Can radical grace lead people to repentance?

Can radical grace lead people to repentance? In another words, Will there be true repentance in radical grace? Will thinking of radical grace or thinking of how good God is lead the sinners to repent from sins? 

No, it will only lead them to 'metanoia' or change their minds. If we tell the sinners that repentance is just 'metanoia', change of mind, or mind philosophy of thinking of how good God is without the intention to repent or do any fruits worthy of repentance (Mat 3:8-10), it will not lead them to do anything. Of course, if we tell them that repentance is just metanoia and has no turning away from sins, their repentance now or later would be just metanoia and would not have any turning away from sins. It will not lead them to admit sins or confess their sins, no matter how well we can argue and fake it.

• Luk 3:7-14 KJV  Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  (8)  Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.  (9)  And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.  (10)  And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?  (11)  He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.  (12)  Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?  (13)  And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.  (14)  And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.

Repentance is not just a mind philosophy of knowing how good God is and striving to do nothing; but rather, a tangible effort to do something or to turn from sin as a result of a change in the heart. I am glad that the Lord and John the Baptist did not allow the Pharisees, the lawless, or the hypocrites to define their repentance to the people. Instead, the Lord and John exposed their hearts which had no intention to repent from their sins because they thought of Abraham's favor and the covenant of God with Abraham as the guarantee of their righteousness before God.

• Mat 3:7-9 KJV But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them ..(8)  Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: (9) And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
• Act 17:30 KJV  And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
• Act 20:21 KJV  Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Act 26:19-20 KJV  Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:  (20)  But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. 

If thinking of how good God is alone will lead the sinners or believers to repentance, why would Paul wrote to us the following Bible verses?

• Rom 6:12-14 KJV  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.  (13)  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.  (14)  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

If we are under grace and grace will automatically lead us to repent or to sin no more, why would Paul still say, "Let not sin therefore reign in your body or do not yield your members to sins. Obviously, Paul would never say that grace will automatically lead people to sin no more as he strongly preached do's and don'ts here. He said, "Don't allow sin to control you or reign in you, don't yield yourselves to sin, or simply don't sin.." Therefore, if we preach this like Paul and say, "Don't do this, or don't do that", are we preaching under the law? Of course, no. It is ridiculous to conclude that Paul or anyone who preaches do's and don'ts are under the law and are condemnation preachers. Of course, there is nothing wrong to preach godly do's and don'ts or God's commandments to the believers when we are under grace (see Rom 6:12-14 above). Of course, it won't cause us to fall from grace so easily.  

Did Jesus tell us to repent with our mind thinking of His goodness only? 

They will argue, "Yes, we just need to think of His goodness. In fact, Jesus did not ask the adulterous woman to repent. Instead He showed her His goodness and His goodness will lead her to repentance. Similarly, Jesus did not ask the thief hung on the cross to repent too. But Jesus said that he would be with Him in paradise.."

• Joh 8:10-11 KJV  When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?  (11)  She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
  

I will tell them, When Jesus told the woman to go and sin no more; or to go and repent. He told her, not just to change her mind or metanoia only; but to repent from her sins. Of course, Jesus would never ask her to think of repentance as just metanoia or mind philosophy of thinking of His goodness only. Now, can we argue that since Jesus asked the woman to sin no more after He had shown goodness to her, therefore we can also repent later? No. If we always intend to use the adulterous woman example as our excuse to repent later or to repent only after we have received prosperity, favours, or goodness, we will never repent. We are just deceiving ourselves like the Pharisees who would only want to come to Lord or John the Baptist in pretence. They wanted to be baptised with no intention to repent. If we are like the multitude who came to be baptised with no intention to repent, we have not accepted Jesus yet. Hence, whatever we do or confess subsequently in the name of Jesus would be just deception to ourselves. We may not be cleansed if our hearts are like the hearts of the Pharisees.

• Mat 3:6-9 KJV  And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.  (7)  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  (8)  Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:  (9)  And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
• Luk 3:7-8 KJV  Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  (8)  Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 

The general command He gave to all sinners is to repent and do something worthy of repentance; not just metanoia or mind philosophy of thinking of how good God is. If the sinners are ready to repent, they would be ready to have right belief in Him; otherwise, they have not repented and will never repent.

• Mar 1:14-15 KJV  Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,  (15)  And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
• Joh 5:14-16 KJV  Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.  (15)  The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole.  (16)  And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day.
• Luk 15:17-20 KJV  And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!  (18)  I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,  (19)  And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.  (20)  And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
• Luk 18:10-14 KJV  Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.  (11)  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.  (12)  I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.  (13)  And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.  (14)  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
• Luk 19:8-9 KJV  And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.  (9)  And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. 
• Luk 16:20-31 KJV  ..  (22)  And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; ... (27) Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:  (28)  For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.  (29) Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.  (30)  And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.  (31)  And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. (In this case, the rich man had never repented even though he might have thought of God's goodness and favours to him. Obviously he had never done anything for the beggar. His repentance was 'zero' in the eyes of God)  

Hence, Jesus has shown us very clearly, When He preached repentance, He would never tell the sinners to repent by doing nothing or by thinking of God's goodness only. Radical grace preachers will say, "How about the thief on the cross, did Jesus ask him to repent and do something? No. Jesus never said anything about repentance.."

I will ask them, Are you stuck on the cross like the thief? No. If the thief did not do anything, it does not mean that you will do nothing in your repentance too. Of course, Jesus would not need to ask the thief to repent. He had preached it so much that even the thief would know that Jesus was a repentance preacher and that all who came to Him must repent:

• Mat 9:13 KJV  But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
• Mat 4:17 KJV  From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
• Mar 1:14-15 KJV  Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,  (15)  And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Hence, repentance is the gospel for the sinners to turn from sins, not a just a mind philosophy of doing nothing.

