John 3:20 And Repentance

John 3:20, “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” 

I was thinking yesterday about what repentance means. It is quite simple my friend. An unsaved person who loves their deliberate sinning (which is what evil is), won't come to the light of a Christian (Matthew 5:14), the light of the Bible (2nd Corinthians 4:3-4), nor the light of Christ Himself (John 9:5). A person who loves sinning doesn't want to have their sins spoken evil of (i.e., “reproved,” John 3:20), which is why they WON'T COME to Christ to be saved. John 5:40, “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.”

Repentance is “a change of mind.” What is it a change of mind about? The Bible doesn't tell us. But whatever it is, it is the opposite of John 3:20, compelling a man to come to the light of the truth (2nd Timothy 2:25). The Bible teaches that sin is the problem, judgment (eternal damnation) is the consequence, and the imputed righteousness of Christ is the solution. Therefore, we can deduce that repentance is a man acknowledging these three truths—that he has sinned against a holy God and is deserving of punishment in Hell fire forever for his sins. When a man comes to this realization, having changed his mind, he will come to Jesus Christ to be saved. 

But regardless of the focus of repentance (for those who want to debate), we know that the man who believes has repented. The way a man repents is by believing on the Son of God. Nothing more is required to be saved than to believe. Repentance is automatic. That is why the Gospel of John mentions the word “believe” 85 times, but no mention is made of the word “repent.” The unsaved man doeth evil (willful premeditated sin); such as, abortion. John 3:20, “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” When a sinner changes his or her mind toward God (Acts 20:21), they will come to Christ for salvation. 

Please understand that nowhere does the Bible define repentance as turning away from a lifestyle of sinning. To teach such nonsense is a false gospel. Tragically, that is what Bob Jones University, Moody Bible Institute and Master's University errantly teach today to their students. These institutions are all followers of Pastor John MacArthur, who preaches the Devil's falsehood of Lordship Salvation.

What I am about to say is very crucial. It is very important that every person take the inspired Word of God seriously, and not embellish what God said. God plainly commanded Adam and Eve in Genesis 2:16-17 exactly what they could and couldn't do in the Garden of Eden. God said they could freely eat of all the trees except one, which was the Tree of Knowledge. But the serpent came along in Genesis 3:1 to deceive Eve, and he twisted the Scriptures, lying to Eve, saying that God said they couldn't eat from any of the trees. If Eve had gone exactly by what God said, she would have been okay, and not succumbed to temptation.

Likewise, if tens of thousands of John MacArthur's deceived followers today, would simply compare what Mr. MacArthur teaches to the Word of God, they would reject his demonic heresy of Lordship Salvation. Right doctrine matters! Dr. MacArthur is a wolf in sheep's clothing, who has a net worth of $14,000,000 from quote on quote, “serving God.” What saith the Scripture? Romans 16:17-18, “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.” You just read it yourself, they are serving their OWN BELLY, not the Lord Jesus Christ. How do we know that? It is because they are teaching doctrine contrary to the Word of God.

Corrupt Modern Bible Revisions Pervert Meaning Of Repentance

Lordship Salvation is a perversion of God's grace. I was absolutely disgusted the other day when I visited the website of the First Baptist Church Of Jacksonville, Florida. Their corrupt Statement of Faith gives 5 things that you must do to be saved, including this heretical step:

TURN

Stop practicing the sin that is separating you from God. Therefore, I will judge each of you, O people of Israel, according to your actions, says the Sovereign Lord. Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you! EZEKIEL 18:30, NLT

SOURCE: https://giftofeternallife.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-corrupt-first-baptist-church-of.html

Nowhere does the Bible say to repent and turn from your sins to be saved. Nowhere does the Bible say to stop practicing sin to be saved. Although it is true that our sin has separated us from God, the only remedy is the precious blood of Jesus Christ that He shed on the cross of Calvary (1st Peter 1:18-19; Romans 5:9; 1st John 1:7; Revelation 1:5). Turning from one's sins cannot atone for past sins. James 2:10 teaches that violating even one of God's Commandments makes us guilty of violating ALL of them!

