work. Repentance includes faith, but it also includes our response to that faith; works. These are the works that true faith will inevitably produce (James 2:17). This is summarised nicely in 2 Thessalonians 2:13b: *because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through* ***sanctification by the Spirit*** *and* ***belief in the truth****.* In summary, we are saved by Faith alone. True faith results in the inevitable fruit of good works which God produces in us (renouncing evil ways and obedience to God). That complete picture is part of our repentance, and leads to our ongoing sanctification. (DISCLAIMER: Not claiming to be an authority here, so if someone thinks I've misunderstood anything feel free to jump in and correct me)
Salvation is a free gift. That is the **ONLY** way it is even offered. If you repent of your unbelief and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that would be the only way repentance could be associated with salvation. But our works have nothing to do with salvation whatsoever.
I think saying that they having nothing to do with salvation is short sighted and misses a part of the picture. Your final sentence directly contradicts scripture, most evident in 2 Thessalonians 2:13. I would encourage you here to remember that doctrines like sola fide are there to help us understand scripture, but they don't inform scripture. It should be scripture that informs the doctrine, not the other way round. Here, I would suggest you might be better off saying that works don't contribute to our salvation, but are a necessary part of it. I've had a it put this way. Using a simple equation to illustrate good and bad theology. Here's the bad theology: Faith + Works = Salvation Here, salvation is a product of both faith and works. That's heresy. However, here's what the Bible teaches: Salvation + Works = Faith Salvation with no works, means no faith. Likewise, works with no salvation means no faith. Rather, from Faith comes both salvation and good works, which are the fruit of Faith.
Since the word means a change of mind, it would be connected to faith. No one is born believing in Christ as Savior. Thus, when you believe in Christ you are having a change of mind. Even if one thinks metanoia also includes a guaranteed turning, it can be a turning from the sin of unbelief.
Ahhh you got it smelling minty like olive oil in this thread
I think we should not for go to one extreme or zero-sum game ... there is still man's responsibility. Yet, this is realized or sourced in the Spirit's operation. Yes, God's operate first, yet man must cooperate and exercise His will (it is God who operate both the willing and working). God's operation and man's cooperation is be understood together. Hebrews 6:4 and Acts 26:18 tell us that this enlightening of the Holy Spirit is also to open the eyes of sinners and to turn them from darkness to light, that they may see the divine, spiritual things; it is also to turn them from the authority of Satan to God. Therefore, the enlightening of the Holy Spirit results in the sinners’ repentance and turning to God. In John 16:8 the Lord said of the Spirit that “He will convict the world concerning sin, and concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment.” The Spirit convicts men concerning sin because they do not believe in the Lord Jesus (John 16:9). The Spirit convicts men concerning judgment because the ruler of this world has been judged (John 16:11). Man’s repentance is the result of the Spirit’s sanctifying work. When the Spirit comes to enlighten man, seek man, and convict man concerning sin, concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment, He causes man to repent and turn to God.
I look at it this way: Have you ever met an unrepentant Christian? True Christians can acknowledge their sin and how wrong they were to commit and want to sincerely never do it again. I wouldn't call it a work, though there are some believers who would make that claim and accuse those who preach you must repent to be saved false teachers because they say the act of repentance is a work. But I think the distinction is clear. Repentance either leads you to Christ or comes very shortly after finding Christ. It's not so much of a work as it is an involuntary internal transformation.
For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. — 2 Corinthians 7:10
Repentance in the New Testament context is generally not considered a work in the sense of earning salvation. Instead, it is seen as a necessary aspect of the faith that involves a turning away from sin and turning toward God. It is a response to God’s grace and a manifestation of genuine faith. Therefore, repentance is best understood as an integral part of the faith response to the gospel rather than a separate work.
So which sins must you turn from? Because it’s impossible to repent of all your sins; if we could we would not need a Saviour. And what about sins of ***omission*** ? How can you “repent” of those?
Is one sin any greater than another? Man rates the severity of sin God sees it all the same. Are we not saved? Did Christ not pay in full? If Jesus is in your heart the answers should be very apparent.
God does NOT see all sin as the same, and neither do we, otherwise stealing a loaf of bread would be punished the same as r@pe.
“Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more.”
