The Way To Know For Sure

[JLR1300]

There is a way to absolutely prove that the word repent means “to change one’s mind” in the New Testament when it is used in passages that tell us how to be saved.

1. We know for certain that the word for repent in the New Testament is the Greek word Metanoia (the verb for repent) or Metanoeo (the noun for repentance)

2. We know that during Jesus’ time, many Jews could not read Hebrew but they could read Greek, and so they read a Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament called the Septuagint.

3. We know that the Jewish Scholars in Israel who translated the Hebrew Old Testament into the Greek Septuagint chose to use the Greek word Metanoia in all 13 times where the Old Testament says that God changed His mind about something.

4. Therefore we know that, to the Jews who lived over 2000 years ago, the Greek word for repent (metanoia) meant to change your mind rather than to turn from your sins. (although it CAN mean to change your mind about sin if the context calls for that interpretation) God presents Himself as changing His mind about something but never presents Himself as turning from sin.

5. Examples: Jeremiah 18:9-10 God is speaking and He says… “ And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.” KJV

Here in this Old Testament verse, the Greek word for repent is Metanoia. The Jewish scholars chose the Greek word Metanoia to say that if the nation did evil then God would repent or change His mind regarding the good that He was planning to do for the benefit of that kingdom. The passage is not saying that God turned from His sins. The passage is saying that God will change His mind about doing good things for a nation if they do evil. So Metanoia means to change your mind about something. (although, as I said, it can mean to change your mind about sin if the context of the verse demands that interpretation)

Amos 7:3 Here in this passage God says that He will send locusts swarms over the land and cause famine. Amos prays that he won’t do it. So God repented (changed His mind) and assured Amos that it wouldn’t happen. Again the Greek word the Septuagint uses is metanoia. So the word metanoia cannot mean to turn from sin. It means to change one’s mind.

Now it is true that God repenting (changing His mind) is an Anthropomorphism. God doesn’t actually change His mind but only speaks in the manner of humans to get an idea across. But the point is still the same….namely… God represents Himself as changing His mind about a certain matter. He does not turn from sin. So the New Testament Greek word for repentance (metanoia) means to change one’s mind about something and that is precisely why the Jewish Scholars who translated the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek chose the Greek word metanoia to say that God changed His mind.

6. Sometimes metanoia in the Septuagint simply means to study or know something so that you are sure of what you believe. Proverbs 14:15 says… “The simple believeth every word but the prudent man LOOKETH WELL to his going.” Here we see that the Jews used the Greek word metanoia (repent)
for “looketh well”. So it means to think things through and decide what you believe about a thing. That is not really different from the meaning of changing one’s mind because whether you change your mind or whether you think about a thing to know what you believe, either way it is simply rejecting that which is false and coming to believe the truth. This is exactly what the word metanoia (repent) means in the New Testament. Metanoia does not mean to turn from sins it means to change your mind so that you reject falsehood and believe the truth.

Now in passages in the New Testament where unbelievers are told to repent (metanoia) it means to change their minds about Christ and believe in Him. We are justified by faith alone and not by works.

Turning from sins is a work. Jonah 3:10 says that “God saw their works, that they turned from their evil ways.”

Works and turning from sin are the result of getting saved not the cause of getting saved.

ONE FINAL WORD… the Old Testament word which often means (but not always) to turn back or away from sin is Shub. It is found 1,056 times in the Old Testament. Not one single time does the Septuagint translate Shub with the Greek word Metanoia! 13 times the Jewish Scholars used the Greek word metanoia to say that God changed His mind but not once did they use the word metanoia to mean that a person should Shub. (turn back from sin) So they obviously didn’t believe that Metanoia meant Shub (to turn from sin.) They thought it meant to change one’s mind. The Septuagint is what the Jews in Jesus’ day used. So what they meant by repent (metanoia) is to change your mind.

So Jesus and the Apostles would have used repent in the same way if they had any desire at all to communicate to the Jews in a way that they could understand.

 

[twin1954]

While I would agree that repentance comes after saving faith and is not salvation in the way it is preached in this age your premise illustrates one of the difficulties with Greek word studies. You tend to miss the forest for focusing on the trees.

Greek word studies are fine in order to get a full and deep understanding of how a word is used in the Scriptures and be able to apply it in our lives but we ought not build doctrine solely from them.

When I think of repentance I go to Jer. 31:18-19;
I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God. Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.
(Jer 31:18-19)

This is a description of true Biblical repentance. It is more than just changing one's mind it is being taught of God. John 6:44-45

No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
(Joh 6:44-45)

Repentance as a word does have a specific meaning but as a theological concept it has a fuller and more complex definition which must include the teaching of the whole of the Scriptures.

