When I was five years old, I made a profession of faith. I remember the place and what was done. I prayed a prayer to be saved. From the outside, I trusted Christ for salvation. However, there was one problem. There was no repentance. Luke 13:3 says, “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” I had no understanding of my sin. I did not feel guilty of what I had done. My motivation was to escape Hell. This is the definition of “repentance” in the Webster’s 1828 dictionary: “Real penitence; sorrow or deep contrition for sin, as an offense and dishonor to God, a violation of his holy law, and the basest ingratitude towards a Being of infinite benevolence. Repentance is a change of mind, or a conversion from sin to God.” My prayer that day was sincere, but powerless without repentance.
Years later, at the age of nine, I had a similar experience as it would seem. My father showed me the Gospel from the Bible and I prayed a prayer. From the outside, I did the exact same thing that I did when I was five. The difference was the change made on the inside. Unlike the first prayer, I now understood my sin problem. I was in turmoil and distress because I knew that I had sinned against God. I knew that I needed a Savior. 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 reads, “Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” That day, I was gloriously saved with true repentance. I have never doubted my conversion since that day.
There is a growing false doctrine that is sending thousands, if not millions to Hell. This danger is called easy believism. The idea behind this concept is simply to agree that Jesus is Lord, pray a prayer, and go to Heaven after death. It may sound good, but the problem is a lack of repentance. If I went through life believing I was still saved based on a prayer, I would still be lost today. It is imperative to understand one’s sin, in order to understand the need of a Savior. When witnessing, teach the Gospel, but never leave out repentance. Salvation is trusting in Jesus, not just trusting in a prayer. Repentance is necessary.
