2nd Corinthians 11:3-4, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.”
I'll tell you, I often cringe in Baptist churches during the congregational singing. One of the songs that I dread singing is “Victory In Jesus,” when we get to singing the phrase “then I repented of my sin and won the victory.” Is that a biblical statement? No, it is not! What saith the Scripture? 1st John 5:4, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” As we just read from the inspired Holy Bible itself, the victory does NOT come from repenting of our sin; but rather, it is solely secured by our FAITH in Jesus Christ. Amen and amen.
You see, it is our sinful human nature that always wants to add works to God's grace. This why when Adam sinned, he instinctively sewed together some fig leaves, attempting to atone for his own sins by his own works. God rejected Adam's fig leaf religion.
Likewise, Cain (the son of Adam and Eve) tried to please God with the work of his hands. Cain presented to God the best crops that his fields could produce. Again, God rejected man's self-righteous works. The Bible declares that a man can only be justified by faith. Habakkuk 2:4, “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.”
Having laid a solid foundation, I would now like to analyze another popular religious hymn that we frequently sing in our Independent Fundamental Baptist churches (and is sung in many different church denominations). The song is called, “The Old Account Was Settled Long Ago,” in which we find some very disturbing phrases about repenting of our sins...
THE OLD ACCOUNT WAS SETLLED LONG AGO
1st Stanza:
There was a time, I know,
When in the book of Heaven,
An old account was standing
For sins yet unforgiven;
My name was at the top
And many things below,
I went unto the Keeper,
And settled long ago.
Refrain:
Long ago, long ago,
Yes, the old account was settled long ago;
And the record’s clear today,
For He washed my sins away,
When the old account was settled long ago.
2nd Stanza:The old account was large,
And growing every day,
For I was always sinning,
And never tried to pay;
But when I looked ahead
And saw such pain and woe,
I said that I would settle,
And settled long ago. [Refrain]
3rd Stanza:When at the judgment bar
I stand before my King,
And He the book will open,
He cannot find a thing;
Then will my heart be glad,
While tears of joy will flow,
Because I had it settled,
And settled long ago. [Refrain]
4th Stanza:O sinner, seek the Lord,
Repent of all your sin;
For thus He has commanded,
If you would enter in;
And then if you should live
A hundred years below,
E'en here you’ll not regret it,
You settled long ago. [Refrain]
Source: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal #406
The fourth stanza is of the Devil...
“Repent of all your sin; For thus He has commanded, If you would enter in;”
What lies of Satan!!! Where does the inspired King James Bible command us to “Repent of all your sin... if you would enter in”? It doesn't, ungodly men corrupted the Gospel by fabricating those lies!!! It is tragic that some of the worst liars and deceivers today are pastors behind church pulpits. I say that kindly. The old adage is true: Be nice to everybody but trust no one.
No doubt some people would say that such word usage is merely a matter of semantics and we ought not make a big fuss over them. However, right doctrine matters! Although those hymnal lyrics may seem harmless, they do convey meaning which shape thoughts and conclusions. There is no more dangerous a Satanic lie in churches today than the falsehood that says you must repent of your sins to enter into God's kingdom. By “repent of your sins” they mean to turn away from your sinful bad habits and ways. Some mean for you to become a Christ follower in obedience for the rest of your life. Although these things are proper in their respective place, neither constitute part of the saving Gospel of free grace.
Bible repentance is simply “a change of mind” from unbelief to trusting Christ as your personal Savior. Bible repentance is admitting that you are a guilty sinner in the sight of a holy God, but it does not mean to turn from your sins. Dr. Mark G. Cambron (1911-2000) does an excellent job explaining the true Bible meaning of repentance. You need to know what you're being saved from, the penalty of sin, which is death (that includes the second death in Hell forever - Revelation 14:11, 20:11-15, 21:8). Jesus came into the world to save mankind from the penalty of our sins, by dying on a cross in our place. In theology we call this Christ's vicarious (substitutionary) death on the cross. Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay (2nd Corinthians 5:21).
Please beware of neo-evangelical churches and the wolves in sheep's clothing who lead those cults. Many of the popular church hymns that congregations gleefully sing every Sunday are as deadly as toxic waste. Remember, deadly rat poison is only 1% poison, the other 99% is wholesome food. Most of what Pastor John MacArthur preaches is great stuff. In many respects he is a brilliant Bible teacher, but because he is corrupt on repentance and the Gospel you cannot trust anything that Dr. MacArthur says.
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