🎥 Baptist Bold: Ask a Pastor
📅 Episode 18 – Tuesday: Tough Topics
Question: “Is Repentance Turning from Sin?”
🎬 Intro Script:
Welcome to Baptist Bold: Ask a Pastor—where truth isn’t filtered, and the Bible has the final word. I’m Pastor Joshua Tapp from True Words Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Let’s get into today’s question…
📖 Answer:
Everywhere you turn, you hear it:
👉 “Repent of your sins to be saved!”
👉 “Turn from all sin to prove you’re really saved!”
But is that what the Bible says repentance means?
No.
Repentance is not turning from sin.
Repentance is a change of mind—especially about who Jesus is and what saves you.
Let’s break it down with the Bible.
1. God Defines Repentance Differently Than Preachers Do
📖 Jonah 3:10 — “…and God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented…”
Turning from sin = works.
But the Bible says God repented—and He never sins!
If repentance were “turning from sin,” then God would be a sinner.
Clearly, that’s not what repentance means.
2. Repentance Means a Change of Mind or Heart
📖 Matthew 21:29 — “…he repented, and went.”
The son changed his mind—he didn’t “clean up his life” to be saved.
Biblical repentance is mental and spiritual, not behavioral.
3. Salvation Is by Faith Alone—Not By Behavior Change
📖 Acts 16:31 — “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.”
If repentance meant “stop sinning to be saved,” then salvation would be by works.
That would directly contradict Romans 4:5 — “to him that worketh not, but believeth…”
4. God Commands Repentance Toward the Truth
📖 2 Timothy 2:25 — “…God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.”
Repentance is about acknowledging the truth about:
- Your sin
- Your need for a Savior
- Who Jesus is
- What saves you (faith alone)
It’s not about you cleaning up your act first.
5. “Repent of Sins to Be Saved” Is a False Gospel
Adding works to faith makes it another gospel.
📖 Galatians 1:8 — “…let him be accursed.”
True repentance is recognizing you’re lost and believing the Gospel.
False repentance is trying to stop sinning to earn God’s favor.
🎯 Bottom Line:
- Repentance is a change of mind—not a change of behavior.
- Belief—not behavior—saves.
- Turning from sin happens after salvation as you grow, not before salvation as a requirement.
📖 John 6:47 — “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”
The only thing you turn from to be saved is unbelief.
🎬 Outro Script:
Got more questions? Drop them below and hit subscribe for daily bold Bible answers. I’m Pastor Joshua Tapp—see you next time on Baptist Bold: Ask a Pastor.
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