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Question 6
The lesson says initial justification means you “do not even have to first demonstrate a godly life,” even if you were “living a wicked life up until…conversion,” yet it also says initial salvation is conditioned on “genuine repentance”; what would “genuine repentance” have to look like to prevent this from becoming either cheap grace or hidden legalism?
Another way to ask: The lesson says you don’t need to prove a godly life before initial justification, even if you were living wickedly, but it also says it requires “genuine repentance.” What would genuine repentance look like so it doesn’t turn into cheap grace or hidden rule-keeping?

Direct Answer Based on the lesson, “genuine repentance” must be a real turning from sin grounded in faith—serious enough to reject sin as a way of life, yet not treated as a pre-conversion record of moral achievement. It avoids cheap grace by requiring a change of direction, and avoids legalism by not demanding prior proof of godliness as the basis for being justified.

Support from Transcript:

  • Initial justification is “freely justified by His grace,” and you “do not even have to first demonstrate a godly life,” even if you were “living a wicked life up until…conversion.”
  • Still, initial salvation is “conditioned only on our faith in Jesus Christ and on our genuine repentance.”
  • Repentance is described as integral to the gospel: “repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus,” and people should repent “doing works worthy of repentance.”
  • Lactantius defines repentance as affirming one “will sin no more,” pressing that repentance involves a decisive break with sin.
  • The lesson warns against using justification as “license to sin”; pardon is “for past sins, not future ones.”
Discussion Follow-ups How can a church look for “works worthy of repentance” without making them a payment for forgiveness? What signs of turning would you expect in someone who is newly justified but still spiritually immature?

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