Repentance and Faith

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

The Bible teaches that genuine repentance and faith are inseparable, as Paul summarizes in Acts 20:21. The Bible emphasizes that true repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ are essential for salvation. In Acts 20:21, the Apostle Paul encapsulates his ministry's message as one of repentance and faith. The two cannot exist independently; genuine repentance entails a turning away from sin and an acknowledgment of God's sovereignty, while true faith involves a resting in Christ's finished work. This relationship signifies that where there is true faith, there will also be a corresponding repentance. As the Apostle Paul highlights, authentic faith is about embracing God's grace while confessing personal unworthiness, creating a believer marked by both sorrow for sin and confidence in Christ's redeeming power.

Q: How do we know repentance is necessary for salvation?

Repentance is essential for salvation as it signifies a genuine change of heart towards God. Repentance is an indispensable part of the Christian faith because it reflects a genuine transformation within the heart. According to Acts 20:21, Paul underscores the need for both repentance and faith, indicating that one cannot claim to have faith in Christ without having first turned from sin. Genuine repentance involves recognizing one’s sinfulness and a heartfelt contrition over sin, not just a mere acknowledgment; it signifies a total change of mind and behavior aligned with a true understanding of God's holiness. Furthermore, biblical texts, such as 2 Corinthians 5:17, affirm that being 'in Christ' leads to becoming a new creation, which inherently includes a heart of repentance.

Q: Why is humility important for Christians in their faith?

Humility is essential as it fosters a true acknowledgment of our dependence on God and His grace. Humility is a cornerstone of true Christian faith and practice. The Apostle Paul, in Acts 20:19, speaks of serving the Lord 'with all humility of mind,' which highlights the necessity of an inward attitude of humility rather than mere outward actions. This humility reflects an understanding of one's own sinfulness and unworthiness before God, recognizing that any good in us is solely a result of God's grace. Humility enables Christians to submit to God’s sovereignty and His direction in their lives, allowing for a meek and teachable spirit. Without humility, one risks falling into pride, which distorts our view of God and can lead to spiritual deception. Thus, humility is vital for a healthy relationship with God and for genuinely engaging with others in love and service.

Q: How do repentance and faith work together in salvation?

Repentance and faith function together as two sides of the same coin in the process of salvation. In salvation, repentance and faith are intricately linked; both are necessary and arise from a work of God in the believer's heart. Paul, in Acts 20:21, succinctly captures this relationship, suggesting that true faith is inherently marked by genuine repentance. As Charles Spurgeon aptly noted, these are like two sides of a sheet of paper; you cannot have one without the other. Genuine faith implies turning away from sin (repentance) and turning towards Christ in trust. This alignment ensures that a believer not only seeks forgiveness but also desires a life reflecting the holiness of God. As the believer grows in their knowledge of God and their understanding of grace, their repentance deepens and their faith strengthens, affirming that both are ongoing processes throughout the Christian life.