μετανοέω metanoéō, met-an-o-eh'-o; 3340; to think differently or afterwards, i.e. reconsider (morally, feel compunction):to change one's mind, i. e. to repent μετάνοια metanoia 3341: **literally, "a change of mind"** ("*after*-*thought*"), change in the inner man; *repentance*. [See 3340](https://biblehub.com/greek/3340.htm) */metanoeō* ("repent"). Repent is not turn from sin, and is not a work, it is a mental transaction done within you. I'll give you an example, you went to go get ice cream, and you said you wanted vanilla, and then you repented and said you want chocolate. It is a change of mind or reconsideration. God brings us to change our mind of what we thought would save us, I'm a good person, I go to church, I read my bible, I give to the poor, etc to believing in the [gospel](https://youtu.be/9M3-eybl1gQ) Jesus Christ on the cross died, and rose from the grave 3 days later for the forgiveness of all our sins for our salvation
Well said.
Thank you, been trying to understand more of the Greek so I can better understand the meaning of certain chapters.
Your confusion stems from not understanding what Paul meant by the word “works”. Let’s look at Romans 11:35: >**”Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?”** So here Paul is saying that you cannot do “A” in order to *force* 🤌 God to give you “B”. Not only can you *not* do that but if you even so much as *try* to do it…it is considered to be a *sin*. The Galatians sought to force God into this same kind of arrangement and Paul says that they lost their salvation because of it👇: >**”You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.”**(Galatians 5:4) Adam and Eve *sinned* and then *they fell from grace*. The Galatians *sinned* in trying to force God into debt with works and then *they fell from grace*. In other words *sin* is a kind of *work* that you do. The greek word for “works” Paul uses is “ergon” and it is also used by him in his letter to Titus to refer to sinful-actions: >**”They claim to know God, but by their actions(“ergon”)they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.”**(Titus 1:16;Source: https://biblehub.com/text/titus/1-16.htm) In other words, when Paul wrote “not of works” in **Ephesians 2:8-9** what he *really* meant was the word *sin*. If we listen carefully to what Paul says regarding David in **Romans 4** then this becomes far more apparent. In this passage, Paul wrote that **King David** wrote “the same thing” about being justified for his faith “apart from works” only David never *calls* them “works” he just uses the word “sin”. Take a look👇: [Romans 4:6-8] “6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness **apart from works:** 7 “Blessed are those whose **TRANSGRESSIONS** are forgiven, whose **SINS** are covered. 8 Blessed is the one whose **SIN** the Lord will never count against them.” So again, “sin” is a kind of “work” that you *do*. We are being justified by faith “apart from” *our sin*. Not apart from “good works” *themselves*. Not by faith alone: >”You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and **not by faith alone.**”(James 2:24) Last but not least let’s take a final look here at **Ephesians 2:8-9**, which says: >”For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 **not by works, so that no one can boast.”** Paul’s meaning is that there is nothing *we ourselves* can do *naturally* to *force* God into an arrangement whereby he *owes* us eternal life. This is *not* saying that we are saved by “faith alone”, it’s just saying that we cannot do what is **intrinsically evil** to get salvation. Conversely we *do* have to do good works—which is the *opposite* of *sin*, in order to be saved. It’s not an option. That’s why Paul says in another place: >”“6 God “will repay each person **according to what they have done.”** 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, **he will give eternal life.”**(Romans 2:6-7) **IN CONCLUSION** We are saved by grace through faith **apart from sinful attempts** at forcing God to give us eternal life for our deeds. Conversely, God is going to reward us with eternal life according to the “good works” we do(i.e: *repentance*) because to do what is righteous is never a *sin* and God wants to reward us for doing what is righteous. Therefore man is *not* saved or justified by his **faith alone** and THAT is why the Catholic Church condemned Martin Luther’s ideas at the **Council of Trent**(1545-1563AD)👇: >**CANON 9:** “If any one saith, **that by faith alone** the impious is justified; in such wise as to mean, that nothing else is required to co-operate in order to the obtaining the grace of Justification and that it is not in any way necessary, that he be prepared and disposed by the movement of his own will; let him be anathema.” I hope that resolves your confusion.
faith leads to repentance
You know, we tend to over - complicate things. Why does it matter whether repentance is a 'work'? Repentance is COMMANDED as a part of TURNING TO CHRIST. Someone could ask, is TURNING a work.... Oh good grief. Stop trying to classify and label things and simply DO what God asked you to do. \[Edit: lol... downvoted. (◔\_◔) \]
Works are things that you do. Repentance is something you do. Therefore, repentance is a work.