More than that both nouns and verbs in the Greek must be understood in their context and how the endings are used in each instance. The nuances of the word usage is found in their endings and can make the word to mean a whole different thing according to how it is used. Every Greek word has a root but the meaning of the word is derived from the context and the endings. That is why Greek word studies must include every way the word is used in its context according to its full meaning.

 

[JLR1300]

Hello twin... thank you for your kind reply. I hope you are having a good day.
The position you have on salvation in general is a good one... since you put justification in eternity and since you put faith and justification prior to repentance it is certainly true that no one can ever accuse you of believing in works salvation. You hold strongly to grace and you are to be commended for that. We have much in common in many respects.

My position is actually sort of complicated. One of the words for repentance in the New Testament "metamelomai" means to regret and to sorrow. In Jeremiah 31:18 the word repented there is naw-kham' which means to be sorrowful. So it would appear that the New Testament equivalent for naw'kham is not metanoia (a change of mind) but rather metamelomai. Metamelomai is generally used of Christians who are sorry for sin. However when preaching to the lost the word always used is metanoia not metamelomai. For the unbeliever what will justify them is not sorrow but to quit being an unbeliever. They must change their minds and believe.

Anyway, I believe that in the Old Testament the covenant or agreement under Moses was that if Israel would be obedient to the commandments and ceremonies it would be blessed as a nation with earthly blessings from God... also individual Hebrews would be blessed in their lives if they were obedient. If Israel sinned they would be disciplined by things like famines and wars etc. in which many would die. If they were sorry for their sin God would forgive their nation and return it to national blessing.

Now from that example we do not learn how unbelievers are justified... we learn what the Christian life is like. When Christians are obedient to God He blesses our lives. When we disobey He disciplines us. When we are sorrowful (experience metamelomai) He forgives us and blesses us again. But this is has nothing to do with salvation. For that we must change our mind (repent-metanoia) and believe.

In the same way, when the nation of Israel sinned and then were sorrowful and returned to God, God would restore them. So all those passages in the Old Testament about Israel sinning and being sorrowful and returning to God have nothing to do with how an unbeliever is justified. Even in the Old Testament being sorrowful and returning to obeying the commandments of Moses did not bring personal eternal life and justification. It may have brought physical salvation to the individual such that God spared him and he wasn't killed when the foreign invaders attacked his city... but it didn't bring him eternal salvation. For that He just needed to do one thing.... the same thing Abraham did... believe that God would send the Messiah to bless him spiritually and trust in that... and when He did... it was accounted to him as righteousness. Did Abraham sorrow because he had quit obeying the laws of Moses? Was he justified by sorrow? No Abraham believed prior to the laws of Moses and was justified simply by believing God.

So here is the thing... The CHRISTIAN LIFE is symbolized by the nation of Israel. There is disobedience... their is chastisement... there is godly sorrow which brings renewed obedience ...there are blessings. So all through the Old Testament you will find that Israel has sinned and is being punished and then is repentant in the sense of godly sorrow and then the Lord saves them from their situation.

But that is not how the old Testament elect were justified and given eternal salvation and that is not how the New Testament elect are justified and given eternal salvation.... that is by faith alone... But I agree with you that AFTER we have faith and are saved then and only then will we have Metamelomai (godly sorrow and regret)

Now how in the world can the ungodly have Godly sorrow? Paul says that the one who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the UNGODLY his faith is accounted as righteousness. How can an ungodly man have godly sorrow so that he will be justified? If he has godly sorrow so that he is justified then God justifies the godly not the ungodly. Even if people say that God makes the man godly through regeneration and then repentant in the sense of metamelomai then we no longer can say that God justifies the ungodly... we would nave to say that God justifies the godly who are godly by God's grace.

Finally, look at the verse you showed me in Jeremiah. "I have surely heard Ephraim (a nation not a person) bemoaning himself; you have chastised me and I was chastised (God chastens His people) Like an untrained bull; Restore me (you restore God's sinning people not the unsaved) and I will return. For you are the Lord My God (God's people say this) Surely, after my turning I repented (godly sorrow).

So yes this is the true godly sorrow that represents a sinning Christian's true sorrow and metamelomai repentance. But this doesn't have anything to do with Justification by faith alone for unsaved sinners.

Thanks ever so much and God bless.

 

[JLR1300]

One final thing... I do believe that God sees the elect as righteous (Justified) in a secret way in eternity since Christ was slain before the foundation of the world. In an Open way the elect AS A GROUP are seen as righteous (Justified) when Christ died 2000 years ago. In an official way they are declared righteous legally AS INDIVIDUALS when God gives them faith. That is what I think it means to be justified by faith. We are as individuals officially declared to be righteous when we believe.

In other words when Christ died the elect are considered righteous (justified) as a group but until we believe it is not official for us as an individual.

No one has all the answers but this is what seems reasonable to me.