Repentance and Faith

Q: What does the Bible say about repentance and faith?

The Bible teaches that repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ are essential for salvation (Acts 20:21). The Bible clearly emphasizes the importance of both repentance and faith in the believer's relationship with God. In Acts 20:21, the Apostle Paul summarizes his ministry to the Ephesians, stating that he has testified to all men about 'repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.' This dual emphasis indicates that true salvation involves both turning away from sin (repentance) and turning towards Christ (faith). Both concepts are inseparable; where there is true repentance, faith will follow, and where there is genuine faith, repentance will be evident. Thus, they are two sides of the same coin in the experience of salvation.

Q: How do we know repentance is true?

True repentance is evidenced by a genuine sorrow for sin and a desire to turn to God (2 Corinthians 7:10). True repentance can be identified by the transformation it brings to the heart and life of a believer. As noted in 2 Corinthians 7:10, godly sorrow leads to repentance that results in salvation, indicating that genuine repentance is rooted in a deep awareness of one's sinfulness before God. Genuine repentance is not merely an outward act; it is a heart work that acknowledges God’s right to judge and demonstrates a real turning from sin to God. This turning is often accompanied by a profound sense of unworthiness and a recognition of the need for God’s mercy, showcasing that repentance is an ongoing process in the life of a believer.

Q: Why is faith in Jesus Christ important for Christians?

Faith in Jesus is essential for salvation and ongoing spiritual growth (Ephesians 2:8). Faith in Jesus Christ is foundational for Christians because it is through faith that we are saved by grace. Ephesians 2:8 states, 'For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.' This highlights that faith is not merely intellectual assent but a trust in Christ alone for salvation. Furthermore, faith in Jesus is not a one-time act but a continuous necessity, as believers are called to walk by faith throughout their lives (Hebrews 11:6). It is through faith that we receive not only forgiveness for our sins but also the ongoing strength and guidance to live according to God's will.

Q: How is repentance related to faith?

Repentance and faith are inseparable; one cannot exist without the other in a believer's life (Acts 20:21). Repentance and faith are intrinsically linked, as each complements and confirms the other in the believer’s experience. Acts 20:21 encapsulates this relationship by stating that Paul testified about both repentance toward God and faith toward Jesus Christ. Just as a sheet of paper has two sides, both repentance and faith are necessary for true conversion. When a person repents of sin, they are simultaneously placing their trust in Christ, and genuine faith in Christ naturally leads to a repentant heart. Without one, the other is incomplete; thus, any discussion of salvation must include both aspects to portray a holistic understanding of what it means to be reconciled to God.

Q: Is repentance a one-time event or an ongoing process?

Repentance is both an initial act of turning to God and an ongoing state in a believer's life (Romans 12:2). Repentance is not merely a one-time event; it is an ongoing state of heart and attitude for the believer. While there is an initial repentance that comes with salvation, which signifies a turning from sin to God, believers are called to continue in a lifestyle of repentance. Romans 12:2 encourages Christians to be transformed by the renewing of their minds, which implies a continual process of turning away from worldly ways and conforming to God's will. This ongoing repentance is reflective of a heart that is continually aware of its need for God and seeks to live in obedience to Him. Thus, genuine repentance is a vital and continuous aspect of the Christian journey.

