A Review of "3. Apostle Paul's Repentance"
After having a wonderful day hosting Vacation Bible School, we arrived home to find something hanging on our door, which we promptly tossed aside in order to rest for awhile. What we eventually discovered came as a surprise. It was not something left by Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons—not even a pizza parlor or Chinese Buffet ad. It was a tract-sized document—but 44 pages long. How many residents, assuming that it was delivered door to door in our subdivision, would wade through that? Well, yours truly did and thought it would be interesting to comment on.
The number 3 in the title indicates that this tract must be one in a series of sermons or pamphlets; not having the others could be a blessing. The title is either inaccurate or, perhaps, an anachronism. The subject is not about the apostle Paul repenting of anything. It deals with Saul the persecutor of the church, but, oddly enough, the tract never pinpoints when he was saved. The author of the tract is Ock Soo Park, and it was distributed by the "Good News Orlando Church" in Casselberry.
It is one of the most meandering treatises ever composed, which makes it difficult to follow. It is excessively repetitive—especially in trying to convince the reader that he is filthy, dirty, and evil. The author relies on illustrations to prove his points rather than the Scriptures, and (worst of all) the tract takes Scriptures out of context and does not teach the truth concerning salvation. Following is a critique of the message.
Repentance Versus Faith
The first three pages are the best because they quote Acts 9:1-22. However, page 4 has in bold letters at the top these words
"Before it says, "Believe Ye the Gospel," It Clearly Says, "Repent."
At this point, the reader has been given two different pieces of information, but the author does not comment on either one of them. Instead he opens, talking about a conference and the fact that a woman there had not been able to grow in her faith. He says that we teach children different material in each grade and that Christians must grow step by step, also. Finally, he gets around to the heading and insists that people must repent before they believe, which is only loosely connected to the illustration of the woman and has nothing to do with Acts 9:1-22.
Mark 1:15
Regardless of the roundabout way he took to arrive at Mark 1:15, he then misapplied it. This is the only time that this saying appears in the New Testament, and it should be clear to anyone that without knowledge and faith, no one has a need to repent. One must know what sin is and what it has done to mankind—not to mention that it required Jesus to die on the cross so that it could be forgiven. Certainly, no one has any motive to repent of sin unless he first believes in God and believes that Jesus died so that he might be forgiven.
These things being so, Mr. Park should have gone to the context to understand why the normal order in conversion is reversed. First of all, John the Baptizer, who had prepared the way for Jesus, was put in prison. Second, Jesus "came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom" (Mark 1:14). To whom was Jesus preaching? Like John, He preached to the Jews—people who already knew God and were in a covenant relationship with Him. Many things concerning the kingdom had been prophesied previously by Isaiah, Daniel, Micah, and others. Jesus then says, "The time is fulfilled. and the kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 1:15a). An extraordinary event was about to occur—the establishment of the kingdom (the church), but the people needed to be fully prepared for it.
At this point Jesus says, "Repent, and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:15b). Seen in its context, no mystery exists concerning the inversion of faith and repentance. The Jews were generally in need of repentance even though they possessed God's holy law. They frequently violated it and did not live according to its teachings. It was time for them to become serious—to repent of their sins and believe the good news that the kingdom was just about upon them.
What Jesus said on this occasion has no connection to the normal conversion process. When Jesus gave the great commission in Matthew 28:18-20, He mentioned teaching the people and baptizing them, but repentance was not specified. When He gave the commission in Mark 16:15-16, He once again mentioned believing and baptism but failed to include repentance. Since Jesus had taught that without repentance, people would perish (Luke 13:3), why did He fail to mention it in these two passages?
