In Matthew 3:5-9 we read of some religious men believed that they were going to heaven because they were descendents of Abraham, the father of the Jewish people.

5      Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,

6      And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

7      But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

8      Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

9      And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father:  for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

In view of the usage of the word "repentance" in verse 8, let us revisit the same questions that we asked in conjunction with repentance in Acts 17.

1)     Is the context of this passage soteriological?  (Dealing with eternal salvation). 

2)     Is repentance presented as a requirement for eternal salvation?

3)     Is the object and/or content of repentance disclosed?  and

4)     Is the soteriological message derived from this passage consistent with the soteriology of other parts of Scripture?

By way of background to these questions, we note that in the minds of many legalistic Jewish leaders, circumcision was not simply an issue of godly living or obedience to God's covenant, it was a soteriological issue.  In Acts 15:1 we read:

"And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved." 

The rite of circumcision and one's relation to Abraham were closely linked in the mind of many religious Jews, both having soteriological significance.  In the Rabbinic literature we read:  "Circumcised men do not descend into Gehenna and at the last Abraham will sit at the entrance to Gehenna and will not let any circumcised man of Israel go down there." (Rabbi Levi circa A.D. 300), and "Circumcision will deliver Israel from Gehenna" and "Only in certain cases is the saving power of circumcision believed to be ineffective."  (Cranfield, C.E.B. The Epistle to the Romans, International Critical Commentary,  T. & T. Clark Ltd., 38 George St., Edinburgh, 1980, p. 172) 

Repentance from Religion, Matthew 3:5-9 Part 1