Repentance or Penance

Faith and repentance are two sides of the same coin, both are the gracious gift of God to those who are being saved. Just as we find in Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. The Roman Catholic church has introduced the concept of doing penance and other works in order to obtain salvation. It may be true that many Catholics possess great faith in their religious system but they lack what is known as saving faith

This false interpretation of the Greek word metanoia is the key to their erroneous teaching. The word metanoia means a reversal or change in ones mind regarding actions it does not mean performing a task in a physical sense.

Properly interpreted:

2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.