For they themselves show of
us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from
idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for His Son from heaven,
whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to
come.
There is one passage of Scripture that virtually
always comes up in the discussion of repentance with advocates of Lordship Salvation and
needs to be carefully explained. How does John MacArthur, for the
Lordship view of repentance, interpret the first verse of this passage?
As metanoia is used in the
New Testament, it always speaks of a change of purpose, and specifically a turning from sin. In
the sense Jesus used it, repentance calls for a repudiation of the old life and
a turning to God for salvation. Such a change of purpose is what Paul had in
mind when he described the repentance of the Thessalonians: “You turned to God
from idols to serve a living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9). Note the
three elements of repentance: turning to God, a turning from evil, and the
intent to serve God. No change of mind can be called true repentance if it does
not include all three elements. The simple but all too often overlooked fact is
that a true change of mind will necessarily result in a change of behavior.
Repentance is not merely shame or sorry over sin, although genuine repentance
always involves an element of remorse. It is a redirection of the human will, a
purposeful decision to forsake all unrighteousness and pursue righteousness
instead. 9
What is the
gospel, after all, but a call to repentance (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30)? In other
words, it demands that sinners make a change—stop going one way and turn around
to go the other (1 Thess. 1:9). 10
Those quotes represent Lordship’s classic misuse of 1
Thess. 1:9. MacArthur starts by addressing the Greek word metanoia as it is used in the New Testament, and then quotes a
verse that does not even contain the word metanoia.
The Greek word for “to turn” is completely different; it is epistrepho (epistrephÅ) and means simply “to turn,
turn to or toward.” EpistrephÅ does
not mean “to repent.”
Through the
balance of this section I am going to draw from the Inspired Commentary, the Word of God, to bring out the meaning and
context of 1 Thess. 1:9. Before we can draw a conclusion on 1 Thess. 1:9 we
need to begin by reviewing Paul’s initial evangelistic ministry to the
Thessalonicans. In Acts 17:1-4 we find Paul arriving at Thessalonica and, “as
his manner was,” preaching the gospel. He was preaching Jesus who suffered and
rose again. He said, “…Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.” He is
exhorting the Thessalonians, in their unsaved condition, to change their mind
about Jesus. In verse four we see that some were persuaded, “some of them
believed,” but some “believed not.” What was it in Paul’s preaching that some
were persuaded of and believed? That Jesus, who suffered, died and rose again,
was the Christ. In Paul’s evangelistic appeal to the Thessalonians is there any
call or exhortation for “turning from evil” or the “intent to serve” for
salvation? No, there is not! MacArthur is forcing “turning from evil (sin) and
the intent to serve God…to forsake all unrighteousness”
into the narrative of Paul’s sermon.
Those who
“believed not” set in motion a wave of persecution against the new believers
(Acts 17:5-9). The events at Thessalonica set a pattern for what we find in
Paul’s two epistles to the Thessalonian believers.
In 1
Thessalonians 1 Paul acknowledges and praises them for their “work of faith”
and “labor of love.” They set an example for others on what Bible Christianity
should look like. Their fine example was being set with “patience” (v. 3) in
the face of “much affliction” (v. 6; Acts 17:5-9). They were setting the right
example for fellow believers (Macedonia and Achaia, vv. 7-8) to emulate how to
go through persecution. The reputation of the Thessalonian church preceded Paul
in his missionary travels; therefore he did not need to speak of it (v.8).
Their testimony of faith and patience in the face of persecution was a living
example and a sermon without words. With respect to Lordship Salvation, this raises a serious problem. If
the example of the Thessalonians in their willingness to change their behavior
after they believed is considered the necessary condition of true saving faith,
then in what way were the Thessalonians “examples to all that believe in
Macedonia and Achaia” (v. 7)? How could they be the example to all other
believers when all believers in Christ will necessarily live and behave just
like the Thessalonians as Lordship advocates insist?
1 Thess. 1:9
opens with, “For they… .” The “they” is their “faith to God-ward,” which became
known abroad. The Thessalonians “turned to God,” which put them in a position for
the capacity to serve God. The example they became to other believers was the
result of their believing the message Paul preached unto them—the One who suffered and rose again is the
Christ. The “patience of hope” (v. 3) is defined in verse 10, “And to wait for
his Son from heaven.” While they expected and patiently waited for Him to come
they kept working out their faith and labored in love. Today when so many are
occupied with His coming, we would do well to learn from the Thessalonians that
we should keep occupied (doing something for Him) until He comes.
Lordship advocates who use this passage as an
illustration of repentance only quote verse 9, “and how ye turned (epistrepho) to God from
idols to serve the living and true God.”
