The phrase John the Baptist used is, “unto repentance” and you only see this phrase show up one other place in the word of God and it is dealing directly with a Jew living in a future tribulation which is followed by a Kingdom reign that has the Lord Jesus Christ reigning a thousand years on Earth, with Israel as the apple of his eye.
If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. Hebrews 6:6
It is vital to note that Paul never used the phrase “unto repentance”. It’s always “unto salvation” with him! These defining and separating phrase, “unto repentance and “unto salvation” are important to noticing the distinction. Here are some examples of “unto salvation”.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:9-10
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 3:16
Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:5
It is simply not the same message or associated with the same gospel. Paul’s gospel and the gospel preached in the Gospels are just as separate as the law and grace, though both are concerning Christ. The gospel preached in the gospels was a gospel of repentance. It was unto repentance. The one that Believers preach is the gospel of grace, the one that Paul taught the collective Christian body of his day.
In this age, under the new covenant found in the new testament, salvation is instantaneous and eternal upon belief in Christ and his blood atonement. It is not something that you can obtain by works, not even those that are “unto repentance”. It is not something that you keep by works either. I could deny God today, cuss his name everyday of my life, go into a life of lasciviousness, drunkenness, revelings and lust, BOOM!!!, the rapture happens, and I would be standing next to you in glory almost instantaneously. Now, will I have to answer to my Lord at the Judgment Seat for the sins I comittied in this body, of course, just like you, but our salvation is a work of his, not of ours.
John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Mark 1:4
And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. Mark 1:15
And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins; Luke 3:3
What gospel are we to believe? This was considered the good news in Mark and Luke! Do we preach a baptism of repentance for remission of sins? When we hold to another gospel, we will hold to other doctrines that are associated with the said gospel or passages.
It’s why so much confusion is abounding today. We are stuck in these sorts of passages in claiming our calls, burdens and overall justifications. For men continually go to Mark 1:4 to preach repent and believe the gospel, flip to Mark 16:15, cite the great commission, and then go to Paul’s gospel of grace and mesh it all together is a grave error.
Preachers, if you hold to that (Mark 1:15) as being the gospel, you must hold to the previous verse in Mark 1:4 which has the phrase (baptism of repentance). The repentance is associated WITH the baptism! The repentance in these passages is associated with Israel. Are we saved by water baptism. Are we saved collectively as a nation or individually?
The gospel preached in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and early Acts are consistently the same until Acts 8-16. There it begins to change, and it will not change again until the Holy Spirit and Christians are gone out of this world and a new era of “tribulation” dawns where new believers in God will have to have faith and works for any eternal salvation.
You will have to hold to the commission’s kingdom laced gospel message in Mark that includes signs for the unbelieving Jew (1 Corinthians 1:22) as taking up serpents, drinking poison, healing the sick, and also receiving the endowment of the holy Spirit promised in Acts 2 to the disciples and Israel.
Holding to these passages just so we can have occasion to trounce on the sheep, scream at the passer byers, solicit service with commissions and display our great preaching boldness in telling others to repent puts us in alignment with many cults and false groups who believe Acts 2 to be the gospel message that we should be preaching.
It simply does not fit. When we make stuff fit that does not, this is called private interpretation of the scriptures. As I said before, Jesus never preached any gospel of grace. He was grace! He was attempting to reconcile Israel first. Grace and truth came by him (John 1:17), but he never preached grace.
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 4:17
Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not: Matthew 11:20
When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Mark 2:17
I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Luke 5:32
The verses in Mark and Luke above were Jesus Christ responding to self righteous Pharisees who were upset that he was eating with publicans and sinners. Much like John’s baptism of repentance, Jesus sticks to the message of repentance and it closely includes baptism (Mark 16:16). Baptism is still a part of salvation's work as shown in early Acts and many of John the Baptists converts, though the unbelief is the one emphasized in Mark 16:16 that brings damnation.
It was a sign to Israel and looks to be largely included in their profession. Most Baptist are trained how to handle that verse (Mark 16:16), but you can’t deny a direct reference to water baptism and repentance in the gospels either.
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