One of the main reasons why so many churches have been corrupted today are all the new Devil's corrupt Bible revisions. If you'll notice in the preceding heretical quote I gave you from the corrupted First Baptist Church Of Jacksonville, they used the corrupted vile New Living Translation (NLT)...

KING JAMES BIBLE (KJB) - Mark 1:15, “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

NEW LIVING TRANSLATION (NLT) - Mark 1:15, “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”

Things that are different are not the same! Do you see what the wicked translators of the New Living Translation (NLT) did to corrupt the Word of God? They ADDED the words “of your sins” after the word repent. In so doing they have corrupted the true meaning of “repent,” which is a Greek verb here (metanoeo) meaning “to think differently.” Obviously thinking differently has nothing to do with the act of making an effort to stop from your sinning. 

Turning From Sins Not Part Of The Gospel

The following excellent information refuting Lordship Salvation is from Dr. John R. Van Gelderen, president of Revival Focus Ministries:

Question #44: In regard to salvation, what must be surrendered? Would it be accurate to say that one must only surrender his soul to be saved by Jesus? And that surrendering anything else would be a works-based salvation? Isn’t this what lordship salvation teaches? You must be willing to surrender and be willing to turn from individual sins, pride, etc.? What is involved in “surrendering” to salvation? Would it be correct to say that the ONLY sin one must surrender would be the sin of unbelief (not trusting in Christ)? I have heard if one isn’t willing to publicly confess Christ, then they haven’t totally surrendered. But if that is the case, wouldn’t this be works based?

John Van Gelderen Answers:

Insightful questions! There is much misunderstanding in this area. Several questions have been submitted along these lines revealing the confusion that is prevalent. See also Question #14 and Question #18 among others.

The issue is not between soul and body. Soul-focus can be off-based too. The issue is the object of faith and the condition of salvation. The lordship salvation debate is not a debate on whether Jesus is Lord, but on what constitutes the condition of receiving salvation. 

If surrender is made to be anything more than the flip-side of faith, it becomes works. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin as the problem, judgment as the consequence, and the righteousness of Jesus as the answer. [John 16:8-11] Being convinced of these three truths, when someone surrenders to them, they are trusting in Christ as the righteousness needed to be saved from sin and judgment. This is faith. Yet this is surrender in the correct sense. The only sin that cannot be forgiven is not believing in Jesus. Therefore, the core issue of surrender is believing on Jesus Christ.

When surrender is defined as turning from your sins or being willing to turn from your sins (your commitment to do right), grace is violated. This definition unwittingly places your dependence on yourself—your commitment to do right, your willingness to turn from your sins, instead of on Christ (the object of faith) to save you from yours sins. The focus of surrender must be on Christ, or the surrender becomes works-oriented.

Regarding the public profession of faith, what is stated above applies. Joseph of Arimathea was a secret disciple. This means he was in fact a believer, and his being labeled by the inspired text as a disciple was contingent on his faith in Christ, not his public confession.

SOURCE: https://revivalfocus.org/q-44-surrender-and-salvation

We are at war today in the churches over the accuracy of the Gospel. We are at war today in the churches over the purity of God's Word. Wicked people are recklessly torturing the Word of God, translating it haphazardly without any scholarly integrity whatsoever. Wicked people have taken over the Bible colleges, “teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake” (Titus 1:11). 

Going back to what I said earlier about Eve. The serpent changed the Word of God in Genesis 3:1. The serpent changed God's Word to say the direct opposite of what God had said. The Lord said they could eat all the fruit (except one), the serpent quoted God as saying they couldn't any of the fruit. Things that are different are not the same. When the New Living Translation (NLT) changes Mark 1:15 to say you must repent “of your sins,” that is Satan telling you to do the exact opposite of what God actually told you to do. 

What saith the Scripture? Hebrews 4:10-11, “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” There you have it! To receive God's free gift of eternal life, you absolutely must CEASE from any and all works! The corrupt First Baptist Church Of Jacksonville, quotes from the corrupted NLT version, requiring you do “Stop practicing sin” (which is works). Repenting (turning away from) your sins is a work. Foolish pastors all across America have succumbed to this theological trap, leading their congregations into the falsehood of Lordship Salvation, which brings eternal damnation.