Grammatically, however, there are two parallel infinitives of purpose, which
are found in verses 9 and 10. The sentence structure, therefore, if breaking it
down into main points and sub points, could be visualized this way:
v9, For
they themselves shew of us
- what manner of entering in we had unto you
and
- how ye turned to God from idols
- to serve (douleuein) the living and true God
v10, and
- to wait (anamenein) for His Son from heaven,
-whom He raised from the dead, even
Jesus,
- which delivered us from the wrath to
come.
There is a major problem for the
Lordship position in claiming that 1 Thess. 1:9 is making the intent “to serve”
a necessary description (thus condition) of genuine repentance/faith. If “to
serve” is a condition/necessary description, then syntactically so must the
phrase “to wait” be as well. Wait
for what? “His Son from heaven,” i.e. the Second Coming of Christ. There is no other passage in Scripture
that conditions the reception of eternal life on believing in Christ’s Second
Coming or waiting for it!
There is simply no way the two infinitive clauses can
be separated. They are both present tense, active voice, infinitives, and they
are both subordinate, dependent clauses that are parallel to one another and
dependent upon the main, independent clause of 1:9, “how ye turned to God from
idols.”
To be born
again do the lost need to believe in the Second Coming of Christ? If we accept
MacArthur’s view that the Thessalonians were saved by “turning from evil and
the intent to serve,” then the Scriptures also demand waiting for the second
coming of Christ as a third condition for conversion.
There is, however, an even larger
point with 1 Thess. 1:9-10. This passage is not even describing their
initial, saving faith. The emphasis of the passage is clearly upon describing
their faithful example in following the Lord subsequent to their initial,
saving faith. In 1 Thess. 1:9 Paul
is not speaking of how to become a believer; he wrote to them about their
growth and testimony as believers.
This interpretation fits perfectly
with Paul’s introductory description of these Thessalonians in 2 Thess. 1:3-4.
Notice there too they are described not as to their initial, saving faith, as
if Paul is saying to them there, “Your conversion was genuine.” No, he is
pleased with the fact that their “faith groweth exceedingly” (1:3) and that
they were exercising “patience and faith” amidst the trials they were enduring
(1:4).
This interpretation, furthermore,
fits perfectly with the Inspired
Commentary on the Thessalonian Epistles that we have in Acts 17, where the
Thessalonians’ initial, saving faith is described in 17:1-4, esp. v. 4
“persuaded” (peitho) or “believed”
(KJV) and v. 5 “were not persuaded” (apeitho)
or “believed not” (KJV). The content of their faith is described in v. 3, that
is, they believed in Christ’s substitutionary death and bodily resurrection,
which were according to the Scriptures (1 Thess. 4:14; 1 Cor. 15:3-4). There is
no mention of turning from idols, serving the living God, waiting for the
Second Coming, etc. Instead, what we see is that immediately upon believing,
these baby Christians in Thessalonica were persecuted for their faith (Acts
17:5-9), particularly by Jewish unbelievers (1 Thess. 2:14-16).
From the Scriptures we can firmly conclude that 1
Thess. 1:9-10 is a post conversion passage. Paul is addressing the things that
followed their conversion. He was teaching them post conversion truth. In verse
ten he concerns himself with their growth in light of the Lord’s imminent
return. At the time of their persecution Paul and Silas were ministering to
them as new believers (1 Thess. 2:8). In both epistles to the Thessalonians
Paul is ministering to them as new believers. Every chapter in 1 Thessalonians ends
with Paul referencing the Second Coming of Christ, which is a vital truth for
believers. In 2 Thessalonians 1 we find Paul speaking of their growing faith,
charity toward one another and patience in persecution. Paul is commending them
for their faith that grew out of their believing the gospel.
Lordship’s repentance, as MacArthur
defines it, is to “stop going one way,” i.e. stop sinning and replace sinning
with the “intent to serve,” i.e. do the “good works” (Eph. 2:10) expected of a
born again believer. MacArthur changes the gospel from repentance toward God
and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to a man-centered message that conditions
the reception of eternal life on the lost man’s, “purposeful decision to forsake all unrighteousness,” which is an upfront commitment to
certain expected levels of behavior. Believing the gospel should result in some
form of a change in behavior as one grows in grace. However, nowhere in
Scripture is the gospel for the reception of eternal life defined by a sinner’s
intention, commitment or resolve to change his behavior.
In Defense of the Gospel: Biblical Answers to Lordship Salvation, from the chapter, What is Biblical Repentance, pp. 133-138.
Footnotes:
9) John MacArthur, The Gospel According to Jesus: What is Authentic Faith,
p. 178.
10) John MacArthur, Faith Works: The Gospel According to the Apostles, p. 33.
The page I refer to appears in the original and revised versions (pp. 218 and 252 respectively). In the 20th Anniversary edition, you will turn to page 250 and read,
