Repentance of Sins

Question:  

Recently on Rapture Forums a woman wrote in and asked: Do I need to keep repenting for those sins? “How many times do I need to repent?   In his answer: Pastor Adrian says   “No, not unless you commit fresh sins. But then it is a matter of confessing them, not repenting.   Repentance is what brought you to God. “

Jacob, I can not agree with this that it’s not a matter of repenting but confessing them.   Can you elaborate Jacob and explain why he is giving this answer to this woman?   She’s going to go on and think she doesn’t have to repent in the future. Please correct me if I am wrong about this and thank you!

Read article here:

http://www.raptureforums.com/AskAPastor/doineedtokeeprepentingforsins.cfm?utm_source=ExpressPigeon&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Rapture+Forums+Newsletter+3%2F24%2F2013

Answer:

I do not know anything about Pastor Adrian and I do not wish to attack him personally, unfortunately doctrinally however he is wrong . James 3:1 warns us explicitly that teachers will be judged more strictly than the rest (because teachers are in a position to mislead others). This we are told that few of us could be teachers of doctrine.

In Revelation chapter 2 for instance Jesus directly told the believers in both Ephesus and Thyatira to repent, not merely to confess.

In an age of bible software anyone can look like a Greek scholar to the average Christian. but not to someone who actually knows biblical languages. While this pastor’s lexicon cum dictionary definition of metanoia is correct he has made two very obvious exegetical errors that are in fact basic errors. The first is that he failed to examine where else and in what context the term is also used. Secondly he failed to understand from the Septuagint that metanoia is employed S the nearest Greek equivalent to the Hebrew term for repenting which is “teshuva” from the Hebrew root or shoresh ‘shuv’ meaning “to turn”. To confess is “L’hodot”, but teshuva or repent means to actively turn from sin and back towards God.

I do not believe a formal theological education in the academic sense is required for ministry. However, the lexical aid software today such as ‘bible windows’ etc. can create the impression that someone is scholarly or has a seminary level education who may not have. This is why Peter the fisherman in his epistle exercised the humility to say that Paul the rabbi should be the one to explain complex issues. I know nothing of pastor Adrian but I do know Greek and Hebrew and in this instance what he is teaching is quite wrong. It is simply not scriptural.

In Christ ,

Jacob Prasch