Someone like Park would probably say, "Oh, they had to repent before they believed; so Jesus started with faith that comes after that." Such an explanation is incredible. If repentance is the very first thing that people need to be saved, how could Jesus skip it altogether? There are two reasons that we know that this hypothesis is false. First, there is a better explanation. Jesus was listing the first and last steps in the process of salvation, which begins with faith and culminates with baptism. In between the beginning and the end lie repentance and confession that He is the Christ, the Son of God. In some passages faith may be mentioned by itself, but the careful Bible reader knows that it is followed by repentance, confession, and baptism. Sometimes baptism is mentioned by itself, but the reader knows that this act would accomplish nothing unless preceded by faith and repentance. Many false doctrines concerning salvation are taught by taking some of these passages out of context.
The second reason we know that repentance does not precede faith is that on the Day of Pentecost we have an actual account of people being saved from their sins. Peter demonstrated that Jesus had to die and be raised again according to the Scriptures. He added to that exposition of the Scriptures the fact that the twelve apostles were eyewitnesses of His resurrection. These facts produced within them faith. They asked what they should do. Peter answered, "Repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins…" (Acts 2:38). They already believed; repentance came after their faith had been established. Then came baptism.
Repentance was not mentioned when they obeyed, but the reader assumes that it occurred; the text says: "Then they who gladly received his word were baptized, and that day about three thousand souls were added to them" (Acts 2:41). Again, baptism is specified because sins are washed away at that time. Mr. Park's entire thesis is thus shown to be false, but there are some other points that merit examination as well.
Evil, Dirty, Filthy Babies and Adults
The reader is bound to be surprised to read this statement: "What we actually must repent of is not that we have stolen, committed adultery, or lied" (6). One's initial reaction might be that it is too bad that Zacchaeus did not know that; he volunteered to pay back fourfold whatever he had stolen, and Jesus praised him for it (Luke 19:8-9). It cost John the Baptizer his life when he told Herod that he should repent of adultery (Mark 6:18). Had only Ock Soo Park been there to advise him! Furthermore, Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for telling lies. How can anyone seriously say that these things do not need to be repented of (Acts 5:1-11)?
He is trying to make a larger point, however, which is that we are born sinners. If we are, then, sin is embedded in our very nature; so how would we get rid of it? He never says, although he mentions something about letting go, which does not even begin to answer the question. Some say that babies must be sprinkled to get rid of original sin; others argue that the Holy Spirit must enter into a person and purify him—Park simply does not provide the antidote.
But he does insist that every human being is thoroughly sinful. He writes:
There are many mothers here. When you rear children, they are very pretty, beautiful, and cute. But when you see the evil hearts that arise inside of your children, you think, "Wow! They are so wicked!" (7).
Really? How many mothers say such a pessimistic thing (before their babies become teenagers)? The Bible does not present children as evil but rather as individuals that must be disciplined (Pr. 3:11-12; 13:24; 22:15). Children are not evil by nature, but they are open to suggestion, and they imitate bad behavior as well as the good. Nevertheless Park affirms that all children "have evil inside them" (7).
Adults fare no better. They only appear to be "good and sincere"; however, "they hide the fact that they are evil, filthy, and dirty by nature" (8). They only confess what others see (stealing, adultery, lying)—not what they actually are. Okay, so if Park were correct, what can anyone do about it? His sinner's prayer is one of the most unusual ones in existence. After wading through 30 more pages, he concludes his booklet with these words by encouraging the reader to say:
"I am a seed of sin. There is evil inside me. Even though I am trying to do good, it will not work. I can only be destroyed when I hold onto it. I can only go to hell" (43).
Therefore, they leave themselves up to Jesus When you leave your lives in the hands of the Lord, from that point on, Jesus will work powerfully (44).
Salvation
So this is all it takes to be saved? All we have to do is to admit that we are thoroughly rotten and then Jesus will take over? What Scripture teaches this doctrine? This tract is supposed to be about Paul, but about all he says of Saul of Tarsus is that the devil put the wrong idea into his head and that he was guilty of wrong thinking. If that is the case, what about his repentance and salvation? Park quotes his conversion from Acts 9 but then never discusses it. Finally, as the booklet is nearly completed, he mentions that "Saul came to know that his thoughts and his judgments were wrong" (40). That is so nice, but that recognition did not save Saul. Even Park quotes Acts 9:6 where Jesus tells him to go into the city, and it will be told him what he must do.