I'm speaking to you today from
the book of Acts. I'd like you to turn to the 20th
chapter of the book of Acts, and I'll be reading three verses,
19, 20, and 21. Now, here's my subject for today,
and it's an important subject. And I believe that after you
hear this message, you'll probably want a copy of this tape. So
remember the title. The title of the message is Repentance
and Faith. Repentance and Faith. Now here in the 20th chapter
of the book of Acts, the Apostle Paul is bidding farewell to his
friends in Ephesus, the elders of the church at Ephesus. These
men had been friends and co-laborers with Paul for a long, long time.
And he knew and they knew that he would never preach to them
again. He said, you'll never see my face again. This is the
last time that Paul will speak to these brethren. And he sort
of sums up his ministry among them in these verses in Acts
chapter 20. I won't have time today to look
at this entire chapter, but I'd like to challenge you to read
it at a later time. Acts chapter 20. 20. And Paul
is speaking to the elders of the church at Ephesus. And here
he is summing up the ministry he had among them. And he says
in verse 19, he says, I have served the Lord among you with
all humility of mind. Paul never boasted or bragged
on himself. He always said, I'm nothing. I'm less than the least of all
the saints. I'm not worthy to be an apostle.
I'm the chief of centers." And he said, I've labored among you
and served the Lord with a humility of mind through many tears and
through many trials. These are the marks of a true
minister, humility before God and before men, many tears and
many trials. And then he says in verse 20,
and I note this carefully, Paul says, in all these months and
years that I've ministered to you, I've kept back nothing,
I've kept back nothing that was profitable unto you. If it's
in the Scriptures, the Old Testament Scriptures, Paul taught it. He
did not shun to declare unto them all the counsel of God.
He didn't hold back some doctrine or some teaching because it was
not popular. He didn't try to please men.
He said, if I please men, I'm not the servant of God. He didn't
cater to them. He said, I didn't covet any man's
silver or gold. I've just declared unto you as
best I can all the counsel of God. I have not shunned to declare
unto you all the counsel of God. I've kept back nothing. What
God has taught me, I've taught you. And then in verse 21, now
here's the verse that I want us to consider. on this subject,
repentance and faith. In verse 21, Paul says this,
I have testified to the Jews and to the Greeks, to all men,
wise and unwise, barbarian, Scythian, bond or free, Jews or Gentiles,
religious or otherwise. I have testified to all men two
things, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus
Christ. I believe the apostle in that
verse is summing up his ministry, giving the keynote of his ministry,
the very keynote of his ministry. This is a summary of what I've
preached, repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, our Lord Jesus Christ came
preaching, Christ preached, And it says in Mark 1, verse 14 and
15, that our Lord came into Galilee preaching the gospel and saying,
now listen, and saying, repent ye and believe the gospel. The Lord Jesus began his ministry
with this message, repentance and faith, repentance toward
God and faith in himself. And Paul is coming to the end
of his ministry among these people. And he said, this is what I've
preached, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus
Christ. Now, permit me today to give
you six things which I believe the Scripture teaches about repentance. There's a lot of talk about repentance
and faith. but not much defining of the
subject. What is it to repent? What is
it to believe? What is repentance toward God
and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ? Well, remember these
six things. Here's the first one. Where you
have one, you'll always have the other. Where you find repentance,
you'll always find faith. And where you find faith, you'll
find repentance. Someone said repentance and faith
is like a sheet of paper. You can't have a sheet of paper
without two sides. There's got to be two sides.
And also in this business of a relationship with God, there's
got to be repentance and faith. Repentance cannot be properly
considered or preached apart from faith. And faith cannot
be properly preached apart from repentance. If a man repents,
He believes. If he believes, he must repent.
Now, these are not mere words. Repentance and faith is an experience. It's not mere words. In other
words, if you're writing a dictionary, if you're writing a dictionary
and defining individual words, then you can consider repentance
and faith separate. You can take the word repentance
and you consider it separately from faith, like sorrow or turning
or a reversal or a conversion, repentance, a contrite heart
over sin, repentance, and you might consider faith. But if
you're preaching and talking about a man's relationship with
God, a saving relationship with God, you cannot have faith without
repentance, and you cannot have repentance without faith. Paul puts them together here,
and the Scripture puts them together. Listen to this. If any man be
in Christ, he is a new creature. Not he ought to be. He is a new
creature. Listen to Christ. He said, If
you love me, if you love me, you will keep my commandments.
If you keep my commandments, it's because you love me. He
