Charles Ryrie's Short Summary: The Work Of Repentance

The work of repentance is the changing of one’s mind and the moving of one’s direction from sin to God. This work is vital in the life of a believer as well as necessary for the initial point of salvation. Charles Finney defines repentance as, “a turning from sin to holiness, or more strictly, from state of consecration to God, is and must be the turning, the change of mind, or the repentance that is required of all sinners. Nothing less can constitute a virtuous repentance, and nothing more can be required” (Finney 301). As seen in this quote, repentance and faith go hand in hand to produce the work of salvation in our lives. This change of heart is not a good work that earns salvation, but it is a mean by which salvation occurs.
The word
The support for this is due to the fact that it is not mentioned throughout the gospel of John and is left out in some vital verses on salvation. Some people take this and believe it to be proof that salvation does not require the act of repentance. Although that is how some people view it, that is not the case. To rebut this belief, in his book So Great Salvation, Charles Ryrie points to the fact that there were numerous times that repentance could have been used in the book of John. As already stated, John chose not to use this word but instead used “believe”. Clearly, Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman need to repent so therefore, believe must be a synonym (97-98).
To support this argument, repent and believe are not found or mentioned together in scripture. This is not to say that they are not needed but they seem to act as synonyms when it speaks of the work of salvation from eternal condemnation. For instance, In the Gospel of Luke 24:47, it says, “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name.” Here, Luke is using repentance in the same form as believing. Placing one’s faith in God and repenting from the sins that once held them captive, result in God’s glorious