Paidion said
Well, your sarcasm aside, I don’t see it as a dismissal at all.
Here is how N T Wright makes these arguments in his book Simply Good News:
Your Idea of repentance and the *way you take what was being said out of context *is in my view a flaw, because you take what is being said to folks 2000 years ago and trying to shoehorn it into a modern scenario, and as someone said, 'It just aint gonna work!"
I will agree, every Christian WILL REPENT, that is have a change of heart that will ultimately, change their life. But this repentance is a result of an understanding in what Christ did and not a condition to getting there.
Your use of the account of act 2:38 is a prime example, What is always left out by the legalist is the fact that preaching took place, (acts 2:16- 2:36) and if we read acst 2:37 " Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”
We see that they “were pierced to the heart…” So and understanding of Christ came and was realized. Grace had done its job, the realization of who Christ is preceeded the need for repentance. Faith was established right then and there, and they knew in there heart that they needed to do something, so they asked and Peter told them to change and be baptized.
I’ll end with a short story that happened to me not long ago… I met a young man at the lumber yard. We chatted for a bit and the name of another young man came up, a man that had gotten into some very bad trouble. The young man looked at me and said “he (the man in trouble) needs to get himself saved” and the context was that the troubled man needed the Lord. But I was taken aback by the notion that he could some how save himself by saying a prayer or being dunked in the water or… repenting!
I maintain the Lord has already done His part at the cross, and what he did was complete. I also maintain that humans need to understand what Christ has done, not activate it by doing or saying something.
I’m sure this is not the last we’ll tangle about this, and I, quite frankly, understand your position because I was there at one time.
*Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; *
He has Justified all who are sinners, not by repentance, but by grace through Christ’s redemptive act at the cross.
Peace
Chad