Mark 1:15 Meaning
As a pastor, people often have questions and doubts about the Christian life. They want to know for sure how things work in several ways, but the question people wonder about the most is, “Am I truly saved? Am I going to go to heaven when I die?”
Sometimes, people will ask about Mark 1:15 where Jesus says to repent and believe the good news, and they’ll say, “I don’t know if I’ve really repented. How do I know if I’ve truly repented and going to heaven?”
I hate to see them live in such fear and uncertainty. Jesus doesn’t want us to live that way.
Mark 1:15
First, let’s look at this verse and see what a lot of people say Mark 1:15 means.
14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
What does the word repent here mean?
Well, what I hear most people say is that it means to grieve your sin, turn away from them, and strive to stop sinning.
It’s a commitment to stop the bad things you are doing and start doing the good things that Jesus wants you to do.
Therefore, in their minds, salvation is a 2-step process:
#1 – Commit to stop sinning and commit to doing the right things from now on
#2 – Believe in Jesus (put your faith and trust in Him to be your Savior)
The problem with this approach is that people can’t completely stop sinning and then begin to doubt their salvation.
We sent a bunch of students to church camp one year where the speaker preached about this, and many of them came to our Student Pastor in tears about repentance.
“I’m not sure if I’m saved because I don’t think I’ve truly repented of my sins…”
“I’ve been doing some things that I shouldn’t be doing, and I feel ashamed. Am I truly saved?”
“I don’t think that I really repented from my sins and gave my entire life to Jesus when I was saved the first time, but this time I really mean it. I want to stop sinning. I want to do better. I want to give my WHOLE life to Jesus and drop everything and follow Him. I want to truly believe.”
Sometimes, when people have these kinds of moments, their behavior begins to change, and they feel more confident about their salvation. But then, at some point, they stumble and sin again and think, “Oh no, I thought I truly repented and gave my whole life to follow Jesus but obviously I didn’t because it’s happening again. I guess I’m still not really saved.”
So, this verse and the emphasis on true repentance of sins and believing in Jesus to be saved causes so much confusion, doubts, anxiety, and fear about our salvation.
But it doesn’t have to be that way because that’s not what this verse means.
MARK 1:15 MEANING
When we look at this verse, the word that is translated as “repent” here is the Greek word, “metanoia.”
And here is the definition of “metanoia” according to Strongs Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible…
3340. μετανοέω mĕtanŏĕō, met-an-ŏ-eh´-o; from 3326 and 3539; to think differently or afterwards, i.e. reconsider.
So, look at Mark 1:15 and substitute this definition for the word “repent” and notice what Jesus is saying…
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent (think differently… reconsider… change your mind) and believe the good news!”
Jesus is saying:
“You guys have believed one way about God and gotten so caught up in the law to a degree it was never meant to be. You’ve been thinking about how the Messiah was going to be someone who would overthrow Rome and reestablish political and military authority for Israel.
BUT NOW you need to think differently and understand that I am the Messiah and that I have come to save you and all people from their sins. What you need to do is believe that I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Me!”
Notice that we don’t see Jesus saying, “Show me how truly sorry you are for your sins and stop sinning. Commit to being good and following my rules.”
So, the biggest problem we see is that the word “repent” does not convey in English what the Greek word “metanoia” really means.
Listen to what many biblical scholars do say about this very thing…
“A linguistic and theological tragedy.” (A.T. Robertson)
“In the Greek, there is none of the sorrow or regret contained in the words repentance and repent.” “An utter mistranslation.” (Joseph Butler)
“In Greek, metanoia is not a confession of sins but a change of mind.” (Tertullian)
"In order to clarify the subject, it may be well to observe carefully what repentance is not, and then to notice briefly what it is. First, then repentance is not to be confounded with penitence... penitence is simply sorrow for sin... Nowhere is man exhorted to feel a certain amount of sorrow for his sins in order to come to Christ. Second, penance is not repentance. Penance is the effort in some way to atone for the wrong done... In the third place, let us remember that reformation is not repentance... Need I add that repentance then is not to be considered synonymous with joining a church or taking up one's religious duties, as people say. It is not doing anything. ...the Greek word, metanoia, which is translated 'repentance' in our English Bibles, literally means a change of mind." (Henry Ironside)
What Jesus is saying in Mark 1:15 is to change your mind (repent) about what you were believing and instead believe in Me.
In other words, Jesus really isn’t saying two things here. He is saying one thing: Believe!
To believe in Christ is to repent (change one’s mind) about Jesus and trust in Him alone for salvation!
Repentance should not be understood as a separate condition for believing in Christ. If repentance is cited as a condition of salvation in terms of feeling sorry for one’s sins, then it is a wrong usage of the term. It should not be understood as a separate step in salvation. Acts 20:21 indicates that repentance and faith should not be seen as separate items in response to the gospel, but together they signify belief in Christ. To believe in Christ is to change one’s mind about Christ and trust Him alone for salvation.
(Peter Enns)
WHY IS REPENT AND BELIEVE POPULAR TEACHING?
