Synods 2020/2021 and “in the way of repentance” (7)
Huizinga clarifies the Reformed understanding of how repentance and forgiveness of sins relate through the phrase "in the way of," emphasizing that repentance neither merits nor conditions God's pardon but rather accompanies it. The article defends the doctrine that remission is entirely a free gift of God's sovereign grace, earned solely by Christ's atoning death, and argues against any notion that human repentance provides the basis or instrument for receiving forgiveness.
Remission in the way of repentance As I promised last time, I will now explain what we mean when we relate repentance and remission with the phrase "in the way of." As the title to the series indicates, this gets to the heart of the issue. First, when we say that we receive the remission (forgiveness, pardon) of our sins in the way of repentance we are not teaching that repentance is a work of man that merits or earns forgiveness with God, or that repentance is the condition for, basis of,...
Full article available on sb.rfpa.org