By Ken Yates
Every one of us have heard a gospel presentation that started off like this: “You must recognize that you are a sinner.” I visited a church website recently that described how one could “have a relationship with Jesus Christ.” It said that “it starts with admitting that you are a sinner.” To make the case, it quotes Rom 3:23 and Rom 6:23 (https://gracechurchmentor.org/abc).
Neither of these verses says the unbeliever must recognize that he is a sinner in order to be saved. They explain why we are justified by faith apart from works. We cannot be justified before God by our works. We must believe.
Another popular way to present the gospel, very similar to saying that you must admit to being a sinner, is demanding that you repent of your sins. Once the unbeliever recognizes his sin, he is to repent of it. He will do so because he feels sorrow for his many sins.
A well-known website is one of many that take this position. It defines repentance as “turning from sin” and says that repentance is necessary to be saved from the lake of fire:
While repentance is not a work that earns salvation, repentance unto salvation does result in works. It is impossible to truly change your mind without changing your actions in some way. In the Bible, repentance results in a change in behavior. Repentance, properly defined, is necessary for salvation (https://www. gotquestions.org/repentance.html).
There are a lot of theological hoops to jump through in that paragraph! It says that works are not necessary for salvation. Repentance, it claims, is not a work, but involves work and is necessary for salvation. I must admit, I am not smart enough to figure out what that means.
Even though I can’t figure it out, the truth remains: Many gospel presentations say that before a person can receive eternal life, he must go through a two-step process. He must recognize that he is a sinner, then repent of his sins. It is usually maintained that without those two prior steps, one’s faith is not real. It is a spurious faith and one that is only intellectual. That kind of faith will not save anybody from the lake of fire.
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 in order to believe the message that eternal life is a free gift by faith in Christ alone. The Lord said that the one who believes in Him has eternal life (John 5:24). He didn’t add a series of requirements before faith can occur.
Recently, I read a sermon in which the preacher argued that these other steps are necessary. The message was from Luke 7:36-50. The preacher said that in this passage we meet an unbeliever who shows us what “real” faith looks like.
A SINFUL WOMAN
The passage deals with the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet while He was eating in the home of a Pharisee named Simon. Luke tells us that prior to anointing the Lord’s feet, the woman was weeping. She wept a great deal, because there were enough tears for her to wash the Lord’s feet with them.
Luke refers to this woman as a “sinner” (v 37). This label, as well as Simon’s mental comments (v 39), indicate that she was a notorious sinner. Many assume she was a prostitute, though the text does not say that. The Lord also speaks of her many sins (v 47). She had been forgiven much. I am sure that the woman herself would not have disputed the fact that she was a really bad sinner.
The woman felt unworthy to be in the presence of the Lord. Her actions toward the Lord seemed scandalous because 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. He had demonstrated that power by performing numerous miracles of healing and by casting out demons.
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 that 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 recognizing her sins and feeling sorrow over them, she could not be saved.
The preacher of the sermon I read is not alone. Bible teachers routinely ask why the woman was crying. Some say that while we don’t know why she was crying, it might have been due to remorse over her sins. If so, her tears were tears of repentance (Martin, “Luke,” BKC, 224; Stein, Luke, 236). Many think her tears were a mixture of repentance and joy (Schreiner, “Luke,” Evangelical Commentary on the Bible, 816). But this is a strange combination. How could she come with joy and remorse at the same time?
Others are more in line with the preacher whose sermon I read. They say the woman did not come with joy but came to the meal in need of divine grace. She needed forgiveness and eternal salvation (Butler, Luke, 111). Her tears were tears of profound remorse (Liefeld and Pao, “Luke,” The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, 150). One writer was perhaps the most direct. Her tears are said to be from one who cried out, “God be merciful to me, a sinner” (https://sola.network/article/scandalous-gospel-woman-jesus-feet/).
Many, then, see this woman as an example of what unbelievers need to do. They must come to the Lord recognizing that they are sinners. That recognition leads to sorrow and to turning from their sins (repentance). Without these steps, eternal salvation is impossible.
IS THAT WHAT THIS WOMAN TEACHES US?
Are the actions of this woman in Luke 7 proof that the unbeliever must add remorse and repentance before his faith is real?
It would be difficult to twist the meaning of this passage in a worse way, even if a person wanted to. 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. She already had it.
Luke tells us that the oil she anointed the Lord’s feet with was very valuable. Obviously, she was not trying to buy eternal life. That is impossible. She was not trying to show that she had “true” repentant faith. 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 He was and had believed in Him before she came to the dinner. 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 whom she knew to be the Christ. Being close to Him, at His feet, was a picture of that fellowship. Serving Him in the way she could was an illustration of serving the One in whom she had already believed.
CONCLUSION
Most unbelievers recognize that they are sinners. Many of them want to turn from those sins and lead a better life. Some do turn and improve their lives. Such things can lead an unbeliever to believe in Jesus for eternal life. But they are not required. Believing in Jesus for eternal life—faith—is how a person receives that gift.
When this woman heard the offer of that gift before she came to Simon’s house, she believed it. I do not know how sorrowful she 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 because of what He had already done for her. 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 and served Him.
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Ken Yates is a retired Army chaplain (Lt. Col). He has many theological degrees, including a Ph.D. from D.T.S. in New Testament. He leads the GES international ministry, cohosts the daily podcast, and assists Bob in all aspects of the GES ministry. His new book, Mark: Lessons in Discipleship, is a wonderful explanation of Christ’s call to discipleship. He and his wife, Pam, live in Columbia, SC.