Now let's turn in our Bibles
again to the 20th chapter of Acts. I don't know exactly how I shall
proceed this evening with this message. I have an outline that
I plan to pass along to you. But I'd like to speak, I'd like
to speak quite personally to you this evening. I'd like for
this message to be from my heart to your heart. Sometimes when we speak personally
and candidly, as Paul is here, we are sharply criticized and
people question our motives. But one man said, I don't defend myself to my friends,
I don't have to. And I don't defend myself before
my enemies, it wouldn't do any good. So, Paul is speaking here to the
elders of Ephesus. He sent for them, asked them
to come down. Like Tom told you, he was on
his way to Jerusalem. And he would never pass this
way again. This is one of the things he
says here in verse 36 through 38. And when he had thus spoken,
he kneeled down and prayed with them all, and they all wept sore
and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for
the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more."
This was the very last time he would ever address these men. They were friends. He loved them. They loved him. But this was
the last time he would ever speak to them, the last time they would
ever see his face on this earth. And he made some statements here
that I would like to point out, to which I want to call your
attention. And Paul does this quite frequently,
and he does it, I know, for the glory of God and for the good
of the people and the good of other ministers. He defends his
ministry. On one occasion, he said, I shouldn't
have to. Others ought to do it for me.
But he says, since they won't do it for me, then I'll do it
for myself. And on another occasion, he said,
I speak foolishly, but I have to do this. I have to speak in
defense. of my ministry because there
are so many false preachers and false prophets. And I have to
set forth that which is true. So he says in verse 19, I have
served the Lord with all humility of mind. I have served the Lord with humility
of mind. Underscore that four letter word,
mind. Humility of mind. It's different
from an outward demonstration of humility. There's a lot of
outward piety, a lot of phony piety. And sometimes it's hard to detect. It's hard to tell the difference.
But Paul says that the humility that I feel is not just an outward
show. I know who I am. He said on one
occasion, I'm not worthy to be an apostle. God called me to
be an apostle. I didn't call myself. I'm not
worthy to be an apostle. I persecuted the church of God.
He said, I know that. On another occasion, he said,
I am less than the least of all the saints. He said, though I
be not far behind the cheap apostle, I'm nothing. He said, I've labored
more abundantly than all of you. Yet, not I, but Christ in me. I know what I am. I know I am
what I am by the grace of God. That's a humility of mind. That's
not putting on a pious face, you know, and a silly grin, and
you know, and holding your hands like a preacher's supposed to
hold his hands, and looking like you're about to
cry all the time, you know, and this sort of thing. That's not
what it is. He's talking about a humility
of mind and soul, a genuine heart humility. Before he died, he
wrote this, he said, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners
of whom I'm the chief. Isn't that right? I'm the chief. I know what I
am. And I've served you, and I've
served the Lord with all humility, genuine humility of mind and
soul and heart, with many tears. and many temptations and many
trials which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews." Now
down here further, he said in verse 33, I have coveted no man's
silver or gold or apparel. Absolutely not. This is a far
cry from today's ministry. I have coveted No man's silver
or gold or apparel. In fact, he said in verse 34,
"'Yea, ye yourselves know that these hands have ministered unto
my necessities.'" In some of the places where Paul ministered,
he made tents for a living. He made tents. He would preach
and he would make tents. You say, well, wouldn't the people
of those churches care for him? Yeah, he could have had a lot
more than he had, but I want to show you why. Code Acts 29
turned to 1 Corinthians 9. 1 Corinthians 9. Now Paul, like we today, in 1
Corinthians chapter 9, like today, Paul was surrounded
by false, covetous, greedy preachers, parasites. who didn't feed the
sheep, but they sheared the sheep and lived off the sheep. And
that's what's going on in this day in the ministry in the name
of God. And the Apostle Paul here said
to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 9, verse 11, listen to it. If
we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if
we shall reap your carnal things? In other words, if I preach to
you, minister to you, study minister the word of God, then I receive
from you material support. Verse 12, if others be partaker
of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless, we have
not used this power. I have not used this power, Paul
said. Now what's this? Lest we should hinder the gospel
of Christ. And I apply that to my own, this
is the way I think. The Apostle Paul taught me this
very thing all these years now. I've ministered here 37 years
now since 1951. And one of the things, among
other things I've tried to do is preach the gospel to you and
live in this fashion right here. This church last year received
$340,000 through these offering pledges, and we spent that much,
missionaries and others. This pastor, these men, if I
wanted it, would give me anything I wanted, I suppose, with and
reason. They would. But my salary is $400 a week. It's been that for a long, long,
long time. The church pays me $400 a week. I put my gift in
the offering plate each Sunday. The church pays my utilities
and furnishes me a car. And I say to you preachers here,
you young preachers here, I buy a second-hand car. Every time we trade cars, we