And that is it! Park does not follow Saul into the city. He does not now remind the reader of Saul's intense repentance, in which he neither ate nor drank for three days (Acts 9:9). He does not mention Saul's sincere praying during this time (Acts 9:11). Nor does he mention Ananias coming to him in the city and saying to him:
"And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord" (Acts 22:16).
How odd, to neglect these facts, which are all a part of Saul's conversion to Christianity! Park frequently mentions that one's sins are washed away. The woman mentioned previously who could not seem to grow in her faith knew that "her past, present, and future sins were washed away…" (4). "Sometimes it seems as if Jesus washed all of your sins away…" (5). "Jesus cleanses you and washes your sins away…" (21). He is correct in saying Jesus washes away sins—but he never cites Acts 22:16 to show how or when Jesus does so—in baptism. Referring to himself and his own "cleansing," it is much like what is stated at the end of the tract. He reports that he said these words:
"Jesus, I am a dirty human. I am an evil human who can only go to hell. I am a human who can only be destroyed because of sin. Lord, you have to cleanse me. Lord, whether you cleanse me or whether you allow me to go to hell, there is nothing I can do. If you cleanse me, I would be grateful" (29).
Park reports that immediately Jesus entered his life "and began to work" (30). The only problem with these statements is that the Bible does not teach this doctrine, which is the reason Park could not go to the book of conversions (Acts) and cite even one person being saved in that way. Beginning with the day of Pentecost, Peter told people to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins (Acts 2:38). This is the moment when sins are washed away. Park does not understand what the Scriptures teach concerning salvation.
"There is None Righteous, No, Not One"
What does the Bible mean when it says that there is none righteous—no, not one? This is not the equivalent of saying that human beings are thoroughly evil and that they only pretend to do good things. The verse in Romans 3:10 is a quotation from the Old Testament. It first appears in Psalm 14:1-3 (also Psalm 53:1-3). One should, however, read the entire psalm. Those described in verses 1-3 are those who have taken God's people captive. Verses 4-5 read as follows:
Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call on the Lord? They are in great fear, for God is with the generation of the righteous.
Wait a minute! The generation of the who? God elsewhere designates certain men as righteous. Lot is called a righteous man (2 Peter 2:7-8). Abraham also asked God if he would destroy the righteous with the wicked (Gen. 18:23). Psalms and Proverbs are filled with statements about the righteous man. James writes that the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much (5:16). So who are the unrighteous in Psalm 14? They are the ones who have taken God's people captive. Yet God will deliver His people and destroy the unrighteous.
What did Paul mean in Romans 3? The apostle is making the case that every person has sinned and is need of salvation—both Jews and Gentiles. Do the Scriptures contradict each other? No. What we see are simply two different perspectives. There are righteous men (in a right relationship with God) who practice righteousness, and the Bible defines righteous behavior. On the other hand, is anyone completely righteous? No, for all have sinned. We need to be saved from our sins in order to become righteous and holy.
The fact that all stand in need of salvation, however, does not mean that we were evil from birth or thoroughly depraved, but we all need cleansed from our sins, which is accomplished when we repent and are baptized. It is not true that, prior to obeying the gospel, we could not "do anything good" (31). Park says that the Bible teaches "that there is no good inside of men" (29). Yet many of us know men and women who are loving, noble, kind, generous, and self-sacrificing. Those outside of Christ are not totally evil (although a few are), but they are not saved until they comply with God's terms of salvation.
One wonders how Jesus turned out so well since He was reared by two people who were thoroughly sinful. In fact, if all parents are depraved, how does anyone ever turn out decent? Total depravity would make every generation like the one before the flood, yet that situation does not occur. The Bible describes Cornelius as "a devout man and one who feared God with all his house" (Acts 10:1-2). How is that possible if people are fully evil? Despite these excellent traits, however, he still needed to be baptized (Acts 10:47), as everyone does in order to be saved. The truth of God must prevail.