says, If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he's none of
his. If a man has the Spirit of Christ,
he belongs to Christ. And then when Paul wrote to the
Thessalonians, he said, you turn from your idols to serve the
living God. What he's saying is, when you
turn to the living God, you had to turn from your idols. You
had to. You can't turn to the living
God without turning from your idols. You can't turn to Christ
without turning from self. And if you do turn to Him, then
you turn from self. If you turn from self and sin
and idols, there's nowhere else to turn but to Christ. Now, we
believe And the scripture teaches that salvation is all of grace.
It's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
We don't have any confidence in our works. We don't have any
confidence in our duties. We don't have any confidence
in our feelings or professions. But every believer, now listen,
every believer has a genuine sorrow for sin and a genuine
faith in Christ. and a genuine desire to walk
with his Lord and to glorify God in his life. Now that's so
of every believer. You cannot have faith without
repentance. And you cannot have repentance
without faith. They are inseparable. If Jesus
Christ is a man's Savior, He is also that man's Lord. For
those two terms cannot be considered separately. He's the Lord and
Savior. Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior. So if a man believes, he repents. And if he repents genuinely,
he believes. All right, here's the second
thing. Now listen carefully. Repentance and faith. True repentance
and faith is a heart work. It is a heart work. Now this
is a critical point, critical point. Listen carefully to me.
There are any number of people who attend church regularly.
America is a church-going nation. This is not true in most nations
where I've been, but it is in America. People still go to church.
Any number of people read the Bible. Any number of people live
morally here in America. Any number of people work and
support their families and give to help others. And most people
in America are religious. And all of this All of this that
I've talked about, attending church, reading the Bible, living
morally, working, supporting the families, helping other people,
being religious, keeping holy days, all of these things can
be performed outwardly, outwardly, without any genuine repentance
toward God, without any genuine faith in Jesus Christ. In fact,
the Pharisees did exactly that. Our Lord said this to them. Now
listen, in Matthew 23, verse 25, He called them, He called
them religious hypocrites. And He said of these men, in
Matthew 23, 25, He said, You make clean the outside of the
cup and platter. You make clean the outside of
the vessel. You live morally. You attend
the synagogue. You read the Bible. You pray
on the street corners. You do all these things outwardly.
You make clean the outside of the cup, but within, in the heart,
in the heart, in the mind, you're full of excess and extortion
and dishonesty. That's right. On the outside,
He said, you appear beautiful unto men. He said, you're like
whited sepulchres. You're like a grave. On the outside,
you look good. On the inside, you're full of
dead men's bones. He said, you appear righteous
unto men, but within you're full of hypocrisy and iniquity, and
this ought not to be. Also in Matthew 15, it said the
same thing. The disciples and the Lord Jesus
were eating, and the religious Pharisees, who were married to
their tradition and custom and religion, came to Him and said,
your disciples didn't wash before they ate. They didn't wash their
hands. And our Lord said to them, it's not what a man puts in his
mouth that defiles him, it's what comes out of his heart.
And these men were offended because they were very careful to take
care of all the outside religious duties and neglect judgment and
mercy and faith and peace and joy and generosity and forgiveness
and love. They were out in the religious
and they were offended. And his disciples came to him
and he said, they said, Lord, said, Those religious fellows
were offended by what you said. He said, well, leave them alone.
Leave them alone. They're blind leaders of the
blind. When the blind lead the blind, they'll both fall in the
ditch. And the disciples said, well, tell us what you meant
when you said that, that it's not what goes in the mouth that
defiles a man, but what comes out of the heart. And he said,
are you also without understanding? He said, what a man puts in his
mouth if he eats with hands that are soiled, or if he eats some
kind of food that's not good, He puts that in his mouth, it
goes into the belly, digested and cast out in the draft. But
he said, what comes from the heart, that's what defiles a
man. These things he puts in his mouth that goes in his belly
and out the draft, they don't defile him, they don't touch
his heart or his soul or his nature or his attitude. But what
comes out of his heart, that's what defiles him. For out of
the heart comes evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, thievery,
envy, jealousy. The malice, these things come
out of the heart. God looks on the heart, not on
the outward countenance. What a man thinks is more important
than what he does. For as a man thinketh in his
heart, so is he. Out of the heart the mouth speaketh.
Our Lord said, My son, give me your heart. Give me your heart. And God looks on the heart, not