buy second-hand cars. You say, why do you do this?
You don't own any, I own no property. We have no savings, we have no
bonds, we have no investments. We live in a house and we operate
week to week, just like some of you men do. I do this on purpose,
lest the gospel of Christ be hindered. And that's exactly
what Paul is saying. And I can boldly stand before
any congregation. I'm on television. And I travel
around. But this is one of the convictions
of my heart. I am a servant of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And I believe his servants live
simply, and they've lifted their hand to God, and God supplies
their need, and they're supposed to live like their people live,
day by day, by faith. You understand? And that's what
Paul is saying here. No man can accuse me. He said,
I've labored among you with humility of mind and in a simple fashion. A simple fact. I've coveted no
man's silver or gold. That's not why I'm here. That's
not why we're standing. And I would say that to any man
in this congregation who soon will be a pastor, as many of
our men are now. I would say to you, serve God
in humility and serve God in the plainest style of living. The plainest style of living.
Don't let any man ever accuse you of preaching the gospel.
Forget it. And if you don't do it, he can't accuse you of it,
right? All right, let me show you something
else he said here, verse 20. And he said, I kept back nothing,
verse 20, I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you,
nothing. I've kept back either for glory,
gain, or applause. You say, would men do that? Oh,
yes, yes. Hold that passage and turn to
Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter 6. In the 6th
chapter of Jeremiah, listen to what Jeremiah says about the
false prophets. Jeremiah 6. You mean men, preachers,
would actually withhold from the congregation that which is
profitable? The Word of God? Oh, certainly
they do. Listen to Jeremiah 6 verse 13. "...and from the least of them
even to the greatest of them." Every one of them is given to
covetousness. They covet your applause, they
covet your material things, they covet glory, they covet all these
things. And listen, and from the prophet
even to the priest, everyone dealeth falsely, out of covetousness. They've healed also the hurt
of the daughter of my people, slightly saying, peace, peace,
when there is no peace. But Paul said in verse, look
at Acts 20, 27, I have not shown to declare unto you all the counsel
of God. All the counsel of God. Now, down here in verse 20, 20
again, Acts 20, verse 20. I've served the Lord with humility
of mind, depending on him. I've coveted no man's silver,
gold, or apparel. I've kept back absolutely nothing
that's profitable unto you out of fear, no sir. Out of covetousness,
no sir. As a desire for gain, no sir. And fourthly, now watch this.
verse 20 and 21. I kept back nothing profitable
unto you, but showed you and taught you publicly from house
to house, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks. And here's a summary of my message.
Repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Genuine
repentance toward God. and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now that's a summary of my message. Now let's get personal with you
like I have with myself. And let me say this to you as
Paul declares here, it is impossible, it is impossible to have faith
without genuine repentance. Mr. Spurgeon said one time, That
repentance and faith, as Paul says here, this is a summary
of my message. Repentance, genuine repentance
toward God, and faith in Jesus Christ, he said, is like a sheet
of paper. It's got two sides. And it's
absolutely impossible to have one side without the other. Absolutely,
you can't have it. You cannot have one side without
the other. And even so, you cannot have
faith in Christ without repentance. It's impossible. And I'll show
you some scripture to bear that out. It's impossible. Where you
find genuine faith, saving faith, you'll find genuine repentance
toward God. If there's a turning to Christ,
there's a turning from idols. Let me show you that in the scripture.
Now let's turn to several passages. First of all, let's look at 2
Corinthians 5, 17. Now listen to this. 2 Corinthians
5, 17. Therefore, if any man be in Christ,
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become
new. If he is in Christ, he is a what?
He is a new creature. Not he ought to be, not someday
he might be. He is right now, if he's in Christ.
If he believes on Christ, then he has a new heart, a new nature,
a new spirit. He has genuine repentance toward
God. Turn to 1 John chapter 4. 1 John chapter 4. And we'll read verses 7 and 8. Listen to this. 1 John 4, verse
7 and 8. Beloved, let us love one another. Let us love one another. Now,
when we're talking about repentance, we're talking about a change
of attitude, a change of manners, a change of mind, a change of
masters, a turning. There's a difference. There's
a new creature, there's a new nature, there's a new spirit. And he says, Beloved, 1 John
4 says, let us love one another, But love is of God. And everyone,
everyone that loveth is born of God. The love of God shed
abroad in his heart by the Holy Spirit. And he knows God. And
he that loveth not knoweth not God. It's an impossibility. But I believe. But I've made
a profession. But I've been baptized. But I've
joined the church. But I'm religious. He that loveth
not knoweth not God. God is love. It's an impossibility. If any man's in Christ, he's
in a creature. If any man loveth not, if he loveth not Christ
and loveth not the people of God and loveth not his neighbor,
then he's not in Christ. He knows not God, for God is
love. Isn't that what it says? Romans 8 and 9 says this, you
needn't turn to it, you know it without turning to it. If
any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he's none of his. It's
an impossibility. You cannot have faith without
repentance. What I'm saying is this, a person
