Members of the Church of God Doctrine and Polity Committee have released the paper entitled, “The Role of Repentance in the Christian Life.”
The paper is the eleventh released by the D&P Committee, a group of scholars who routinely examine the belief statements, doctrines, and polity in place within the structure of the Church of God. The group considers amendments reflective of modern culture and offers recommendations for modifications employing extensive biblical research.
This latest release is written by Dr. Lee Roy Martin, a professor at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary. He opens his research with the following paragraph:
“The Pentecostal movement is diverse, and the pursuit of holiness takes on a variety of shapes; but, for the most part, Pentecostal believers are expected to resist sin and to practice a lifestyle of obedience. However, in some sectors of Pentecostalism, post-conversion repentance is not encouraged. Also, the recent hyper-grace movement has downplayed the need for repentance, teaching that all sins were forgiven by Christ at the cross; and, therefore, repentance is a redundant act-of-works righteousness. Furthermore, some preaching sounds more like lessons in self-help and positive thinking. If these sermons are to be believed, Christians have the power to make themselves better through their own efforts. The Bible teaches that any genuine growth or spiritual transformation begins in repentance and in our admission of powerlessness. The Lord encourages us, however, when He says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV).”
The paper can be read in its entirety, along with recommended readings, at the Church of God website (www.churchofgod.org) under the BELIEFS tab on the home page. It is also available in Spanish.
Past Doctrine and Polity paper topics have included such issues as defense of the denomination’s stance on total abstinence from strong drink, observance of the Sabbath Day, human cremation, Spirit-filled worship, same-sex marriage, and the Hyper-Grace movement. The most recent release, a commentary on women in leadership as related to Romans 16 was released earlier this summer.
Serving alongside Martin is a group of ministers, scholars and academicians. They include professors at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary Dr. French Arrington, Dr. David Han, and Dr. Miriam Figueroa, and Lee University Professors Dr. Jerald Daffe and Dr. Terry Cross. Second Assistant General Overseer Dr. J. David Stephens serves as executive liaison.