Is this teaching biblical?
Todd White teaches that needing to repent means you don't believe your identity in Christ. This inverts the biblical call to daily repentance. Jesus commanded churches to repent (Revelation 2-3). John commanded believers to confess sins (1 John 1:9). The Lord's Prayer includes 'forgive us our sins' — assuming ongoing need for forgiveness. White's teaching removes the mechanism of ongoing grace and produces hardened, unrepentant hearts.
What did Todd White say?
"If you have to repent for something you did, you don't believe who you are."
Speaker: Todd White
Source: Identity video teaching, Lifestyle Christianity
What does Scripture actually teach?
1 John 1:9
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
— NKJV
John commands believers to CONFESS sins — present tense, ongoing action. Confession and repentance are not signs of unbelief; they are signs of FAITH. We trust God's promise to forgive when we confess. White turns faith upside down: biblical faith repents; White's 'faith' refuses to.
Revelation 2:5
"Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent."
— NKJV
Jesus Himself commanded the CHURCH at Ephesus to repent. These were believers, and Jesus demanded their repentance with severe warning. According to Todd White, Jesus was telling them they don't believe who they are. This is absurd — Jesus commands what White forbids.
Acts 3:19
"Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord."
— NKJV
Peter commands repentance for the blotting out of sins. Repentance brings 'times of refreshing' — it is not a sign of weak faith but the pathway to spiritual renewal. White's teaching cuts believers off from this refreshing by making repentance shameful.
Luke 11:4
"And forgive us our sins, For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us."
— NKJV
Jesus taught His disciples to pray DAILY 'forgive us our sins.' This assumes ongoing sin that requires ongoing forgiveness. If White were right that repentance shows unbelief, then Jesus taught His disciples to pray in unbelief every single day.