on the outward countenance, And true repentance toward God, true
sorrow over sin, true conversion, true contrition is a hard work. And true faith in Christ Jesus,
love for the Son of God, devotion to Him and to His church and
His people, that's a hard work. It's a hard work. The Lord is
nigh unto them that be of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
When Samuel the prophet went down to the home of Jesse to
anoint a king over Israel, Jesse sent his son David out to take
care of the sheep. He was the youngest and he wasn't
very striking. He hadn't proved himself. He
wasn't very experienced. He had six or seven other sons
that were older and experienced and handsome and mature and he
brought them before the prophet Samuel and he said, You're going
to anoint a king for Israel? Here are my sons." And Samuel
looked at him, and he also looked on the outward countenance. He
looked on the height of the man's stature, the strength of his
body, the beauty of his countenance, or the experience of his brochure,
and he said, well, maybe this is the one the Lord wants. And
God said, no. And he'd bring every one of those boys through
there, and he said no to all of them. Finally, Samuel said
to Jesse, are these all your sons? No. He said, I've got one
more. But I didn't think you'd be interested in him, so I sent
him out to take care of the sheep. Samuel said, well, we're not
going to feast till he comes. And David was sent for, and he
came down and stood in the doorway, and God said, Samuel, there's
my king. Man looks on the outward countenance. I look on the heart. And I found
David to be a man after my own heart. Repentance and faith. is a heart work. It's a heart
work. Attitude, more important than
action. Manners, more important than the means. The heart, more
important than the hand. Because the heart, the attitude,
and the nature controls these other things. These other things
can operate mechanically, outwardly, with a detachment from the heart.
But when the heart is right with God, this won't operate separately,
or thirdly, True repentance and faith is the gift of God. It's
the gift of God. It's God who works in us both
to will and to do of His own good pleasure. Listen to the
scriptures. In Acts 11, verse 18, the apostle Peter had come
back to the disciples and was given an account of his ministry
to the Gentiles. And he told how the Gentiles
had been blessed with the knowledge of the gospel and how the Holy
Spirit had fallen upon them. And one of the disciples said,
then, then, hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance
unto life? Who granted repentance? God did. Who gave repentance? God did.
Repentance is the gift of God. Listen to Romans 2, 4. It's the
goodness of God that leadeth thee to repentance. Do you know,
my friends, that wrath doesn't work repentance? The wrath of
man doesn't work the righteousness of God. It's not judgment that
brings a man to repentance. It's God's goodness. It's God's
mercy and God's love. Listen to Psalm 110, verse 3. Thy people shall be willing in
the day of thy power. Listen to Ephesians 2, verse
8. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves, What's not of yourselves? Well, the grace surely is not
of yourselves. The faith is not of yourselves. It's the gift
of God. Faith is the gift of God. Philippians 1.29, listen
to this. Philippians 1.29, listen carefully.
Under you it is given in the behalf of Christ not only to
believe on Him but also to suffer for His sake. It's given unto
you to believe. It's given unto you to repent.
It's the goodness of God that leads a man to repentance. It's
not judgment and wrath and miracles that produce repentance and faith.
It's the grace, the mercy, and the love of God. You remember
our Lord giving this illustration. He said there was a certain rich
man who died, and in hell he lifted up his eyes. And he said,
Father Abraham, send Lazarus back to the earth. to warn my
five brothers, lest they come to this terrible place. And Abraham
said, they have the scriptures, they have the prophets, they
have Moses and the prophets, they have the scriptures. Let
them hear them. He said, no, no. He said, if
one rose from the dead and went back and preached to them, they'd
believe. And what did Abraham reply? This is the words of our
Lord Himself. Abraham replied, If they hear
not the scriptures, if they hear not the prophets of God, they
won't believe, though one rose from the dead. And my friends,
that's true. Amos tells us that God said to
Israel, I've sent you famine and you haven't repented, you
haven't returned to me. I've sent war and your young
men have been slain with a sword and you haven't repented. He
said, I have sent pestilence and disease among you, and you
haven't repented. Therefore, prepare to meet God.
Prepare to meet God. Let me read you an interesting
scripture found in the book of Revelation chapter 16. Now, you
may have never seen this before. You may have and just maybe hadn't
paid real particular attention to it, but Revelation 16.8, listen
to this. And the fourth angel poured out
his vial upon the son, And power was given unto him to scorch
men with fire. And men were scorched with a
great heat. And they cursed God. They cursed
God. They cursed the name of God,
which had power over these plagues. Who had power over these plagues?
God, to give them or remove them. And when these plagues came upon
these men, by the power of God, they cursed God. They blasphemed