who is born of God, a person, now, we use the word saved, and
the word saved is falling into bad company. The word is loosely
used, very loosely used. But we use the word saved, and
all right, a person who is what we call saved and born of God,
he believes several things. Number one, he does indeed believe
God is sovereign. He does believe God is sovereign.
He believes God is almighty and sovereign in all things. He does
indeed see the holiness of God and the righteousness of God
and the truth and justice of God. He does see those things.
And he does indeed see his own sinfulness and inability. He
does indeed see that Christ Jesus is his sin offering and his righteousness
and his peace and his rest and his mediator. And he has come
to Christ. He has fled to Christ as the
manslayer fled to the sea of refuge. And he rests in Christ
and believes in Christ. I know that my Redeemer lives. But I'll tell you this, that
man also loves the commandments of Christ. He delights in them. David said, Do not I love thy
law, O God? And Paul said, I delight, I delight
in the law of God after the inward man. His commandments are not
grievous. Our Lord said, You come unto
me and I'll give you rest. You take my yoke upon you and
learn of me. For my yoke is easy, and my burden
is light, and his yoke is easy to the believer, and his burden
is light to the believer. I'll tell you this about that
man who is looking to Christ and believing in Christ and resting
in Christ and trusting in Christ. He not only loves the commandments
of Christ and delights in the love of God, but he cares about
with him all the time a genuine sorrow over his sins, a sorrow
over his infirmities, and a real desire to be like Christ in his
conduct, in his character, and in his conversation. He wants
to be like Christ. He's never satisfied with what
he is, he's never satisfied with what he thinks, he's never satisfied
with what he does, he's never satisfied with himself, he's
satisfied with Christ, but like David said, I'll be satisfied
when I wake with his likeness. I'm not perfect, but I'm on my
way, I'm going to be. And I want to be. Somebody asked
Charles Spurgeon one time, that if God would give you anything
you wanted, anything in this world that you wanted, what would
you ask for? Would you ask for great wisdom?
Would you ask for great power? What would you ask for if God
would give you anything you wanted? Right there. To which Spurgeon
replied, I'd ask him to give me perfect
holiness and make me just like Christ, because that's the end
and goal of salvation, to be perfectly conformed to the image
of the Son of God. Is that desire in you and me?
Is it in me? Saving faith must never be considered
apart from repentance. Never, saving faith must never
be preached or considered apart from a genuine repentance of
heart and a desire for holiness. That's right. Let's read that. That's whole Acts 20. Now let's
go back to Psalm 51. Now here's the man. Here's the man. Here's a man.
Here's God's man. Here's a man after God's own
heart. Here's a man who walked with God and knew God. But listen
to his plea. Psalm 51, have mercy upon me,
O God, according to your lovingkindness, according to the multitude of
your tender mercies. Blot out my transgressions. Wash
me throughly. That word is not thoroughly,
it's throughly. Throughly from mine iniquity,
inside and out and outside and in. Cleanse me from my sin. I acknowledge my transgression,
my sin is ever before me, and it's against you, against you,
and you only have I sinned, done this evil in your sight, that
you might be justified when you speak, and clear when you find
fault with me, and judge me. And my trouble is I was born
this way, I was shaped in an iniquity, it's where it all came
from. is in the seed, is in the root, I shapen in the liquid,
in sin my mother conceived me. It's a principle in nature with
which I came into this world. And God, you desire truth in
the inward part, not an outward holiness and inward holiness.
In the hidden part you shall make me to know wisdom, so purge
me with hyssop." What's he talking about? Well, he used to take
the hyssop. That's a little branch, you know,
and dip it in the blood and sprinkle it. Sprinkle the book, sprinkle
the tabernacle, sprinkle the people, sprinkle the altar, sprinkle
the mercy seat. He says, sprinkle me. Purge me
with blood. Wash me. Wash me, and I'll be whiter than
the snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness,
that the bones which you have broken may rejoice. And hide
your face from my sins, and blot out my iniquities, and do what?
Create in me a clean heart. Renew in me a right spirit."
There's that repentance, there's that desire. I'm not talking
about Phariseeism. I'm not talking about an outward
holiness. I'm not talking about a put-on
piety at all. You know me better than that.
But I'm talking about a genuine inward desire for a growth in
grace and a growth in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, a genuine
heart of love for Christ and his people. And I'm saying that that always
accompanies faith. That Paul said, this is the sum
and substance of my message. This is my message. This is what
I preach. From house to house and wherever
I preach, genuine repentance. Repentance toward God. A genuine,
you see, the Lord is nigh unto them of a broken heart. A broken
and a contrite spirit. A proud spirit, a selfish spirit,
is not of God and is not of faith. an arrogant spirit, a haughty
spirit. This is not of God. This is not
of God. It's a spirit of contrition,
a spirit of repentance before God. Well, tell us about true
repentance and true faith. All right, let me give you now,
let me give you six statements. I wouldn't care if you wrote
them down. It would be all right. Because I think they're important,
I think they're quite good. I spent some time on these six
statements regarding repentance and faith. And I'm telling you, I know that today's message is