It is meaningless to repent without God's commandments

If we are willing to think, we will try to answer the question, "Will radical grace without God's words and commandments lead the people and society to repentance?" We may just simply ask, "Will people repent or know what is repentance without knowing or keeping God's commandments ?" I don't wish to explain too much today. So, I will tell people to ask themselves first, "If we do not know God's commandments or what God has commanded us to do or not to do, do we know why or what we need to repent before Him ?" No, I don't think so. If we do not know God's commandments, we would not know that we have disobeyed God. If we do not know that we have disobeyed God, we would not know that we have sinned. If we do not know that we have sinned, do we know what to repent before Him? No, I am afraid not. We can only 'repent to ourselves' or 'change our minds'.

Without God's commandments, no people will need to repent; they will just 'metanoia'

That's why I can now understand why most radical grace preachers preach that their repentance has no sins to repent from; it is just metanoia or change their minds only. It is probably because they have no God's commandments. They have no God's laws in their hearts too. 

I will ask them, With no laws, no commandments, no knowledge of sins, and no turning away from lawlessness, how can radical grace lead you to true repentance ? No, radical grace can lead people to metanoia or change their minds only; it cannot lead people to repentance from sins. 

The radical grace definition of having God's laws in their hearts is to meditate only ?

But they will still argue, “Haha, of course we have the law of God in our hearts too. We preach Psalms 1 too:  Blessed is the man .. his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night..  But we will JUST need to meditate, and ‘chew’ on the word of God like the cow day and night. We just need to chew and chew.. Oops, by the way, we’ve now switched to believe in the law of God now. But we believe that it is only the word of God. It can never be any laws which can judge us or any commandments which we must do. 

1. We are the doer of God’s words in the sense that we will bear fruits, prosper, and become more successful, 

2. not the doer of God’s laws in the sense that we will teach, practice, do good, and obey the moral side of the laws.

By the way, we believe in the grace of God (the pure grace) but we don't believe in doing the ten commandments. We only believe in doing the word of God without doing or teaching the moral side of the laws and commandments."

I will tell them, The Pharisees would have the same definition of God's laws in their hearts too. They would not teach or do any moral side of the laws; they would only want to do the Corban side (Mark 7:11), the religious side, or the prosperity side of the laws ! However, in the eyes of the Lord, they were already the most lawless people, even though they might not murder, steal, cheat, or commit adulteries.

They will argue again, "Have you ever been in an elevator with someone who had strong perfume on and came out smelling the same, with the scent of the perfume lingering long after you left the vicinity? Becoming more like Jesus happens in the same way! It is not a matter of your willpower to do anything, but simply a result of spending time with Him! The more time you spend time in His presence, worshipping and communing with him, the more His favor, His glory, His beauty, His power and His peace rub off on you! You end up “smelling” like Jesus! Amen!" It sounds like a good mind philosophy of doing nothing. But i will tell them, If this is true, Judas Iscariot, the Jews in Joh 6:15, and Simon the sorcerer in Act 8:9, should be more favoured than others. Obviously, knowing Jesus and making Him the king or the centre of our lives is not enough; we must know His words and obey His teaching too. Otherwise, the following Bible verses would become the Lord's warning to us:

• Mat 7:15-24 KJV  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.  (16)  Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?  (17)  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.  (18)  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.  (19)  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.  (20)  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.  (21)  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  (22)  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?  (23)  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.  (24)  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

Can you receive much grace or 'radical' grace, without knowing about your sins 'radically'?

• Luk 7:37-49 KJV  And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,  (38)  And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. ..  (44)  And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? .. (47)  Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.  (48)  And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.  (49)  And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?

I guess most radical grace preachers have preached the above and concluded that the woman had received radical grace. But I would ask them, Do you know why she could receive radical grace ? It's because she knew that she was a 'radical' sinner or a sinner who had 'radical' sins. That's why Jesus said, "Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much .. " I would think that she had repented much or repented 'radically' too. Now, I will ask, Can you repent 'radically' or receive 'radical' grace without knowing of any sins or any God's commandments ?   

The woman received radical grace because she saw herself as a great sinner
Radical grace preachers will argue, "Yes, we love Luk 7:37-49 the Bible message above because it shows radical grace. Didn't the woman receive radical grace because she loved much ? Please see (v47). Did the Lord say she loved much because she repented much? No. She just loved the Lord very much.. and this should prove that radical grace is received by those who love much, not by those who repent much or do a lot of recompense for others .. "
I will tell them, I don't know how you read your Bible. I can agree that the woman in the Bible verses above had received radical grace if you insist. However, it was not because she loved the Lord much; it was because she sinned much and repented much. She knew that she was a great sinner through the repentance gospel of the Lord. If she just loved the Lord very much without knowing that she was a great sinner, there was no repentance and no radical grace. Hence, I don't care if people boast of God's love for them or their love for God; but if they just want to boast about their love or God's love without helping the people to see what the woman saw about themselves as great sinners, they have not known radical grace yet. Hence, similarly, I can agree that Paul had received radical grace too; only on the basis that he had seen himself as a great sinner too:

• 1Ti 1:12-16 KJV  And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;  (13)  Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.  (14)  And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.  (15)  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.  (16)  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

Are there anyone who would argue that they have received more radical grace than Paul or the woman because they are more righteous, more prosperous, more loved, more favoured, and more anointed ? I can tell, They have not preached true grace like Paul.

 

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