A.T. Jones: THE MAN AND THE MESSAGE |
What "Corporate Repentance" Is NotKnight dismisses the idea of corporate repentance as "not very helpful" (p. 64). Whether or not corporate repentance is helpful is not in our province here to discuss, but our author gives evidence that he does not understand what the idea means: "It has a Biblical base. Unfortunately, that base rests upon the corporate nationhood of Israel in the Old Testament. Since the beginning of the gospel era God has worked with individuals rather than nations or groups (p. 64)." Three errors contribute to a misunderstanding here:
Those who see the need for corporate repentance define it as personally repenting of sins we may not have individually committed but which we could or would have committed but for the grace of Christ. It is a truth inherent in Christ's righteousness being imputed 100 per cent to the believer. The sin of 1888 is our sin "but for the grace of Christ," just as the sin of Calvary is likewise ours through our corporate identity "in Adam." If corporate repentance is to be rejected, it must be on other grounds than those advanced by Knight. |
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