On many occasions, I have heard evangelists say that the unbeliever must recognize that he is a sinner before he can be saved. When unbelievers realize this, they will feel sorrow for their many sins. That is where repentance comes into play. It is like a two-step process prior to believing: One must admit that he or she is a sinner, then feel remorse over that sin. This two-step process indicates that the person is expressing genuine faith instead of a spurious, intellectual faith.

Of course, all of that is nonsense. While an unbeliever may see himself as a horrible sinner and feel deep regret over past actions, neither of these is required to believe the message of eternal life as a free gift by faith in Christ alone.

Just this week I read another sermon that proclaimed the need for the unbeliever to recognize that he is a sinner and to repent of those sins in order to be saved. The message was based on Luke 7:36-50. It is an excellent example of how one can try to force a passage of Scripture to fit into his theology.

The passage deals with the sinful woman who anointed Jesus’ feet while He was eating in the home of a Pharisee named Simon. Prior to anointing the Lord’s feet, Luke tells us that the woman was weeping. She wept a great deal, because there were enough tears for her to wash the the Lord’s feet.

Luke records that Simon remarked to himself––not aloud––that the woman was a sinner (v 39). Many assume that she must have been a prostitute, though the text does not say that. The Lord spoke aloud of her many sins, adding that her sins had been forgiven (v 47). I am sure the woman would not have disputed the fact that she was a sinner.

The woman felt unworthy to be in the presence of the Lord. Her actions with the Lord were scandalous. In that culture, she had no business touching a Man whom many thought was a teacher sent by God and who had the power of God working in Him.

Not surprisingly, many look at this woman as an example of what coming to faith looks like. In the sermon I read, she comes to the Lord, recognizing she is a sinner. She realizes that her many sins make her unworthy to approach Him. Her tears are tears of repentance. She is profoundly sorry for her sins. If she was a prostitute, she was sorry for the life she had lived and the marriages she had harmed. Without the recognition of her sins and sorrow over them, she could not be saved.

It would be difficult to twist the meaning of this passage in a worse way. The Lord does not say the woman came to Him grieving over her sins. He says that her actions were done because she loved Him. Her tears were not tears of repentance. They were tears of gratitude and joy. She did not come to Him hoping that sorrow for her sins would cause Him to give her eternal life. The oil with which she anointed His feet was very valuable, but she was not trying to buy eternal life. She wanted to honor the Lord with the most valuable thing she had. In the most concrete way she could, she was saying, “Thank You.”

This woman was already a believer. She knew who Jesus was and had believed in Him. The Lord could not have made it any clearer. He tells her that her faith has saved her (v 50). It was not the recognition of her sinful life. It was not tears of sorrow over her sins. When she believed that He was the Christ, she received eternal life. He also forgave her of her sins. With that forgiveness, she could have fellowship with the One she knew to be the Christ.

I don’t know how sorrowful this woman was over her sins. It doesn’t matter. But I do know why she had come to the dinner at Simon’s house. She had come to express her gratitude and love for the King. She brought her most valuable possession to express how she felt. Tears of joy, not repentance, flowed from her eyes as she washed His feet.