God. Listen, and they repented not
to give God the glory. This terrible judgment didn't
lead these men to repentance. This fire from heaven didn't
lead them to repentance. Their response was to curse God,
blaspheme the name of God. They would not repent. You know
what leads a man to repentance or a woman? The goodness of God,
the mercy of God. the grace of God, the love of
God. That's what produces repentance
and faith. All right, fourthly, true repentance
and faith, if it's genuine, it will acknowledge God's right
to do with His own what He will. That's submission. That's what
it's called, submission. You can use that word for repentance,
submission, or faith, submission. And when the heart is broken,
when the heart is broken toward God and a person knows what he
is by birth, what he is by nature, what he is by choice, what he
is by practice, he'll cry out with David, Lord, who am I? Who
am I? That you should show mercy to
me and to my people. I don't deserve it. That's true
repentance and faith. That mercy is God's prerogative. I'll be merciful to whom I will.
And the person who is really an object of God's mercy is amazed
that God would show mercy to him. He never ceases to be amazed. And when trials and troubles
come our way, we'll say with Job, the Lord gave, the Lord
had taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
In all of this, Job didn't charge God with folly. And when God
chastens us and deals with us as sons, we'll say with Eli,
well, it's the Lord. Let him do what he will. It's
all right. Repentance acknowledges God's
right to do with his own what he will. And I'll tell you, in
regard to this matter of salvation and the gift of life, we'll take
our place with the leper, worshiping at the feet of Christ and saying,
Lord, if you will, You can make me whole. Salvation is not an
act of your will. It's an act of God's will. Your
will submits to His will. He makes you willing in the day
of His power. Repentance and faith both come
under the word submission. Surrender, let God be God, and
every man a liar. All right, number five, true
repentance and faith, look only to Christ for all things. If
it's true repentance, if it's a true experience of grace, then
we look on it looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith. As we begin in the Spirit, we
walk in the Spirit, and when we are perfected, it'll be in
the Spirit. And we walk continually coming
to Christ, continually looking to Christ for all that the law
demands and all that justice requires. For Paul said in I
Corinthians 1 30, Of God are you in Christ, who of God is
made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,
and even our growth in grace. And by God's grace, we grow in
the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But that makes
no contribution to our relationship with God. It's the results of
our relationship with God. God doesn't look with favor upon
a man because his life is favorable. His life is favorable because
he has gained the favor of God. God has shown favor to him. What
he is, God made him. Paul said, I'm crucified with
Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me. And the life which I now live,
I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave
himself for me. Now listen to this. Here's the
sixth one and last one. true repentance and faith will
continue, whose house we are if we continue in faith. He that endures to the end, the
same shall be saved. You see, repentance toward God,
repentance, true repentance keeps on repenting. I have repented. I am repenting right now. I shall repent. If I do not repent,
I never did. I have believed. in Christ Jesus,
I am now believing. And by His grace, I'll continue
to believe. That's the life of a believer.
See, this repentance and faith is a state. It's not an isolated
act. It's not just a one-time experience. We do believe. We are believing,
and we shall believe. We have repented. We have mourned
over our sins and grieved over our sins. We do now grieve over
our sins, and we will as long as we're in this flesh. We have
been saved, we're being saved, and we shall be saved. The hymn
writer put it this way, repentance is a gift bestowed to save my
soul from death. True repentance toward my God
is always joined to faith. Not for an hour, a day, or a
week do saints' presumption own, for all the time the Lord they
seek, their sins they grieve and own. nor is it such an unknown
thing as tears by some men named. A sinner may repent and sing,
rejoice, and be ashamed. Dear Lord, we fall before Thy
face, our guilt and folly own. We pray Thee for Thy mercy's
sake. In us make Thy goodness known."
Repentance and faith. Write for the tape. Two dollars.
We'll mail it to you. Here's the address. Till next
week, God bless you.

Repentance and Faith

What does the Bible say about repentance and faith?

How do we know repentance is true?

Why is faith in Jesus Christ important for Christians?

How is repentance related to faith?

Is repentance a one-time event or an ongoing process?

Sermon Transcript

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Repentance and Faith

What does the Bible say about repentance and faith?

How do we know repentance is true?

Why is faith in Jesus Christ important for Christians?

How is repentance related to faith?

Is repentance a one-time event or an ongoing process?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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