believe, believe, believe. And that's my message, believe.
He that believeth on the Son of God hath life. But I'm telling
you this, if there's true faith in Christ, there's a genuine
repentance toward God. It's a spirit of repentance.
It's a new heart. God said, I'll take that old
stony heart out and give you a heart of flesh. It's a new wall. This company
is under new management. That's true, John. This company
is under new management. I'm not what I ought to be. I'm
not what I want to be. I'm not what I'm going to be.
But I'll tell you by God's grace, I'm not what I used to be. I'm a new creature in Christ.
And see this fruit of the Spirit, where he said, Paul said, if
any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. And if any man have
not the Spirit of Christ, he's none of his. Well, what is the
fruit of the Spirit of Christ? What's the fruit of the Spirit
of Christ? Well, the fruit of an apple, trees, apples. The
fruit of a banana, trees, bananas. The fruit of an orange, trees,
oranges. What's the fruit of the Spirit? Peace. Peace. Long-suffering. Patience. Gentleness. Meekness. Kindness. Temperance. I heard a preacher on television
recently saying, alcohol's never touched my lips. Wine's never
touched my lips. Tobacco's never touched my lips.
I didn't read any of that in the fruit of the Spirit. I've never been to a picture
show. I've never shot a game of pool. Where is this in the
fruit of love? Well, you can do all those things
and not have any love for anybody. Joy, peace, patience, meekness,
temperance, faith. This is the fruit. This is a
changed attitude. This is a new spirit. I know
that most churches are just split and splintered, and they have
a board meeting, and they have a knock-down, drag-out fight,
have a business meeting, all that, but they wouldn't go to
a picture show. And they wouldn't cut their hair,
and they wouldn't wear earrings, and they wouldn't wear makeup,
and they're just holier-than-thou. That's on the outside. But real
holiness is on the inside. Real godliness is on the inside.
Real repentance is in the heart, what I'm trying to say. It's
in the spirit. I said this one time and shocked
some folks. I'll tell you really. Be perfectly
honest with you. These men here and ladies in
this church, I love you. I wouldn't stay with you so long
if I didn't love you. And you wouldn't have kept me so long
if you hadn't loved me. But I'll tell you this. I said this one
time. I'd rather see I'd rather see
one of our men walk out of a lounge over in Arlington than for him to
come in here and because of some bad spirit not speak to somebody.
You see, the walking out of the lounge may be a stumble and a
slip. I can live with that. But that
evil spirit I can't live with. That dirty spirit, I can't live
with that. And I'm not going to live with it. You see what
I'm saying? That's flesh over there. But
this is a bad heart. When we hold grudges and hatred
and spite, that's a bad heart. You see what I'm saying? Don't
misunderstand me now. I hope you're seeing what I'm
saying. I'm trying to say that repentance... Our Lord... Well,
let's go right into this. Let me give you the sixth thing.
I'll be up here till midnight if I don't get started. Here's
the sixth thing. First of all, there's a false
repentance and a false faith. Oh, yeah, yeah. There's a false
repentance and a false faith, and it's produced under various
conditions. And preachers are the greatest
offenders on these points. They do this. Preachers are the
guilty party. They create these conditions
and circumstances. For example, a lot of people
are talked into religion out of fear of punishment. Did you
know that? They have a movie making the rounds now, the Raging
Inferno. They show it to children and
young people. It's about hell. I think Billy
Graham Crusade put it out. And these preachers show that
it shows the fires in hell and people burning in hell and all
these horrible things. And then after they get through
showing it, they'll give an invitation. And the front will be crowded.
Kids don't want to go to hell. Well, that's a false repentance
and it's a false faith. You see, this is the way Esau
responded when God told him, said, you've killed your brother,
now this is your punishment. He said, don't do that to me.
And he said, now Moses, you get out of here and take your people
with you and take all your herds and your cattle and everything
and leave my country. But before you leave, what did
he say? Will you bless me? Oh, you say,
the man's got religion. Every man gets religion in trouble.
Everybody put in jail up here gets religion. Everybody goes
down here to the hospital and the doctor says you're going
to die, gets religion. That's true. Every time somebody dies,
the family gets religion. Old Pharaoh said, bless me. Boy,
two days later, he wasn't in any mood for a blessing. He was
on his way to kill Moses and the whole outfit. Saul, King Saul, when David spared
him, he said, David, my son, I'm sorry I've been chasing you
and tried to kill you. God caught up with him. And he
said, you just come on home now and I'll never raise my hand
ever against you again, son. David came home, he tried to
kill him again. I'm telling you this, repentance and faith that's
born out of trouble won't last. A refuge built in a storm will
perish. when the sun comes out. The fellet
runs into the refuge during a storm when the sunshine will run out
of it. But when Christ is established as your refuge, even in the bright
times of life, that's usually genuine. I want you to contemplate your
relationship with God, not when you're afraid of going to hell.
Not when you're under some great sickness or sorrow or suffering.
I want you to contemplate your relationship with God right now. Right now. When things are alright. And I believe it's genuine. I'll tell you another thing that
they do. This emotional response to powerful preachers. Oh, John
the Baptist preached and upset Herod so much, Herod almost repented,
didn't he, John? He scared of John. He did many
