2 Cor 5:9-10 reads:
Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance (εἰς μετάνοιαν): for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation (εἰς σωτηρίαν) not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
I have discussed the preposterous claim, forwarded by many Evangelical Protestants, that the preposition εις in Acts 2:38 is “causal” (i.e., one if baptised as a result of one having had their sins forgiven) many times, including:
We can see the preposterous nature of such an apologetic by arguing in a like-manner for Paul’s use of the preposition in this text. Because, if an Evangelical who believes the “causal εις” reading in Acts 2:38 is sound, then, if they wish to be consistent, they would have to argue that, in this pericope, Paul is teaching that repentance beings about one being sorrow, not the other way around, and that salvation brings about repentance, again, not vice versa. Of course, such is an absurdity, but then again, so is the “causal εις” approach to Acts 2:38. Latter-day Saints can be consistent in their reading of both Acts 2:38 and 2 Cor 5:9-10; Evangelicals who reject the overwhelming evidence from the Bible for baptismal regeneration are forced into eisegesis-driven mental gymnastics of the relevant texts and also engage in inconsistent readings of the texts.