Why do so many pastors, teachers, and evangelists talk about salvation in terms of repenting from sins and this full commitment to following Jesus?
Well, I believe it’s born out of good intentions. We know that behavior is important. We know that there is a way that Jesus created us to live. There are right things to do and there are wrong things to do.
And sometimes evangelists want to make sure that we don’t misunderstand that we simply receive a ticket to heaven when we believe in Jesus and therefore will try to say, “Now, you’ve got to know that if you are trusting in Jesus to save you, then you are not just getting a ticket to heaven. It’s about behavior too. You are committing to follow Jesus. You’ve got to leave everything and follow Him.”
But it’s almost like the thought is, “You aren’t going to want to do that. You aren’t going to want to do the right things and behave well. You are going to think that you have a free ticket to heaven and can go and do whatever you want to still do because that is what you will really want to do… SO, you need to commit right here right now to stop sinning and doing the right thing!”
The problem is that this makes salvation about you and focuses on what you are doing and not what Christ will do. The other problem is that it discounts what happens to us the moment we simply believe in Jesus for salvation!
REGENERATION THROUGH BELIEF
When we believe in Jesus for salvation, we are not just forgiven and given a ticket to heaven. We are changed and transformed into someone completely different than we used to be!
Look at what we are told in John 1:12-13…
12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
Notice first, “to those who BELIEVED IN HIS NAME.”
NOT, to those who repent of their sins and believe in his name. No, just to those who believed.
Here’s what happened to them when they believed… THEY WERE BORN OF GOD.
They were spiritually reborn into someone new at the very core of their being.
And as a new creation, one born of God, that means that we have a NEW HEART…
26 And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. (Ezekiel 36:26)
So, as a new creation in Christ, you have a new heart. You have new desires. Sin will feel yucky because it’s no longer compatible with who you are in Christ.
Your job now is to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and believe who you are (have become) in Christ. You are to believe that He is working to conform your behavior on the outside to who you’ve become on the inside!
SATAN WANTS YOU TO BELIEVE MORE IS REQUIRED THAN BELIEF
Satan hates you. He does not want you to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and live out of the new creation you’ve become. He wants you do doubt your salvation.
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
Satan doesn’t want you to know who you are in Christ. Satan doesn’t want you to experience Life in Christ. He also doesn’t want you to have assurance of your salvation.
So, he going to try and deceive you to keep you from knowing you are changed (born again) and that you are different (a new creation in Christ)!
He’s going to want you to believe that you really don’t want to do things God’s ways and that it’s up to you to be committed to leaving everything to follow Jesus.
And here’s why: First, because this makes the focus on you and not Jesus. He loves for you to be focused on you and not Christ. Second, because when you mess up, He’s going to be right there to say…
“See, you haven’t left everything to follow Jesus! See, you didn’t truly repent. You aren’t a true believer and follower of Jesus.”
And that is why we must conform our minds to the truth we saw in John 1:12-13.
We say to Satan in those moments, “I’ve have believed in Jesus, so that means I am born of God. I am God’s child no matter what!”
We can say, “I may have taken my eyes off of Jesus and who I was in Christ for a moment or even for a while now, but that doesn’t change who I am!”
Guys, behavior does not determine your identity. Birth determines your identity (John 1:13), and if you’ve believed in Jesus, you’ve been born again!
In other words, when Satan begins to attack you and deceive you by making you doubt your salvation based on whether you’ve truly repented of your sins and committed to following Jesus, you don’t have to get truly saved after these things happen in your life.
You just have to return to believing and trusting who you are, all that you have in Christ, and that He will continue to work in and through you on your behavior and actions.
CONCLUSION: MARK 1:15 MEANING
The real meaning of Mark 1:15 is not a 2-step process of committing to stop sinning and believing in Jesus. Repent means to change one’s mind.
To believe in Christ is to change one’s mind about Jesus and trust in Him alone for salvation.
You don’t need to commit to stop sinning before you can become a Christian. When you believe in Jesus, He is going to change you into a new creation. He’ll give you a new heart. He’ll make you like Him at the core of your being and then start to conform you outwardly into the new person that He’s already made you into inwardly.
That will happen as you continue to receive from Him. He is the Vine, and you are the branch. Jesus doesn’t need your striving and commitment to not sin. He is going to clean you up on the inside so that he can dwell in you. He’ll remove your sin nature at the core of your being, and He will begin to produce fruit through you as you continue to receive from Him.
So, don’t fall for the deception that Satan wants you to believe of doubting your salvation because you mess up and someone tells you that you’ve never truly repented and committed to fully following Jesus and therefore aren’t saved.
Behavior doesn’t determine your identity. Birth determines identity, and if you’ve believed in Jesus, you are born again and have a new identity as child of God.
Rest in the finished work of Christ to secure your salvation. Get on with learning to live out of the new creation you’ve already become. Enjoy your union with Christ and what He is doing from the inside out through you.
Stop focusing on you and your commitment to Jesus and instead focus on Him and the commitment He’s made to save you as you receive from His finished work on the cross.