things. But he killed him later. And a lot of these preachers
get folks down the aisle under their persuasive powers, and
they vote them out a few days later. There was old Agrippa, you remember,
he said to Paul, when Paul got through preaching, he said, Paul,
you almost got me persuaded to be a Christian. Felix trembled. And then he sought repentance
with tears. I'm saying this, there is a repentance
and a faith and a profession of religion that is brought about
and produced under these conditions and circumstances created by
preachers and other ways, and it's a false repentance. It's
a false faith. Because secondly, now write this
down, secondly, true repentance, true, genuine, a change of heart,
a change of mind, a change of attitude, a new creature, real
repentance and real faith, both, hold your seat now, are the gift
of God. You say, I knew faith was the
gift of God, so is repentance. So is repentance. My friend,
it's not judgment that produces repentance, it's the goodness
of God. It's not judgment. These men
here who know the word of God will verify what I'm about to
say. In the book of Amos, have you ever driven down the highway
and seen these signs, prepare to meet thy God? Do you know
where that came from? Prepare to meet thy God. It's
in Amos chapter 4. Do you know what precedes it?
No, people don't bother to look up those things. They just read
and get a verse of scripture and tack it up on the wall. Do
you know what precedes, prepare to meet thy God? Four statements. God said in Amos 4, I have withheld
the rain from you when it was but three months to the harvest.
You know what can happen to a crop if God stops the rain three months
before the harvest. Yet, he said, you didn't repent.
He said, I have sent among you blastings and mildew, and yet
you didn't repent. Thirdly, I have slain your young
men with the sword. I have brought these heathen
nations against you and killed your sons, and you didn't repent. And then I brought sicknesses
and diseases among you, and you still didn't repent, so you just
get ready to meet God." That's where it is. Men don't repent
when they're in trouble. They get religion when they're
in trouble. They repent when God visits them in grace and
mercy. It gives them a new heart. Let
me read you some Scripture. Go with me to Acts 11. I'm telling
you the truth now. This is what Paul said to that
bunch over there, that bunch of Ephesian elders. He said,
I haven't kept back anything profitable. I am shunned to declare
you all the Word of God. I'm not trying to win your friendship
or gain your money. I'm trying to tell you the truth.
In Acts 11, 18, listen. When they heard these things,
they held their peace and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also
to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. Richard, who granted
it? God did. Who granted repentance
to these Gentiles, these heathens, these pagans? God granted it.
Turn to Romans 2, verse 4. Listen to this. Romans 2, verse
4. It says repentance is the gift
of God. It's the work of God in the spirit,
in the soul. And he says here in Romans 2,
4, do you despise the riches of his goodness? And the forbearance
and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God led
you to repentance? Or you say, Richard, I got a
broken heart before God. He gave it to you. Boy, I tell
you, I know who I am. I know what God's done for me.
God's broken my heart and brought me to His feet. He brought me
to my knees. He swept my rug out for money. Yeah, He did. It's not a product
of the human heart. It's a gift of God. Faith's a
gift of God. Faith's a gift of God. I tell
you this, you say, I think we ought to preach more hellfire
and brimstone. It wouldn't do any good. Men don't even repent
in hell, did you know that? Turn to Revelation, I'll show
you that. Revelation 16, men do not even repent in hell. The rich man in hell didn't repent.
While you're finding Revelation 16, let me point this out to
you. The rich man in hell cried, he said, send Lazarus to cool
my tongue. That's all I'm interested in,
I want a cold drink of water. Well, Abraham said, we can't
get there from here. It was a great guff face. He said, well, just send Lazarus
back to the earth and warn my brothers and tell him not to
come. He still no repentance. Look at Revelation 16, 8. And the fourth angel poured out
his vial upon the sun, and power was given unto him to scorch
men with fire, and men were scorched with great heat. And they blasphemed
the name of God, which hath power over these plagues, and they
repented not to give him the globe. Even under the wrath and the
fire of God, they wouldn't repent. It's goodness that leads men
to repent. Man will come to repentance when
he sees the grace and mercy and goodness of God toward him in
Christ Jesus. For by grace are you saved through
faith and that not of yourselves. It's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should go. And it's given unto you not only
to believe on him, but to suffer for him. Thirdly, thirdly, about
repentance. You with me? There's a false
repentance created by different situations. But real repentance,
genuine heart, a broken heart over sin, a contrite spirit is
the gift of God. Thirdly, both repentance and
faith are a heart work. It's not an outward work, it's
a heart work. Turn to Matthew 23 and let me
show you something here. Christ is talking to the religious
fellows here in Matthew 23. And he says this to them, you
see, repentance is not a change of clothes, it's a change of
mind. Repentance is not a change of doctrines, it's a change of
attitude. Repentance is not a change of
churches, it's a change of spirit. It's hard, you see this? Matthew
23, verse 25. Woe unto you scribes, Pharisees,
you're hypocrites. You make clean the outside of
the cup and of the platter. You do this for appearance sake. You do it for men's sake. You
do it to appear before men to be something that you're not.
But within you're full of extortion, excess, covetousness. You blind
Pharisee. Cleanse first that which is within
the cup and the platter, that the outside of them may be clean. Also, if the inside, if we have
a new heart, it's going to be manifested outwardly. Is that
not correct? God says, keep your heart out
of any of the issues of life. He said, my son, give me your
heart. He said, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. Out of
the heart the mouth speaketh. God is nigh unto them of a broken
heart. Repentance has more to do with
the heart than the hand. It has more to do with the attitude
than the actions. It has more to do with the motive
than the manners. Because when the heart is right,
the hand will be right. And so on. Fourthly, I've got to move along.
Repentance and faith are heart works. Fourthly, both repentance
and faith acknowledge God's right to do with His own what He will.
A person that is broken. Let me show you two verses in
Psalm, the book of Psalm. First Psalm 34. What I'm talking about here is
a... It's like taking a wild coat
and breaking it. In the old west, when horses
roamed wild, they had to break them before they put a saddle
on them. Before a man could climb into the saddle of a horse, that
horse had to be broken to him. He had to become submissive to
him. And that's what God has to do to us. He has to break
us. He has to crush this pride, this haughty, arrogant spirit. In Psalm 34, 18, the Lord is
nigh unto them that are of a broken heart. He saith us such as be
of a contrite spirit. And in Psalm 51, he says almost
the same thing here, Psalm 51 7, Psalm 51, he says in verse
17, Psalm 51 says, The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a
broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. So both repentance and faith,
having been broken under the hand of God, acknowledge God's
right to do with his own what he will. Now, I hear people say
this, you mean you preach that God chose a people from before
the foundation of the world to be saved by Christ and to be
conformed to his image? Yes, that's what I preach. That's
not fair, and that's not repentance. That attitude is not repentance.
You mean to tell me that there's a covenant of grace in which
God, out of every tribe, kindred, nation, and tongue unto heaven,
gave his Son a people? Preacher, I don't believe that.
Every man ought to have a chance. That's not repentance. See what
I'm saying? That's not the spirit of repentance. God said, can I not do with my
own what I will? You mean to tell me you preach
that Christ died for his sheep and his sheep only? He died for
those who believe? He didn't die for people who
are in hell? Well, I won't have that. That's
not repentance. See what I'm showing you? That's
not a broken heart. When they came to Eli, when Samuel
came to Eli and told him that God was going to kill his sons,
two sons, God spoke to Samuel and said, Eli's two sons have
greatly sinned, and he didn't rebuke them, and I'm going to
kill them. And Samuel came and told Eli. Eli didn't say, that's
not fair. He didn't say, well, God give
them a chance. What did he say? He said, it's
the Lord. Let him do what seemeth good
in his sight. That's repentance. You see what
I'm saying? When they came to Job and told
him, said, all your cattle's gone, all your sheep are gone,
all your camels are gone, and all ten of your children are
dead. That's not a tag! Well, I've served God all these
years and this is the way he treats me. No, sir. Job rent his clothes in mourning
over his sons and daughters. And he poured ashes on his head. But he fell on his face and worshipped
God and he said, the Lord gave and the Lord had taken away.
Blessed be the name of the Lord. That's repentance. That's repentance. That's a broken
heart. A contrite spirit. The thief
on the cross knew something about repentance. He said to the Lord,
to the other thief, he said, don't you fear God seeing you
in the same condemnation and we're getting what? What we deserve. What we deserve. I'll tell you
repentance. The leper knew something about
it. He came to the Lord. Here's a man scaly with leprosy,
corruption, his skin dropping off in scales. Had to live outside
the camp and go around with something over his mouth all the time and
cry unclean, unclean. Here's a man that's just the
bottom of society. He comes to the Lord. He comes
to the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ in his rottenness and
depravity, and he looks up at Christ. And he doesn't say, you haven't
treated me right. He doesn't say, I think you ought
to do something for me. He said, Lord, this is what he
said, Matthew 8, 1 through 3, Lord, if you will, if you will,
if you find it in your will, You can make me clean. That's
repentance. And that's that repentance that
accompanies saving faith. And fifthly, repentance, both
repentance and faith, look to Christ alone. Not to my works,
not to my deeds, not to my religion, not to my experience, not to
my feeling, not to my morality. Both repentance and faith look
to Christ alone as our righteousness before God. Only Christ. Now
I want you to read something with me. Turn to Romans 7. Romans
7. I wind it up. I preach too long.
But this is a vast subject. It's a subject we've got to get
hold of. A subject that keeps us from
being hypocritical, keeps us from playing church. In Romans
7, verse 18, I listen to Paul. Romans 7, 18. I know, for I know
that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. For the
will is present with me, but how to perform that which is
good I find not. For the good that I would, I
do not, and the evil I would not, that I do. especially in
thought, imagination. Now, if I do that, I would not.
It's no more I that do it, it's sin that lives in me, that dwells
in me. So, that old human, carnal, fleshly
nature. I find then a law, when I would
do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law
of God. I love the law of God after the inward man. But I see
another law in my members, another nature. Warring against the law
of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin,
which is in my members. Oh, wretched man that I am! Who
shall deliver me from this body of death? Well, I'll go talk
to the counselor. Or I'll go talk to the preacher.
Or I'll try to be a little better. I'll rededicate my life. Or I'll
be baptized again. I thank God. Look at the next
verse. Through Jesus Christ, my Lord. There's my victory. There's my
righteousness. There's my refuge. There's my
hope. So then, with the mind, I myself
serve the law of God. But this flesh is going to have to deal with
sin just as long as I live in it. But I'll tell you, my righteousness
is in Christ. My hope's in Christ. My victory
is in Christ. And both repentance and faith,
we see so much of it there, we see Paul repenting, mourning,
grieving, desiring to be like Christ, and we see all repentance
and faith, looking to Christ, and section closing. Now get
this, both repentance and faith continue to death. There are
a lot of people who have the idea, this is the way they talk,
well, Yeah, I'm saved because I accepted Jesus as my personal
Savior. I had an act of faith, made a
profession of faith, had an experience of faith 10, 15, 20, 30 years
ago. My friends, neither repentance
nor faith, now get this, neither repentance nor faith are isolated
experiences. Repentance is a state of being. I have repented, I am repenting,
I shall repent. If I ever did repent, I'm repenting
today more than I used to repent, and the more I know of myself
and the more I know of God, the more I'll repent in the future.
That's right. I have believed on Christ. I
am believing on Christ more now than I did then because I know
more about Christ and my need of Christ. And I shall believe
tomorrow with God willing. And if I ever stop believing,
I never did believe. If I ever quit repenting, I never
did repent. I'm telling you the truth. I'm telling you the truth. Repentance
is a state of being. Repentance and faith both. You see, I have been saved. I
am being saved. My salvation is nearer than when
I believed. This is what, our day is plagued with this, and
preachers won't quit doing it. They just will not, and they're
not God's preachers. But to keep up this isle dragging,
and this altar call, and this getting people down to the front,
reciting these sinners' prayers, and making these decisions, and
giving them their little silly books, you know, and selling
them their sick, they're not saved! A man is saved and redeemed
when, by the grace of God, God gives him a new heart and a new
nature, and brings him to hate sin and love Christ, and to receive
Christ, and to bow to Christ, and submit to Christ, and become
a bond-slave of Christ. That's when a man is saved. A person is not saved because he
believes Christ died on the cross, was buried and rose again. The
devil believes that. But the devil is no disciple. The devil's no disciple. I'm
telling the truth, my friends. Salvation is of the Lord. It's
a powerful work. It's a perpetual work. It's an
eternal work. And it's a sovereign work. And
it's an inward work. And it's by the fire of God.
That's right. And faith and repentance continues. That's the reason John said the
reason they quit is they never were of us. And you watch this,
most every church has a constant turnover. Even the preachers
don't stay there over two years. Everybody's constantly going
and coming, going and coming, down the aisle they come, in
this door and out that door, down the aisle through the baptistery
and out that door, never to be heard from again. But God's sheep
move into the fold and never leave. And let me read you this
hymn. 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 or day or week
do believers' presumption own, for all the time the Lord they
seek, their sins they grieve and mourn. Nor is it such an
unknown thing as tithed by some men named. A sinner may repent
and sing, rejoice, and at the same time be ashamed. Tis not
the fear of hell alone, for that may prove extreme. But repenting
believers the Savior own, and they grieve for grieving Him.
Dear Lord, we fall before Thy face, our guilt and folly own. We pray Thee for Thy mercy's
sake to us. Make Thy goodness known. And
that never stops. It goes on and on and on. Well,
Paul summed it up. He said, this is my message.
Can't have one without the other. Repentance toward God and faith
in Jesus Christ. May God grant that here, right
here, and out there. Because if he does and when he
does, that's salvation. That's salvation. All right,
let's pray. Our Father, take the Word and
bless it to the heart. Dismiss from our minds that which
is contrary to your Word and that which is displeasing to
you. and that which is of the flesh. There's so much of that
in us and about us and make us to remember and to feed upon
and rest upon that which is honoring to Christ, that which is true. Lord God of heaven, I know salvation
is by thy power divine and a work of grace in this heart of mine
and I don't want to miss knowing thee. And I don't want these
to whom we minister to miss Christ and a saving relationship with
Thee. So I pray tonight for those who
know Thee, strengthen and increase their faith. And those who know
Thee not, reveal Thyself in Thy grace and mercy. For Christ's sake, amen.

Repentance and Faith

What does the Bible say about repentance and faith?

How do we know repentance is necessary for salvation?

Why is humility important for Christians in their faith?

How do repentance and faith work together in salvation?

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Repentance and Faith

What does the Bible say about repentance and faith?

How do we know repentance is necessary for salvation?

Why is humility important for Christians in their faith?

How do repentance and faith work together in salvation?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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